Sophia spent her time leisurely for a while; her life was peaceful during this period of time. Either her warning to Bethany that day had been effective, or Tobias had gone home and warned Bethany personally.
In the blink of an eye, four to five days passed, and the Shining Stars Awards event that Katherine had mentioned finally arrived.
Early in the morning, Katherine called Sophia to inform her that someone would come and do her makeup in the afternoon. It was a must for her to be the prettiest tonight.
Sophia held her phone and laughed out of annoyance at the call as she had just woken up. “Kathy, have I been too lax with you for too long?”
“I-I’m just doing it for you!”
Katherine, who was timid yet loved to cause trouble, instantly hung up after that. Rage was building up in Sophia, but she had no outlet to vent her frustrations. Hence, she could only shut her eyes and take deep breaths slowly to calm herself down.
What Katherine planned was a mystery to her. Sometime past three in the afternoon, just as Sophia woke up from her afternoon nap, the doorbell rang.
In a daze, she dragged her indoor-slippered feet to go downstairs and open the door. When she saw about five to six people standing at the gates, she instantly snapped awake. “Did Katherine ask you all to come?”
“Yes, Ms. Yarrow.”
Sophia rubbed her temples. “All right. Come in.”
She had no idea where Katherine found these people. They forced her to do as they said as they dolled her up. Finally, three hours later, she could depart for the event.
Other than the day Sophia married Alexander, she had never put on such intricate makeup.
Her features were very beautiful, to begin with, especially her pretty eyes that were alluring yet not seductive. Instead of putting heavy makeup on her face, the makeup artist spent a lot of effort putting on makeup for her that seemed as natural as possible.
The invitation card was with Katherine, so Sophia had to meet up with her first.
Katherine dispatched a car to pick Sophia up, so the latter did not need to drive.
The sky was already dark at six in the evening. Sophia sat in the back of the car and looked out of the window. Katherine texted her to ask where she was at the moment.
Not knowing where she was exactly, Sophia simply sent her location to Katherine.
Five minutes later, the car stopped.
Jonice walked toward her from an MPV parked nearby. “Ms. Yarrow, Katherine’s in the car.”
Lifting the hem of her dress, Sophia looked at Jonice and smiled. “What’s so important about the event tonight that made Katherine so anxious?”
Jonice’s head throbbed as she briefly explained what was going on between Katherine and Elise.
After Sophia finished listening to Jonice’s clarification, she could not help but lift an eyebrow. “What support or background does this Elise have?”
Jonice was taken aback for an instant before she snapped back to her senses and said hesitatingly, “Ms. Yarrow, Elise has a rather strong backing. We should probably just—”
Sophia smirked. “Jonice, you’ve known me for so many years. Surely you know that I’m very protective of those around me.”
Who dares to bully my friends? Get ready for the reckoning!
Jonice chuckled out loud. “I shouldn’t have told you about it.”
With a scoff, Sophia said, “But, you’ve already told me, so there’s no turning back.”
Left with no choice, Jonice uttered a name. “Miguel Johnson.”
“Oh.” Sophia nodded and said, “No wonder.”
Miguel was the paternal cousin of Charles, who was younger than him. Indeed, Elise had the backing of an impressive supporter.
The two women had already arrived next to the MPV as they spoke. Jonice pulled open the car door for Sophia, who entered and was immediately pulled into a hug by Katherine. “You look like an angel! Let me give you a smooch first!”
Sophia raised her hand to stop Katherine by the forehead. “This is more than two hours of effort put into makeup. Don’t ruin it.”
The latter knew that what Sophia said was right, so she retracted her arms and sized her friend up. “Tsk, tsk. I would like to know who would be so blind so as to reject an angel like you, Soph.”
Sophia leaned back and sneered faintly, “Alexander Xenos.”
After their divorce for more than half a year, Sophia discovered that she could now make fun of herself with an open mind.
Jerks like him don’t deserve my time of day.
