Chapter 2
Chapter 2
If there was a light in Sofia’s world, it was Daisy Cooper, the woman who was walking towards her.
Daisy was her high school classmate and the top student in her class. But, in their sophomore year, Daisy suddenly dropped out.
In fact, she and Sofia didn’t see each other until a few years ago. Sofia had accompanied Finley to the club to have fun, and there she encountered Daisy, only to find out that Daisy was an escort. Those who were wealthy knew about Daisy’s career and made it hell for her.
Sofia relied on her status as Campbell Family’s eldest daughter to help Daisy out of her situation and didn’t realize how much it meant to her.
In the three years, she was in prison, Daisy was the only person who visited Sofia. None of Sofia’s previous girlfriends, acquaintances, or business partners that the Campbells acquired had visited her or helped her in any way.
It was only Daisy who was there for her.
Daisy went above and beyond for her; not only did she come to visit Sofia in her cell, but she also used her savings to help Sofia’s mother at the hospital, who had been in a car accident and turned into a vegetable.
“Sofie! Are you okay?” Daisy was dressed casually, last
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night’s makeup still on her face, and her eyes were black and blue underneath. The guests from the night before were probably difficult to handle. This is property © of NôvelDrama.Org.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to get you out,” Daisy said with red- rimmed eyes.
Sofia grabbed her hand but slowly knelt on one knee.
“Sofie?! What are you doing?”
Daisy took Sofia’s hand and helped her up. “Come on, I’m not some old granny. Why are you kneeling to me? Are you calling me old or something? Damn!”
Daisy roughly helped Sofia get into her moped and headed for her rental house.
Sofia held onto Daisy’s slender waist as she drove.
“Daisy, how much did my mom cost you in the hospital?” Sofia’s voice was raspy. Her vocal cords were permanently injured by the men who shoved lit cigarette butts down her throat.
“Oh, please! We’re friends, so it doesn’t matter,” Daisy laughed loudly.
“How much was it?” Sofia asked stubbornly as Daisy’s denim jeans slipped down, revealing the burn mark on her waist from a customer who had pushed a cigarette on her skin.
Daisy paused. “Just a few dozen thousand. But don’t think about that. You’re as thin as a spaghetti noodle. I need you
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to get better first, and then we can deal with the money.”
“Just get me a job. Anything is better than prison. I’m not picky.”
Sofia knows that Daisy had had a hard time over the years, selling smiles and alcohol to disrespectful customers. She spent her entire savings account to keep Mrs. Campbell alive. Sofia knew Daisy wanted to start a business and stop being an escort, but this had all dragged her down.
It would take more than one lifetime to repay Daisy back.
But Sofia’s mother was still in the hospital, and she needed money to take care of her. It didn’t matter what job she took as long as it made enough to keep her and her mother afloat.
As the night began, the NY Charming shone with a thousand bright lights. In the bar’s restroom, Sofia repeatedly apologized to a woman caked in foundation.
The woman was extremely tall, but Sofia shrunk herself to make herself smaller. She wasn’t even trying to pretend- Sofia was truly afraid of being fired.
After three years of being in prison, finding a job was extremely hard for her. It was Daisy who had recommended her for the janitorial position at the NY Charming.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, let me wipe your shoes,” Sofia said as she reached out to help the woman whose shoes were soaked in the cleaning solution.
A few moments before, Sofia was mopping the floor, and the
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woman suddenly rushed inside to vomit in the sink. She must have drank too much.
With the mop bucket in front of her, Sofia had no time to step aside. The woman collided with her, tipping over the bucket and soaking her shoes. Afterward, Sofia insisted that she try to dry them off.
The manager rushed over to them, irritation written all over his face. All the customers who came to the Charming Bar were extremely wealthy, and he hated to offend them.
“What’s wrong with you?!” He said, glaring at Sofia. “Don’t come to work tomorrow. You’re fired!”
“What’s going on here?” A man’s sensual voice suddenly chimed in, and the mood immediately shifted.
Everyone tensed at the sound, and they looked at the man approaching.
Dressed in sleek, dark silver attire, he exuded an air of sophistication and style. His striking and refined features accentuated his handsome face, and his eyes glinted with slight amusement. He was the definition of a charismatic playboy.
As his voice reached Sofia’s ears, it sent a chilling shockwave through her entire body, like an unexpected splash of ice- cold water.
Sofia couldn’t control her anxiety.
That man was Brian Sanchez, the prince of the Sanchez family and the man who had a monopoly on New York’s
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shipping industry. The Sanchezs and the Campbells were neighbors in the past, and Brian used to play with Sofia when they were children. He would climb over his villa’s fence and drop down into Campbell’s garden.
