Chapter 100: I Loved Him More
Sophia’s heart clenched; she instinctively took a step towards Sean, but Vivian grabbed her arm. “You should give him a chance to choose.”
Sophia turned to Vivian, whose expression was tense, as if she, too, was among those being
chosen.
Sean, initially moving slowly, quickened his pace. He walked in front of the camera; all the actors and crew members looked at him, but the music continued. He strode towards the pianist. But then, he bypassed the pianist and went straight to the painting.
“Who ruined my painting?!” he roared.
Vivian froze; Sophia was stunned.
So he hadn’t been.
hadn’t been looking at Ye Can; he’d been observing the painting. Director Li quickly rushed forward to explain, but Sean was furious.
“This is a work by my favorite artist! You dared to damage it!”
“It was an accident. We’ll pay for it.”
“Is this about money? This is art!”
“Yes, art is priceless. We’re truly sorry.”
“Stop playing! Stop filming!” Sean yelled at Ye Can.
Ye Can, terrified, stopped playing, looking at him helplessly.
“Get out of my house!”
Vivian, having failed to get the answer she wanted, turned and left dejectedly. Sophia shook her head, then ran to calm Sean down.
“They ruined my painting!” Sean was furious.
“I know,” Sophia said, pulling him. away.
“Don’t you know how precious this painting is?”
“I do, but it’s happened. Getting angry won’t help.”
“I’ll get rid of them.”
“Let me handle it.”
Sean, initially furious, the crew expecting him to destroy their equipment, was calmed by Sophia’s few words. She even allowed them to continue filming.
Pulling him back inside, Sophia comforted him, finding his puffed cheeks adorable, and laughing. “You’re laughing!” Sean widened his eyes. “Don’t you know the artist who painted this is dead? It’s his last work, incredibly precious…”
“I know, I know,” Sophia soothed him.“How about I compensate you?”
“You?” Sean raised an eyebrow.
Sophia’s eyes twinkled. “Honey,” she called.
Chapter
“What?”
“You owe me seventy million now.”
“What?”
“Didn’t you say one hundred million for each ‘honey? I just called you ‘honey,‘ covering the thirty million for the painting, so you owe me seventy million.”
Sean was amused.“Fine, 1 I owe you. But are you sure you
me
to pay?”
Seeing Sean’s mischievous grin, Sophia became alert.“We
alert.”We can forget about it.”
“Too late.”
Sean rolled over, pinning her beneath him. “Tonight, my body belongs to you.”
Sophia laughed, but under Sean’s advances, her laughter quickly
quickly ceased.
The next day, they didn’t get up until almost noon.
After breakfast, Sophia went to the film set; Sean said he’d wait for her by the beach. When she arrived, Chloe, just finishing a scene, ran over excitedly.
“Your husband came last night?”
Sophia nodded.
“No wonder you didn’t come back. You were pretty roughed up last night,” Chloe pointed to Sophia’s neck.
Sophia blushed. “Where’s Qiao Ke’an?”
Chloe leaned in, whispering, “She said she’s raising money to compensate for your painting.” Sophia nodded, looking around for Vivian, but she wasn’t there.
She had to watch out for that woman.
Nothing was happening on set, so Sophia went to the beach. Descending the steps, she saw Sean standing on the beach, wearing a white shirt, hands in his pockets, the sea breeze ruffling his hair.
Not far away, Ye Can was running barefoot after the waves, laughing. If she found a pretty seashell, she’d show it to Sean.
Sean didn’t refuse; he even examined the shells carefully.
Pleased, Ye Can ran towards the sea breeze, her blonde hair shining in the sun, illuminating her
smile.
Sophia felt a pang of jealousy; the woman who didn’t matter was deeply entrenched in Sean’s
heart.
Instead of approaching, she turned and walked back.
Vivian was right; she cared, and she was selfish.
–
If Sean couldn’t love her completely, she couldn’t give him her all. She needed an answer at least one that would allow her to face Sean calmly.
Vivian stood at the end of the steps, smiling triumphantly as Sophia returned. “See? You can’t be indifferent.”
Sophia sighed softly. “Would you feel better if I left Sean?”
“Maybe. But I loved him more.”
“So what happened back then? Why did you give up on him?” Vivian hugged herself, no longer the arrogant queen but
wounded
“I took care of him in the hospital for six months, confident that if I gave my all, he’d eventually Jove me. At first, we got along well. Even though I knew he was letting me close because he’d forgotten Anna, if he never remembered her, what did it matter? But one afternoon, looking at the grass, he suddenly remembered her. He looked at me with scorn; I couldn’t take it. I asked. him if he could accept me. Guess what he said?”
Sophia’s heart pounded.“What?”
Vivian closed her eyes before speaking. “He said, ‘You’re pathetic.“”
Sophia clenched her fists; her anxiety subsided.
“You’re pathetic.”
“Pathetic.”
the same. He said it to Vivian, but Sophia felt he might say the same to her one day.
“You can deceive yourself, but Sean wouldn’t bother deceiving you. You think you can win his love, but he’ll suddenly stab you in the back, take your life, Vivian murmured.
“Do you think I’ll end up like you?” Sophia asked.
“Yes, so I’m saving you.”
Sophia scoffed.“You just can’t have what you want and don’t want anyone else to have it. It’s jealousy.”
With that, Sophia walked away.
Sean stayed by the beach all day; Sophia didn’t bother him. Relationships shouldn’t be forced; accept change, and be ready to let go. This was a lesson she’d learned from her past eight years; it might not apply to everyone, but it applied to her.
Sean returned for dinner, acting normally, laughing and teasing her.
After dinner, Sophia went to the film set. At the villa entrance, Ye Can stopped her. “Mrs. Sullivan, can I talk to you for a moment?”
Sophia raised an eyebrow.“What do you want to say?”
Ye Can led her to a small garden on the west side of the villa, where they were alone. After a moment’s hesitation, she mustered her courage.“Mrs. Sullivan, please don’t worry. I won’t take your place. I just want to be Mr. Sullivan’s mistress.”
