Chapter 253: A Token Of Love?
Christopher had always known his mother’s thoughts. Children could feel whether there was love in a household. He had known his parents didn’t love each other since childhood. Therefore, it was not surprising for him to hear her speak so frankly on the matter. "Then what do you plan to do? Are you going to make any changes?" Christopher asked.
Amelia kept silent for a moment and then calmly said, "I want to divorce him." She sounded very decisive. Christopher was not surprised to hear that, and he held Amelia’s hand and said, "I am on your side."
Wanda smiled reassuringly. On the way back home, Janice proposed to move back to the Allson’s villa. She had mentioned it to Christopher on the phone before. Christopher nodded at her cheerfully. "It’s all up to you."
Three days later, Janice and Christopher began to move house. But they decided to bring only a few sets of clothes and some daily essentials with them. "How should we deal with Nino?"
After putting everything in the car, Christopher considered the dog. Janice was pregnant, and his grandfather was sick, so it was unsuitable for them to keep the dog there. Janice thought for a while and said, "Let’s put it in Sam’s place first. She told me that she likes Nino very much."
Christopher thought it was feasible. He called Rob and asked him to drop Nino over. When Nino was taken away, Janice felt a little bit upset. She remembered that when she had brought Nino back, she had originally wanted to use the dog to help Christopher regain his memory. Unfortunately, Christopher hadn’t recalled anything after such a long time. "What’s the matter? Are you reluctant to send Nino away?"
Seeing her frowning, Christopher walked over and put his arm around her shoulders. Janice shook her head, "No, but I... m just feeling as if something is missing without Nino beside us." Christopher couldn’t bear to see her struggling, so he said, "Well... I think we can take Nino back with us."
"No, grandpa is still sick. I don’t want his condition to worsen because of Nino. Don’t worry. I will get used to it."
Seeing Janice’s struggle and confusion, Christopher felt helpless. Janice suddenly remembered something and said, "By the way, Nino’s dog ID is still listed under Sophie’s name. You should take some time to amend it, or else, she might tell others that Nino is a token of love that she gave to you."
Hearing her words, Christopher was stunned, saying, "What token of love? Nino has always been mine." "But last time, I found its ID under Sophie’s name." Janice was also puzzled.
Christopher said, "She must have altered it. Nino was a gift from my grandfather when I was young. How could it be under her name?" Besides, if it had been a gift from her, he would not have kept it for such a long time. Christopher had never accepted gifts from others casually. Let alone a gift from Sophie.
Hearing Christopher’s explanation, Janice admired Sophie’s cunning. To break up her and Christopher, she had employed the most underhanded of tricks. She had even
taken advantage of Nino. Fortunately, she hadn’t taken it seriously then. However, when it came to Sophie, Janice did want to know how she was now. There had been no news of her since she had been arrested by the police in the Batemans.
In the police station. Sophie was sitting in the interrogation room, and in front of her were two upright and dignified police officers. "Miss Valen, we have to remind you that in addition to the case ten years ago, you are also being accused of animal mistreatment. At present, the evidence against you is overwhelming."
Under the police’s interrogation, Sophie only said, "I want to see my lawyer."
...
The two police officers sneered when they saw that she was still unwilling to admit her guilt. One officer said, "Lawyer? Miss Valen, I’m afraid you’re unaware that Mr. Bateman has stopped funding you. No one else will intervene in your case, including lawyers." "You are lying!"
Sophie was incredulous. However, the police officer’s attitude made her panic. "No! You’re lying! I don’t believe it! He would never be so callous to me! There must be some misunderstanding."
Yes, there had to be some mistake. Sophie couldn’t believe it. "I want to see my father," she said nervously.
The two police officers exchanged glances with each other, and one of them said, "Miss Valen, Mr. Bateman said he will never come to see you." Sophie’s face turned as pale as ashes.
"No! It’s not true! Please call him; I’m sure he will come and bail me out."
Hearing her repeat the same tired phrase, the two police officers got up and intended to leave because they thought she would not answer their questions today. Sophie panicked and said, "Don’t go! I don’t want to stay here! I want... I want to see Joey, yes, I want to see Joey."
The officers still walked out, and her voice was blocked in the interrogation room. Joey came in the afternoon. When he entered the interrogation room, Sophie was already there. Since she had been arrested at the Batemans that day, he had been waiting outside the police station. Finally, he got the chance to meet her.
"Sophie."
He stepped forward and called from across the long table. Sophie had originally been lowering her head. When she heard his voice, raised her head slowly. Seeing Joey in front, she stood up excitedly. "Joey, please help me out! I don’t want to stay here."
