Goodbye, My Wretched Love! By Dolly Molly

Chapter 8

As soon as Sofia caught sight of Brian, she jolted up, but her vision started to blur, and she felt herself on the verge of blacking out.

“Careful!” Brian caught her, giving her a small smile as he held her steady.

Sofia knew that she needed to avoid trouble. With caution, she gently released Brian’s hand and slowly rose from the floor, using the edge of the hospital bed for support.

No woman in New York could resist Brian’s signature smile. Everyone loved it. But Sofia paid no attention. At that moment, Brian’s smile became a little stiff, and he quickly tried to stop Sofia in her tracks.

“The doctor said you have a serious stomach problem, and you need more medical attention. What are you doing? If you need anything, just tell me.”

Sofia was a little surprised. Brian had always been a lazy kind of person who relied on his employees to do everything for him. He seemed overly enthusiastic about her.

She gave him a bitter laugh and kept walking towards the door.

“What is it, Sofia?” Brian huffed. He had never been so ignored by someone, and so he caught Sofia’s wrist.

“I have to go to work, Mr. Sanchez.” Sofia didn’t dare offend

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him anymore. He was a demon with a charming smile, just like Finley. And she had already learned her lesson.

Sofia couldn’t help but feel perplexed by the sudden change in their behavior. Initially, they were horrible to her, but now they were putting on this friendly facade, which left Sofia feeling uneasy.

She quickly thanked Brian and gave him a crooked smile. “Thanks for bringing me to the hospital.”

She remembered that it was Brian who had saved her from Mr. Walter and his men. And though she didn’t know his reasons, Sofia thought she should thank him for that too.

As she spoke, Brian didn’t know how to respond. He let go of her arm, took out his wallet, and handed her a black card.

“Here, just use this to pay for things. I also have an empty apartment in Montefiore. You can move there.”

“And I can also help you find another job. Weren’t you in design before? I have a friend who owns a design company, and I can recommend you to him. Your education and talent would make it no problem for you to have a high starting salary.”

Sofia felt as if she were listening to a story from a fantasy world. Those things didn’t quite belong in her reality.

She laughed a bitter sound that reached Brian’s ears and raised her left hand.

Sofia’s left hand was adorned with a worn–out, thin fleece glove, showing signs of years of use. The threads were

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frayed, and a hole had formed near the palm.

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She purposely concealed her hand behind her back or tucked it inside her sleeve, avoiding drawing any attention to it. The IV had been administered to her right hand the previous night, and she made sure to keep her left hand hidden even while she was dreaming.

After all, that hand was her worst nightmare.

Carefully, Sofia took off the glove and revealed the hand that she vowed never to show anyone.

Before, Sofia had long hands and long fingers, and her teacher said that her hands were best suited for playing the piano. And her hand had looked exquisite, with milky–white. skin as smooth as porcelain, untouched by any blemish or roughness. Sometimes she would entertain the thought of pursuing hand modeling and capturing their beauty in photographs.

But now, every finger except for her thumb was mutilated and disfigured. Tumor–like growths were strewn across her fingers, making them look red and swollen.

Every bone in her hand had shattered and never healed properly, resulting in deformities. Not only could Sofia never play the piano or work in design, but she also couldn’t even bend or use her fingers.

Brian stared intently at Sofia’s hand, reminiscing about her childhood piano skills. He had secretly listened to her play, and she had always won the gold medal in her recital competitions.

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His breathing became ragged as anger flooded his system.

“Did the inmates do this to you?!”

Sofia lowered her head and put her glove back on, then looked up at him to squeeze out a weak smile.

“Thank you for caring, but it doesn’t matter anymore.”

Brian took a breath and handed the card to Sofia. “Just take the card. I know you hate me, but consider this

compensation.”

Brian’s heart was filled with a deep sense of unease, yet he struggled to articulate his discomfort.

Sofia pushed his card away and was just about to say something when sharp footsteps sounded from outside.

Daisy had dark circles under her eyes, and she hadn’t wiped off her makeup. But, her face looked haggard from the drunkenness and what had happened.

She rushed in with a lunchbox and a thermos in her hand and was a little surprised to see Brian again.

She paid him no regard and rushed over to Sofia. “Are you okay?! They made me drink too much yesterday, and I went straight to sleep. Please tell me you’re okay.”

Sofia was relieved to see Daisy unharmed and grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly. “I’m fine. Let’s just go back home.”

“No, no. You have to stay in the hospital a little longer.” Daisy tugged Sofia to her bed. “Just a few more days. I’ll keep you company after my shifts.”

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“But,” Sofia protested. “A single room in this hospital is expensive. I’m fine with just an IV, so maybe the doctor can prescribe me something, and I can just rest at home.”

Once she heard the cost, Daisy flinched and took a look at Brian as she sighed and helped Sofia out of her bed.

Clutching the card tightly in his hand, Brian was overwhelmed with a sense of unease. Sofia’s left hand had pierced his heart like a thorn, causing him sharp pain.

Brian couldn’t comprehend what had happened. They had played together as children for so many years, but then he went abroad, and upon his return, their paths diverged drastically.

He didn’t expect to meet her again three years later.

Brian’s fingers clenched into a fist, the edges of the credit card digging into his palm.

Sofia followed Daisy to the nurse’s station and was quickly discharged from the hospital.

Daisy didn’t dare drive since her hangover was still horrible. So, the two of them hailed a taxi and drove home.

During the drive, Daisy unzipped her lunchbox to reveal cornbread and chicken noodle soup.

“Here, eat this. It’s good for your stomach.”

Sofia looked at the steaming soup in front of her, and warmth came to her cold heart.

As the cab pulled out of the hospital’s main entrance, little

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did they know a black Bugatti was parked discreetly nearby.

The glass window slowly rose up, blocking the cold, indifferent face from the sunlight.

Finley leaned back in his car seat, lit a cigarette, and took a drag.

Justin, the assistant sitting in front, sensed a heavy atmosphere inside the car as if the air pressure had dropped. It had been a few consecutive days now that the president had fallen back into his smoking habit, puffing away relentlessly.

He was usually a very restrained person who never indulged himself in women or anything bad. He often exercised, ate very healthily, had a regular sleep schedule, and drank very little. He even made chamomile tea sometimes–something a man in his 60s would do, but not people as young as Finley.

His only weakness was his excessive smoking habit, but he had made efforts to quit and had been successful to a certain extent. However, recently, there had been an unexpected change in his behavior and temper.

He now had sleeping problems at night, drank regularly, and chained and smoked.

“Justin!” Finley’s voice was slightly raspy from smoking.

“Mr. Stewart,” Justin answered respectfully.

Finley spoke in a deliberate tone, his voice tinged with a hint of urgency. “Justin, I need you to find something to do for

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Mr. Sanchez. He’s been without work for too long, and it would be best if we can keep him away from returning to NY for a while.”

lustin gave him a confused expression. Since when did Mr. Sanchez offend Mr. Stewart?