Three Years Wasted I Married Mr. Right novel Chapter 156

Chapter 156

Sierra pulled Sophia into her own yard. “Oh, that’s all water under the bridge now. Let’s not dwell on it.”

I really owed Sierra so much, Sophia thought, filled with true gratitude.

Winters in the countryside were freezing cold–especially at dawn, when the icy wind seemed to cut right through to people’s bones.

Back then, Sophia’s adoptive parents wouldn’t buy her winter clothes. Even when there was a hole in her shoes, they still wouldn’t get her a new pair.

Sierra couldn’t bear to see it and would always dig out the old clothes and shoes her eldest daughter mailed back, letting Sophia wear them instead.

She still remembered how she felt the first time she slipped on those rubber shoes–finally, she wouldn’t have to shiver through winter anymore.

As Sophia followed Sierra into her yard, she saw Derek, Sierra’s husband, sitting under the tree, smoking his pipe.

When he saw Sierra come in with two pretty young women, his honest, simple face lit up with warmth.

“Hey, who’ve you brought home, Sierra?” he asked.

“You don’t recognize her, do you? This is Sophia, the Evans family’s girl–just look at how beautiful she’s grown. And this is her friend, a city girl,” Sierra introduced.

Sierra introduced them, her country voice so loud that Annabelle’s ears were practically ringing.

Both girls greeted Derek, and he studied Sophia with curious interest.

“Sophie, is that really you? You’ve really grown up. You look like a whole new person. I almost didn’t recognize you,” he chuckled.

Sierra was beaming with pride, like Sophia was her own daughter. “See? Even I barely recognized her at first. Sophie, you and your friend sit down and relax.

“Derek and I will go catch a nice, fat rooster–tonight, we’ll cook it three different ways.”

“Let me help out, Sierra,” Sophia hurried to offer.

Both of them waved her off. “Look at you, all dressed up–no way we’re letting you help. Just sit back and relax. We’ll have everything ready in no time.”

Sophia watched the couple disappear into the house, and soon the backyard erupted into the usual farmyard chaos–chickens flapping, dogs yapping, and plenty of shouting.

Annabelle sat down on the bench. “They seem really kind. Did they treat you well when you were little?”

“Yeah, the Smith family wasn’t exactly well–off–just barely scraping by. But I used to eat at their place all the time when I was a kid,” Sophia replied.

Sometimes it was just a bowl of soup, other times it was porridge. And whenever they had something special, they’d quietly call her over and sneak her a little meat.

If she hadn’t met Andrew and his wife when she was ten, she probably wouldn’t have made it that far–most of the credit for her survival went to the Smith family.

Annabelle asked, “What about your adoptive parents? Didn’t they ever look after you?”

Sophia gave a bitter smile, her eyes lingering on the last streaks of red drifting across the sky as the sunset slowly faded away.

“Honestly, they were just waiting for me to drop dead. If not that, they’d work me like a slave, grinding me down day after day with chores,” she said.

Annabelle had never heard Sophia talk about her childhood before, and her heart ached for her as she gently took Sophia’s hand.

“You must have had it really rough as a kid,” Annabelle said softly.

Sophia said, “It was honestly miserable, especially in winter–trudging through snow to get to school, my hands so painfully itchy from frostbite I couldn’t concentrate in class.

“Time felt endless, and I just kept wishing I could magically grow up overnight.”

If I could just grow up, I could finally get away from the Evans family and live the life I wanted,‘ she thought back then.

Annabelle’s heart ached for her.

“Sophie, you’ve grown up now. All those hard times are behind you. From now on, everything’s going to be smooth sailing,” Annabelle said gently.

Sophia didn’t really like bringing up her childhood. But being back in this place–it just stirred up all those old, painful memories she’d tried so hard to forget.

“If it weren’t for the Smith family, I probably would’ve frozen to death out there one winter night. I’m deeply grateful to them,” she said.

Annabelle thought about that honest, down–to–earth couple from before. “They really seem like genuinely good people. You can just tell their hearts are in the right place,” she said.

“Yeah, honestly, they’re truly wonderful people,” Sophia replied.