Sophia walked out with Damien, only releasing his hand once they were a good distance away.
"I’m sorry for using you as a shield earlier," she said.
"Acting as a shield for a beautiful woman? I’m more than happy to help. But, Sophia, have you really thought about what I said? If things with Lucas aren’t working out, you could use to completely cut him off. And hey, sotis in life, it’s about cutting your losses."
"You’re not wrong. Life does require knowing when to cut your losses. But I have kids. Six of them. Mr. Brown, your future is bright. There’s no need to waste ti on ."
"I’m serious, I don’t mind raising your kids. If I like you, I’ll treat them as my own. And—" Damien leaned in slightly, "we’ll have kids of our own one day."
He was relentless, but there was an undeniable charm in his persistence. He was definitely interested.
"An excellent woman never lacks admirers. Sophia, how about a bet?"
"A bet?"
"Three months. If after three months you don’t have any feelings for , I’ll back off. Let’s call it Harper’s matchmaking deadline, how about that?"
Sophia raised an eyebrow.
Harper had already arranged dozens of suitors. Maybe agreeing to Damien’s bet would be easier. It might allow her to move on from Lucas and also save face with Harper.
She had a headache just thinking about the dozens of people Harper had arranged for her.
Sophia took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay, three months. I’ll agree. Even if we don’t end up as partners, we can still be friends."
Damien smiled faintly.
Sophia quietly said, "It’s getting late. I’ll head ho for now. Let’s plan for next ti."
She turned, ready to say goodbye.
Damien imdiately responded, "I’ll pick you up tomorrow."
"Okay."
Sophia didn’t hesitate. She needed to cut ties with Lucas completely.
...
"Sophia, you’re back! How was it? Are you satisfied?" Harper waved at her from a distance.
She’d just sent Lucas off, looking as intimidating as a storm cloud.
"It went fine. You were right. I shouldn’t let emotions cloud my judgnt. Harper, I’m fine now. Thanks for everything."
Harper let out a sigh of relief. "Hearing you say that makes feel so much better. I’ve been so anxious, worrying about you."
"Yeah, I’ve got sothing to do this afternoon. You can head back to William’s place."
"What’s going on? Do you need ?"
"No, it’s just soone who couldn’t wait to see ."
Frank had been trying to contact her for a while, sending ssages again and again. Yesterday, she hadn’t responded because she was in a bad mood.
"If you need anything, let know."
"Got it."
Harper almost turned around three tis before she left.
"Mommy~"
Six kids were staring at her from behind.
"I’m fine. It’s the weekend. I’ll take you all to see soone."
When Frank received Sophia’s reply, he imdiately stood up from his seat at the hotel.
He rushed out the door.
The eting place was at a well-known church in City A.
When Frank arrived, he felt a bit uneasy.
"Has Mr. Turner co here to seek forgiveness?"
"Sophia."
He turned around to find Sophia staring at him with a half-smile, six kids in tow.
"Don’t you want to know why I chose this place?" she asked.
"Sophia, you—"
"I want to tell you that so things can’t be undone. No matter how many good deeds you do, one bad decision can ruin everything."
Sophia had a plan. She deliberately brought them to the church where her mother had once sought guidance for love. She had trusted Andrew, but Marcus and Andrew had both been her suitors.
In the end, her mother’s choice had been a mistake, and it led to a series of wrong steps.
"Sophia, what will it take for you to stop? It’s one thing that you’ve poached our employees, but why did you have to cut off our collaborations with other companies too?"
In just a few short days, Sophia, using her position as the chairman of YL Group, had cut off deals with companies that were working with Wright Group.
YL’s capital in the foreign market was imnse, and naturally, they wanted to partner with strong, powerful allies.
If this continued, Wright Group would be seriously hurt.
"You’re already losing it, and we’ve just begun?"
"Sophia, I’m your uncle!"
"You killed my mother!"
Sophia snapped, glaring at him. "You all were part of what killed her. One of the straws that broke her back!"
"I..."
"Don’t say you’re sorry. If you really feel guilty, go to my mom’s grave and bow to her, apologize there!"
Frank’s fists clenched.
He had never gone to see her.
It felt like there was a layer of gray mist covering his face, making it hard to see through.
His fists slowly loosened, and in a dry voice, he said, "Take ... to see your mother."
...
At the LA Cetery.
Frank stared at the cold, impersonal tombstone. It felt like a dream, one that was hauntingly real.
The girl who used to be so playful around him, always laughing, now had beco just a cold stone.
He traced his fingers over Aurora’s photo.
"Aurora... I’m here to see you."
"When you left ho, I tried to find you..."
"Why didn’t you listen to Mom and Dad?"
"I thought maybe one day you would co back. But... you chose to stay in the city with the one you loved, leaving your bones there."
Sophia stood quietly to the side, her expression unchanged.
"Your daughter’s back now. I admire her. She’s managed to tear down a lot of companies by herself."
"Aurora, I know you must hate for not seeing you all these years, don’t you?"
"Even knowing you were gone, I couldn’t bring myself to co..."
"Aurora, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I did to you."
"If I could, I’d give back everything I took from you. I just hope that wherever you are, you won’t hate . Please, forgive ."
Frank went on, talking to her for a long ti.
Sophia couldn’t bear it any longer. Her cold voice cut through the silence. "Is this your way of atoning, Mr. Turner? Just saying things on the surface? Have you ever heard of the term ’kowtow to apologize’?"
"Sophia, I..."
"Since you don’t know, that’s fine. Anyway, Wright Group still has two big contracts, and I’m interested."
Frank’s body stiffened, and he slowly sank to his knees.
"Kowtow, and make it loud. Otherwise, my mom won’t hear you."
His body slowly descended, and when his forehead hit the ground, the sound was sharp and heavy.
Frank closed his eyes, the weight of humiliation settling in.
"Are you satisfied now?"
Sophia scoffed, "Satisfied? I’m human. As they say, ’a person’s heart is never full.’ Haven’t you heard that, Mr. Turner?"
Frank froze, staring at her in disbelief. "What do you an?"
Sophia bent slightly forward, her eyes locking with his as she said, "I never said that if you bow, I’ll forgive you. Forgiveness? That’s my mom’s issue. And as for ... I’m just sending you to see her."
Reviews
All reviews (0)