Chapter 335: The Price She had to Pay

Sofia stared down at her hands for what felt like an eternity, fingers twisting together in her lap like writhing serpents. The silence stretched between us, heavy enough to drown in, pregnant with whatever burden she’d been carrying alone. When she finally spoke, her voice was barely a whisper—frayed at the edges.

"Peter... I don’t know how to say this."

"Just start somewhere," I said gently. My voice a low anchor in the storm. "We’ve got all night."

She nodded, taking a shaky breath that shuddered through her frame. "When I first started dating Jack... I thought..." Her throat worked. "I thought my parents were just happy I was dating someone nice. Someone from a good family." A bitter laugh escaped her—sharp, broken glass. "I was so naive."

Madison reached across the table, placing her hand over Sofia’s trembling ones. A lifeline thrown into dark water. "Take your time, sweetheart."

"Within two months," Sofia continued, her voice gaining strength but shredding with pain, "my father was talking about business opportunities. About how the Delgado and Morrison families could work together. Construction contracts. Real estate development. He saw Jack as this perfect bridge—a human tollbooth—between our companies."

Ice settled in my stomach. Cold, heavy, familiar. I’d seen this script before in wealthy families—children as chess pieces in adult games. The same thing with Amanda, although for the latter it felt like her family had thrown her to the man to get her away from them.

"At first it was just comments at dinner," Sofia said, tears starting to well—glistening jewels of pending pain. "Little suggestions about how important this relationship could be. How much it could cushion our family’s business. I thought he was just being a proud father, you know? Talking up his daughter’s boyfriend—fluffing feathers."

She paused, wiping futilely at her eyes with the back of her hand. Madison squeezed Sofia’s fingers harder—bony white knuckles.

"But then Jack started changing," Sofia said, her voice shrinking, folding in on itself. "Once he realized how

invested

my family was becoming... how much they wanted this relationship to work... he started treating me differently."

She took another shaky breath—gathering courage like stones in her palms. I could see the weight of what came next pressing down on her shoulders.

"There were things," Sofia said, her voice breaking completely—shattering into a million jagged pieces. "Embarrassing requests. He’d ask me to do things in front of his friends that made me feel stupid... small. He’d make jokes about me that weren’t really jokes, you know? Little cuts disguised as humor." She drew a shuddering breath—like drowning man surfacing. "But it got... worse. Much worse."

She was sobbing now, the words tearing out of her in ragged gasps. "And I couldn’t say no. Because every time I tried to push back, he’d remind me... what it would mean for my father’s business. How disappointed everyone would be... if I ruined everything... over ’petty relationship drama.’"

"Sofia..." I started, my voice rough—a low growl vibrating with barely controlled rage.

"There was this one time," she said, and her voice dropped to almost a whisper—a broken secret. "He made me..." She stopped, shaking her head violently—a silent scream. "I can’t. I can’t say it."

"You don’t have to," Madison said gently, but her eyes were blazing—furnace-hot—with fury.

But Sofia seemed compelled—driven—to explain the depth of the violation. The things she’d never told anyone—the weight she’d carried because she had no one to confide in. "It wasn’t just one time," she choked out, wiping futilely at her tears—like trying to dam a flood with her bare hands. "It was... constant. Especially when his fraternity brothers... or his high school crew... were over. They’d egg him on... laugh... at whatever he made me do.

She’ been in pain and walking in shame with things jack did to her behind the shadows of the perfect light he created for the public to see.

She looked down at her lap, her voice hollow. "He’d make me fetch beers for everyone, but only after I’d poured them ’just right’ for each specific guy. If I spilled a drop, he’d make a huge show of sighing, telling his friends, ’See? Clumsy. Can’t even handle a simple task. Guess that’s what happens when you date someone for their daddy’s money instead of their brains.’ They’d all laugh."

Madison’s knuckles were white where she gripped Sofia’s hand.

"Then," Sofia continued, her voice trembling, "he’d start pointing out... things. To them. ’Hey guys, check out the ass on this one, right? That’s why I keep her around, despite the ditz act.’ Or he’d grab my wrist, hold it up, and say, ’Tiny little wrists, though. Can barely carry the drinks. Wonder what else she’s bad at holding steady?’ The way they’d all look at me... like I was meat. Like I wasn’t even there."

A sob wracked her frame. "He’d comment on my clothes, how my dress was ’too loose’ or ’too long for their taste’ depending on what he thought would embarrass me more, always loud enough for everyone to hear."

She squeezed her eyes shut. "The worst, though... the worst was when he’d dare me. In front of them. dared me to twerk. dared me to ’flash’ them – ’just a little’, he’d say, ’just the guys, c’mon, it’s funny, loosen up Sofia, don’t be such a prude.’ When I refused, flushed with shame, he’d turn to his friends and smirk. ’See? Told you. High maintenance. All looks, no fun. Worth the hassle? Sometimes I wonder.’ The way they’d nod, agreeing... like my worth was purely for

their

amusement."

Another shuddering breath. "He made me sit on his lap at parties, facing him, while his buddies sat right there. He’d whisper things in my ear – disgusting things he wanted to do to me, things he

said

he’d done with other girls – just loud enough for them to catch snippets, to see the look on my face. When I squirmed, he’d just hold me tighter and laugh. ’Feisty tonight, boys. Might need to teach her a lesson later.’"

Her voice dropped to a pained whisper. "Once... he pretended to ’accidentally’ spill his drink down my top. Right at a crowded table. Instead of apologizing, he grinned and said loudly, ’Whoops. Guess that means you gotta take it off to dry, babe. Don’t be shy, everyone’s seen it before.’ And when I just sat there, frozen and humiliated, he sighed dramatically and told his friends, ’See? No sense of adventure. Total buzzkill.’ Like I was the problem.

"Like

my

humiliation was the punishment for

his

’joke’."