Chapter 4

After saying those words, Sophia clearly felt the air in the office freeze instantly.

A dangerous chill churned in Robert's eyes. "What did you say?"

When he got angry, he'd always been terrifying.

Sophia nervously swallowed, but even though she was afraid, she mustered the courage to repeat herself. "I said, I won't be your toy anymore. This relationship is over!"

The moment the words left her mouth, a ceramic mug flew at her and landed right at her feet.

Scalding coffee splashed onto Sophia's foot, but the pain was nothing compared to the ache in her heart.

Robert's expression was frighteningly dark. "Sophia, you'll spend your whole life atoning for killing Margaret. Don't dream about freedom."

In the past, whenever Sophia heard those words, she'd back down. She'd obediently play Margaret's stand-in, become a puppet enduring pain, letting him torment her.

But now, Sophia wasn't backing down. "You said before that if Margaret were alive, you'd let me go. I hope you keep your word."

With that, Sophia turned and walked away.

Her figure was still slender and fragile, but Robert felt an inexplicable irritation—and found it absurd.

She'd completely lost her mind, saying things like Margaret was still alive.

Robert pinched the bridge of his nose, forcing himself to refocus on work. But his mind kept wandering.

When Sophia returned to the office area, the scattered files on the floor had been cleaned up.

She could feel everyone's eyes on her, full of curiosity and scrutiny.

No wonder. Everything she'd done today made her seem like a completely different person.

She calmly sat at her desk, ignoring Samantha's murderous glare, and opened her computer to handle the work she'd let pile up all morning.

Near the end of the workday, Sophia's phone rang again. It was Bianca calling.

Looking at the word "Mom" flashing on the screen, her heart jumped into her throat.

The truth was, in Margaret's fake death, the ones who'd hurt Sophia the most were never Margaret herself—it was the parents who deliberately concealed the truth and stood by coldly while Robert abused her!

Sophia had thought about it all day but still didn't know how to face them.

But avoidance was useless. The people who'd done wrong were never her.

With that thought, she took a deep breath and answered the call.

Bianca's furious voice came through. "Sophia, so you do know how to answer the phone?"

Sophia opened her mouth. Before she could say a word, tears fell.

She wiped them away and forced her voice to sound calm. "What is it?"

Her seemingly indifferent attitude made Bianca even angrier.

She suppressed her fury and said coldly, "Come home right now. We need to talk."

Sophia pressed her lips together.

Actually, she could probably guess what Bianca wanted to say.

It was about Margaret, no doubt.

And she needed to have a good talk with her parents too.

Forty minutes later, Sophia pushed open the front door. The first thing she saw was Margaret lying on the living room couch, playing on her phone.

She wore a silk nightgown, held a big bucket of chips in her arms, and had one foot casually propped on the coffee table. She looked utterly at ease.

A bitter ache rose in Sophia's heart.

She'd never been allowed to be so casual at home. Even if she relaxed just a little, her mother would scold her for not being ladylike enough, for embarrassing the family.

In that moment, she realized with painful clarity—she and Margaret had never been the same.

Margaret was the daughter their parents truly loved. And Sophia? She was nothing.

As feelings of injustice surged up, Bianca's displeased voice came from behind. "You come home and don't even greet anyone? You're getting more and more out of line!"

Her father, Vincent Windsor, tugged Bianca's hand and put on a warm smile. "Your mother's just tough on the outside, soft on the inside. She really has your best interests at heart. Sophia, we called you home to explain about Margaret."

Sophia straightened her spine slightly. A trace of barely perceptible hope flickered in her eyes.

Vincent cleared his throat twice and spoke with a smile. "Actually, Margaret really did jump into the ocean back then. Fortunately, a kind person saved her. She's been recovering all this time. Now that she's fully healed, she came back to us. Isn't that a good thing?"

Sophia never imagined her father, whom she'd always respected, would tell such an absurd lie.

Her gaze dimmed instantly. She smiled bitterly. "Is that so? But Dad, Margaret herself admitted she did it on purpose to mess with me."

Caught in the lie, Vincent showed no embarrassment. He continued to explain calmly. "She was just joking with you. Margaret, hurry up and apologize to Sophia."

Only then did Margaret reluctantly sit up from the couch and say perfunctorily, "Sorry!"

Joking?

Sophia felt a tightness in her chest. Even breathing became difficult.

To cover for Margaret, Vincent could actually say something so illogical!

Did he really take her for a fool?

Seeing Sophia's silence, Vincent assumed she'd accepted the explanation. He turned and gave Bianca a look, signaling her to continue.

Bianca was still upset about Sophia's attitude when she came in. Her tone remained icy. "There's one more thing. Now that Margaret's back, you and Robert need to end things."

Sophia was stunned into laughter.

Even though she desperately wanted to end that shameful, hidden relationship with Robert, hearing those words from Bianca's mouth felt utterly ironic.

Back then, she hadn't been willing at all!

Sophia bit her lip, her voice trembling. "Margaret faked her death. Why do you—"

Why did they protect Margaret unconditionally and completely ignore her feelings?

Before she could finish her accusation, a loud slap cut her off.

Bianca always used all her strength when hitting her. This time was no exception. Sophia was knocked to the floor.

"Who gave you permission to call your sister by her first name? You have no manners!"

Margaret put down her phone, looped her arm through Bianca's, and acted coy. "Mom, calm down. I'm guessing she doesn't want to break up with Robert, so she's saying this on purpose! Since she likes Robert so much, I guess I'll have to give him up!"

Her fake act made Sophia nauseous. She actually did start dry heaving over the floor.

Vincent let out a heavy sigh. He walked over to Sophia and tried to help her up, but she dodged him.

Bianca had been feeling a bit regretful about being too impulsive, but Sophia's stubbornness set her off again. "Sophia, do you have no shame? Robert was Margaret's boyfriend to begin with!"

Sophia's cheek was already swelling. Dull pain radiated from her lower abdomen, but she gritted her teeth and endured it. She shouted, "When he forced me to drop out of school and treated me like a toy, why didn't you stop him?"

Back then, Robert had been like a madman. But not only did her parents not stand up for her—they'd even urged her behind the scenes to behave well and maintain the relationship between the Windsor Family and the Howard Family.

The question was too sharp. It completely tore away these parents' loving facade. Even the refined Vincent flew into a rage and kicked Sophia hard in the waist.