Charles Cadogan and his wife Isabella were sipping English floral tea in the living room when a scream pierced the air. They rushed upstairs to Lara's room.
The room was dimly lit. Lara sat huddled at the head of the bed, drenched in sweat, clutching the blanket and muttering over and over, "It wasn't me, it wasn't me, I didn't do it, I didn't…"
Isabella gently pulled her daughter into her arms and patted her back. "What happened, darling? Don't be afraid. It was just a nightmare. Everything's going to be all right."
"I didn't mean to… I really didn't mean to…" Lara finally came to her senses. Seeing it was her mother holding her, tears streamed down her face like pearls falling off a broken string. "Mummy, it wasn't on purpose… I swear it wasn't."
Isabella had no idea what was going on. She turned and exchanged a bewildered look with her husband.
"You've been acting strange ever since you came home this afternoon," said Charles. "You barely touched dinner. Did something happen?" As a university professor, he carried a natural air of authority that always made Lara a little afraid of him.
Shrinking deeper into her mother's embrace, Lara sobbed as she poured out everything that had happened: her recent arguments with Sophie, how she had followed Sophie to the hospital, how Aunt Victoria had caused a huge scene there, and how Sophie's mother—who was suffering from brain cancer—had fainted again and was now in critical condition.
She was terrified.
After listening to the whole story, Charles said only one thing to his daughter: "Stay out of this from now on. Your mother and I will handle it." Then he slowly left Lara's room. Deep down, he had a strong feeling that the woman who had once driven Victoria mad was back—and this time she had brought her daughter to wreck another family.
At three o'clock in the morning, the lights in Operating Theatre No. 2 of the university hospital finally went out. The exhausted surgeon stepped into the corridor and delivered the good news to the few people waiting there: "Thank goodness—the tumor didn't rupture. It was touch-and-go. The surgery itself went smoothly, but we'll have to wait and see how the patient responds when she wakes up. There's still uncertainty about possible motor or speech impairments."
Sophie didn't know how to express her gratitude to the kind and dedicated American specialist. She kept bowing deeply to him, while Jonathan tremblingly clasped the doctor's hands with both of his own, repeating over and over, "Thank you so much… thank you so much…"
Dr. William, the American surgeon, shook his head wearily and said, "This is what we're here for. The patient will be moved to the ICU shortly for 72 hours of observation. Family members, please go home and rest now. You'll be able to visit once she wakes up tomorrow."
Hearing the doctor's words, everyone's suspended hearts finally eased a little. Since Ned had to take his father home, he asked Archibald to drive Sophie back.
The next morning, Sophie had early classes. She got up at her usual time and went to school, but severe lack of sleep left her looking utterly drained and listless.
"Hey, Sophie! Where's Lara been lately? Weren't you two always joined at the hip?" a female classmate called out as she approached. "And why haven't you been joining any school activities? There are so many clubs at university—they're really helpful for internships and jobs later on."
"Yeah, Lara was asking about you yesterday," another girl walking with them chimed in. "Did she come find you?"
Sophie, lost in her own thoughts, snapped her head up when she heard this. "She asked about me yesterday? When?"
"Right before class! Her schedule's a bit different from ours, but how could she not know our timetable? She's in that class too," the classmate said, shaking her head.
"Her family's aristocracy. Sophie, is your family nobility too? How did you two become so close?" The others couldn't hide their envy.
"She… we… we had a fight. We're never getting back together!" Sophie blurted out honestly. "The professor's class is about to start—let's hurry, or we won't get seats!"
After saying that, she broke into a run, terrified that her classmates would keep pressing her about why she and Lara had fought and why they'd never reconcile. She was afraid they'd laugh at her for overreaching, for daring to befriend someone from the aristocracy.
She barely survived the morning classes. With no lectures in the afternoon, she wolfed down lunch at the school cafeteria and took the bus straight to the hospital.
Sitting on the bench outside the ICU, her mother still hadn't woken up. Sophie had just spoken to Dr. William, who said her mother's condition was stable for now; everything depended on how she responded once she regained consciousness.
On the bench, Sophie kept nodding off. She really had been exhausted lately. Juggling school, the hospital, and C&C, while dating Ned and dealing with the constant sniping from Lara and Ned's mother—she hadn't had a proper rest in ages.
Just as she was about to drift off, Archibald's familiar roguish voice cut through the haze. "You look wrecked. About to pass out right here."
He had brought some fruit and protein powder and sat down beside her.
"Maybe because I slept too late last night," she mumbled.
"Just last night?" Today, Archibald's tone was unusually sharp.
"Mmm," she nodded, brushing it off.
Archibald stared at her for a long moment, then suddenly asked, "You're not used to me caring about you, are you?"
Sophie froze. "No, it's not that!"
"I bet you're staying up every night," he said, dropping his usual playful smirk and turning serious. "Running between school, the hospital, and C&C every single day, then going home to revise and write reports. You're obviously exhausted. What exactly are you trying so hard to prove? Why won't you tell Ned? Or tell me—I'm right here! You've always known how much I like you."
So he wasn't just the spoiled troublemaker he pretended to be. His heart was actually delicate and attentive; he'd noticed long ago how worn out she was.
"This is my own business," Sophie said firmly. "I'm handling it just fine."