The truth was that they were mutually in love with each other. For the sake of marrying Annabel, Cooper went so far as to abandon the entire Mitchell Family and eloped with her. His plans were very thorough.
Although he was only 18 at the time, he had considered everythingâhe brought enough money from home, planned their escape route, and chose the safest place for them to settle down.
If everything went well, the Mitchell Family would never be able to find them. And, he succeeded. Woody did everything in his power to find them but failed to locate them.
Not long after that, Cooper sent a letter and a photo to his most trusted friend, Andrea. It was a photo of him and Annabel in an ancient town. In his letter, he claimed that the two of them were living a blissful life after settling down in a quiet, ancient town. He had opened up a bookstore, and Annabel was running a stall selling pre-cooked snacks beside the bookstore. They were very happy together.
Sam could never forget the words Annabel and Cooper had said to him before they left. âAndrea, if I have a child with Coop in the future, Iâm going to name her âSophiaâ. So-phea⦠Itâs a name that sounds similar to yours. We will never forget you.â
What I wanted isnât this! What I want is you, Annabel Johnson! Staring at their blissful faces in the photo, jealousy razed his sanity to the ground. Then, his 16-year-old self did the one thing he regretted most in his lifeâhe handed the photo over to the Mitchell Family. Afterward, the Mitchell Family found Cooper and Annabel through the background in the photo.
He had only done what he did in a fit of rageâhe simply wanted to tear them apart. However, he had not expected that his actions would lead to Annabelâs death and Cooperâs drastic personality change. Upon learning the tragedy that unfolded, he realized how wrong he had been.
Only then did he understand just how great a mistake he had made! Unable to accept the disaster he had created with his own hands, he changed his name and went abroad. Twenty years later, he finally learned the cruel truth that had occurred back then.
Fate is conspiring against me⦠It was late at night, yet Sam continued to pour the alcohol down his throat while reading the information on Annabel. Looking at the information, he suddenly covered his face with his hands and wept bitterly.
I never thought that things would unfold in this manner! I just wanted to separate the two of them! I never imagined that the Mitchell Family would kill her just to make Cooper give up! Cooper and I both thought that she was dead! We thought everything was over! To think that Annabel was still alive! In a place neither Cooper nor I knew about, she was raped by a fat b*stard and gave birth to his child! I canât believe it! She wasnât killed by the Mitchell Family. Instead, she died while giving birth! Her child, Sophia, was born without parents. Moreover, she suffered through so much pain too! Everythingâall of thisâ
is my fault! Itâs all my fault!
âAnna⦠Itâs all my fault⦠Itâs all my faultâ¦â Sam muttered repeatedly, his soul plunging into endless darkness.
On the first day the Edwards Family annual meeting officially began, a banquet would be held at night.
However, everybody was generally free to spend their time during the day as they wishedâthey could use this time to meet the people they wanted to meet. Hence, Sophia hurriedly brought her cat and entered the ladiesâ social circle. The group of ladies was sunbathing by the seaside while their assistants were playing with their pets.
There were many cats and dogs on the island, and Judge stepped away to play on its own. After a while, it brought its new friend with it to Sophia to be petted.
âOh, itâs you again, Corrado!â Sophia petted Corradoâs head. It had followed Judge back. This time around, it was wearing a collar. It turned out that it had a nameâit was called âBlackieâ. However, she felt that the name âCorradoâ suited it much better.
After playing together for a while, Judge and Corrado disappeared off somewhere. To prevent Judge from eating feces again, she borrowed a muzzle from one of the other ladies and fitted Judge with it.
After conversing with the ladies, she noticed Michael beckoning her from afar. Thus, she hurried over.
Michael was only wearing a pair of beach pants as he sat under the beach umbrella, drinking tea and admiring the sea with a group of bigshots surrounding him.
It was the annual meeting after allâit was meant to be a relaxing occasion. Under the guise of spending a vacation together, the members of the Edwards Family would get the chance to mingle and get to know one another. Relaxing was not the main purposeâthe main purpose was to foster a relationship with the bigshots.
Michaelâs half-naked, athletic figure looked absolutely delectable. Having successfully lost the weight he put on, his figure was at the peak of its perfection. It was well-proportioned and stunningly attractiveâso much so that it seemed to glow. For that reason, the attention of all the women around him was focused on his body.
Sophia walked over and saw the circle of big shots. She recognized a few of them, including Lucy, Sam, Harry, and some others.
Lucy was wearing a dark blue one-piece swimsuit that showed off her fair skin and slender figure.
Similarly, Sophia was also wearing a dark blue one-piece swimsuit with a light jacket thrown over her shoulders. Her long, slender legs were vaguely revealed under the jacket. Our outfits clash! This is so embarrassing!
Lucy was wearing sunglasses, so her expression was hidden behind them. However, the frown on her face was still noticeable. It was clear that she was not happy. Hence, Sophia felt very nervous as she walked over to Michaelâs side.
Then, Michael introduced her to all the big shots present. Sure enough, every one of them was influential! Except for the family head, Jordan Edwards, all the bigwigs in the Edwards Family were practically gathered here. Therefore, Joe took advantage and joined the rest of the bigwigs. If it werenât for Michael, he would never be able to step into their social circle.
Laughing out loud, Joe claimed, âThis is my daughter! She takes after her mother, doesnât she? Sheâs very outstanding!â
Everybody glanced at Joe, who was very fat, then they glanced at Sophia in surprise. Did the wife of this fat b*stard cheat on him? How could he have such a pretty daughter with those looks of his? Or, did she undergo plastic surgery?
Faye was sitting next to Joe as she diligently tried to enter the social circles of the upper ranks within the Edwards Family. The three of them might be of one family, but their appearances differed greatly.
Sam was wearing a pair of sunglasses to hide his exhaustion from not sleeping all night. Even so, his eyes brightened the moment he saw Sophia. Iâm right! I wasnât mistaken! Sophia Edwards is Cooperâs daughter!
Sophiaâs birthday was in October, and everybody claimed that she was Joeâs daughter. However, he immediately realized that she was Cooper and Annabelâs daughter as soon as he learned that she was Annabelâs daughter. She had her motherâs looks and her fatherâs personality, inheriting her motherâs good looks and her fatherâs way of doing things. After reading the information he had on her, he was certain that she was 100% Cooperâs daughter!
Back then, Cooper ran away for another reasonâhe wanted to have a child with Annabel. Then, the two of them would raise their child with care and love. As long as the child was outstanding enough that the Mitchell Family had to accept the child, then they had no choice but to accept the childâs mother too.
Oh, how far-sighted the 18-year-old Cooper had been! If it wasnât for Andreaâs foolishness back then, they would have given birth to their child. Then, the Mitchell Family could not cause trouble for them since a child was involved, even if they were discovered in the future.
Sam observed Sophia, who stood before him. She should have been born as the Mitchell Familyâs precious young lady. Then, she would not have needed to go through so much pain; she would not have had to wait until she was nine before she had the opportunity to go to school. She would not have been molested by her uncle and she would not have needed to escape the Johnson Family, after being beaten up badly during her high school entrance examination, just to survive; she wouldnât⦠Sam blinked. His eyes were wet with tears. Lifting his sunglasses, he tried to hide his tears⦠and his guilt.