The couple then made their way back to the ballroom. After taking a moment to scan the crowd around them, Sophia soon noticed two women who averted their eyes upon meeting her gaze.
Huh… What a coincidence. I know those two. They’re Kayla’s best friends, Ruby Capella and Helena Falkowitz. It looks like Kayla’s friends still concern themselves with me even though she’s been sent overseas.
Sophia arched an eyebrow in amusement as she retracted her gaze.
“Did you manage to identify them?” Alexander asked, lowering his head to look at her.
“Yeah! They’re Ms. Fletcher’s best friends!” she replied with a chuckle.
He had no idea who Kayla’s best friends were, but it was not hard for him to figure that out. As he swept his gaze around the crowd, he noticed two people had nervous looks in their eyes. It must be them.
Meanwhile, Bruno had just finished delivering his speech on the stage, and a cake over a meter tall was brought over. With the help of Megan’s cousin, Kevin Queen, the elderly man cut the first slice of the cake. Kevin then cut up the rest of the cake on his behalf and served them to the guests. As Alexander and his group were VIPs, Megan and Kevin brought the cake slices to them in person.
“Here you go, Ms. Yarrow. Have some cake,” Megan said to Sophia with a forced smile.
In truth, she did not want to bring her the cake in person.
However, the latter attended the banquet with Alexander. Not only was Sophia his girlfriend, but she was also standing beside him at the moment. Considering the situation, Megan obviously could not have someone serve the cake slice in her stead.
“Thanks, Ms. Queen,” Sophia said smilingly as she took the cake over.
Seemingly having learned her lesson from the previous incident, Megan treated Sophia with civility, though it was faked.
Although the cake was delicious, Sophia only ate a little bit of it because she did not like sweet food.
As for Alexander, he put it down on the table next to him without even trying it.
“You don’t like the cake?” Sophia asked with a smile.
Samuel, who had just finished his serving of the cake, snorted before commenting, “Alex hates eating creamy stuff like this the most!”
His words caused her to recall how she ordered a cake two days ago due to a sudden craving from her monthlies but got sick of it after taking a few bites. Upon spotting Alexander, she casually asked if he would like to have the cake.
In reality, she merely felt like being mischievous, not intending to have him finish her leftovers.
Yet, the man nodded, took the cake from her, and ate it anyway.
The cake she ordered was a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, so it was very sweet and creamy. Even so, Alexander finished it for her without any hesitation.
Snapping herself out of her reverie, Sophia wore a teasing smile as she flashed a glance at him. “Is that so?”
Alexander shot Samuel an icy-cold look. “You’re such a blabber.”
The latter stared blankly at him in confusion.
Huh? Did I say anything wrong? It’s true that Alex doesn’t like cake, though!
Justin failed to stifle a chuckle. “You should watch your mouth next time.”
“Thanks, Mr. Schild!” Sophia said with a giggle.
Still, Samuel was bemused. Why can’t I seem to understand them?
While they were chatting, Kevin and Megan held Bruno steady as he made his way over. “Mr. Xenos, Mr. Schild, Mr. Quail, and Mr. Johnson, it is my honor to have you all here today!” the elderly man said with a smile.
Since Bruno bantered with them, Samuel, who was somewhat associated with the Queen family because of his aunt, had to entertain him. “What are you saying, Old Mr. Queen? We’re the ones honored to be attending your birthday party!” he replied.
Bruno let out a hearty chuckle upon hearing that. “Oh, Samuel! You sure know what to say!”
He then shifted his gaze toward Sophia and continued, “You must be Ms. Yarrow, right? You are absolutely gorgeous! Samuel, why don’t you learn a thing or two from Mr. Xenos?”
Samuel rubbed his nose awkwardly. “Hey, it’s not my fault I haven’t met the right one for me!”
Sophia flashed Bruno a gentle smile as she said, “Thank you, Old Mr. Queen. I wish you good health always!”
It was her first time receiving such a treatment. Feeling nervous, she tilted her head to glance at Alexander, who was gazing at her. When he noticed her gaze, he gave her hand a gentle and reassuring squeeze.
As Bruno had to thank the many other guests for attending his birthday banquet, he could only keep his conservation with Alexander and his friends short. After a brief exchange of greetings, he went to talk to the other guests.
By then, it was about time for Sophia and the others to leave, but Samuel had to stay because of Jessica.
Charles, too, was about to leave with them after being rejoined by Charlize.
However, the young woman felt the urge to use the restroom before leaving. “Ms. Yarrow, would you mind accompanying me to the restroom?” she asked, looking at Sophia.
The latter nodded. “Sure thing.”
No sooner had those words left her mouth than Charlize wrapped her arm around hers.
With a darkening face, Alexander glared at Charles in displeasure.
“That has nothing to do with me,” Charles replied while he stood sipping his champagne.
Because he loved his sister a lot, he could never bring himself to reprimand her.
Justin, who came by himself, waved them goodbye and left the banquet first.
“Great!”
The two of them then entered separate restroom stalls.
Just as they locked the stall doors, two people they knew all too well entered the restroom.
“What was Sophia’s present, Mom?” Megan asked.
Jessica clicked her tongue in disdain and replied, “What do you expect from her? It was Gold Helios that cost about twenty thousand.”
Nevertheless, she had to admit that Sophia chose a good gift. Bruno’s had a great passion for coffee, so Gold Helios would be right up his alley. Besides, only those close to him would present him with expensive and fancy gifts. Otherwise, most of the guests would choose to give him coffee sets and inexpensive coffee beans so as not to seem overly disrespectful.
While Sophia’s gift was not exactly the fanciest, it was not the cheapest either. All and all, it was all right and served its purpose well.
“And here I thought she gifted Grandpa something really expensive! Previously, she called our vase at home a fake and claimed that she had the real one. If that’s the case, why didn’t she give Grandpa the real vase as a birthday gift? I knew she was just keeping up appearances!” Megan exclaimed, curling her lips in disdain.
Jessica let out a chuckle when she heard her daughter’s utterances. “Don’t say that in front of anyone else. It’s true that Sophia’s gift isn’t exactly impressive, but there isn’t anything bad about it either. Don’t go around talking about it, or people might think we care about it a lot!”
Charlize, who had just put her pants back on, stormed out of her stall angrily. “Please, it’s obvious that you care a great deal about Ms. Yarrow’s gift! Why else would you two fixate on it so much otherwise?”
It was her first time getting into a confrontation with others. One could tell that she was irate based on her reddened eyes.
In truth, she felt that the two women had crossed the line. “Mrs. Queen, Ms. Queen, you two have gone too far! Three years ago, Ms. Yarrow was pushed into the pool when attending Old Mr. Queen’s birthday party. Not only did you fail to help her, but you also deliberately let the guests watch on instead of dispersing the crowd. It has been three years, so why are you two still targeting her? Did Ms. Yarrow do something to offend you two?”
Jessica was not expecting Charlize to pop out like that, so she was at a loss for words for some time.
Megan, on the other hand, was quick to counter, “Why are you defending that promiscuous woman? Aren’t you afraid that she might steal your brother’s heart? No one will protect you, then!”
“As a matter of fact, I would love to have Ms. Yarrow as my sister-in-law!”
Right then, Sophia was so amused that she could not help letting out a chuckle.
Jessica and Megan instinctively glanced in the direction of the laughter. At the sight of Sophia coming out of the restroom stall, their faces stiffened.
