Evan, standing close, immediately saw the words on the pill box. His dark eyes became terrifying, like the calm before a storm.
Leonard reacted first, picking up the box and slipping it into his pocket. He turned to Mia, "Mia, I think Sophia needs someone to accompany her home. Are you available?"
Seeing Mia hesitate, Sophia clung to her arm, "Mia, come home with me."
Mia: "..."
Could she refuse?
Evan's face darkened with suppressed anger. He shot a deep, penetrating look at Sophia before leaving first.
Mia quickly followed, pulling Sophia along.
She should have stopped Sophia from drinking in the first place, knowing it would lead to this mess.
Sophia fell asleep as soon as she got in the car, resting quietly against Mia. The atmosphere in the car was tense and oppressive.
After dropping Sophia off at home, Mia left without saying a word.
She wasn’t foolish. She could tell Evan was barely holding back his anger. As an outsider, she felt powerless to intervene.
In the master bedroom, Evan brought in a cup of hangover tea, his face stern. He helped Sophia sit up and brought the cup to her lips. "Drink."
Thirsty, Sophia obediently drank the tea and then tried to go back to sleep.
Evan's temple throbbed with barely restrained anger. He couldn’t hold it in and pulled her up again.
Awakened once more, Sophia’s patience snapped. She irritably pushed his hand away. "What are you doing? I want to sleep."
"Sophia, did you take contraceptives?"
The hangover tea had sobered Sophia up considerably. Her heart pounded, but she didn’t answer immediately.
"I asked you, did you take contraceptives?" Evan's voice was so dark and threatening that it scared her.
"I... I was just afraid..."
"I'll ask you one last time. Did you take contraceptives?"
Looking into his eyes filled with anger, Sophia was confused.
Why was he so angry?
It was just one contraceptive pill. Did he think she wanted to take something so harmful to her body?
He didn’t use protection. If anyone should be angry, it was her!
Even though he never agreed to a divorce, he hadn’t indicated he wanted to stay with her either. What if she got pregnant?
With newfound confidence, Sophia said, "Yes, I took them. I know you don’t like me, so don’t worry, I won’t use a child to tie you down."
She lay back down, closing her eyes to avoid looking at him.
Evan was stunned by her words, momentarily forgetting to react.
The room fell into a sudden silence. After a while, there was no sound.
Sophia, feeling suspicious, hesitated to open her eyes to see what he was doing when she suddenly felt his lips on hers. Startled, she opened her eyes wide.
The blanket was thrown aside, and Evan's tall body pressed down on her, holding her firmly.
Sophia looked at him in terror. "Evan, what are you doing?"
"Making a baby!"
"No, I don’t want to! Evan, we’re going to get divorced. You can’t do this to me."
She was genuinely afraid he wouldn’t use protection. It was her ovulation period, and what if she got pregnant?
Evan misinterpreted her resistance as a dislike for him, and his aura grew colder.
"As long as we are still married, you have this obligation."
With that, he pulled her back into his arms.
Sophia, angry and anxious, couldn’t push him away. She was desperate to realize that Evan wasn’t joking but was truly furious.
She suddenly regretted her words and tried to placate him. "I... I drank alcohol today and feel uncomfortable. Can we do this another time?"
Mentioning alcohol only fueled Evan's already uncontrollable anger.
"You know you can’t handle alcohol, yet you went out and drank with other men. Do you think only I would have that kind of thought about you?"
"There were women there too."
"Do you think a few women can protect you from them?"
Sophia also became furious. "Evan, they are your classmates too. Don’t project your filthy thoughts onto others!"
"Filthy?" Evan laughed angrily and began to unbutton her clothes. "Then I’ll show you filthy!"
"What are you doing? Evan, if you do anything to me, I will never forgive you! Ah..."
...
The next day, Sophia looked at her swollen eyes in the mirror, feeling deeply aggrieved.
She had genuinely feared that Evan would kill her last night.
She had begged him to stop, but he ignored her.
She had cried, saying she hated him, but he still didn’t let her go.
It went on all night until dawn when he finally said, "Don’t take any pills," and then slammed the door and left.
Sophia had never been one to cry easily, but thinking of last night’s furious Evan, her eyes welled up again.
Why? She hadn’t done anything wrong. Why did he treat her like this?
Leaving the master bedroom, she didn’t see Evan. Looking at the breakfast on the table, she suddenly lost her appetite.
Just then, Mia called.
"Sophia, are you okay?"
Last night, when Mia returned to the karaoke room, everyone was talking about Evan and Sophia.
She had learned that Evan and Sophia had been desk mates since middle school, all the way through high school.
Hearing everyone’s accounts of Evan’s behavior towards Sophia, she realized that Evan had feelings for Sophia long before.
But it seemed Sophia didn’t know Evan’s feelings and had said things that made him angry. Given Evan’s attitude when he took her home, Mia felt Sophia wouldn’t have had a good night.
"I’m fine. Why?" Sophia pretended to be lighthearted.
"Really?" Mia asked, uncertain.
"Of course!"
Mia wanted to ask more but didn’t know how to broach the topic. After all, it was a matter between a husband and wife, and couples’ fights usually resolved themselves.
Thinking it over, Mia said, "That’s good. Let’s meet up again when you’re free."
"Sure, you decide. I’m free on weekends."
They chatted for a bit longer before hanging up.
Sophia stared blankly at the master bedroom, the events of last night vividly replaying in her mind.
She sniffed and grabbed her bag, deciding to go to the hospital.
Evan had been rough last night. Even walking normally was painful, and she was worried about the extent of the damage.
At the hospital, Sophia slowly made her way to register.
While waiting in line, someone bumped into her, making her stumble and wince in pain.
From a distance, Charlotte, following behind Evan, noticed someone who looked a lot like Sophia standing in line at the gynecology department. She couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
"Evan, is Miss Lancaster feeling unwell?"
