Justin Hughes, who had been standing far down the hall, strode in stiffly. "Sophia Shaw, I was the one who left you behind! If you’re angry, take it out on me! Why hit Vincent?"

"She’s hitting her own husband. She can hit him however she wants. Stop being so nosy!" Leah Evans scoffed.

’She f*cking despised Justin Hughes.’

"As for you, you shouldn’t be here. You should be at the police station turning yourself in."

"What you did was murder!"

Sophia Shaw closed her eyes. She hated the idea of continuing on as Vincent Grant’s wife.

The very word "husband" felt disgustingly filthy to her now.

Security guards arrived quickly and asked the three of them to leave.

Vincent Grant gave her a deep, meaningful look, then left without a word.

Jack Holloway hurried after him.

After being berated by Leah Evans, Justin Hughes left as well, his face rigid.

Once everyone had dispersed, Sophia Shaw calmed her mind and fell into a long sleep.

She slept until June Evans arrived with some restorative soup.

When June Evans came in, she had a dark expression on her face. "Pigs must be flying. That Grant fella actually didn’t leave. He’s shamelessly keeping watch downstairs."

Sophia Shaw glanced out the window.

Sure enough, she saw Vincent Grant standing down below.

His hair was jet-black, his posture ramrod straight.

"Where was he when you nearly died in that typhoon? And now he decides to put on this show?"

June Evans was thoroughly disgusted.

She had just given him a harsh tongue-lashing downstairs.

It was noon, and the sun was scorching.

There were no trees downstairs to offer any shade. Standing out there was surely no different from being roasted in an oven.

Sophia Shaw gave him a single, indifferent glance before looking away.

June Evans had been worried Sophia might go soft on him, but seeing her reaction, she felt completely relieved.

After the meal, June Evans went home to look after Chloe.

Sophia Shaw rested for a while. When she heard Ms. Archer and Bun were coming, she went downstairs specifically to meet them.

"Sophia."

As she was crossing the lawn, Vincent Grant walked over and called her name.

After several hours under the sun, Vincent Grant’s face was pale and ashen. He didn’t look well.

In the past, if he looked even the slightest bit unwell, Sophia Shaw would have been terribly worried.

Now, seeing him in this pathetic state, her heart was as still as water.

"I’m sorry," Vincent Grant said, lowering his head.

’As expected of someone raised by the Grant family. When he does something wrong, he’s decisive in punishing himself.’

’And just as decisive when admitting his mistakes.’

’But no amount of decisiveness could hide the fact that he had abandoned her in a typhoon for Joanna Sherman, leaving her to nearly die.’

’Even a stranger wouldn’t have done that.’

Sophia Shaw had a gentle disposition, but she couldn’t restrain the urge to slap him again.

"I never asked you to take me up that mountain."

"If you didn’t want to, you could have refused to drive me for Grandma."

"You could have even stopped halfway and let me get out on my own."

"But you did none of that. You took me to that desolate, deserted place and just let someone else drag me out of the car!"

"And that was when there was still a seat available!"

"Vincent Grant, you don’t even see me as a person!"

Her clear, sharp eyes were like daggers plunging straight into his heart.

Vincent Grant pressed his lips together, rendered speechless for the first time by the questioning of his gentle wife.

His arms hung limply at his sides, his fingers lacking even the strength to curl into a fist.

Sophia Shaw gave a bitter smile.

’Oh, Vincent. He always knows just how to hurt me.’

’Now that I’ve stopped tearing my heart out over him and Joanna Sherman, he pulls this stunt.’

’Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting!’

"Vincent Grant, let’s get a divorce. As soon as possible."

...

"Mom."

Sophia Shaw was playing with Bun when Cedric Grant shuffled in, looking timid.

He looked reserved and guilt-ridden.

’It was because of him that so much time had been wasted, making his mother suffer so much.’

Cedric Grant couldn’t even lift his head.

Sophia Shaw’s gaze toward him was utterly indifferent.

Cedric Grant looked extremely uncomfortable. He quickly placed an insulated food container on the table. "Great-Aunt said this soup helps wounds heal faster. Mom, you should drink it."

Sophia Shaw didn’t even touch it. "Why don’t you take it back for Auntie Joanna."

"Mom..."

Cedric Grant’s eyes welled with guilty tears, threatening to spill over.

