Chapter 1394


    The news hit Dominic like a sledgehammer to the chest, his heart pounding a wild rhythm as the blood


    drained from his face. For a moment, disappointment etched into his features, but he quickly regained


    hisposure. Dominic said, “Even if I get better, I’ll be half-paralyzed. Sophie, sticking with me is just


    gonna wear you out.” He sighed, a heavy soundden with resignation. “Since you’ve fallen for my


    brother, I’ll step aside. Consider it myst gift to you both.”


    In his heart, Dominic must have lost the will to live. He took the pills that Sophie had tampered with, his


    eyes locked on her the whole time. It was as if he was waiting for her to stop him, but Sophie did


    nothing.


    When Dominic swallowed the entire dose, Sophie’s realization dawned like a cold sunrise. He must


    have suspected her continuous meddling with his medication, causing his condition to worsen. That’s


    why he finished it all in one go.


    The image of Dominic convulsing, foam at the mouth, sent Sophie’s heart racing. It was the first time


    she had ever killed someone, and not just anyone, but someone who had been so kind to her. The guilt


    should have been suffocating.


    However, Sophie didn’t admit to killing Dominic, only acknowledging that she had been consistently


    switching and adding medications. Therefore, she showed no sign of regret, merely looking at Eleanor,


    who was scrutinizing her, with a cold, mocking smile.


    “Sure, I swapped the pills,” Sophie sneered, “but he could’ve chosen not to take them once he found


    out. He chose to let me have my way.”


    Eleanor, who had pieced together the story, looked at Sophie with a mixture of contempt and pity. “You


    could’ve had the most sincere and precious love in the world, but you destroyed it. You killed Bernard’s


    brother, and that’s something Bernard can never forgive or forget.”


    That statement clenched Sophie’s heart, a sting as if prodded by an unseen force. Enraged, she


    scrambled to


    her feet.


    “And what gives you the right?” Sophie spat, her voice gaining volume. “I knew Bernard before you did.


    I did so much more for him. How dare you steal him from me? How?!”


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    Eleanor’s expression turned icy as she watched Sophie lunge towards her, only to be restrained by her


    chains.


    “And what gives you the right?” Eleanor fired back. “By seducing his brother to get close to him? By


    killing his brother and still expecting Bernard to love you?”


    Eleanor’s gaze lingered on the face that bore a resemnce to her own, growing more irritated by the


    second.


    “Love isn’t about whoes first orst. Besides, I had no idea about your rtionship with Bernard


    until after you two broke up. Why me me for hisck of feelings towards you?”


    “Who else can I me?” Sophie’s voice rose to a hysterical pitch as she pointed a chained hand at


    Eleanor. “If it wasn’t for you selling yourself, how would Bernard have ever noticed you, taken pity on


    you, and brought you into his life?”


    Eleanor’s response was calm, as she revealed the truth. “Bernard didn’t buy me out of pity. He met me


    long before all this, and he said it was love at first sight…”


    “That’s impossible!” Sophie refused to believe it, “He’s never shown interest in any woman. How could


    he fall for you at first sight?”


    After her outburst, Sophie’s eyes lifted to meet Eleanor’s face, “It must be because you look like me.


    That’s why he noticed you, right?!”


    Eleanor’s finger traced her own cheek in response. “If we’re talking about resemnce, it should be


    said you look like me.”


    “Hmmph,” came the derisiveugh from Sophie. “On what grounds?”


    “On the grounds of your mother’s interference and your father’spses in judgment.


    Hearing Eleanor’s words, Sophie’s expression froze.


    Just as she opened her mouth to retort, Eleanor stood up from her chair and walked towards her with


    measured steps. “Sophie, you’ve had a life of luxury from a tender age, pampered and groomed into a


    beautiful, affluentdy. But do you think how did youe by all this?” Eleanor extended her fair


    fingers, gripping Sophie’s cheek, tilting her chin upwards forcing her to meet the resentment brewing in


    Eleanor’s eyes. “Because of my mother’s fortune, you’ve lived a life of luxury,” Eleanor said coolly, her


    voice a de slicing through the tension. “It’s thanks to her that the Ratliff Group became a titan in A


    City and why you grew up as a pampered heiress. If it weren’t for my mom, your whole family would


    have been out on the street, scorned citywide as a family that doesn’t pay its debts.


    And your mom? To give her bastarding daughter – you – a leg up and to bed herself into a better life,


    she pushed and prodded Cameron to cast my mom adrift.


    It’s only down to some sheer dumb luck, our survival, that you’re not spending a lifetime living off the


    spoils of others.”


    Eleanor’s fingers brushed against Sophie’s soft skin. “The happiness you’ve enjoyed through deceit is


    now being repaid in kind. The love of Bernard you’ve coveted all your life now belongs to me. And for


    sake, he’s taken over your family business. You and your father have lost everything, back to where


    started. It’s the cycle of karma.”