Katherine blinked her eyes wide at Sophia and gave the latter a thumbs-up. “You’re so cool! You’d even insult yourself when you’re feeling mean!”
The corners of Sophia’s lips curved upward into a smile. “I’m so-so.”
The car slowly began to move. On the way to their destination, Katherine told Sophia about the many atrocities that Elise had committed.
Sophia did not care much about the business; Specter Entertainment had always been managed by Katherine. As Sophia had been completely preoccupied with Alexander during those few years, Katherine did not tell her about all these things that happened.
She did not want to add to Sophia’s frustrations and burdens.
It was only when Sophia was free of her shackles that Katherine dared to tell her about all these things as if they were merely for entertainment.
However, Sophia’s priority was evidently different from Katherine’s. “In other words, she snatched two main roles, three advertisements, and a movie from you within the past few years?”
Katherine, who had been excitedly ranting and scolding Elise, fell silent.
Why does it sound worse to hear her mention my disgraceful moments?
She gave a light cough and muttered, “I snatched plenty of resources from her too.”
“I see. How much do you mean by ‘plenty’?”
“W-Well, there’s that movie Double Stacks!”
Sophia gave her an amused glance. “And?”
“T-That’s it.”
“Pathetic!” scolded Sophia teasingly. “Don’t worry. I’ll help you get it all back.”
Katherine was stunned for a moment. When she snapped back to her senses, she said, “Sophia, do you want to be my lady?”
“What about Joshua?”
Katherine fell silent.
While the two women chattered on, the car arrived shortly at the pier.
After Katherine and Sophia handed their invitation cards to the attendant and boarded the ship, they saw Mason and Howard from afar.
James and Joachim were undergoing training at the company’s training camp, so Katherine did not ask them to come. “Katherine! Soph!” greeted Mason and Howard as they walked over.
Their eyes landed on Katherine, then on Sophia.
Katherine had been a celebrity for many years, so she had dolled herself up countless times. However, this was the first time for Sophia.
The woman already stood out barefaced, but after being dolled up that night, paired with Katherine’s specially customized evening gown, she would be the prettiest even when she stood in the midst of female celebrities.
Mason’s heart skipped a beat. “Soph, you’re absolutely stunning tonight.”
Katherine eyed him and said, “Am I not stunning then?”
“Katherine, you already have plenty of people singing praises for you. Do you even need my humble words of praise?”
“Of course!”
Howard was more reserved. He merely greeted them and, afraid of Katherine’s badgering, praised both ladies impartially.
The four of them were happily chatting away when Katherine’s rival arrived.
Elise wore an extremely eye-catching floor-length red dress. Unfortunately, her looks were incompatible with her outfit, and she did not have enough charisma, so it gave others the impression that she was forcing it upon her.
Katherine had previously insinuated that Elise was ugly and that she did not even have the right to be Sophia’s servant. She took Katherine’s words to heart and instinctively began to look for her as soon as she entered the venue.
Katherine was wearing a black gown that day. Beautiful and elegant, she was oozing with charisma.
Elise gave a cold huff of disdain and was about to lift the hem of her dress to make her way over when she laid eyes on the unfamiliar person standing next to Katherine.
Creasing her brows, Elise asked her manager, who stood next to her, “Who’s the woman standing beside Katherine? Is she a newbie? I’ve never seen her before.”
The manager glanced at the woman in question and was somewhat blown away by the latter’s beauty. “I’ve never heard about her.”
“Then, we’ll go and ask who she is!”
At that, Elise walked toward the group.
Katherine had been waiting for this moment. When she saw Elise finally approach her, she put on a polite smile and greeted, “Elise, long time no see.”
“It’s been a long time indeed. Who’s this lady next to you?”
Sophia looked at Elise, who was dressed in red, and lifted her brows slightly. She proactively stretched out her hand to shake Elise’s as she uttered, “Hello, Ms. Gardner. I’m Sophia Yarrow, the woman who, according to you, is ugly, crippled, incapable, and deserved to be ditched.”
