Chapter 2
In a daze, I remembered that summer when I was sixteen with the same suffocating heat
and the same ice cream truck.
That day, Thane Cole, a transfer student, caught my attention when our teacher introduced
him to the class.
Sunlight streamed through the windows, a gentle breeze lifted the edges of his crisp white shirt–it’s a heart–pounding moment at first sight.
As class president, it was my responsibility to help new students get familiar with our class. So we had a reason to interact.
Back then, I only knew he was Thane Cole and came from New York City, with his family probably well–off. Maybe he was too rebellious, or maybe he’d done something wrong, and that’s why he’d been sent to our small town.
But I didn’t can
about any of that. I just knew I needed to follow the teacher’s instructions and help him integrate into our class.
Of course, I had my own little secret thoughts too–he was simply too handsome.
I’ve never claimed to be particularly deep. I’ve always paid extra attention to beautiful people and things.
一
Maybe it’s just fate? Thane and I sat next to each other for three years, gradually evolving from slightly awkward classmates to best friends who shared everything. And then those occasional moments when our eyes met-
I felt my heart race, saw the tips of his ears turn red, and something unspoken grew between us.
A tacitly understanding, you/could say,
After graduation, he presented.me with my favorite lilies and asked if I dared to be his classmate for another four years.
11:33
1, Sophie Sutton, had never been afraid of anything. Four more years as classmates? Why would I be afraid of that?
So that summer, we applied to the same college and moved to the same unfamiliar city.
I think… I have found love.
Those four college years were peaceful and happy. We never let go of each other’s hands.
Until graduation day, a wealthy, bejeweled woman approached me. She introduced herself as Thane’s mother, making it clear she looked down on me, explaining how the Cole family was enormously wealthy and influential. So when selecting a daughter–in–law, they had to be extremely careful.
Social compatibility was paramount. A plain girl from a small town like me shouldn’t try to change her social status through marriage, dreaming of an overnight ascension.
Just like in the TV dramas, she pushed a blank check toward me, grandly telling me to fill in any amount I wanted.
But unlike the TV dramas, I didn’t even have time to react. Thane, having heard about the meeting, rushed over.
That check I hadn’t even properly seen?
It scattered into the air like confetti before my eyes.
That day, Thane held my hand so tightly, as if afraid I might waver, repeatedly telling me:
“Sophie, a check doesn’t amount to much. As long as you don’t let go of my hand, I’ll give you anything you want.”
At that time, all I could think was-
Thane, I don’t want your money. I only want your wholehearted love.
We were young and passionate then, believing love was everything and Thane was my everything.
It wasn’t until years later that I realized just how wrong I’d been.
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The Internet’s Favorite Couple Was My Marriago’s Worst Nightmaro
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face flushed red. In the end, he grabbed a knife from the bar counter and pressed it against
his own throat.
Leaving a clear and long blood mark, he said resolutely and firmly: “I’m not like my father. I’m not full of tricks. In this life, I only want to be with Sophie. Mom, I hope you can accept
us.”
Perhaps Thane was too resolute or perhaps that streak of red was too shocking. In the end, Mrs. Cole compromised.
But as she left that day, there was something in her gaze I couldn’t quite understand.
But I didn’t understand then, I just thought every family had their issues.
My parents loved each other, but they were still traditional at heart, favoring my brother
over me.
And Thane’s parents were once a loving couple too. But the Cole family had a tradition of sponsoring underprivileged children’s education.
That young, timid, yet charming girl caught Mr. Cole’s eye, he finally fell for her.
Affairs, mistresses, more affairs, more mistresses.
After tasting the sweetness of indulgence, he couldn’t stop. Women came and went, each
more numerous than before.
A life of luxury and excess is always full of temptations. Mr. Cole, in his position of power, began to enjoy this decadence, growing more distant from Mrs. Cole.
Arguments? Crying? Threats? None of it worked. They fought year after year, until one of his mistresses showed up at their door with a barely visible pregnancy bump, begging Mrs. Cole to spare her life.
Thane watched his mother’s/tears, then looked at that woman who seemed pitiful but truly hateful. He reached out and pushed the woman down the stairs, blood staining the doorstep.
Mr. Cole was furious and sent him away to attend school in his hometown.
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The Internet’s Favorite Couple Was My Marriage’s Worst Nightmare
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Chapter 2
Then that’s how Thane and I met, connected, and fell in love.
But ultimately?
Thane, who once despised homewreckers, fell in love with Lily, the scholarship student we
sponsored, even buying her a million–dollar home.
Só it wasn’t until many years later that I understood–that day, the look in Mrs. Cole’s eyes wasn’t born from being moved by our love or from compromise, but a pure pity.
It’s a family curse–like father, like son–it’s a never–ending loop. She had always been warning me not to repeat her mistakes.
But unfortunately,
By the time I understood, it was too late.
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