"Are you really that clueless about your own incompetence?" Lily scolded. "A correspondence college degree, and you learned nothing. How do you compare to your sister?"
"I’m sick!" Sophie Wilson shouted painfully.
Why, in her mother’s eyes, was she always inferior to Grace Wilson?
It had always been this way since they were kids!
"You’re sick, so isn’t it right I let you stay at home and recuperate? But you insisted on going to work. What have you done apart from taking a salary for nothing?" Lily justified her questions. "We aren’t even complaining about you freeloading, just don’t disrupt the company."
"Look at you, you’ve even learned to throw your weight around. What did that young girl do to you to be kicked out like that? Do you think there’s no regulations in the company?"
"Mom, my sister knows she was wrong, she won’t do it again next time. Don’t be so angry." Grace Wilson hurriedly persuaded Lily.
Sophie felt no gratitude for Grace’s goodwill.
If she wanted to help, did she need to wait until after Lily finished scolding?
"Dad, didn’t you know why that employee was dismissed?" Sophie turned to Stephen Wilson, her chest tight with anger.
"That employee misappropriated funds, it was right for Sophie to fire her." Stephen’s one sentence left Lily speechless; she didn’t know there was more to the story.
Grace, quick to react, laughed and said, "Mom, see, my sister is smart. Sophie, you too, why didn’t you explain clearly to Mom? She was worried about you."
"Is that the kind of unreasoned worry she has?" Sophie felt blocked inside.
"I’m your mom, can’t I say anything?" Lily was so angry she slapped her thighs, "Stephen, look at how your daughter talks to me?"
"Sophie, she is your mother," Stephen said, frowning.
Sophie’s face turned pale as she gritted her teeth, "I’m leaving now!"
There was no place for her in this house, so why stay?
Even breathing the air here made her feel nauseous.
"Sophie." Stephen ran out and stopped her at the door, "Sophie, your mom went through a lot with me when she was young, raising you wasn’t easy for her. You’re grown now, try to understand her a bit more."
"So, does that justify her favoritism toward Grace?" Sophie stared at Stephen with wide eyes, stubbornly refusing to let tears fall.
"Dad will talk to your mom." Stephen’s words were beautiful, but at their core they meant one thing—keep this family together, don’t let it fall apart.
"Fine, I get it." Sophie nodded in disappointment, turned and left.
This was the last chance she gave to both herself and her family; such cold familial love, it was better to do without!
"Sophie, Dad loves you." Stephen’s words drifted over with the night breeze, leaving Sophie cold to her core.
Did he really love her that much?
The villa was near the outskirts, and if he loved her, would he be reassured about her returning to the city this late alone?
The street lamps extended along the deserted street, making her feel as though she were completely alone in the world.
Rubbing her arms, Sophie took out her phone, dialed, and before it even rang, it connected: "Where are you?"
She urgently needed someone to be with her, even just to talk, to let her know she wasn’t alone.
"Turn around." The two cold words coming from the earpiece startled Sophie into turning around swiftly, and she saw that tall figure standing under the streetlight.
In an instant, it was as if a holy light had appeared, brightening her world.