I Walked Away Seven Years Too Late But Right on Time novel Chapter 56

Sophie spat the words out viciously, wishing the absolute fury blazing in her eyes could set the man in front of her on fire.

"Just like the time you smashed your backpack over your classmate's boyfriend in junior year?"

Looking at Sophie's explosive rage, Luke's mood suddenly improved. He watched her with a relaxed, almost leisurely posture, a teasing smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Sophie froze. She had never told Luke about that incident.

In front of him, she had always played the role of the gentle, accommodating girlfriend. Whenever she was hurt or angry, she would lock herself in the bathroom until her emotions settled, only emerging when she was perfectly composed.

She wasn't the type to get into fights. She could count the number of times she'd been in a physical altercation on one hand: once in middle school, and once in college—the time she practically bludgeoned her roommate's boyfriend with her heavy backpack.

Her roommate had started dating the guy sophomore year. He had treated their dorm to a few meals, so they were all casually acquainted.

When Sophie was looking for a part-time job, the guy had helped her out. Out of gratitude, she had treated the couple to dinner and exchanged numbers with him.

But soon after, the guy started asking her out alone under the guise of discussing job opportunities, only to cross the line and make incredibly inappropriate comments.

She had subtly warned her roommate that the guy was a creep and couldn't be trusted.

But the roommate, entirely brainwashed by her boyfriend, turned on Sophie instead, accusing her of being a homewrecker trying to steal him away.

The two of them confronted her outside the university library. The guy stood there, boldly lying through his teeth, claiming Sophie had been throwing herself at him. Sophie was so utterly enraged that she swung her massively heavy backpack directly into the side of his head, knocking him straight to the ground before kicking him twice for good measure.

The library entrance was always packed. There was quite an audience for the beatdown that day.

But Sophie never knew Luke was one of the spectators in that crowd.

A cold, bitter laugh bubbled up in her chest. She used to wish they had met earlier. Turns out they had crossed paths long before they started dating, yet in all the years they were together, he had never once brought it up.

He knew perfectly well that she wasn't a soft, submissive girl. He had watched her be violent and ruthless. Yet, while she spent years exhausting herself pretending to be the gentle, obedient girlfriend, he had watched her act and never once called her out on it.

It made sense. It had all been her own wishful thinking—she had foolishly believed that if she just acted as sweet and domestic as Mia's mother, she would eventually get the warm, loving family she craved.

But she wasn't naturally gentle, and she wasn't naturally domestic. Never getting what she wanted was just her fate.

"We really are a joke, aren't we? I spent years faking my sweetness, and you spent years faking your devotion. Just a pair of liars."

Sophie laughed out loud, even as hot tears slipped down her cheeks.

"A pair of liars," Luke repeated softly. "Which means we're a perfect match."

Sophie was so enraged she laughed again. "Would you dare say that in front of your fiancée?"

The smile slowly drained from Luke's face.

"Sophie, I might really not make it out this time."

It was a completely out-of-the-blue statement, and she didn't fully grasp what he meant by it. Frankly, she didn't care enough to dig deeper.

The man was getting married in March, and here he was, still daring to play the tragic, devoted lover in front of her.

"Sophie, do you still have the key?"

"I threw it away. The second I got off the plane in Houston, I tossed it straight into the garbage."

"Are you planning to marry him?"

"Yes. Being with him makes me happy. I don't have to torture myself every single day wondering if he actually loves me. I don't have to constantly doubt my own self-worth just because I can't get enough affection."

Luke stared into her eyes, unblinking. "Will you forget me?"

Sophie's hands balled into tight fists. She had fought so incredibly hard to walk away from him, to leave him in the past, yet he kept showing up over and over again to tear her new life apart.

"I told you already. To me, you're dead. I'd appreciate it if you treated me like I was dead, too. Stop showing up in front of me, and stop intruding on my life."

Having run entirely out of words, Sophie ripped off Gwen's favorite curse for Scott and slapped it onto Luke. It fit him perfectly.

"I hope your blessing comes true," Luke replied, still smiling.

Sophie's jaw practically hit the floor. She stared at him like he was a certified lunatic.

But Luke just kept smiling, locking his gaze onto hers without blinking.

Sophie shook her head in disbelief and turned away. If he was willing to curse himself like that, she had to admit defeat.

She could never out-talk him. She had never been able to.

Luke continued to watch her back, a long, lingering stare.

He would much rather she hated him, resented him, than treated him with the cold indifference of a complete stranger.

He couldn't have her, but he refused to let her erase him from her mind like a name swept away in the snow.

In the snowy fields of St. Moritz, Sophie had once written their names in the powder. She had left a blank space in the middle, waiting for him to fill it in.

Luke knew exactly what she wanted him to write.

She wanted him to write "marry" or "love." Instead, he had only drawn an "&" symbol.

Sophie had stared at it for a moment and then reached out to wipe it away, but he had caught her wrist to stop her.

He knew the words would quickly be buried by fresh snowfall, that they would eventually melt away into nothing. But the word "love" was permanently etched into his heart.

He wouldn't forget her, and he could not endure the thought of her forgetting him.

Yes, he was exactly that selfish, detestable, twisted bastard.