8-Month-Pregnant, Strapped to a Drop Tower by Him

Chapter 9

I hovered beside him, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

Everything was out in the open now, but what did it matter?

I was already dead.

I once loved him with everything I had.

But only now, stripped of that love in death, did I finally see him for what he was, nothing but a blind fool.

Hiding behind so-called gratitude, indulging in my devotion while keeping no boundaries with his first love, just another worthless bastard.

When Sophia pushed open the door, there was a flicker of joy in her eyes, so fleeting it was almost invisible.

But she quickly masked it, stepping forward with a sorrowful, regretful expression. "James, I heard about what happened to Emily. Don't blame yourself. She was the one who provoked me first. That's why you punished her, why you made her ride the drop tower, to avenge me. In the end, this was all her own doing. No one wanted this to happen."

She reached for his hand, her voice soft, coaxing. "Didn't you always love me the most? I'll always be by your side."

James let her embrace him.

But his hand gripping her waist slowly tightened.

"Oh? So those messages… they were really from Emily?"

Sophia stiffened for a fraction of a second before quickly composing herself. "James, what are you saying? The number was unknown, but ever since I came back, Emily has hated me. Who else could it be? And you heard the voice messages yourself, it was her voice!"

James' eyes were clouded with pain.

That's exactly what he had believed.

Who else could it be but me?

Sophia had fed him that idea over and over again, and he had been too willing to accept it.

But now, with everything laid bare, he realized, those voice messages that had provoked Sophia into jumping… they had sounded like me at first.

Yet, if he had just spent ten more seconds listening carefully, he would have known.

It wasn't my voice at all.

A memory flashed through his mind, Sophia's constant accusations, my desperate attempts to explain.

And in the end, my numb, resigned expression.

Back then, he thought I was just acting.

Now, he finally understood.

That wasn't pretense.

That was disappointment. Helplessness. Despair.

Even after deciding to leave them alone once the baby was born, I still couldn't escape.

And in the end, I lost my life for it.

His hand slowly crept up Sophia's neck, tightening just enough to make her frown in discomfort. Then, just as suddenly, he let go.

His gaze softened, more tender than ever.

"You're right," he murmured. "Who else could it be but her?"

A victorious glint flashed in Sophia's eyes.

"You told me before," she whispered, "that after Emily gave birth, you'd divorce her and marry me. Now that she's gone… what about us?"

James studied her for a long moment before smiling gently.

That smile sent a chill down my spine.

But Sophia, too caught up in her excitement, didn't notice.

He reached out, brushing a tear from her cheek. "Don't worry. I always keep my promises. But since Emily died because of me… we should at least pay our respects before moving forward."

She sniffled and nodded. "You're right."

Then, as she always did, she leaned in to kiss him.

James subtly turned away.

"I'm tired," he said. "Three days from now, I'll marry you."

Sophia frowned slightly.

That was the second time he had rejected her.

But the goal she had spent years scheming for was finally within reach. Soon, she would be Mrs. Miller, a woman of true status.

Unlike my marriage to James, which had been kept a secret.

Over the next three days, James made sure the whole world knew, he was about to marry Sophia.