Sophie let out a low, bitter laugh, but there was no trace of mirth in her eyes.
"When you treat someone as your very best friend, your closest confidante, when you finally open up and tell her the deepest, most painful secret you've kept buried in your heart… only to have that friend betray you. When she goes around spreading the one piece of private pain you never wanted anyone to know…"
Sophie locked her gaze on Charles's eyes. "And not only that, she justifies it by saying she 'feels sorry for you,' so she has to keep telling a third person, a fourth person, more and more people, all under the guise of getting everyone to 'pity' you. That's when you truly understand what betrayal tastes like!"
"You and Ned are fundamentally mismatched in status. Even if you force yourselves to stay together, you'll break up eventually," Charles said, standing up and staring at her coldly. "A smart person doesn't do things they'll regret later, and certainly doesn't make choices that cause pain to everyone involved."
"So what you're saying is I should accept my fate, quietly walk away, let your daughter have Ned, and even wish them a lifetime of happiness and growing old together?" Sophie laughed coldly. "Because someone like me, with my background, isn't worthy of happiness at all. I'm only fit to end up old and alone?"
Isabella's mouth fell open in shock; the words were so sharp she could barely breathe. "There's no need to be this vicious!" she accused.
"Heh, vicious? Isn't that exactly what you both mean?" Sophie shot back. "Isn't that the whole reason you came looking for me today?"
"Exactly!" Charles fixed the girl in front of him with an icy glare. "My daughter was born a young lady of aristocratic blood. She is a flower carefully nurtured and protected by her parents in a greenhouse." He paused, then continued, "Whereas you, Miss Sophie Davies, are nothing more than a common wildflower, a weed that grows anywhere on the ground."
"I'm sure an intelligent girl like you understands perfectly what I mean," Charles said, his voice dripping with disdain.
Sophie's face turned ashen, but she answered word by word: "I don't understand. Please make yourself perfectly clear."
"Lara is not like you. She comes from an excellent family with an impeccable background—she is a perfect match for the Harringtons. You, on the other hand, have nothing," Charles continued mercilessly. "Let me put it even more plainly: a wildflower is not worthy of a priceless vase. If you force it into a million-pound vessel, the wildflower will only wither and die because it has been torn from the earth. Wildflowers belong in the wild, growing freely. If you go against this truth out of ignorance, you will only end up destroying yourself."
His words were deliberate, cruel, designed to humiliate Sophie and make her back down.
The restaurant was nearly empty in the afternoon, and the entire dining area felt oppressively quiet…
"In my mind, a professor at the LSE should be widely read, possess high moral character and integrity—only someone like that is fit to be a role model for others," Sophie said, her face pale, hands clenched tightly at her sides.
"But clearly I was wrong. Most professors are kind, just like the many generous people in this world who donate money and help others—they teach, impart knowledge, and answer their students' questions to the best of their ability. That is a noble act of goodness."
"But what you just said has shown me that there are also despicable professors—selfish people who use verbal violence to hurt others for their own ends. People like you are fundamentally unfit to be educators!"
Professor Charles Cadogan's eyes widened, his face turning livid with rage. Isabella gasped audibly.
Sophie stared fearlessly into his eyes and went on: "So from this moment forward, I will no longer regard you as a respected university professor, and I will no longer judge you by any lofty moral standard."
Her gaze burned with courage and resolve. "You are just an ordinary man—an extremely selfish, self-centered man! You think only of your precious daughter as a noble greenhouse flower, yet you compare the daughter my mother loves just as dearly to a roadside weed! A selfish person like you uses nothing but your learning and eloquence to humiliate others—"
"You don't deserve to be called 'Professor' at all—"
SLAP!
Charles's hand moved before he could stop himself. The slap landed hard across Sophie's face with brutal force, making her double over.
"Oh my God!" Isabella cried out, clapping a hand to her mouth. She had never imagined her husband would actually strike someone.
Sophie stared at the floor for a moment. Then, slowly, she straightened her spine and lifted her head, eyes wide and blazing as she glared at the man who had just slapped her.
Even Isabella had no idea what to do.
"I really want to hit you back right sekarang, to make you feel the pain you just inflicted on me. But I won't," Sophie said, locking eyes with him, enunciating every word through clenched teeth. "By not raising my hand, I make it crystal clear just how despicable and shameful your actions are!"
With that, she turned and walked out.
In the stunned silence of the restaurant, Isabella struggled to catch her breath, unable to speak for a long time…
Charles stared darkly at Sophie's retreating figure as she left the restaurant, his expression growing even grimmer.
"Charles, you were far too impulsive just now. We achieved nothing and it all ended in disaster," Isabella complained on the drive home.
"For the sake of my precious daughter, there's nothing I need to hold back," he replied, glancing at his wife. "If necessary, I'll have another 'talk' with that girl."
"What exactly do you mean by that?"
"She hurt my daughter. If she still refuses to back off, I won't let her get away with it." Charles's face was taut with fury.
Isabella's eyes widened. "You're talking so harshly—what are you planning to do to her?"
"You'll see when the time comes."
"Honestly," she said with a cold smirk, "when you slapped her across the face just now, it felt so satisfying!"
Charles said nothing. He turned to stare out the car window, his face dark and ominous…