"What's wrong?" He sensed it instantly.
"Nothing…" Her voice trembled despite her efforts to hide it.
"Go to sleep soon. You have classes tomorrow," he said softly.
"If you were me—if so many people looked down on you, if this love was opposed by so many—would you still charge forward without hesitation and trust your own decision?" she suddenly asked.
Ned was quiet for a moment. "From the very beginning, I've only ever had one choice: my love. I love you, Sophie. You know better than anyone how much I love you." Then he answered.
She closed her eyes. The tears that had been welling up finally spilled over, sliding down her face…
"I know," she whispered gently, her voice thick with emotion.
"Then I'll see you tomorrow afternoon at the hospital."
"See you tomorrow." She hung up.
Lifting her gaze, she saw the diary lying neatly on the desk. She opened it once more and began reading from the very first entry—the day she met Ned…
That night, with him not by her side, she didn't sleep at all.
............
After holding back for several days, watching her son still come home close to midnight every night and, as usual, take calls from that girl Sophie right in front of her, Victoria finally lost her patience.
"Are you two—father and son—hiding something from me?"
Victoria suddenly remembered the woman in the hospital, Sarah. She turned sharply to her husband. "Jonathan, what's going on with that dying woman in the hospital?"
"What do you mean 'what's going on'? I told you already—Sophie's mother was gravely ill. The driver and I happened to run into them on the road, so we helped—"
Before Jonathan could finish his obvious attempt to brush it off, Victoria exploded.
"I recognized that woman as Sarah! How could you not? You liar, a complete and utter liar! You're still pretending in front of your own son!"
She suddenly raised her voice: "For all we know, her daughter could be your child—and you still dare let Ned date her?"
"And you—you're the stupidest one of all!" She pointed straight at Ned. "That girl acts like she doesn't know a thing. Who's to say she's not here for revenge?"
The more Victoria thought about it, the more convinced she became that her reasoning was airtight. "Back then her mother fled far away, and now the daughter's grown up. Why does she have to date you of all people? She goes around playing innocent and sweet every day, and the exact type she's attracting is fools like you two—father and son."
"When the scandal breaks about 'incest' in a wealthy family, those two—mother and daughter—will instantly turn from the home-wrecker mistress and illegitimate child into the victims. Our family's reputation will be ruined overnight. Have either of you thought about the consequences? Well? Have you?!"
The angrier she got, the more she spoke in one breath, as if she were the only one in the world who had seen through the entire plot, while these two men were still completely in the dark.
Ned's face darkened as he handed Victoria a glass of water. "Mother, don't get so worked up. This isn't as complicated as you think."
Jonathan seized the moment to add, "Sarah told me herself—Sophie is adopted."
Victoria, whose emotions had only just begun to settle, suddenly exploded as if a fuse had been lit. "Fine! So you still refuse to admit you're still entangled with her. Now everything's out in the open!" She flung the water from her glass straight at her husband's face. "Whatever she says is gospel, and everything I say is a lie. It's always been like this—she's the gentle one, I'm the vicious shrew, right? The two of you are the most shameless bastards on earth…"
Even she, who prided herself on impeccable manners, couldn't hold back the vulgarity.
"You—"
The father and son frantically wiped the water from their hair, clothes, and skin, too busy to argue back.
Victoria slammed the glass down and stormed off to her room, fuming. Clearly both of them had lost their minds. She would have to take drastic measures to make them let go.
..................
"Sophie Davies?" Sitting in the back of her chauffeured car, Victoria dialed C&C's main switchboard and had the call transferred directly to Sophie's extension.
"Yes, this is she. May I ask who's calling…?"
"This is the chairman's wife," Victoria replied icily. "I'm in the car right now and will be near C&C shortly. Come out in ten minutes. I'll be waiting at the Italian restaurant nearby."
Sophie froze for a second.
"Did you hear me?" Victoria's tone was razor-sharp.
"Y-yes… I heard you," Sophie answered. There was no room to refuse.
Victoria hung up immediately.
After staring into space for a full minute, Sophie finally stood, grabbed her backpack, and said to Ned's secretary, "Hebe, could you please cover for me and ask for two hours off? Thank you!"
Hebe, buried in her work, answered absent-mindedly, "Sure. I'm almost done with these documents anyway—I'll take them to the president for signature later."
Sophie hesitated for a moment outside the president's office, then turned and left.
When she arrived at the restaurant, Victoria had already been waiting for three minutes.
"You're late!" Victoria reproached her without the slightest warmth. "So ill-mannered."
"I've never been here before, so it took me a while to find the place," Sophie replied, standing beside the table.
"No breeding at all. You're late and the first thing out of your mouth is an excuse instead of an apology." The more Victoria looked at her, the more she disliked her. "Of course you've never been to a high-end restaurant like this." She deliberately twisted the knife.
"Sit down," she ordered coldly. "We'll start with drinks and order food later." She signaled the waiter.
Sophie silently took the seat the waiter pulled out for her.
"What would you like to drink?" Victoria asked, her tone flat.
"Water is fine," Sophie answered, visibly tense. She had imagined this scene countless times, but never like this.
"You can't just drink water in a place like this. How is the restaurant supposed to make money? One coffee, one orange juice," Victoria decided for her without a second thought.