Chapter 298
Chapter 298
Sophia flashed Jessica a half-smile before making her way over to the sink. “I didn't know you wanted my vase that badly, Ms. Queen,” she said nonchalantly while washing her hands.
Then, she dried her wet hands with a paper towel and continued, “But why should I give it to you?”
At that moment, Sophia chuckled and looked at Jessica. “Do you think the Queen family is worthy of owning it?”
“You've gone too far, Ms. Yarrow!”
The affront caused Jessica to flush with anger. Initially, she had not planned to say anything, but Sophia's words ticked her off.
Sophia walked up to Charlize. Upon glimpsing her reddened eyes, she said softly, “You shouldn't get mad at stray dogs for barking, you silly girl. It's not worth it.”
With that, she held the latter's hand and led her out of the restroom.
“Hey, Sophia! Who are you calling stray dogs, huh? Get back over here and explain yourself!” Megan yelled angrily.
To her surprise, Sophia obliged, turning around and walking back to them. Instead of speaking, however, she pulled out her phone and played an audio recording. “What was Sophia's present, Mom? What do you expect from her? It was Gold Helios that cost about twenty thousand. And here I thought —”
“H-How can you be this despicable?” Megan interrupted with a scream when the realization dawned upon her.
At that moment, Sophia paused the audio recording. The smile on her slowly faded as she stared at Megan. “Despicable? You were the one shamelessly badmouthing me behind my back, Ms. Queen.”
Not wanting to cause a huge scene, Jessica stepped in and tried to defuse the situation. “She's just a little childish and bad with her words, Ms. Yarrow. Please don't take it to heart!” she said, ignoring Sophia's satire.
Sophia concurred, “Yes, she is bad with her words.” At that point, she paused before continuing, “However, anyone smart enough would know better than to demand gifts from others. It would make it seem that the Queen family can't afford a vase that only costs a few million. It can easily cause a misunderstanding, Mrs. Queen.”
She, too, never intended for things to get that ugly, but she refused to put up with Jessica's and Megan's insults.
Since Sophia had the audio recording with her, there was not much Jessica could do except admit their faults. “You're absolutely right, Ms. Yarrow! I'll be sure to reprimand her later! Since today is my father- in-law's birthday, let's just end this conversation here, lest we make ourselves look bad by causing a scene.”
Despite her polite tone, there was a subtle threat in the last sentence she said.
Sophia nodded. “I wholeheartedly agree, Mrs. Queen. Old Mr. Queen is well up in years, and it's his big
day today, so I wouldn't want to spoil his mood either. We'll end this conversation for today.”
Just for today, though...
However, Jessica was so relieved that she did not pay too much attention to Sophia's choice of words. “We'll be on our way now, Ms. Yarrow. There are lots of guests we have yet to greet!”
Sophia simply chuckled as if she had not put the mother-and-daughter duo in a tough spot earlier.
While being dragged away by Jessica, Megan even shot Sophia a resentful glare before leaving the restroom.
Charlize was never good with arguments, so she was deeply impressed by Sophia's performance.
She had always assumed that arguments were won by spewing as many words as possible while being the louder one.
However, Sophia did neither of those and simply relied on her wits to outsmart her opponents. If anything, it felt more like a one-sided battle than a typical argument.
“You're so good with your words, Soph!” Charlize exclaimed.
Being slow at thinking and speaking, she knew she would not have been able to win that argument.
In fact, she got so agitated earlier that she nearly broke into tears while screaming at them.
I feel so sorry for Ms. Yarrow! She has to put up with the Queen family's bullying. I witnessed it all and had so many things I wanted to say to stand up for her, yet I didn't know where to begin.
Smiling, Sophia gently wiped the corner of Charlize's eyes as she replied, “When dealing with unreasonable people like those two, you need to remain calm and analyze their weaknesses. After that, just exploit it to your advantage, and you'll have them at your mercy.”
There, she paused for a while before continuing, “In other words, you need to hit them where it hurts most.”
Charlize understood every single word Sophia said, but she got confused when they were all put together like that.
“You're so amazing, Ms. Yarrow!”
That response made it clear to Sophia that Charlize did not understand a word she had said, so she did not continue to explain. “Just remember not to lose your cool next time, okay?”
You lose the moment you get angry.
“Got it!”
Jessica and Megan had already regained their composure by the time Sophia and Charlize returned to the ballroom. Jessica even had a radiant smile on her face as she escorted them out of there with Samuel. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
Sophia shot a sardonic look at the older woman before leaving the hotel with Alexander.
“What happened back there?” Alexander blurted just as Sophia fastened her seat belt.
She saw no reason to hide it from him, so she pulled out her phone and played the audio recording.
Alexander's face clouded over as he listened on.
Once the audio recording ended, he started the car and said, “Send me a copy of that audio recording.”
Sophia arched an eyebrow at him in amusement. “Oh? What naughty thing are you planning on doing, Mr. Xenos?”
“You were planning to send it out, weren't you?”
“Yeah, I was, but not tonight,” Sophia admitted to it without any hesitation. Even though he saw right through her, she did not feel embarrassed at all.
“I told them I would let this matter slide for today!” she added after a brief pause.
It'll be a whole different story tomorrow, though!
Coincidentally, the traffic light ahead of them turned red. Alexander seized the opportunity to look at her and replied, “Okay, I'll send it out tomorrow.”
Sophia clicked her tongue. “I want to do it myself.”
“All right.”
He did not insist on it further as he knew she was no pushover.
It was still a little early when they returned to the mansion. While Alexander was cutting up some fruits in the kitchen, Sophia got changed in the bedroom and sent Katherine a copy of the audio recording.
The latter was so furious that her hands trembled greatly. It was impossible for her to type, so she chose to send a voice message. “Is there something wrong with Megan and her mother? Why do they keep fixating on you? Is the Queen family so poor that they need you to gift them a vase that's only worth a few million?”
Sophia burst out laughing when she heard the voice message. After taking a moment to recompose herself, she texted: Only worth a few million?
Displeased with her sarcastic response, Katherine replied: Oh, please! Spare me the sarcasm, will you? My point is that the Queen family has gone overboard! I remember when you fell into the pool at Old Mr. Queen's eightieth birthday party three years ago, Megan even brought a crowd over to laugh at you! Jessica seems like a nice lady on the outside, but she's just as evil as Megan! You didn't offend her, so why does she hate you so much?
Sophia gave it some thought, then texted: Maybe it's because I am too pretty.
After all, those who looked great were often the target of jealous people.
Katherine replied: Fair enough. Honestly, I sometimes get jealous when I see that pretty face of yours!
That had Sophia chuckling, and she texted: You should take a look at your face in the mirror.
Thinking that she was about to compliment her, Katherine waited patiently with an eager smile on her face. However, Sophia's next message wrote: Once you do that, you'll see that you can never reach my level of beauty!
Katherine: Boo-hoo! I'm cutting ties with you!
Sophia: All right, then. Goodbye!
Katherine: Hey! Don't actually leave me!
Not wanting to waste any more time bantering, Sophia texted: Get someone to publish that voice recording tomorrow.
Since Megan and her mother liked to badmouth others, she would let them have a taste of their own medicine.
Katherine replied excitedly: All right! I'll contact the entertainment accounts right away!
Smiling, Sophia sent: Go on!
No sooner had she put her phone down than Alexander came upstairs with the fruits.
With an eyebrow arched, she met his gaze and asked, “What is it?”