Back then, Sofia couldn’t have imagined that the man would betray the Campbells.
“Wait! Sofia? Is that you?” Brian looked at the woman. kneeling on the ground. Although she was abnormally thin and frail, Brian still recognized her.
He picked Sofia’s chin with a flirtatious look and met her face.
Suddenly, his fingers pinched Sofia’s chin as and Brian reeled back, disgust written all over his face.
How did she get disfigured?
Sofia tried to turn away from him, but Brian caught her
wrist.
A crowd had started to gather around them, and Brian met all of their gazes before looking back at Sofia.
“Is that really Sofia Campbell?” Someone gasped.
“She’s the one who attempted to kill Ellie Stewart!”
“I heard Mr. Stewart sent her to jail!”
“Look! She’s got scars all over her face! God, that’s so ugly!”
Everyone knew the tensions between Sofia. The Sanchezs and the Stewarts didn’t get along, so, of course, this was
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their peak amusement. They were eager to treat Sofia like garbage.
Brian looked at Sofia for a long time before he laughed dryly. “When did you get out of prison? I could’ve picked you up! Of course, Finley didn’t have the time to see you, but I do!”
Finley!
That name pierced Sofia’s ears, and she started to tremble.
She was hurt and betrayed by her beloved fiancé and her childhood friend. Both of these men teamed up to shatter her family and made her life a living hell.
Now she had nothing but endless fear of these two people.
Sofia busied herself with trying to escape from Brian’s grasp, but she shook uncontrollably. She tried to keep her head down as she struggled to form words.
The woman with her soaked shoes had been yelling at the manager, saying that she was a close friend of Brian’s.
“Mr. Sanchez, I’m very sorry for inconveniencing your friend,” Sofia mumbled.
Brian immediately did a double take and stared incredulously at Sofia. Three years ago, she was the Campbell’s arrogant daughter. But who was this woman in front of him?
It felt so strange. It was like she had all her thorns clipped from her body–leaving her bloody and disfigured.
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His gaze fell upon Sofia, her once vibrant figure now visibly diminished and hunched over. Despite being in her twenties, her face bore the weariness of an old man weathered by the winds of time.
Brian lowered his eyes for a moment, feeling a surprising twinge of guilt in his heart.
The Campbells were infamous for their ruthlessness, evidenced by Brian and Finley’s collaboration to take down their empire.
The Sanchezs had reaped their rewards but didn’t expect Finley to be merciless and even more cutthroat than the Campbells.
Sofia had loved him, and everyone knew what had happened.
She was known to be Finley’s little pet. Their relationship was the most talked about in their circle, but Finley suddenly put her down.
Brian cleared his throat, raising his hands to disperse the crowd.
“All right, break it up!”
The Sanchez prince had spoken, and the drunk woman yelling at the manager didn’t dare say anything else.
The manager glanced at Sofia with a complicated expression. as Sofia tried to continue cleaning. She bent over to pick up the toppled bucket, but a sharp pain came from her knee.
During her time in jail, the warden would snatch her blanket, leaving her shivering in the cold. Her bed was often placed in the doorway, exposing her to the harsh elements, and at times, ice–cold water
would be poured onto her bed. The harsh winter took its toll, leaving her with severe arthritis.
She sucked in a breath and held back the pain as the manager started to shout at her.
“Room 808 needs cleaning, hurry up!”
Room 808 was the area Sofia was in charge of cleaning, and she limped over to it.
The spacious hall was part of the VIP lounge in the NY Charming. It was incredibly spacious, with no limit to indulgence and luxury, as those who were allowed in were part of the elite.
Amidst the dimly lit ambiance, the room was filled with attractive men and women. Countless bottles of renowned wines were being opened one after another. Sofia, busy tidying up the countertop, was unexpectedly pulled into a drunken man’s embrace and picked up off the floor…
“Heya! This sure is the best bar. But how can such a young woman like you be cleaning–my god! Your face!”
The man suddenly dropped her, and Sofia struggled to keep her balance until she fell to the ground with a thud.
She was about to get up but saw a pair of shiny leather shoes in front of her. Slowly, she looked up to find tailored black suit pants that hugged slender legs. A gray button- down with its collar open revealed a seductive collarbone,
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and Sofia’s eyes finally settled on a face that was enough to captivate the entire crowd. It was as if the man had won God’s favor and was blessed with a cold, refined face.
The corners of his mouth were set into a thin line, his expression indifferent. He stood next to the arched window, framed by the moon and stars, looking like a bloodthirsty king amidst the dark night.
Sofia met those deep, cold eyes and felt the blood drain from her face.
Finley.
We meet at last.