"I'm fine. Thank you for earlier." Sophie tried to appear nonchalant—the more others insulted her, the more she had to hold on."There's no need for you to be so polite with me. Besides, I'm a man. I can't just watch you get hit by eggs." Austin said, his frown softening as he adjusted his tight suit and smiled gently in response to Sophie's gratitude.Sophie was about to continue expressing her thanks, but Jeanna beat her to it. "It seems that the Carlsons actually have reliable men.""Jean!" Sophie stopped her."I'm just stating a fact. What's wrong with that?" Jeanna refuted.A hint of embarrassment flashed across Sophie's face. She had originally wanted to clarify her relationship with Austin to the public at Jeff's birthday party. Unfortunately, she did not expect something like that to happen, and Austin had been implicated again."By the way, is Grandpa okay?" Sophie asked."Grandpa's fine. He's just very worried about you." Thinking of Jeff's admonition, Austin lied. Jef
Sophie stared at the clues in front of her, feeling a throbbing headache forming at her temples. The surveillance footage provided scant leads.-It was already the third day since Tristan's surgery, yet there were no signs of him regaining consciousness.Cedric stared at the boy lying on the hospital bed, his lip pursed tightly."Tristan, please wake up, okay?" Vivienne sat right next to the bed, holding the tiny hand with tears streaming down her cheeks. But no matter how much she called out to him, Tristan seemed to be lost in a deep slumber, motionless."Doctor, what's Tristan's situation now?" Cedric asked."Mr. Carlson, theoretically speaking, the patient should regain consciousness within three days after surgery. But based on the current situation, it's better to prepare yourself mentally to wait for a bit longer," the doctor explained."No! Dr. Lawson, please save my son. I can't lose him. He's so young! He can't become a vegetable!" Vivienne pleaded, dropping to her kn
"We've been watching the surveillance footage for 3 days now, and we have still not found any clues at all. Could it be a ghost?" Jeanna speculated jokingly."Jean, don't talk nonsense," Linda replied, also feeling frustrated.However, despite their urgent efforts, they had not found any leads."I'm as anxious as you are. The stock prices of Luxford Group and Paramount Inc. have been plummeting for days now. This incident's effects are much bigger than we anticipated," Jeanna added.Sophie's frown tightened after hearing this. Jean was right. This crisis was much more severe than the last scandal between her and Austin. Even though she had instructed her media team to try to divert the attention and reduce the intensity, their efforts seemed futile."Ms. Luxford, don't worry. There will be a solution. Jean and I will go pick up Cherry from school first." Linda handed Sophie a glass of warm milk and motioned Jeanna to stop talking with a gaze.Although Sophie seemed to be in good
Sophie placed the empty can on the table and bowed her head, her eyelashes concealing her emotions as her voice trembled softly.Cedric's outstretched hand remained suspended in the air before clenching into a fist. The pain radiating from his eyes seemed darker than the depths of the sea, yet he could only withdraw his hand in silence."I've been haunted by so much hatred these past five years." Sophie seemed to be truly sleep-talking. In the dream, she was talking to herself, needing no response. She lifted her head, her eyes fixed on the constantly churning waves.She had chosen to return to take revenge on those who had hurt her, but why did the feeling of revenge not bring her the joy she had expected?She suddenly chuckled out loud and stood up unsteadily. "I must be drunk."She was intoxicated to the point where she unwittingly deluded herself and allowed long-suppressed emotions to resurface after five years. So intoxicated that she couldn't differentiate between love and
Sophie was aware of the dangers of drunk driving, but she still chose to drive back to her apartment.Mrs. Carrie opened the door for her and immediately smelled the alcohol on her. She was wearing a thick coat, which added to Mrs. Carrie's confusion."Ma'am, shall I prepare some hangover soup for you?" Mrs. Carrie asked."No need. I'm not drunk." Sophie shook her head. What intoxicated her was not the alcohol, but her inner demon. No matter how much she drank, it would not help."What about this coat?" Mrs. Carrie looked at the coat she was taking off, feeling a sense of familiarity but unable to recall who had worn it before.Sophie turned her head, and her gaze landed on the dark brown coat. Something seemed to flicker in her eyes. 'This coat… I bought this for him back then.'"Throw it away," Sophie instructed."Okay," Mrs. Carrie replied but could not help but steal a few more glances at the garment.Suddenly, the confusion in her eyes seemed to be cleared. 'Isn’t this Mr.
Sophie, watching Cherry hurry away, shook her head with an affectionate smile. But the smile soon faded as she pressed a finger to her lips, recalling the kiss from the previous night. 'Cedric, the once longed-for dream of splendor has already been shattered beyond repair.'She glanced at her watch, deciding it was time to pick up Cherry from school.-"Mommy, why are you here to pick me up?" Cherry’s face lit up with joy when she saw Sophie waiting for her outside the school."I missed you, sweetheart," Sophie said, wrapping Cherry in her arms. She felt a pang of guilt as she continued. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you better."She understood all too well that children's words, more direct and brutal than those of adults, could leave deeper scars."Apologizing for such a small thing? Remember, we can handle as much praise as criticism. And nothing that can't be fixed with a slice of cherry cake," Cherry said cheerfully, hugging Sophie and planting a firm kiss on her cheek.Sop
"Mommy, a bug just flew into my eye," Cherry explained, presenting the most innocent of lies.Sophie's eyes reddened. She entered the room and wrapped Cherry in a warm embrace. "Well, let's cry a bit then. The tears will wash the little bug away.""I guess it worked. Look, the bug must be gone now," Cherry opened her eyes wide to show her reddened eyes. Sophie hid her own heartache and played along.Curled up in her mother's arms, Cherry tried not to cry, aware that her mother was likely feeling worse than her."It’s okay to cry when you're hurt, Cherry," Sophie reassured her, kissing her forehead. Sophie understood the weight of public scorn, especially for a child as young as Cherry."It’s not that, Mommy. I wasn’t crying because I was hurt," Cherry quickly explained."Why then?" Sophie asked, concern evident in her voice."It's because of… Tristan. He pretended not to see me before, and I was really mad, but now I feel so bad for him. Mommy, will he become a vegetative person
Sophie pointed at Tristan in the surveillance footage, moving unusually slowly. "Children usually rush to the restroom. His cautious movement is strange. He seems very tense, like someone who can't see clearly."Jeanna, absorbed in the video, gasped suddenly. "That explains why he entered the women's restroom!""Or perhaps someone intentionally led him there," the observant Linda added, her gaze fixed on the last housekeeper to interact with Tristan, hinting at a deeper intrigue.Sophie and Linda exchanged knowing looks as they contemplated the same theory. If Tristan's accidental entry into the wrong restroom was because of poor vision, then the timing of the incident seemed too coincidental. Evidently, someone had intentionally directed him there."We need to investigate that housekeeper," Jeanna proposed enthusiastically, sensing they were close to unraveling the truth."Certainly. We should also look into Tristan's vision problems. Jeanna, Linda, could you check the hospital f