"Is this a breakup?" Unexpectedly, Sophie's voice didn't tremble at all—it was eerily calm, though her face had turned deathly pale.
"If you're breaking up with me, just say the words 'let's break up'." She forced Ned—and herself—to say it clearly.
"Then let's break up." Ned didn't turn around. He said it flatly with his back to her, then walked straight out. The room's door slowly closed with a final bang.
Sophie stubbornly stared at the closed door, as if he had only stepped out for a moment and would come back any second…
But five minutes later, she finally accepted that he wasn't coming back.
How ridiculous…
They had actually broken up in a hotel's executive suite.
At that moment, she felt like a walking corpse. It was as if she had died—she even forgot to breathe…
............
In the evening, after leaving the hospital, Ned went straight home. After several consecutive days of waiting, Victoria finally saw her son at dinner time.
The moment Ned walked in, she immediately approached him: "Why have you been coming home so late these past few days? And as soon as you get back, you change clothes and leave again—you're treating this house like a hotel!"
Ned replied coldly, "I've been really busy lately."
"Busy again! You've used that excuse more than once!" Victoria narrowed her eyes. "Are you going out every night to date that Sophie Davies?"
Ned said nothing.
"Why aren't you speaking?"
"What do you want me to say?"
"Now you're answering a question with a question? If you're really dating that girl, just admit it!"
Ned answered calmly, "Fine, I admit it. And then what?"
"And then what? Then you promise me you'll stop seeing her, of course! Break up with her right now—she's completely unsuitable for you!" Victoria's eyes widened in fury.
Ned gave a slight smirk.
"You'd better listen to me. Stop smirking like that—what's so funny?" Victoria's expression was dead serious. "Otherwise, I'll have HR fire her."
"Do whatever you want," Ned said indifferently.
Victoria froze. "'Do whatever I want'? What's that supposed to mean? I'm warning you, don't brush me off like this…"
"Ned, come to my study," Jonathan, who had been home and overheard the mother-son argument, called from the staircase.
Ned nodded to his mother and went straight upstairs.
"Didn't you see I was talking to my son? Why are you interrupting me?" Watching Ned hurry upstairs without a backward glance, Victoria shouted even more furiously, "Hey! Are you all deaf? Ned!"
Ned didn't even turn his head. Victoria was so angry she could have exploded.
"The old one's annoying enough, and now even my own son won't listen to me!" she muttered to herself, feeling a sudden pang of bitterness.
None of the men in this house paid her any attention. She had absolutely no status here. The more she thought about it, the angrier and more heartbroken she felt.
"Fine! Since you're all treating me like this, I'm done holding back! Just wait and see how I make a scene. Let's see if you'll do what I want then!" Glaring at the staircase, Victoria swore to herself through gritted teeth.
The angrier she got, the more she needed to vent. She grabbed her phone and made a call. "Hello, Isabella?"
She had to talk to someone, or she'd die of frustration!
She had never felt this defeated before. Even back when her husband had wanted to abandon the family, it hadn't hurt this much. Back then, she'd thrown plenty of tantrums, but she'd had ways to let it out. Now, though, these two men—father and son—were repeatedly siding with some young, insignificant girl and making her miserable. It infuriated her!
"Victoria, is that you?" Isabella recognized her voice immediately.
"Yes, it's me. Can I come over tomorrow morning? Would that be convenient?"
"Oh, of course! I've been hoping you'd visit!"
Truth be told, unless it was absolutely necessary, Victoria didn't really want to go to Isabella's house. One reason was that her husband didn't like her visiting people all the time. There was another reason she was reluctant to go…
"Darling Victoria, you're here!" Isabella personally greeted her at the front door.
"Oh, darling, I'm so sorry to make you come out to welcome me." The moment she saw Isabella, Victoria forced a smile.
The two women entered the house, all smiles.
"It's only ten in the morning. Shall we brew a pot of floral tea? It's light and refreshing," Isabella suggested.
