Chapter 550 Confusion
Chapter 550 Confusion
Edmund sat on the couch in the living room and calmly pointed to the seat opposite him. "Please sit."
Sophie walked over and sat across from him. "Ed..."
She had a lot to say, but she didn't know where to start.
She had wronged Edmund.
She should have trusted him.
But she didn't.
Not only did she not trust him, but she also imprisoned him in the basement and tortured him to the brink of death.
If it weren't for Edmund finding a way to escape, he might have been tortured to death by her.
Thinking about what she had done to Edmund, she felt a pain in her chest as tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Ed... I'm sorry for what I've done to you..."
The corners of his mouth curled. "I forgive you."
"Really?" Surprise and joy suddenly lit up in her eyes, and she cried tears of happiness. "Ed, I always knew you're the one who always treats me the best!"
She stood up and walked to Edmund before bending down to grab his hand. "Ed, come back with me.
Let's start over!" Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.
However, Edmund avoided her hand. "I haven't finished what I wanted to say..."
He looked up and looked into Sophie's eyes. "I forgive you… but we are even now."
"Ed?" Sophie froze, staring at him in disbelief. "What do you mean?"
"It's simple." Edmund looked at her and said calmly, "I am grateful to Dad and Mom for raising me. So, even though you imprisoned me and tortured me to the brink of death, I don't hate you, and I don't plan to seek revenge. But I hope that from now on, we can go our separate ways and not interfere in each other's lives."
"What are you saying?" Sophie felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over her, chilling her to the bone.
Edmund looked at her quietly, not saying anything more, waiting for Sophie to come to terms with his words herself.
After a while, Sophie slowly shook her head. "No! I admit that I misunderstood you and did bad things to you, but you have always been in my heart... We are engaged, and our engagement was arranged by my parents. You can't go back on your word!"
"Your insistence is meaningless," Edmund replied calmly. "Miss Sophie, trust is the most important thing in a relationship. We grew up together, but you didn't even have the basic trust in me... Life is both short and long. Many things can happen. If you don't trust me, things like what happened with
Ashley may happen again. Next time, I may not be lucky enough to escape from your hands."
"No, it won't happen!" Sophie anxiously promised him. "I swear! Ed, I'm willing to swear that no matter what happens in the future, I will trust only you and no one else!"
"But I can't be with you anymore." Edmund looked into her eyes. "In a relationship, both parties need to be mutually attracted to each other to be happy. When I see you now, my heart is calm. I feel nothing. Even if we force ourselves to be together, we won't be happy."
"N-No way." Sophie shook her head. "Ed, I know you still blame me, but time can change everything! With time, we can forget the past and start over!"
"I can't," Edmund stated. "Although the incident is in the past, the scars you left on me are still there... Miss Sophie, do you remember? If it weren't for my good luck and Davis' timely arrival to stop you, I would have been castrated by you!"
Sophie's face flushed with shame, and she pleaded, "I know I was wrong, Ed. I really do. I've learned my lesson the hard way, and from now on, I will trust you. No one can come between us anymore."
"But I don't have feelings for you anymore." Edmund looked at her helplessly. "I know I owe Dad and Mom. Maybe I'll never be able to repay them in this lifetime. But gratitude isn't the same as romantic love. I can't force myself to like you."
"Why?" Her voice trembling, her face red, she asked in an accusing tone, "Are you holding a grudge against me? My parents saved your life and raised you like their own. Is 20-something years of kindness not enough to outweigh the mistake I made?"
Edmund sighed. "I'll remember Dad and Mom's kindness forever, but I can't force myself to be with you again... Miss Sophie, you're outstanding. You can find someone better."
"I don't want the best; I only want you!" Her frustration was evident. "Our marriage was arranged by my parents. You can't change your mind now, or my parents won't rest in peace even in their graves!"
Edmund looked at her helplessly, not knowing what else to say.
He was in a tough situation.
Her parents had indeed saved him, and they had raised him as their own.
He felt grateful for them. That was why, despite the torment and near-castration he endured from Sophie, he didn't hold a grudge against her. In fact, he would go out of his way to help her in the future if she needed assistance. That was his way of repaying the Foremans' kindness.
However, he couldn't marry Sophie.
He no longer had feelings for her. Forcing himself to be with her would only lead to a life neither of them truly desired. Eventually, they would become enemies again.
He was conflicted and confused.
He struggled to understand if, because of the life debt he owed her parents, he should simply obey Sophie's wishes. Did that mean he had to give her whatever she wanted to avoid being ungrateful?
Would he be considered ungrateful if he didn't marry her?
"Ed..." Sophie squatted in front of him, pleadingly looking at him. "Can we make up? Forget about the past and start anew. Ed, I like you. Seeing you with Ashley made me so angry because I love you too much... I only like you, Ed. It was like that before, and it will continue to be. Let's forget about all the unhappy things from the past and start again. We can be happy together."
"But I don't like you anymore." Edmund looked at her helplessly. "I don't have feelings for you... I feel some kind of resistance when I see you now. I want to avoid you. I hope we meet and communicate less in the future. This state I'm in, even if we're together, we can't go back to how things were."
"But why? Just because of what happened with Ashley? Did I ever physically hurt or scold you?" Sophie clenched her fists. "Ed, you're a man. How can you be so petty? I've already admitted my mistake and apologized to you. Is it really that hard to forget about those things?"
Edmund was momentarily speechless under her questioning.
He was confused.
Was it because he had a narrow mind that he couldn't forgive Sophie?
Was that the reason?
"Ah, I've been listening for too long!" Leigh, who had been standing at the door listening for a while, walked in with a medical kit and insincerely apologized, "I didn't eavesdrop on purpose. You didn't close the door properly."
Sophie was averse to any woman who appeared around Edmund. "I'm talking to Ed," she hissed. "So, please leave!"