Ryan entered the university.
As he was late, only a few students were around.
He started walking toward his classroom.
“Ryan!” Zane called out.
Ryan turned toward him.
“Where were you?
I’ve been searching for you all over the university,” Zane said as soon as Ryan turned.
“I wasn’t on campus,” Ryan replied simply and turned to leave.
“I found the person who posted the video,” Zane said, stopping Ryan in his tracks.
Ryan quickly turned around.
He had been waiting for this ever since the video was uploaded.
“Who was it?” Ryan asked immediately.
Before Zane could answer, Lucas walked over.
“What is this?” Lucas asked, showing Ryan the video of Sophia slapping him.
Ryan remained silent, his fists clenched tightly.
At that moment, all his attention was on the person who had posted the video.
He wanted to know who was behind it.
Seeing Ryan stay quiet, Lucas asked again, “So…
why did she slap you?” This time, Ryan looked at Lucas.
“Why don’t you ask her instead?” he replied coldly.
Lucas fell silent.
He was genuinely confused.
He hadn’t been at the party that night.
By the time he arrived, almost everyone had already left.
Seeing only a few students still there, he assumed the party was over and went back home.
He looked at the video once more.
Something didn’t make sense.
He couldn’t imagine Sophia slapping someone without a reason.
But at the same time…
As far as he knew, Ryan had never crossed the line with a girl.
Then what exactly had happened that night?
Ryan turned back to Zane.
“We’ll talk at the bar this evening.” Without waiting for a reply, he walked away.
Zane turned toward Lucas.
“Why were you defending Sophia in front of Ryan?” he asked, confused.
Lucas looked at him.
“I’m not defending anyone.” “I just want to know what really happened.” “Can you tell me?” “What exactly happened that night?” “Why don’t you ask Aria?” Zane suggested.
“I wasn’t there for most of it either.” “Aria is the one who told me everything.” After saying that, Zane also walked away, leaving Lucas standing there, even more confused than before.
– After Ryan left, Sophia remained seated in the hospital corridor.
Her mind was filled with thoughts of her father.
She wanted to save him.
But she didn’t want to marry Ryan.
She thought of every possible way to arrange the money.
No matter how hard she tried…
She couldn’t think of a single solution.
Just then, her phone started ringing.
She looked at the screen.
Chloe.
Sophia suddenly remembered that Chloe had called her several times before, but she hadn’t answered.
In the middle of everything that had happened, she had completely forgotten to call her back.
She knew Chloe must be worried, especially since they hadn’t talked after the pool party.
Not wanting to worry her any longer, Sophia answered the call.
“Hello…” “Sophia!” The moment Chloe heard her voice, relief washed over her.
“Where are you?” “Why is no one at your house?” Sophia paused for a moment.
“You’re at my house?” she asked in surprise.
“Yes,” Chloe replied immediately.
“How else was I supposed to know if you were okay?” “You didn’t leave me any other choice.” A small smile appeared on Sophia’s face.
Seeing how worried Chloe was made her heart feel a little lighter.
“Wait there,” Sophia said softly.
“I’m coming.” “Okay,” Chloe replied.
About twenty minutes later, Sophia reached home.
The moment Chloe saw her, she hurried over and hugged her tightly.
“Why weren’t you answering my calls?” she asked worriedly.
“I’m sorry,” Sophia replied softly.
Chloe slowly pulled away from the hug.
“What happened?” “Why do you look so sad?” “Let’s go inside first,” Sophia said.
Chloe nodded.
The two of them entered the apartment.
“Where’s your mom?” Chloe asked.
Sophia lowered her head.
“She’s at the hospital.” Chloe frowned.
“The hospital?” “What happened?” Sophia took a deep breath.
“My dad…” She paused, trying to control her emotions.
“My dad has severe arterial disease.” “He’s been admitted to the hospital.” “Sophia paused for a few seconds before adding,” “He needs urgent surgery.” Tears welled up in Sophia’s eyes.
“Has the surgery been done?” Chloe asked softly.
Sophia shook her head.
“No.” “Why?” Chloe asked, confused.
“The surgery costs two hundred thousand dollars.” “And we don’t have that kind of money.” Chloe stared at her in shock.
Now she finally understood why Sophia looked so broken.
Silence filled the room for a few moments.
Then Chloe gently held Sophia’s hand.
“I can ask my mom if she can help.” Sophia looked up at her.
“Really?” she asked, hardly believing what she had just heard.
A small glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes.
“Thank you,” Sophia whispered.
“I promise…
I’ll return every penny as soon as I can.” Chloe gave her a reassuring smile.