"Sounds perfect." Victoria glanced around the living room; this was her first time here.
Once they were seated, Victoria launched into her grievances: "Lately, I've been so stifled I could scream. Those two men at home are glaring at me every day over that Sophie Davies. I can't take it anymore—I'm at the end of my rope. Every single day I'm burning with anger and have nowhere to let it out."
Isabella's eyes widened. "Ned still hasn't broken up with her?"
Victoria lowered her gaze, fuming at the very thought. "Him, he—"
Before she could finish, footsteps sounded on the stairs. Charles was coming down. He paused when he saw there was a guest.
"Charles, perfect timing! Victoria's here. This is actually her first time visiting our home," Isabella said to her husband.
"Uh… hello!" Victoria stammered, suddenly flustered and looking down. She hadn't expected that at ten in the morning, Charles still hadn't left for LSE and was actually home.
Regaining his composure, Charles walked slowly down the stairs. "Hello, long time no see. Why don't you stay for lunch?" he said, looking at Victoria.
"Oh, that's right! You two were senior and junior at LSE, weren't you? Back in the day, you were both campus legends!" Isabella said with a laugh, completely oblivious to the awkwardness between them.
"That was over twenty years ago. Who even remembers anymore?" Victoria replied casually, avoiding Charles's gaze while pretending to smooth out her skirt.
Charles looked away, file folder in hand, and said to his wife, "I have to step out for a bit. You two take your time chatting. I might not be back for dinner; I'll call you later."
His eyes briefly returned to Victoria.
"Got it," Isabella said. "Shall I see you to the door?"
"No need. Stay and keep Victoria company. It's rare for her to visit." Victoria shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
With that, Charles gave Victoria one last glance before walking out the door.
"That's just how Charles is—very disciplined. He always lets me know when he's coming or going. I never have to worry about him," Isabella said with a warm smile, turning back to Victoria.
"Your husband was the star of LSE back then. The moment he finished his master's, the school snapped him up as faculty. And now he's a board director at Cadogan Property Group, yet he's completely devoted to you. He's literally the perfect 100-point husband. You really hit the jackpot!" Victoria said with a smile.
Isabella smiled and accepted the compliment without protest.
"Mom? Mom, who's here? Is that Aunt Victoria?" Lara's weak voice drifted down from the second floor.
Victoria looked up in surprise, then turned to Isabella. "It's already ten o'clock—doesn't Lara have exams? Isn't it exam season? Why does she sound so frail? Is she sick?"
The barrage of questions made Isabella's smile collapse. "Well… Lara hasn't been feeling well lately. She's been resting in her room upstairs. Last month we went to the school and put her studies on hold."
"On hold? That serious?" Victoria frowned. "Can I go up and see her?"
"It's not exactly that she's sick, it's…" Isabella trailed off awkwardly.
Unable to read Isabella's expression, Victoria simply stood up. "I'm going up to check on her anyway. I've watched that girl grow up—if she's unwell, it breaks my heart."
"I'm so sorry to trouble you. She's the younger one, and yet you have to climb the stairs to visit her," Isabella said apologetically, leading Victoria up to the second floor and straight to Lara's room.
"Lara, Aunt Victoria has come to see you!" Isabella called, knocking lightly on the door.
"Aunt Victoria?" Lara immediately tensed, struggling to sit up in bed and frantically trying to tame her messy hair. "Quick, come in!"
Seeing Lara scramble to sit up in a panic, Victoria quickly stepped forward and said, "Don't get up, don't get up—just lie down and rest. You poor thing, how did you end up so sick?"
Lara lowered her eyes and replied, "It's all right, Aunt Victoria. I'm already feeling a little better today; I can sit up now."
"This child never tells us anything," Isabella said worriedly. "Some time ago, she suddenly woke up in the middle of the night screaming and crying so hard she could barely breathe. It scared both her father and me half to death! Then she just collapsed. For a while she couldn't even stand up. We were terrified out of our minds as parents!"