Chapter 72 - Going Back To Aunt Helga's Home

"What are you here for?" Aunt Helga asked. "You squandered your education and ran away from home. You should have a good reason for returning here and looking all meek."

"I… I'm pregnant."

"Oh, and where is the man who impregnated you?" Aunt Helga's eyes were far from sympathetic. "Did he leave you? It seems like you only have us to turn to, so you better be grateful that I will accept you back inside of the house."

Sophie held back herself and nodded slowly. "Thank you so much, Aunt Helga. I am grateful."

"Good." Aunt Helga harrumphed and stood up. "If this is settled then you can go and help with the maids around this house. Even if you are pregnant, it does not mean that you can sit here and do nothing. You must still contribute to the house."

Helga Limbergh thought it must be her luck that Sophie came on her own to this house just when she needed her niece to be there. She decided to just let Sophie stay at her home and made her do some work. As for her pregnancy, they could think about it later.

Sophie's eyes widened when she heard Aunt Helga's words but she didn't react. She thought, maybe if she worked slowly then it wouldn't strain her too much. All that Sophie needed to do was be careful and she could do all of that. She really thought that she could do it.

"Thank you, Auntie Helga," Sophie lowered her head and thank her aunt. It was better to be non-confrontational in her case. Beggars can't be choosers. She had no choice but asked for her aunt's help.

Even though Aunt Helga was harsh, the woman didn't actively persecute her and even left her alone for most of the time. Sophie could live like that. She had stopped hoping for any affection from Aunt Helga and her family.

Right now, what's important was for Sophie to have a roof over her head while she was thinking of what she would do next. Perhaps, she could try to look for another job.

"Do you have any luggage?" Aunt Helga raised a brow.

Sophie nodded. She lifted her small bag and said, "Only this one bag, Auntie."

"Hmmm... you can go back to your old room." Aunt Helga scoffed and left her. Sophie heaved a sigh of relief. She was glad she took a chance and came here to ask for help.

Apparently, her father's sister was not really evil. She didn't care nor love Sophie, but at least she was not an evil woman who took pleasure in seeing her suffer.

From that day, Sophie finally returned to live in Hastings at her aunt's home. She felt so relieved when she put her back on the bed inside her tiny bedroom and lay down her body to get some rest. She stared at the ceiling for a long while, trying to imagine Nicholas's face. 

She missed him terribly. Sophie's tears started flowing down hard again.

***

Sophie kept to herself most of the time and the maids in the house were nice enough that they didn't let her do much physical work, which she really appreciated. Deep inside, Sophie promised that if someday she was rich, she would pay back their kindness but giving them gifts.

Aunt Helga and Uncle Stevan didn't care about Sophie living in their home again, because they could still get grandfather's money while she was officially living with her.

Sophie would get all her inheritance when she turned 21, so her aunt and uncle still had three years to do something to ensure that they could keep the money after Sophie came to age and wanted to manage it herself.

However, if Sophie's aunt did not really care about Sophie and only cared that she was here… her cousins were completely different.

Lucia and Valerie were both disgusted to see their cousin come back. When they learned that Sophie was an unmarried woman who got pregnant, they avoided her like the plague as if she was some kind of dirty woman.

Sophie wanted to say that she was married to Nicholas but could not even say it aloud. Both of her cousins would never believe her even if she brought the marriage certificate and so she would become the subject of scorn.

While Aunt Helga kept to her business and her cousins avoided her, they would make it a point to invite classmates over and ask Sophie to serve them. Naturally, the people from Cow Dung Academy would recognize Sophie.

All of them knew how beautiful and intelligent Sophie was as a student. She was someone who passed the academy's entrance exam with the highest scores and continued to excel in their studies.

A lot of the students were curious once she stopped attending classes in the academy. When they asked her cousins where she went, both Valerie and Lucia told them lies that Sophie was a loose woman who slept with many men and now she was pregnant.

It was there that Lucia and Valerie would create a terrible picture in the eyes of the students and slandered her.

"Oh, my goodness... I thought she stopped studying because she was sick or something." said one female classmate when she saw Sophie enter the living room with a tray of tea.

"So, she got knocked up? Jeez..."

"She stopped studying because she got pregnant. Actually, she ran away from home because she did not want to abide by the rules of the house," Lucia shook her head. "She brought shame to our family."

She pretended to let out an embarrassed sigh.

Valerie nodded and added. "Slept with countless men and came back here. She begged to be back here."

"Your family is so kind that you are willing to take her back and give her a home," said a classmate to Lucia with a concerned expression.

They kept talking about Sophie and didn't even try to stop or change the subject when they saw her enter again, this time with a jar of cookies for them. Sophie pretended she didn't hear anything.

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From Missrealitybites:

Good news! As promised, since "The King's Wife" can enter the Top 10 Golden ranking, I will give 10 chapters mass release this weekend ^^.

Thank you so much for your support.. The chapters will be released one by one all day.