Chapter 3

Seeing Sophia's expression, Gerald was so angry he laughed instead. "No wonder Grandpa and the others suddenly showed up!"

He walked closer step by step, his face terrifyingly dark. "So you went crying to Grandpa, badmouthing Claire, causing Grandpa to send people to teach Claire a lesson and come to my house to confront me."

Sophia was shocked nearly speechless. "I didn't..."

"Shut up!" Gerald interrupted harshly. "Drop that fake act. The more you do this, the more disgusted I feel."

All of Sophia's words stuck in her throat.

Looking at this handsome face filled with hatred, the girlish crush she once had been ground to dust long ago.

Gerald snorted with disgust. "I'm warning you, stop bothering Claire, or don't blame me for not being nice to you!"

With that, he grabbed his coat from the sofa and stormed out without another glance at her, slamming the door hard.

Sophia stood frozen in place as tears suddenly rolled down her cheeks.

As she cried, she suddenly laughed.

This kind of home... this kind of husband...

What was she still holding onto?

She raised her hand to wipe away the tears, turned around, and walked step by step toward the bedroom.

The next day, Sophia woke up to find Gerald hadn't come home all night.

A familiar stabbing pain shot through her chest, but Sophia quickly pulled herself together, tidied up, and went out, heading straight to her mentor Professor Quentin Watson's studio.

Quentin was a bit surprised to see her. "Sophia? Are you okay? I saw the news - your script was selected for the Cannes Film Festival! Congratulations! After all these years of hard work, it's finally paying off."

"Mr. Watson." Sophia called out, the long-missed warmth making her nose tingle. "Thank you."

She paused, then her eyes became determined. "I... I want to make some changes to my life right now."

A knowing look flashed in Sophia's eyes as she sighed. "When your graduation project got the highest score back then, I knew you had talent. But later... it's not too late that you've figured it out now!"

Just then, a young director came over with a stack of script drafts, looking troubled. "Mr. Watson, I feel like something's off with the turning point in this script. Could you take a look?"

Quentin took it and flipped through it, but instead of answering right away, he looked at Sophia. "Sophia, why don't you take a look too?"

Sophia took the script.

In just a few minutes, she picked up a pen and wrote down several revision suggestions, transforming what was originally a straightforward argument into a confrontation full of emotional tension.

The young director's eyes lit up. "Yes! So professional! It feels right all of a sudden! Miss, you're amazing!"

Quentin took it and read through it, his approval growing even stronger.

He looked at Sophia, his tone more serious. "Sophia, my studio is preparing several new projects. You're wasted as a little assistant over there. Why don't you come help me out? I'll give you the head writer position."

Sophia was stunned, surprise and bitterness flooding her heart at the same time.

Screenwriting had always been her dream.

Since getting married, she'd been working at Gerald's film company, nominally as a screenwriting assistant, but actually just doing various errands and odd jobs.

What Quentin was offering her now wasn't just a position, but the gateway to her dream.

She lifted her head, her gaze firm. "Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I accept."

After spending the afternoon at Quentin's studio discussing some initial ideas, Sophia returned home with a long-lost sense of fulfillment.

Gerald still hadn't come back. He rarely came home anyway. To him, this place probably wasn't even worth calling a hotel.

Sophia went straight upstairs, opened her computer, and began writing her resignation letter.

The next day, Sophia arrived at the Churchill Group building on time, carrying her resignation letter.

As soon as she walked through the revolving door, she ran into a group of people.

Gerald was surrounded by several executives, walking out from the elevator lobby, his features cold and his presence imposing.

Sophia stopped in her tracks, quickly lowered her head, and stepped aside to let them pass.

Though they'd been married for nearly four years, no one at the company knew about their relationship.

At this moment, his gaze swept over her like she was a piece of furniture, without the slightest pause, walking right past her.

Sophia's hand tightened on her bag strap. After he walked away, she continued toward her department's floor.

Her workstation was in the most remote corner, dimly lit, never seeing sunlight.

She simply packed up her personal belongings, then took her resignation letter and walked to the general manager's office to submit her resignation.

The manager, Lily Brooks, looked very displeased and was reluctant to let her leave.

Although Sophia was just doing odd jobs, she could do many things, caused few problems, and with Sophia around, Lily's life was much easier.

When Sophia insisted on resigning, Lily finally said with a stern face that she needed a week for the handover.

"Okay." Sophia nodded in agreement. "Thank you."

For the next week, Sophia buried herself in work every day in that dark corner.

Organizing files, checking data, listing items...

Meanwhile, Gerald was nowhere to be seen these days.

Rumors circulated privately in the company that Gerald had been frequently visiting Serenity Health Center, accompanying that new intern.

The gossip occasionally drifted into Sophia's ears like tiny needles, piercing her heart.

But she would only pause her typing, take a deep breath, and pull her attention back to the document.

She told herself that soon all of this would have nothing to do with her.

That morning, the area of the company with the best lighting was suddenly cleared out.

People from the administrative department bustled in and out, moving in brand new office furniture - a large solid wood desk, an expensive chair, filing cabinets, a sofa, even a small refrigerator.

Exquisite ornaments and plants were placed throughout, and on the main desk was an open velvet jewelry box with a diamond necklace and watch sparkling with dazzling light.

As soon as the office was set up, there was a commotion at the entrance.

Sophia looked up to see Gerald walking in with Claire.

Claire wore a high-quality beige suit, her long hair flowing over her shoulders, her face showing shyness and unease as she looked around.

Gerald led her all the way, heading straight for that brand new office.

The entire floor erupted at once.

"Look! That girl next to Mr. Churchill!"

"That's her, right? I heard her last name is Douglas. She interned here before, then something happened... Mr. Churchill has been at the hospital with her these past few days!"

"Oh my god, Mr. Churchill personally brought her here and arranged that new office for her? That treatment..."

"That office is almost like a small apartment. Mr. Churchill really spoils her!"

"Need you ask? She must be the future Mrs. Churchill! She looks so innocent, she's so lucky..."

Sophia stood in place, looking at that office, then at her own workstation.

An unexpected sourness surged through her nose, and her chest ached.

Four years ago, when she first joined the company, Gerald said everyone who came in had to start from the bottom, as an intern, and she was no exception.

So she became a screenwriting assistant, doing odd jobs, handling countless trivial tasks that no one else wanted to touch.

She never complained.

But what was the result?

Nearly four years later, she didn't even deserve a decent workstation.

While Claire only needed to show up to get everything.

The difference between being loved and not loved was like heaven and earth.

So she should have woken up long ago, should have left long ago.

Fortunately, she was about to leave this place.

She clenched her fists, withdrew her gaze, and continued with her work.

Just then, Lily came over in her high heels and slammed a thick stack of folders onto Sophia's desk. "These tasks must be organized and sent to me for review before you leave work today."