Before I could respond, Lily cut in, “No, James didn’t ask me. I came on my own.”
“Sophia, I urge you to reconsider. James loves you deeply—more than your parents do. You must have felt that over the years.”
Sophia frowned but didn’t argue.
Ethan stepped forward, positioning himself protectively in front of Sophia. Smiling, he said to Lily,
“James indeed loves Sophia, but love has to be mutual. Sophia doesn’t love him; she’s always loved me.”
“And I believe my love for Sophia is no less than his.”
Lily sneered. “You have the nerve to say that? Who was it that abandoned Sophia without hesitation to go abroad back then?”
“I never saw any sign that you loved her. The only person you’ve ever loved is yourself.”
Ethan’s face darkened.
Sophia’s expression turned grim.
“Lily, there’s no need to bring up the past. Ethan had no choice back then. He didn’t mean to abandon me. It was James who forced my parents to forbid me from going abroad and made me marry him.”
“This is all crystal clear to you. Everything is James’s fault.”
“The truth about what happened back then is actually—”
I interrupted Lily, keeping my gaze calm as I looked at Sophia.