Chapter 8 Anger

• “What the hell was that?!”
• Sophia turned away, walking past Albert and entering the house.
• Albert chased after her and forcefully grabbed her hand to turn her toward him. “Answer me!” Albert hissed firmly.
• Sophia looked at him coldly. “What should I answer, Albert?” she asked calmly.
• Albert gritted his teeth. “Who the hell is that guy?! We had agreed to have dinner together, but you were busy cheating with another man.”
• Sophia held herself back from exploding with anger at Albert’s words.
• “Who is he? His name is Daniel Mateo, Albert,” Sophia replied. Her hand reached up to cup Albert’s face, gently stroking the harsh lines marked by anger. “He’s a very kind and charming man, don’t you think?”
• “Sophia,” Albert hissed.
• Sophia smiled sweetly. A beam of light covered Albert’s face, while Sophia seemed to glow in the moonlight, her eyes sparkling.
• “You really are a bastard,” Sophia murmured softly, still smiling. “You’re free to cheat with any woman, so why can’t I?”
• Then Sophia stepped away, looking at Albert and feeling satisfied with his reaction. “Good night, my husband,” she whispered before turning and walking away.
• Albert stood behind her, staring at her back as she disappeared up the stairs.
• With his jaw clenched, Albert muttered, “If this is your way of getting my attention, my wife, then it’s working.”
• Damn!
• ***
• “Find out about a man named Daniel Mateo. I have a hunch he’s the youngest heir of M Group.” Albert ordered his subordinate over the phone. After receiving a firm response, Albert ended the call and slammed his phone onto the table.
• Albert stood by the window, staring out as he greedily sipped wine from his glass. The image of Sophia with her fake smile danced around in his mind.
• She must have read that damn gossip pages! Albert thought bitterly.
• That Bitch Millie Matthew. Albert was tired of dealing with that woman full of pretense.
• He had hoped that five years ago was the last time he would ever encounter Millie. But unexpectedly, a despicable woman like her seemed to have had such an influence on Albert, changing him into who he was now, a man who played with women and switched partners often.
• Albert couldn’t help but think of Sophia’s smile, as well as her tears.
• All this time, Albert had known Sophia as a stiff girl, like a dry twig on an old tree. He chose to ignore her when he realized that she felt the same way. But a few days ago, he saw Sophia crying, really crying. He also saw her smile, a smile that held no cynicism whatsoever. But that smile wasn’t for Albert, it was for another man whom Albert never expected to appear.
• Albert sighed wearily. If this is what Sophia wants, once again, he would give it to her.
• But Sophia’s tears from yesterday still lingered in Albert’s mind. Had he hurt her?
• He wanted to not care. He’d broken the hearts of many women before. Why should he care about Sophia’s feelings? Was it because she was his wife? That didn’t matter, right?
• “I don’t care,” Albert grumbled irritably in the end.
• ***
• Sophia returned home after her morning run, which left her sweating profusely. Her breath came in slow, labored gasps as she stepped into the kitchen to get some water. Albert was there, leaning against the pantry with a glass of water in his hand, but Sophia acted as though he wasn’t there. Even though he watched her every movement without shifting his gaze, Sophia didn’t care.
• After finishing, she rinsed the glass carelessly and then turned to leave without a word.
• But this time, Albert stopped her with a few words, “I didn’t sleep with that woman.”
• Sophia stopped and glanced back briefly. “So?”
• “You probably won’t believe me.”
• Sophia let out a bitter laugh, confirming her husband’s suspicion. Then, she continued walking away, leaving Albert behind, who exhaled roughly and set his glass down on the table as though he wanted to break it.
• What Albert had worried about the night before turned out to be pointless. Sophia remained the same. A cold woman with her arrogant demeanor, Albert clicked his tongue in disgust. Why had he become so concerned? He should have ignored Sophia as usual. After all, she didn’t care about him.
• ***
• The days passed by without any desire to do anything. Before marrying Albert, Sophia had never been given the chance to do anything by her parents. For some reason, her father and mother always forced her to stay at home and not go out too much. Unlike her siblings, who were more active outside and had achieved many remarkable things to bring honor to the family name.
• Sophia had transformed herself from an unattractive girl into a beautiful young woman. All she had to do was take better care of herself. However, that wasn’t enough to earn the attention of her parents.
• In Abraham’s house, Sophia spent most of her time in the library, reading books, and writing stories. The restrictions imposed by her parents made Sophia discover a talent she was deeply passionate about. Yet, they still didn’t care. Even when her mother found out that she wrote, she became angry and told Sophia not to daydream so much, as it would only embarrass the family.
• Sophia stopped writing.
• After marrying Albert, Sophia resumed her hobby. Only by doing so could she feel better when she faced the pressures from her husband. It had been her family before, and now, after being freed from them, her husband made her feel like nothing more than trash.
• Sophia sighed, throwing herself onto the bed and closing her eyes.
• “I’m really tired,” she murmured. “Life is really exhausting,” she whispered. Tears streamed from the corners of her eyes, falling onto the sheets.
• Sophia had no friends to confide in, and no family who would listen. Even her husband considered her no more important than a piece of paper on his desk.
• So, to comfort herself, Sophia imagined happy thoughts in her mind. But instead of bringing her joy, her tears only flowed more. She couldn’t keep living like this, could she? She truly wanted to escape to a faraway place where no one knew her, where she could be herself and do whatever she wanted.
• Sophia wanted to run away from it all. To break free from all the ties she had, then live and find happiness on her own.
• But could she do that? All this time, she had only dared to write it down, never truly having the courage to make it happen.
• “Haah,” Sophia sighed wearily. “If only Albert and I hadn’t met like this. If only our lives were different. If only... everything had never changed.”
• Sophia recalled the searing heat that burned her skin, and she cried harder, curling deeper into the bed, hugging herself as she felt pain everywhere, especially in her heart.
• Actually, what did I do wrong? Sophia thought sorrowfully.
• ***