Upon hearing that, Sophia raised an eyebrow and asked, “Why?”
Charlize pressed her lips and tested the waters. “He is poor, so he’s not good enough for you. But my brother is different—talent, looks, and money, he has them all. Moreover, he’ll one day inherit the Johnson family too. He’s definitely a perfect match for you! And, if you marry into our family, I promise I will never take a single cent from our family’s assets. I’ll leave everything to my nephew in the future!”
Sophia chuckled at Charlize’s teasing. “Does your brother know about your crazy thoughts?”
“Not yet.” Charlize giggled. I don’t care whether he knows or not. What’s more important is that Sophia is a great girl, and my brother will fall for her for sure.
Captivated by Sophia’s qualities, Charlize was not afraid to blindly proclaim Sophia as a paragon of excellence.
Sophia reached out and patted her head. “If you’re keen on getting yourself a sister-in-law, you should work hard to find a perfect match for him.” Don’t always put pressure on me. I don’t want to be in the eye of the storm.
Charlize was embarrassed. “Sophia, it’s not about me finding my brother a wife. To be precise, I want you to become my sister-in-law. It’s all about you, get it?”
Sophia responded with a wry smile. “You have a great brother. I bet he will find a wife as good as him.”
“If only he’ll take the initiative to find himself a wife.” Charlize sighed. That was her only wish for her brother.
She had once thought that Charles, Justin, and a few others were planning to check into a monastery when they got old. Their asceticism made her wonder if they were homosexuals.
Sophia took a sip of juice and asked, “I’m going to the restroom. Do you want to come?”
“Yeah, sure. I want to check if my eyelashes are smudged.”
Sophia took a closer look at Charlize’s eyes and noticed her eye makeup was slightly smudged, but she did not say much. “All right.” The banquet hall for this evening was on the third floor and was completely indoors.
To get to the restroom, guests would have to come out of the side door of the banquet and walk through a long corridor. Besides the side door, there was an open-air rooftop garden of over a hundred square meters, equipped with two benches and a swing.
Sophia felt that the air conditioning in the banquet hall was a little cold, so she decided to stay in the rooftop garden while waiting for Alexander and the others to finish their conversation. By doing so, she could avoid socializing with others.
Upon knowing that Sophia did wish to return to the hall, Charlize decided to accompany Sophia to the rooftop garden.
Summer heat kept everyone indoors, resulting in an empty rooftop garden. Charlize sat on the swing alone, swaying gently.
Sophia walked over to her slowly and asked, “Do you want me to push you?”
Hearing her words, Charlize turned her head expectantly and asked, “Can you give me a little push?”
“Sure, I can push you as much as you want.” Sophia smiled and gently pulled the rope to push the swing.
Roses that lined the edges of the garden bloomed brightly, and the air was filled with their sweet fragrance.
The night breeze blew gently, warm and comfortable. Sitting on the swing, Charlize could not help but exclaim, “It’s so comfortable that I feel like sleeping.”
She had been working nonstop for a month. Now that the project had just ended, she finally got a chance to take a break. Sitting on the swing, Charlize leaned against the rope and yawned.
Sophia lowered her head to look at her phone. “It’s getting late. Let’s go back.”
“Okay.” Charlize got up from the swing.
When they were about to leave, three elegantly attired women sauntered in.
Charlize immediately recognized them, as the social circle had only a limited pool of faces, making it difficult to miss their recurring presence.
Despite Kayla being sent abroad, her close friends were still in the country.
Those people were Kayla’s close friends. Even though the Fletcher family was in a mess, they still maintained close contact with Kayla, who was far away in another country.
The three of them strolled in with phones in their hands, unaware of Sophia and Charlize’s presence due to the obscurity of their location in the night.
The three women went straight to the garden and sat by the coffee table near the entrance.
“Kay, listen. Once Alexander’s relationship with Zachary is confirmed, he will be expelled from Odyssey and the Xenos family. You will be able to return to the country after that,” one of her best friends uttered.
“Is it true?”
“Yes. The news has been the talk of the town since this morning.”
Another friend echoed, “Well, Alexander will become broke soon. Well, at least he’ll still have Sophia to keep him company for the rest of his life and live happily ever after!”
The third friend burst into laughter. “They’ll be matchmade in heaven if Sophia goes bankrupt too!”
The first friend clicked her tongue. “Now that you mention it, these two seem like a perfect match. Thank goodness you didn’t end up with Alexander, Kay, or else it would have been a complete disaster!”
On the other end of the video call, Kayla was glad to hear the news. “When Alexander finally gets kicked out of the Xenos family, make sure you record it for me! I can’t wait to see his face when he hits rock bottom! And while you’re at it, don’t forget to capture Sophia’s expression tool!”
Charlize, who overheard their conversation, could not help but want to give them a piece of her mind, but Sophia beat her to it. “Wow. I’m pleasantly surprised you girls hold my relationship with Alexander in such high regard,” Sophia said while walking out of the darkness in her heels.
Approaching the three women, Sophia grinned and continued, “Oh, by the way, thank you for your blessings. Indeed, Alexander and I are a perfect match, and we will definitely live happily ever after.”
After glaring at them from the corners of her eyes, she turned around to look at Charlize. “Charlize, let’s go.”
Kayla’s friends froze in place, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say.
When they finally came to their senses, they realized Sophia and Charlize had walked far ahead.
Sophia’s words had rendered them speechless, and all they could do was exchange annoyed glances.
Two seconds later, someone asked, “What was she doing here in the first place?”
“God knows!”
The three women were startled by Sophia’s appearance. They were also stunned when she responded sarcastically to the remarks they made about her and Alexander.
Sophia glanced at her. “I didn’t do much.”
When it came to arguments, Sophia knew she could not hold a candle to Katherine.
Nonetheless, Charlize begged to differ. She continued showering Sophia with compliments.
By the time they returned to the banquet hall, Alexander had already wrapped up his conversations with the guests and was on the lookout for them.
As Alexander approached, Charlize felt a pang of guilt for trying to steal Sophia away from him. After greeting him with a quick hello, she excused herself to go and find her brother.
Alexander looked at Charlize’s back. “Did she say something bad about me behind my back?”
“No,” Sophia replied. She just tried to matchmake me and her brother, that’s all.
Of course, Sophia didn’t say that out loud. She was not the kind of person who would betray her friends.
Alexander took her hand. “Where did you go?”
“I went to the small garden to catch some fresh air,” she responded. After a slight pause, she continued, “I also just taught three shrews a lesson.”
Upon hearing that, Alexander lowered his head and looked at her. “Shrews?”
“Yes,” Sophia said, meeting his gaze with a serious expression.
“Who did you run into?” the man asked.
“Just a couple of buffoons,” Sophia said, not wanting to say more.
Noting her reticence, Alexander decided not to press the issue any further.
He held her hand tightly and whispered, “Let’s go home.”
Sophia’s heart skipped a beat. She turned her head to look at him, offering a soft smile. “Okay.”
The word “home” filled her heart with warmth and comfort.
