When Love Fades to Ashes

Sophie had left her phone in her coat, but when she removed her makeup, she ended up losing the coat entirely.

Just as she thought it might be an ordinary prank, she caught a whiff of something unpleasant, and a sense of alarm shot through her.

Looking up, she saw thick white smoke spreading throughout the dressing room.

Beads of cold sweat formed on her forehead. Breathing became difficult, as though something heavy was pressing on her chest.

Her vision began to blur, and her limbs started to grow numb.

Fear surged within her. She struggled to pull her shirt up to cover her nose and desperately began knocking on the door.

Suddenly, just as tears of despair rolled down her cheeks, the door swung open.

Clinging to the hope of survival, she continued screaming for help, trying to see who had come to her rescue.

Her heart sank when she saw that it was Lily, who had returned to the room.

Fearing that William would discover she had locked Sophie inside, Lily panicked and decided to enter the dressing room. She planned to pretend that she and Sophie had been locked in together.

Lily sneered, slapped herself a few times, then grabbed Sophie's hand, leaving scratches on her own skin. She violently stepped on Sophie before screaming for help.

"William, help! Help me!"

William rushed into the dressing room in a panic, only to be met by a room already thick with white smoke.

When he finally found Lily and Sophie, weak and disoriented, his heart shattered.

Sophie's vision blurred, but William had already scooped Lily into his arms and was about to leave.

Fighting the pain in her chest, Sophie gasped. "Help me…"

William froze. He looked at Lily, whose face had gone pale, then at Sophie, helplessly lying on the floor.

A painful struggle tore through him as he tried to decide what to do.

Moments later, he kicked Sophie aside and rushed out with Lily.

The pain from the kick left Sophie clutching her stomach.

When William disappeared from view, not sparing her even a glance, she knew he had completely abandoned her.

She closed her eyes in despair, tears welling up.

A bitter smile touched her lips as she thought, 'I guess this is the penance I must pay for falling in love with the wrong man…'

At that moment, a figure appeared through the smoke, his nose covered.

He grabbed Sophie off the ground and rushed out, calling her name as he ran.

The sound of a heartbeat slowly brought Sophie back to consciousness.

Struggling, she finally opened her eyes to find Elliot, his own eyes red with worry.

An oxygen mask was over her face, but she reached out to grab Elliot's hand and whispered, "Elliot… Let's go back to Bloomington."

Elliot's voice was hoarse, but he held her hand with affection and nodded. "Okay."

He quickly made a call to arrange for a private jet.

A few minutes later, Elliot's secretary arrived on the private jet, accompanied by the best doctor, to pick up Sophie before they took off again.