Alexander must have actually been exhausted as he fell into a slumber within minutes.
Sophia looked at her hand that was tightly grabbed by the man and attempted to pull her hand out. However, the moment she moved, he tightened his grip.
The weather was great that day, and sunlight streamed through the windows at the side.
The snoozing Alexander was well-behaved and only held her hand as promised.
Sophia lowered her head and gazed at his face. She thought Alexander looked a lot more approachable with his eyes shut.
Seeing the man’s unbuttoned collar billow as a gust of chilly breeze swept by, she grabbed the thin blanket by the side and covered it over his body.
In truth, she did not intend to take an afternoon nap since she had turned in early the night before. But now, she could head nowhere else other than keeping Alexander company in the guest room as she could not loosen herself from Alexander’s tight grip.
After staying in the room for some time, Sophia felt somewhat sleepy.
Nevertheless, she was startled awake by the doorbell even before she could fall asleep.
Sophia furrowed her brows and turned to look at Alexander. The man, who was lying on the bed, opened his eyes and stared at her groggily.
She seized the opportunity to retract her hand. “Go to sleep. I’ll head downstairs.”
With that said, she turned and left before he could speak.
Sophia walked to the door in her slippers, only to find Katherine with her sunglasses on standing outside. Surprised, she asked, “Why are you here?”
Katherine looked over her shoulder in a mysterious manner. “Let’s go! Let’s head inside and talk!”
At that, Sophia tilted her body slightly to make way for Katherine.
As soon as Katherine entered, she ran upstairs straight. Sophia closed the door and trailed behind her.
Shortly after making her way up the stairs, Sophia saw Alexander standing along the corridor. Beside him was Katherine, who had her gaze fixated on the man dazedly.
Seeing Sophia’s presence, Katherine snapped out of her train of thought. “Sophia, what’s going on between you and him?”
“Have some water and hear my excuses.”
When Sophia finished her sentence, she instantly felt a little embarrassed. Nonetheless, she kept a calm look on her face. “I misspoke. I meant hear me explain myself.”
Katherine snorted and was about to say something, but as her gaze landed on Alexander, she swallowed her words back and, instead, said, “Why don’t you explain then?”
The smile on his face disappeared, and his expression grew immensely chilly. Finally, he glanced at Sophia. “I’ll head back to the company.”
Of course, Sophia was more than happy to hear him say that. “Okay.”
Since there was the presence of a third party, Alexander nodded, grabbed his tie and coat on the couch, and trotted downstairs right after.
Soon, the sound of a car engine came from downstairs.
Alexander left.
Following that, Katherine pulled Sophia to the couch. “Did you two reconcile?”
Sophia placed a cup in front of Katherine. “Would you believe me if I say no?”
Katherine let out a derisive snort. “Do you take me as a fool, Soph? Even a three-year-old wouldn’t believe your words!”
Sophia pursed her lips. “You certainly aren’t a fool. But given your intelligence, perhaps you might believe me, no?”
Katherine fell silent for a moment. It seemed like a thought flashed across her mind after gulping a mouthful of water. “Hey, hey, hey. Stop avoiding giving me an answer. Don’t try to change the subject either! Did you get back together with Alexander?”
Sophia did not have the intention of keeping her in the dark. Leaning back on the couch, she chuckled. “It’s a yes and a no.”
“What do you mean by that? There should only be an answer to that question—a yes or a no. He has even stepped foot in here, yet you’re still telling me it’s a yes and a no?”
Embarrassment inundated Sophia. “I agreed to start dating him again and see if things work for us.”
“That’s the same as getting back together with him! Oh gosh. That jerk is snatching you away from me again! How annoying!”
The furious Katherine gulped down the whole cup of water. “Pour me another cup!”
Sophia poured her another cup of water and stared at her in exasperation. “Have you calmed down?”
Gulping down another half a cup of water, Katherine regained some composure. “So, has he transferred all his assets to you?”