Sophie was a little emotional. Joey stood on the spot, staring at her. She hadn’t changed her clothes since she had been arrested by the police that day. Her originally black and silky hair had become fuzzy, messily scraped back in a ponytail. Her originally fair and tender skin had also become a lot rougher. Joey felt very sorry for her. Even a strong man like himself could not bear to live in such a place, let alone a weak woman.
"Sophie, calm down. Sit down first."
He restrained his heartache and tried to calm her down first. Sophie sat back, but she was still very excited, saying, "Joey, I don’t want to go to jail. Can you help me hire a good lawyer?"
Hearing Sophie’s urgent request, Joey didn’t know what to say. He had asked the police officer about her case. The weight of evidence against her made it a done deal. However, because an old case ten years ago was involved, it would take some more time before the conviction. He hesitated for a while and then said, "Sophie, I think you should admit your guilt. We will appeal to the judge for leniency."
"What?" Sophie looked at him in disbelief. Joey knew Sophie’s character well. He knew she must not be willing to admit her mistakes. But the situation had escalated out of their control, so he could only try his best to minimize her punishment. He had asked the police, and they said if she was willing to confess, the judge might give her a light sentence.
So, he said, "Sophie, since you made the mistake, you will have to live with the consequences. Don’t struggle. I am trying to help you."
"I don’t want to a light sentence! I want the judge to acquit me!" Sophie interrupted, "Joey, you always kept saying that you liked me, but you are sitting still and watching me go to jail now. Do you really care about me?" Sophie questioned.
Joey frowned, "Sophie, I will always you, but I can’t keep doing things against my principles because of you anymore."
...
Joey’s eyes darkened, "I’ve been reflecting a lot these past few days. If I hadn’t lied for you three years ago, maybe you wouldn’t have become like this. Over the years, I kept doing things against my principles because I cared about you, otherwise, things would not have ended up like this. Sophie, I’m done with it. But don’t worry. No matter how many years you are sentenced to in prison, I will wait for you."
"I don’t need you to wait! I don’t want you to wait! What I want is to get out of here right now! Joey, I’m telling you, I’d rather die than go to jail."
"Sophie, why can’t you understand? You have to take responsibility for your actions."
"No way! I have never made any mistakes. You can’t blame me at all! It is your fault! Joey, it is you that put me in jail." Sophie gritted her teeth, and her eyes were scarlet.
Joey just felt distressed and asked, "Sophie, when are you going to wake up?" But Sophie couldn’t bear to hear his words anymore, so she said, "I don’t want to listen to your nonsense. I want to leave. I want to go back to the Batemans. I want to explain to my dad. He will forgive me."
Joey failed to persuade Sophie into confessing, so he finally closed his eyes in pain. "Sophie, wake up! Think about Anna. Don’t you care about her? She is your daughter."
But this sentence ignited Sophie’s anger in an instant. She pounded the table like crazy, making loud noises, and shouted, "Don’t mention her in front of me! Don’t say her name! Get out of here!" Because Sophie was too hysterical, the police had to take her away and ended the meeting. Joey left the police station in depression. This meeting felt like stabbing a knife in his heart. Sophie’s obsession was so deep that he couldn’t change her thoughts at all. However, could he watch her go to jail without doing anything?
He felt heartbroken. After returning to the old house of the Batemans, Joey knelt at the gate. When Charlie saw his son like this, he hurriedly came up, but did not help him up. Because he knew that this was what he needed to do. He had to admit his mistake and ask for punishment. However, he still inevitably felt distressed for him. "Joey, are you insane? How could you make Mr. Bateman a scapegoat?"
Charlie was heartbroken.
"Dad, I’m sorry."
Joey lowered his head guiltily.
"You shouldn’t say sorry to me! You should apologize to the Batemans. Since you were a child, Mr. Bateman has carefully nurtured you, and his son has always treated you as his brother. How could you... and Miss Sophie, you…"
Charlie choked and couldn’t speak anymore. Joey knew that he had broken his father’s heart, so he didn’t defend himself, "I’m sorry, Dad." Charlie’s old face was covered with tears. He didn’t know what to say. Even if Joey had made such great mistakes, he was still his son. He couldn’t bear to punish him harshly.
He wiped the tears off his face, sighed, and went to Nathan’s room. "Mr. Bateman, I didn’t discipline Joey sufficiently. Please forgive me."
Charlie stopped in front of Nathan’s bed and blamed himself. Nathan was lying on the bed, looking frail and exhausted. He said, "I don’t have the energy to scold you now." Nathan had fallen ill after that earlier drama. He closed his eyes tiredly on the bed. Charlie felt guilty. Seeing Nathan like this, he didn’t dare to bother him anymore, so he slowly turned to leave.
However, Joey was still kneeling at the gate. Since Old Mr. Bateman hadn’t forgiven him, how could Charlie ask him to get up? He felt very distressed.
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