Done Hiding as Your Backup Plaything I'm Shining Golden as a Queen - Chapter 116: Chapter 116

A rumor that Lila was a homewrecker spread like wildfire through school.
I was walking back from the restroom with Verla when Lila ran past us, hands over her mouth, crying.
Before I could react, Lucas came charging down the hallway—and grabbed me by the throat. "Sophie, I thought you said you were staying away from me. What the hell you're pulling now?"
I could barely breathe. Verla frantically tried to push him away. "What is wrong with you?! We were just in the bathroom! Let her go—she can't breathe!"
He snapped back to reality and yanked his hand away. I collapsed, gasping desperately for air.
"Sophie, you make me sick," he spat.
I crouched on the floor, coughing as tears streamed down my face.
"Sophie, are you okay?" Verla asked, gently rubbing my back. "It's okay, Sophie. God knows what's gotten into Lucas and his girlfriend."
I wiped my tears, biting my lip to keep from sobbing out loud.
The hatred in Lucas's eyes had made him unrecognizable to me. It was like he truly wanted to kill me.
The boy I knew was gone. Completely gone.
Later, one of our classmates cautiously slipped me their phone.
Someone had posted anonymously on the school gossip page, accusing Lila of being the "other woman" who ruined my relationship with Lucas.
Most people believed it. The comments section was filled with vicious insults aimed at Lila—the nastiest things you could imagine.
The marks on my neck were turning red. I planned to post a response to set the record straight.
But before I could, I arrived home to find my parents sitting grimly on the sofa.
They were clearly waiting for me. My stomach dropped, and before I could say anything, a glass came flying at my feet, shattering on impact.
"What did you do to upset Lucas Brooks?" My father slammed his fist on the table, his eyes bulging with rage. "Don't you realize our company only survives because of our partnership with the Brooks family? You want to ruin everything I've built?! Huh?!"
I stood there silently as my mother bitterly called me a worthless investment, while my father demanded I apologize to Lucas.
The mansion felt freezing cold. I was shivering all over.
I don't remember how that inquisition ended or how I was practically marched to Lucas's house to apologize.
I had wanted to tell him the post wasn't from me, but that I would clear things up.
But when the door opened and he looked down at me with those ice-cold eyes, the words died in my throat.
I lowered my head, bowed and apologized.
He barely glanced at me, leaning against the doorframe. "I don't want to see Sophie Turner at school anymore."
My parents nodded obsequiously, promising him I'd stay out of his life.
I raised my head to look at him. Under the cold white light, I couldn't make out his expression or even recognize his face anymore.
In that moment, my self-respect was completely crushed into the dirt.
I realized then that we had never belonged to the same world. We had never been equals in our relationship or status.
And all the kindness this rich boy had shown me was nothing more than a passing whim.
I shouldn't have fantasized about anything. From the beginning, it was all wrong.
That night, I packed my things while my parents arranged my transfer to another school.