Betrayal and Redemption

01

Ethan Blackwood had been kneeling outside Sophie Green’s parents’ house for the entire day, his knees sore and his spirit even more so. The sky, once bright, was now darkening, mirroring the heaviness in his heart.

When Sophie finally emerged, Ethan scrambled toward her, almost crawling in desperation.

“Sophie, I truly know I was wrong. Please, just give me one more chance,” he pleaded, his voice thick with regret.

She stared at him, her eyes cold. “Is it because your first love abandoned you for being poor that you’ve suddenly remembered me, your wife?” she shot back, her voice laced with bitterness.

Sophie had moved to the small town where her grandparents lived during middle school due to her parents' work. It was there that she first met Ethan Blackwood.

Back in middle and high school, Ethan stood out not just for his height and looks, but also for his excellent grades. Yet, it wasn’t his academic prowess that first caught Sophie’s attention. It was his quiet admiration for Emily Wilson, a girl in Sophie’s class.

Sophie happened to sit by the window near the corridor balcony, and soon enough, the three of them—Sophie, Ethan, and Emily—began to casually interact.

Eventually, Sophie transferred back to the city to finish high school, and their paths naturally diverged.

The next time their worlds collided was at a concert at the city’s sports arena. Sophie had lost one of her shoes in the crowd, and there, not too far from her, stood Ethan and his roommate.

Without a second thought, Ethan took off his sneakers and handed them to her. By the time they left the concert, his socks were completely black with dirt.

They sat together on the steps outside the arena, sharing a flattened sandwich and snacks that had been crushed in the chaos. It was an unexpected, unforgettable encounter.

They exchanged WeChat contacts, and given the relatively close distance between their schools, they started meeting up on weekends to catch the latest films.

By the time graduation rolled around, they had officially started dating. Sophie majored in interior design, and since her family had a business in construction materials, finding a job wasn’t going to be a problem for her.

Ethan, on the other hand, majored in finance. On paper, it sounded impressive, but in reality, it meant he was essentially unemployed as soon as he left campus.

He spent months sending out resumes—only to hear crickets. If there was a response, it was always the same: “You have no experience. You didn’t intern.” Ethan joked that he was probably going to end up back home, trying to make a living there.

Sophie, unable to stand the thought of him returning to his hometown, recommended him to her uncle’s company. Her uncle was involved in various industries, so Sophie thought he would easily land Ethan a respectable position.

But to Sophie’s surprise, her uncle assigned him to the most menial tasks—scraping paint and doing heavy labor.

Sophie privately confronted her uncle, who responded, “You’re still young, Sophie. You don’t understand. Ethan is a newcomer. If he wants to go far in life, he needs to learn from the ground up.”

Seeing Ethan work hard without complaining, Sophie decided not to push the issue any further.

A year later, her uncle handed over the reins of a small, struggling renovation company to Ethan. It turned out Ethan was ambitious and willing to work tirelessly to improve his situation.

Sophie introduced Ethan to her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Green, though concerned, advised them to continue dating for a while before thinking about marriage.

There was tension between Sophie and her parents, but Ethan reassured her, saying, “It’s okay, Sophie. Your parents only want the best for you. I promise, I’ll work harder.”

Three years into their relationship, Ethan had built up his own renovation team. Sophie, wanting to support him, quit her well-paying job at a big company and started doing design work for him.

With her uncle providing the materials at cost, Sophie’s design skills, and Ethan’s relentless work ethic, the first year they made quite a bit of money.

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