Susan’s scheme came as no surprise to Sophia, for during the three years she was married to Alexander, Thalia and her friends had played plenty of similar tricks on her.
As a result, Sophia could foresee Susan’s intention the moment they walked up to the pond. Therefore, when Susan tried to grab her, Sophia shoved the former’s hand away and even “helped” her along by giving her a push.
Splash! The moment Susan fell into the pond, the terrified carps swam toward the fake hill to hide. As the pond was only a meter deep and Susan knew how to swim, she got back to her feet in no time. “Argh!”
The last thing she expected was for Sophia to really push her in, causing her to gulp down a few mouthfuls of water. Although the pond was cleaned every day, one could still imagine how dirty it was due to the sheer number of carp inside.
As the stench in her mouth drove her crazy, Susan’s temper flared. “How dare you push me?”
At that moment, Lukas emerged from the main door and walked over. After scrutinizing Sophia quickly to make sure that she was fine, he turned his attention to Susan. “How did you fall into the pond? It’s not like this is your first time here.”
Stunned momentarily, Susan was about to accuse Sophia of pushing her when she heard Lukas say to the latter, “Go in now. There are a lot of mosquitoes outside.”
After giving Susan—who was still in the pond—a look, Sophia nodded with a smile. “All right.”
With that, she turned and left.
Standing in the water, Susan felt it inappropriate to get out of the pond because her dress was all drenched.
As she stared at Sophia’s silhouette, she fumed, “Lukas, it was Sophia who pushed me into the water!”
Lukas gave her the side-eye. “You’re no longer a child, so why do you still say such childish things?” In spite of his gentle tone, there was a terrifying look in Lukas’ black obsidian eyes.
Due to the warm summer night, Susan didn’t feel cold despite being in the water. However, when her eyes met Lukas’, she immediately felt a chill down her spine.
Frozen at her feet, she no longer dared to blame Sophia for pushing her into the water.
When a daring fish finally swam up to her side after a while, Susan felt disgusted by it. Thus, she reached out a hand for Lukas to pull her out. “Lukas, help me. I can’t get out.”
Lukas simply furrowed his brows at her. “I’ll get someone to bring you a towel.”
Just like that, he turned around and returned to the mansion, leaving Susan stunned.
When Sophia came back to the second floor, Kylie approached her. “Are you all right?”
Kylie had no illusions about Susan’s character. She just chose to turn a blind eye when the latter came to keep her company due to her desire for a daughter.
Now that her attention was fully focused on Sophia, she knew what must be done even without Perrin asking.
Sophia shook her head with a smile. “I’m fine, Aunt Kylie.”
After a brief pause, Sophia added, “But she might not be.”
No sooner had she spoken than Lukas walked over to her side. “Ignore her the next time.”
Susan’s little games are nothing but a joke in the Dawson family. Unfortunately, it isn’t easy getting rid of pests like her. Her actions might be harmless for now, but if the situation escalates, Sophia might suffer if she isn’t careful.
Embarrassment inundated Sophia. “I understand, Lukas.”
After nodding in satisfaction, he instructed the housekeeper to bring Susan a towel.
Thereafter, Perrin and Sophia went back to their respective bedrooms, leaving only Kylie and Lukas in the living room.
After getting a change of clothes, Susan burst into tears at the sight of Kylie.
Kylie took a sip of coffee before flashing a smile at Susan. “Susan, I’m sure your mom must be jealous of me for always having you by my side. Now that I’m getting older, I don’t really enjoy shopping anymore. It would be better for you to go shopping with friends your age. Also, your granduncle prefers some peace and quiet, so you had better stop coming over for no good reason.”
Just as Susan was about to play victim, Kylie’s words caused her to choke on what she had wanted to say. Thinking that Sophia must have said something ahead of her, she attempted to explain but was stopped by Lukas’ piercing glance.
Thereafter, Kylie gave her another look. “All right now, it’s getting late. I’ll have the driver send you home.”
Despite the indignance she felt, Susan wasn’t a fool. The implicit meaning of Kylie’s words wasn’t lost upon her.
Although she was gripped by shock, Susan kept her emotions bottled up on the account of Lukas’ presence. Nevertheless, right before she left, she failed to hold back her tears.
Sniffling between her sobs, Susan remarked, “I’m going home now, Aunt Kylie.”
Kylie replied flatly, “Go on now.”
Even though Susan had gotten a change of clothes, she had still fallen into the fish pond. And yet, Kylie didn’t even bother to show her any concern even when she was about to leave.
Kylie had made it abundantly clear that she was no longer welcome in the Dawson residence. Ever since Sophia appeared out of nowhere, all they care about is her!
While Susan was leaving, Sophia was on the balcony, chatting over the phone with Alexander.
As the car drove out of the Dawson residence, its light captured Sophia’s attention. Glancing below, she couldn’t resist breaking into a smile when she was reminded of how Susan glared at her throughout the evening.
She must be feeling upset tonight.
Thinking about it gave Sophia a sense of smug satisfaction.
“When are you coming back?”
Sophia was jolted back to her senses upon hearing Alexander’s voice. “I don’t know.”
All of a sudden, she felt the urge to tease him. “Perhaps one more week, as I want to spend more time with Granddad.”
Her words cause Alexander to fall into an abrupt silence. A short while later, she heard him remark, “The rose is going to die.”
Knitting her brows, Sophia had no idea why he brought the topic up suddenly. “Flowers bloom and die all the time. Isn’t that just nature at work?”
“No. Mr. Lane says that they can only last three to seven days.”
Sophia let out a snort. “In that case, you should ask him about it.”
“It’s useless.”
“Why?”
“I plucked the rose’s petals because I wanted to find out if you miss me.”
The embarrassed Sophia replied, “What’s the conclusion?”
Since when does the great Mr. Xenos rely on counting rose petals to determine whether his girlfriend misses him?
“You were the one who told me.”
“Since when?”
“You just said that you’ll be staying there for seven more days.”
Seven days is a long time. Isn’t it obvious that she doesn’t miss me?
Sophia laughed in exasperation. “Nonsense.”
“I miss you a lot, Precious.”
As Alexander’s deep masculine voice rang out from the phone, Sophia stroked her already burning cheeks before grunting in reply. “Mmm-hmm.”
In the middle of their call, a sudden knock on the door jolted Sophia.
“I’ll talk to you later. Someone’s here to see me.”
“All right.”
Once the call ended, Sophia put her phone aside before getting the door.
Standing at the entrance was Lukas, who had some profiles in hand.
When she saw them, Sophia gave him a curious look. “What’s this about?”
“Grandpa wants you to choose.”
“What?”
“Your male partner for Grandpa’s birthday next month.”
Sophia was embarrassed upon realizing that it was part of a matchmaking process. “But Lukas, I already have a boyfriend.”
Unfortunately, Lukas didn’t care. “Grandpa asked me to give them to you. Why don’t you take a look first?”
Left without a choice, Sophia took them from his hands. “I want to officially introduce Alexander to all of you one day.”
Brows furrowed, Lukas finally wavered when he saw the look of anticipation on her face. “That’s up to you.”
After a brief pause, he added, “But I won’t help you pacify Grandpa if he gets angry.”
