The next morning.
When Sophia got up, she found the entire manor surprisingly quiet.
But it was still early, a little past six in the morning, so it was normal for not many people to be up yet.
"Young Madam, you’re up so early?" The maid looked at Sophia coming down and was a bit surprised.
It was just past six, and she was already up. A young pregnant woman should be sleeping more; she usually didn’t co down until eight or nine. This was probably the earliest she’d ever been up.
Sophia smiled but said nothing, letting the maid serve so breakfast, and began to eat.
It’s not that she got up early; she simply hadn’t slept at all.
Last night, she had spent the whole night with her eyes closed, ditating. Her mind was in chaos, all cried out.
She woke up from hunger.
She had originally co down with the ntality of just checking things out; if there was breakfast, she’d eat; if not, she’d leave.
Unexpectedly, the maids started work quite early.
After a simple breakfast, it was already seven o’clock.
By then, the manor was still quiet.
The person she wanted to see but also didn’t want to see seed not to be there.
She mocked herself slightly.
Why did she even want to think about him?
Sophia got up, went back to her room, packed so essentials she had brought, and then walked out of the room.
"Sophia." Zoe Walsh, standing at the door of another room, called out to her.
Her gaze fell on the shoulder bag Sophia was carrying, clearly showing she was about to leave.
"Mom, why are you up so early?" Seeing her, Sophia felt sowhat uneasy.
Zoe was a smart person; how could she not know what Sophia was thinking?
But Zoe didn’t expose her; she respected her choice.
"Are you heading back to the studio?" she asked.
"Yes, Hugh is too busy to handle it alone. We’ve taken a lot of orders recently, I must go over to help." She paused and added, "I might be busy for a while."
So, there might not be ti to co to see them.
She couldn’t bring herself to say this.
In the past, she and Zoe were close sisters who shared everything.
Zoe knew about Sophia’s family situation, so they never talked about family matters when together, afraid it would make her sad.
Now that they had beco family, with this incident happening suddenly, she dared not ntion going ho.
"I’ll take you there. It’s hard to find a cab around here." Zoe walked forward a couple of steps, attempting to close the distance between them.
Sophia looked at her trembling hand and couldn’t bear to refuse. If she refused or left secretly, more people would likely visit later, inviting her back.
She didn’t want to see anyone, didn’t want to see the Sterling family.
"Okay." She agreed.
Zoe breathed a sigh of relief, stepped forward, linked her arm with Sophia’s, and they walked side by side as they often did while shopping.
Along the way, Zoe wanted to say sothing but seeing Sophia appeared uninterested; she swallowed her words.
Sophia didn’t ask where Zane slept last night.
In such a big manor, there was always a corner suitable for him.
The car soon stopped in front of the studio.
"Mom, I’m going in now." Sophia unbuckled her seatbelt.
"Sophia." Zoe hurriedly grabbed her hand.
Soone in their fifties was exceptionally well-maintained, yet perhaps due to poor sleep these days, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes seed to deepen.
"Zane, he..." The always optimistic woman suddenly beca teary-eyed, with large tears falling from the corners of her eyes.
In the end, she didn’t speak.
Sophia patted her hand, "Take care of yourself, don’t worry too much."
She wanted to comfort her a bit more but realized she seed to be the one who needed comfort. She didn’t want both to wallow in this tornt, so she resolutely left.
She got out of the car and closed the door.
Zoe wiped her tears and gripped the steering wheel with trembling hands, staying at the studio’s entrance for several minutes before driving to the hospital.
Zane had been sent to the hospital imdiately after fainting last night.
He had a fever, nearly forty degrees, and it still hadn’t subsided, lying in a daze on the hospital bed.
His upper body was bare, revealing welts that made one’s hair stand on end, along with a strong sll of disinfectant iodine.
Eugene Sterling stayed beside him, listening to him mutter all night, "No divorce."
He too felt uneasy; this scene mirrored the one five years ago when he lay in bed, unable to move his legs, and his heart almost died.
Eugene dared not call Sophia, afraid she’d refuse, and if Zane heard it, he’d likely be devastated.
"Still not awake?" Zoe stood beside Eugene, her eyes red from crying.
Eugene reached out to wrap her shoulder, comforting her, "Don’t worry; he’s not dying. It’s just a little injury; it’ll get better after burning for a couple of days."
"But he’s your own son; how could you be so harsh?" Zoe secretly wiped her tears in his arms.
"If I had known first, would I have only broken his leg, leaving him ti to breathe?" Eugene showed no rcy at all.
He was his son, but Sophia was his daughter-in-law, with a little Sterling baby in her belly.
If Zane’s at fault, who else is there to bla?
"Has the matter not concluded yet?" Zoe looked with full of heartache.
The punishnt surely must be given, but this was too severe.
With the current weather, if it had been any later, it might have turned septic.
"That’s what he deserves for being handso yet causing trouble!"
"..." Zoe said nothing, adjusted her emotions, and sat by the bed, watching the man lying there.
"How’s Sophia doing?" Eugene asked.
"She can’t let it go in her heart, already gone to the studio and probably won’t be back for a while." Zoe said, her face sinking afterwards.
She had already arranged for people to secretly protect her.
As long as she can feel better, that’s considered good enough.
Eugene frowned.
How co Ethan’s progress is so slow?
He’s almost frantic with worry!
*
When Sophia returned to the studio, Hugh was angrily talking on the phone.
"If you don’t contact for over a day, just pretend you’re dead. What sort of relationship is that? Is your free ti shorter than your ti in bed? How can you ignore for three consecutive days?!" Hugh exclaid, with one hand on her waist.
No need to guess; it must be Ethan on the other end.
"Professor Irving, I did send you ssages, but you blocked ..."
Hugh was beside herself with anger, "Good morning, good night, thinking of you. Is that what you call dating? The weather forecast is more diligent than you!"
She knew what Ethan was busy with but she couldn’t help feeling mad.
Sophia was their good friend. Even if they decided not to tell Sophia, they should have at least inford Hugh.
Ethan realized he was in the wrong.
He hadn’t planned on informing her about this, fearing a long argunt if he did. He wanted to co and get a better understanding of the situation to explain later; he didn’t expect them to find out so soon.
"Sweetie, I’ve been really busy lately, as you know, but I truly like you. Please don’t be mad."
"You’re not in love with ; you’re scamming , Ethan. Now that you’ve got , you think you can just ignore ." Hugh was furious, "At least playboys are good looking. You are at best a sea creature, and you dare toy with my feelings? Pfft!"
She hung up and tossed the phone aside.
Only then did she realize Sophia was standing nearby, smiling and watching her.
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