Chapter 9%
News spread about Sophie contracting a contagious illness, leading the school to expel her from the dorm in an effort to protect its reputation. Unable to continue at school, she withdrew and returned home within two months.
Meanwhile, my family’s hotel was thriving. We opened over ten new locations, and business was booming like never before.
A few classmates reached out, hoping to get a job at the hotel.
As they tried to get in my good graces, they couldn’t help but fill me in on Sophie’s recent misfortunes.
Apparently, after living a life of luxury and high–end spending, Sophie couldn’t handle the sudden drop to a humbler lifestyle back home, so she ended up becoming a hostess.
She eventually hooked up with a rich man, but when his wife found out, she had Sophie’s legs broken.
In the end, Sophie, destitute and in terrible health, married a man in his fifties who had never been married. Every day, the blows landed, leaving her face a swollen, bruised mess.
Pain became her constant companion.
Hearing this news, I didn’t feel anger or vindication.}]
I simply smiled.
Compared to my previous life, in which my family was shattered and ruined, this outcome felt almost merciful to her.
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