Samuel assumed Sophia was upset as Alexander had lost his memories. If Alex did something stupid unknowingly, I can help him by complimenting him. That way, Sophia might be generous enough to forgive him.
Without hesitation, he revealed his friend's doings. "You may not know this, but Alex's mother... I mean, Kristen. She came to him with a stack of photos about six months after you married him, claiming that you were cheating on him with someone else. She asked him to divorce you, but Alex didn't say a word. He took the photos and original copies from her but didn't mention anything about divorcing you after that."
After a pause, he continued, "If you don't believe me, you can visit the condominium Alex previously stayed in. The photos are in his bedside drawer. I didn't know anything until I visited him during the holidays. He pulled out a photo of you walking out of a hotel with another man and asked me if the man was more handsome than him. I got curious and asked about the photo, so he told me about it. That was how I got to know about that incident."
Sophia lowered her eyes. "What else?"
"Oh, yes. He bought a pair of wedding rings and left them in his closet at the condominium. I was the one who recommended the designer to him. I think he never gave it to you, or else you wouldn't have asked for a divorce."
Samuel grew increasingly excited as he continued to reveal what he knew. "There's also another incident that I bet you had no idea about. The year after you got married, you suddenly had a fever and fainted, right? When you brought lunch to Alex that day, he noticed that you didn't look well. Not long after you left, he followed you back to the Xenos residence. When you fainted, Kristen initially didn't want to send you to the hospital, so Alex had to carry you and take you to the hospital himself. He left before you woke up. Kristen and Thalia never liked you, so I bet they never mentioned anything about it to you."
"Mm. They never told me anything," came Sophia's answer.
Hanging her head, she stared at the back of her hand, lost in her thoughts.
Something occurred to Samuel, and he suddenly flashed a mysterious smile. "Oh, another thing. Alex used to eat the meals you delivered to him! He thought you had prepared them yourself, but you lied and said the chef had made them because you were afraid he wouldn't eat them otherwise. After your divorce, he got drunk one day and told me that he had no idea that you didn't personally prepare the meals."
The more excited Samuel got, the more things he remembered. Noticing that Sophia had fallen silent, he quickly shot her a look. "Sophia, are you all right?"
They were once close, and it was both cruel and sad that Alexander no longer remembered anything.
Samuel belatedly realized he shouldn't have revealed this much. Alex's right. Sometimes, I'm too talkative.
Sophia looked up and gave him a smile. "Anything else, Mr. Schild?"
The sight of Sophia's reddened eyes made Samuel flustered. That was the first time he had ever seen her cry. "Don't cry, Sophia. I'm here to apologize to you, not to make you cry! Please don't cry. If Alex finds out about this, he'll skin me alive!"
Sophia covered her eyes with her hands and said, "I'm not a crybaby. Please continue. I would like to hear more."
She wanted to know what she had missed during the three years of their marriage.
Nevertheless, Samuel dared not reveal anything else. "Why don't we pay attention to the auction? What else do you want? Let me bid it for you."
"I had no idea about those incidents, Mr. Schild. Throughout our three years of marriage, I believed I was loving someone who would never reciprocate my feelings. And to this day, I still feel the same. I've never felt as defeated in my life as I did when I was married to him," Sophia said, her voice heavy with emotion.
Sophia had never doubted Alexander's love, but she couldn't shake off the memory of his cold and distant behavior toward her, even when she had made great sacrifices for him. It was truly heartbreaking.
Even though Samuel had known Sophia for a long time, this was the first time he had seen her like this.
When Sophia first married Alexander, she was gentle and caring. After their divorce, she led a carefree life.
She was gorgeous, smart, charming, and capable. It seemed like she could achieve anything effortlessly.
However, she was now confessing that she had felt utterly defeated during her marriage to Alexander and that the feeling still lingered with her today.
Samuel hesitated for a moment. "You don't have to feel that way. Alex has always been a proud man, and his actions may not have been a reflection of his true feelings. Your marriage started off on the wrong foot, so he treated you coldly. But that doesn't mean he didn't care for you. He may appear indifferent to you, but when you weren't around, he didn't hate you that much. Kristen often complained about you to him, but he chose to ignore her. He even scolded Thalia and her friends for bullying you. As for Bethany, she and Alex were never romantically involved. Bethany was delusional and spread rumors about her being his first crush. Alex was annoyed by all the girls who pursued him, so Bethany suggested they pretend to be a couple. That was how the rumors came about."
Samuel chose to focus on the significant events that Sophia may not have been aware of during the three-year marriage. While three years wasn't particularly long, it wasn't short either. As he recounted these events to Sophia, he began to realize that Alexander had also made some significant contributions during their marriage.
He only stopped talking when the auction came to an end. "I've already told you almost everything that I can remember."
Sophia gazed at him and flashed him a grateful smile. "Thank you."
"It's nothing. Alex has had it rough these past few years. It hasn't been easy for him to find someone he loves so dearly. I hope that you'll be happy together. That's my only wish."
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Being Pursued By Ex-husband