Sophia was both stunned and amused by those words. “Do you only have your eyes on money?”
“Well, of course. Money is a sensitive topic. Talking too much about it will hurt relationships, and so is it the other way around. If that’s so, wouldn’t it be perfect if all we care about is money?”
For that mere moment, Sophia thought Katherine’s sophistry made some sense. “Has Joshua transferred all his assets to you then?”
Katherine nodded. “Yes. Didn’t I tell you? Oh, I must have been too happy and forgot to tell you about it.”
Sophia thought Katherine was showing off and flashed an ambiguous smile at her. “You did that on purpose, huh?”
“Hehe.”
Then, Katherine contained her cheekiness and became solemn. “No matter what kind of decision you make, as long as you’re happy and won’t go through the same heartache again, I’m fine with it. That also applies if you want to marry him again.” At this point, she suddenly heaved a sigh. “Joshua said Alexander is a capable guy. They’ve interacted before, and he says Alexander is still good enough for you.”
Sophia was a little touched. “Thank you.”
“Let’s not talk about this anymore. Anyway, I was shopping with Joshua earlier. Out of nowhere, some paparazzi appeared. I’m so mad!”
But then again, I gained an unexpected insight. I can’t believe this rich woman has actually found herself a man.
Thinking about that, Katherine felt a little upset.
Sophia raised an eyebrow. “It’s been over half a year since you registered your marriage. When do you two intend to make your relationship public?”
That had Katherine stumped for a moment. “Actually, I intend to make it public after winning the Emmy Award.”
Hearing that, Sophia chortled. “Oh, I guess you probably don’t intend to make your relationship public then.”
“Aww… Don’t you feel your conscience getting pricked for attacking me like this?”
Sophia drank a mouthful of water. “No, because I don’t have a conscience.”
Katherine’s appearance at Sophia’s house was, in truth, her running away from trouble. She found it bizarre that the paparazzi would still be tailing her when her popularity had gone downhill.
Later, Sophia ordered some food to be delivered for them to snack on. The two good friends chatted for over two hours before Katherine received a call from Jonice. She put on her sunglasses and left after that.
With that, Sophia was left all alone in the mansion. She sat on the couch, and her eyes began to turn red-rimmed as she recalled Katherine’s words: Don’t worry—we will always be your pillar of support.
She pulled a weak smile on her face as she lifted her hand to wipe the tears that had welled up in her eyes. Hearing the sound of the car engine outside, she whipped her head and directed her line of vision toward the balcony.
It’s great to have Katherine as my friend.
At about six that evening, Sophia was planning to order food delivery. But before she did, Alexander called.
Upon concluding the call, she headed upstairs and changed into a sky-blue dress with yellow floral prints. After that, she left the house in her car.
It was more than half a month into April, and springtime in Jadeborough had almost ended.
When Sophia arrived at the restaurant, Alexander was already waiting for her at a table.
He had reserved a booth that was at one corner of the restaurant. From afar, Sophia spotted him on his phone.
Alexander’s facial features were so outstanding the two ladies at the neighboring table could not resist staring at him.
Perhaps he had noticed their intense stares, for he was frowning while talking on his phone.
Sophia tutted. He looks equally cold and arrogant as the second time I met him back then.
Putting away her random thoughts, she walked toward the table and sat down.
Noticing her arrival, Alexander hung up the phone immediately. “That’s a pretty dress.”
Sophia lowered her gaze and glanced at her dress. “Thank you. I love it too.”
“But I think you look prettier.”
As he said that, he poured her a cup of coffee. “Be careful. It’s hot.”
Sophia watched the man shift the cup over to her. When she reached out to grab the cup, Alexander had yet to retract his hand, and the tips of his fingers brushed across the back of her hand lightly, though she was unsure if it was intentional or not.
Sophia felt her heart skip a beat. However, she did not say a word and merely lowered her head to sip on the coffee.
With his eyes fixed on her, Alexander narrowed his eyes slightly. “So, what excuses did you use?”
