Chapter 4

The next morning, I was literally dragged out of bed by James.

"Emily, what's wrong with you? Didn't Sophia tell you it's her birthday today? Why are you still sleeping in?" He didn't give me any chance to explain, just rushed me to change clothes and took me straight to the faculty apartment.

Sophia was standing in the middle of a circle of flowers, smiling and waving at me.

"Mrs. Smith, aren't the flowers Mr. Smith sent me beautiful?"

If I remembered correctly, James hated flowers the most, thinking they were the most useless and wasteful thing.

But now...

Still, I felt incredibly calm.

Unexpectedly, Sophia suddenly walked over, wobbling as she tried to grab my hand.

But before she could touch me, she knocked over the coffee table and fell to the ground.

James rushed over immediately, his large hands catching Sophia around the waist.

"Emily, what are you doing!" The look he gave me was full of disgust, but I just wanted to laugh.

I couldn't help wondering how someone stupid like him became a professor, and I felt sorry for my past blind self.

Until Sophia explained pitifully, "Mr. Smith, my leg went numb."

The drama ended, but James didn't feel guilty about wrongly accusing me.

When blowing out the candles, Sophia spoke her wish out loud.

"Mr. Smith, I saw the plane tickets you bought. You're going to the beach with Mrs. Smith, so I'll wish that I can have a chance to see the ocean someday too."

She smiled innocently. James froze for a few seconds, then quickly made a decision, affectionately ruffling the girl's hair. "Silly girl, I'm going to help you relax. This was actually Emily's idea."

I nodded cooperatively, then turned to leave. But I hadn't taken two steps before James caught up with me.

He grabbed my wrist and explained frantically, "Emily, we'll have plenty of opportunities in the future."

I lowered my head and pulled out a bank card from my bag.

It was the card he gave me when he proposed, saying he'd deposit money into it every month as my security.

But since Sophia appeared, no money had been deposited for a long time.

"Have fun."

James immediately relaxed. Meeting my smiling eyes, he looked a bit confused.

"Emily, you seem different somehow."

He wanted to say more, but his phone suddenly rang. A girl's excited voice came through the speaker. "Mr. Smith, why aren't you home yet? I'm waiting for you to pack together!"

"Coming," James answered, his eyes full of affection. He didn't take the bank card, pushing it back into my hand. "You keep it and buy yourself something nice. Wait for me to come back."

With that, the man turned and left eagerly, even forgetting that this time I hadn't given him a response.

I went home one last time, left the divorce papers I'd already signed, then turned and walked away with big strides.

During these days, I also went traveling with Evelyn. Every day, I could see Sophia's social media posts.

Their intimate photos, together with bright smiles, were glaring. I saved each one as evidence of the affair.

When James returned from the trip, he stopped by home before the school's new project launch ceremony, bringing souvenirs for me with Sophia.

Walking in, he saw the empty house and started feeling uneasy. Only when he saw the divorce papers on the coffee table did he realize I'd really left.

Sophia's eyes flashed with a quick smile, then she spoke up to comfort him, "Mr. Smith, don't worry. Mrs. Smith is probably just mad at me. But Mrs. Smith is a housewife—where could she go without you? She'll be back in a few days."

James calmed down and quickly became confident.

Right, Emily loved him so much; how could she possibly leave? She must just be throwing a tantrum.

"Mr. Smith, the school ceremony is about to start. Let's go."

The two entered the venue, waiting for that industry big shot, but when that figure slowly walked from the entrance to under the spotlight...

James and Sophia both lost control and cried out,

"It's you!"