Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Even Treating Her Well Is Just to Please Joanna Sherman

After her outburst, Joanna Sherman sat down.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror opposite her and touched her face.

"I am Joanna Sherman, the first person in Cathan to launch a rocket. There’s absolutely no need for me to lose my temper over some insignificant woman!"

She, Joanna Sherman, had to maintain a superior air at all times!

Joanna Sherman took out her phone and dialed a number. "Cedric...?"

...

「In the restaurant.」

As soon as Sophia Shaw walked upstairs, Cedric Grant, who had been waiting there, ran over quickly. "Mom, you’re here."

"The table I booked is this way!" Cedric Grant said, pulling her further inside.

Sophia followed passively, her thoughts drifting.

It had been a very, very long time since Cedric Grant had been this enthusiastic toward her.

’This is...’

Cedric Grant led her to their table and personally pulled out a chair for her. "Mom, please sit."

Once Sophia sat down, he stood formally and said earnestly, "Mom, I’m sorry. I was wrong last time. I shouldn’t have lied to my great-aunt. It was my fault."

’This was the Cedric Grant she had raised—earnest, polite, responsible, and quick to admit his mistakes.’

’He had always valued her so, so much.’

’But Cedric’s heart had long been captured by Joanna Sherman. How could he have a sudden change of heart?’

Sophia didn’t believe it.

But she didn’t say much, only patting his head. "It’s all in the past. You should sit, too."

Before long, Vincent Grant, who had gone to park the car, returned.

The three of them sat at the same table.

A family of three!

Sophia had never imagined that the family dinner she had always dreamed of would happen only after she had asked for a divorce.

The food arrived quickly, and surprisingly, several of the dishes were her favorites.

With a hint of pride, Cedric Grant picked up a piece of fresh bamboo shoot with his chopsticks and placed it in Sophia’s bowl. "Mom, eat up."

Sophia hummed in acknowledgment and, in turn, placed some of Cedric’s favorite food in his bowl.

Vincent Grant watched this scene with his lips pressed together, saying nothing, but the atmosphere was generally warm.

Soon after, Cedric Grant said he needed to go to the restroom.

Vincent Grant got up to take him.

Sophia took a few bites, but the food was tasteless to her.

She picked up a napkin, dabbed her lips, and also headed toward the restroom.

She was still some distance from the restroom when she saw Cedric Grant on a video call, holding his phone and talking.

"Don’t worry, Auntie Joanna. I did everything you told me to. I clearly remembered to order all the dishes you said Mom likes."

"But are you sure you can take care of my little sister by yourself? I’ll come back to help you after dinner."

"It’ll be soon!"

Vincent Grant stood not far away, his posture ramrod straight, his gaze distant as he patiently waited for Cedric to finish his video call.

Sophia smiled soundlessly.

’Of course,’ she thought. ’There was no way Cedric would suddenly become so well-behaved.’

’For a moment there, I actually thought he felt guilty and was trying to make it up to me.’

’Turns out, even this was just to please Joanna Sherman.’

’How pathetic.’ 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Sophia had long since stopped holding out hope for this father-son duo, so she wasn’t too disappointed.

Her real purpose for coming today was to settle on a date for the divorce and discuss visitation rights for Cedric afterward.

She hadn’t brought it up earlier, somewhat afraid of hurting Cedric.

Now, it seemed her concerns had been entirely unnecessary.

Sophia didn’t disturb the two of them and returned to her seat.

Cedric and Vincent returned to the table a few minutes later.

Apparently having received some new instruction from Joanna Sherman, even the lines on Vincent’s face had softened, while Cedric was all smiles.

Sophia had no desire to play along with their act.

"Vincent, Cedric, since we’re almost done with dinner, let’s settle the div—"

"Vincent, Sophia, Cedric."

A sudden voice interrupted Sophia’s words.

The three of them turned to see a man and a woman standing opposite them.

"Brother, Sister-in-law," Vincent said, standing up.

Only then did Sophia remember: they were Vincent’s older brother and sister-in-law, Miles Grant and Eleanor Crawford.

Since she wasn’t divorced yet, she naturally had to address them as Vincent did.

Sophia also stood. "Brother, Sister-in-law."

"Uncle, Aunt!"

Cedric Grant was especially happy to see Miles Grant and Eleanor Crawford.

Vincent was in business and was not supposed to have too much contact with the Grants, but Miles and Eleanor had always been quite fond of their nephew, Cedric, sending him a gift every year for his birthday.

Cedric had a very good impression of the couple.

"Brother, Sister-in-law, what brings you here?" Vincent offered them seats and ordered a few more dishes.

Miles Grant cleared his throat with a light cough into his fist before saying, "We have a collaboration with Lead Aerospace. Grandfather assigned the two of us to be the liaisons."

Eleanor Crawford looked at Sophia. "I never would have guessed Faye was so accomplished! If Grandfather hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have believed it."

In her memory, Sophia was gentle and meek, with no bite to her. She didn’t have the air of a tech expert at all, seeming more like a woman from a scholarly, old-money family.

To think she was actually the Chief Technical Engineer of Lead Aerospace.

And that six years ago, she had launched the first rocket by a private enterprise, making a name for herself across the world.

Whenever Eleanor thought about all this, she felt the Grant family’s ancestors must have done something truly incredible for Vincent to have married such a remarkable person.

Hearing Eleanor praise Sophia like that, Cedric Grant was rather unimpressed.

He thought his aunt was exaggerating.

Although his mom worked at Lead Aerospace, he had heard she only had a simple office job with no real substance.

Vincent Grant was equally indifferent to Eleanor’s praise, though he still offered a polite smile.

Sophia saw their expressions and knew what they were thinking.

She had no intention of explaining, saying only, "Let’s discuss the handover at the office."

"Of course."

Miles and Eleanor didn’t know that the father and son were completely unaware of Sophia’s status, but they understood that such a major topic shouldn’t be discussed in public and promptly dropped the subject.

After dinner, Eleanor, Sophia, and Cedric went downstairs.

Vincent and Miles stayed upstairs to talk business.

"Sister-in-law, is your stomach bothering you?"

Sophia had keenly observed that Eleanor hadn’t eaten much earlier.

"They have soft tofu pudding over there. Let me get you a bowl."

As soon as Sophia left, Cedric tugged on Eleanor’s sleeve. "Aunt, can’t you collaborate with Auntie Joanna instead? Auntie Joanna is super, super amazing."

"Who is Auntie Joanna?" Eleanor didn’t place the name at first.

Cedric quickly explained, "Auntie Joanna is launching rockets with Dad now. She’s the first person in our country, Cathan, to launch a rocket."

Eleanor saw the look of pride on his face.

Once he started talking about Joanna Sherman, Cedric couldn’t stop. "Auntie Joanna is a super, super fast learner and works incredibly hard. It only took her one year to launch a rocket."

"Aunt, believe me, you definitely won’t lose out by collaborating with Auntie Joanna."

He said with complete conviction.

Eleanor was stunned. "Cedric, how could the first person in Cathan to launch a rocket be Auntie Joanna? It’s your mother."

"How could you not even know that?"

Before either of them could say more, Sophia returned with the bowl of soft tofu pudding.

"Sister-in-law, have some of this."

"Thank you." Eleanor took the bowl, her mind clearly elsewhere as she slowly began to eat.

Cedric was also stunned by what Eleanor had said.

He looked toward Sophia.