’Mom knows!’

’She knows that I lied to Great-Aunt, telling her Mom was with me, just so I could help Auntie Joanna memorize the soup ingredients.’

Cedric Grant wrung his hands helplessly. "Auntie Joanna..."

"Don’t worry, I won’t go and make trouble for your ’Auntie Joanna’," Sophia Shaw said, cutting him off again.

Sophia Shaw’s accurate guess struck Cedric Grant’s face like a heavy slap.

He stared blankly at Sophia, his face flushing red with embarrassment.

Seeing Cedric Grant’s face flush crimson, Sophia Shaw found it laughable.

’He talks about Joanna Sherman nonstop, even muttering in his sleep, begging me not to make things difficult for her. And now that I’ve spelled it out for him, *he’s* the one who gets embarrassed?’

Sophia Shaw placed a card in Cedric’s palm. "I might not have much time to spend with you in the future. I’ll make regular deposits to this card until you turn eighteen."

’Cedric doesn’t lack for money, but child support is her responsibility, and she had no intention of shirking it.’

Cedric clutched the card, feeling as if Sophia was giving him final instructions.

’As if she didn’t want him anymore.’

"Mom, what’s wrong?" Cedric asked, grabbing Sophia’s arm in a panic. For some reason, tears began to stream down his face.

Sophia gave him one last hug. "Cedric, your father and I are getting a divorce."

"You like Auntie Joanna so much. From now on, you can be with her every day. No one will stop you."

"Study hard."

...

Sophia Shaw completed her discharge procedures that evening.

Work at Lead Aerospace was demanding; she couldn’t afford to miss a single day.

Besides, the hospital was hardly a place for peace and quiet.

While Ms. Archer handled the paperwork, Sophia waited on a stone bench downstairs, holding Bun.

A wheelchair slowly approached and stopped in front of her.

Sophia Shaw looked up to see Joanna Sherman’s arrogant, disdainful gaze.

She waved a hand, dismissing the nurse who had been pushing her chair.

Only then did she speak, her tone casual. "Was that really necessary? Scaring a child with divorce just to prove your own importance?"

"You don’t even have that much grace. How can you expect Cedric to like you?"

Sophia Shaw chuckled lightly. "I’m not scaring him with divorce. I’m simply telling him the truth."

"Since you’re so full of grace, Cedric is all yours from now on."

Joanna Sherman was visibly taken aback.

But she quickly recovered, retorting disdainfully, "Do you even believe those words coming out of your own mouth?"

"If you really intended to get a divorce, why would you force Vincent Grant to stand downstairs all day to apologize to you?"

"Honestly, he’s already done more than enough for you. He knew you were angry that everyone was busy saving me and forgot about you, so he personally went to the mountains to find you."

"He was tricked by you and your uncle into searching the mountains for a whole day and night. And even then, he didn’t hold a grudge."

"Look at you, completely unscathed, while you’ve worn him down so much he ended up in the hospital."

’Joanna Sherman was still Joanna Sherman. Her ability to twist the truth was as sharp as ever.’

’With one phrase, "He knew you were angry," she twisted everyone’s abandonment of Sophia into a dangerous situation caused by her own temper tantrum.’

’And with "completely unscathed," she implied Sophia had fabricated lies just to make Vincent feel guilty.’

"Miss Sherman."

Levin Sawyer said, walking up from behind.

He had come to pick Sophia up.

And he had arrived just in time to see Joanna Sherman provoking her.

Although Sophia wasn’t likely to lose this fight, Levin Sawyer still felt compelled to speak his mind.

"Miss Sherman, you’re quite a looker, but it’s a shame you’re so blind, and your heart is completely twisted."

"Sophia suffered terribly on that mountain because of you. How dare you stand there and criticize her?"

Levin Sawyer glanced down at the thin gauze on her ankle. "Why don’t we take a picture of this ’grievous’ little injury of yours and post it online? We can see what the public has to say about Vincent Grant abandoning his legally wedded wife in a typhoon over his ’white moonlight’s’ tiny little scratch."

Joanna Sherman instinctively flinched, pulling her ankle back. The color drained from her face.

Levin Sawyer let out an unapologetic snort, his mockery blatant.

"As for Vincent Grant, frankly, my Faye has no time for his pathetic, pretentious apologies."

"They just dirty her ears!"