"Miss Shaw, you know her?" the saleswoman asked, her tone probing.
"Not really."
Sophia Shaw looked away, fighting the urge to call Seraphina Vaughn. ’If the girl is hiding here by herself, she probably doesn’t want anyone to know where she is.’
After picking up her clothes, Sophia went to the mall to choose an engagement gift for Jaden Rhodes.
Jaden Rhodes’s engagement party was set for two days later.
According to Crestfall customs, engagements were usually low-key affairs, with only close family and friends invited for a small gathering.
Jaden’s engagement ceremony, however, was exceptionally grand. He had booked the city’s best hotel, and the guest list included nearly every friend and relative of both families.
’They must be using this opportunity to announce Jaden’s return to the family business.’
When Sophia arrived, the parking lot was already packed with cars.
Unsurprisingly, among the many luxury cars, Sophia spotted a familiar Maybach.
Vincent Grant and Jaden Rhodes had been friends for years, so it was perfectly reasonable for him to attend the engagement.
Sophia knew that even though they were divorced, they were bound to run into each other at public events. It was unavoidable.
It was better to face it head-on.
With that thought, the faint knot of anxiety in her heart instantly loosened.
She took a deep breath, straightened her back, and walked toward the banquet hall.
On the second-floor terrace, someone had already caught sight of her.
Vincent leaned against a Roman column, his black suit outlining his tall, stern figure. The wine glass in his hand had barely been touched.
Lately, he had only seen Sophia on the show.
On the show, she was dressed formally, her logic impeccable—an admired rocket genius and expert.
Today, however, she wore a form-fitting, cream-colored gown. Shedding her stiff professional attire, she revealed a breathtakingly soft beauty.
"You’d never guess Sophia Shaw has had two kids. She’s in amazing shape and looks incredible," the man beside Vincent said, also watching Sophia below, his tone one of pure admiration.
He was a mutual friend of Jaden and Vincent, so naturally, he knew Sophia as well.
Vincent’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he downed the wine in one gulp.
The harsh liquid burned his throat, but he seemed not to feel it. He just glanced at his watch. "I have a meeting at the office later, so I can’t stay long. Give my gift to Jaden for me."
With that, he set down his glass and started to leave.
Patrick Payne was speechless. "..."
He stroked his chin.
’Is Vincent still so disgusted by Sophia? He won’t even be in the same room as her?’
Patrick Payne wasn’t as close to Vincent as Jaden Rhodes or Jenson Forrest were, so he didn’t know much about Vincent and Sophia’s affairs, only that they were divorced.
He couldn’t help but look downstairs again.
"Sophia is so beautiful. Why won’t Vincent even give her a second look?"
The remark was casual, but it found an interested audience.
The moment Sophia walked into the hall, she keenly felt the gazes from all around, tinged with unfriendly scrutiny.
But she paid them no mind. She signed her name at the guest book and walked inside with composure.
As she passed through the "Corridor of Memories," decorated with photos of the new couple, Sophia’s steps came to a sudden halt.
The moment she saw the bride-to-be’s face, her pupils contracted and her expression froze over.
She would recognize that woman’s face even if it were burned to ash!
One of the people who, instigated by Joanna Sherman, had bullied her—Vivian Forrest!
However, she now went by a slightly shortened version of her name.
That was why Sophia hadn’t connected the name on the guest list to the Vivian Forrest who had bullied her.
The photo of Vivian Forrest was like a poison-laced key, violently unlocking a painful past and reminding her of everything that had happened!
Past hatred churned in her chest, and her fingers instinctively clenched into fists.
’Jaden Rhodes’s fiancée is actually Vivian Forrest?’
An overwhelming sense of absurdity seized Sophia. Without a moment’s hesitation, she turned and walked away.
However, two figures suddenly cut her off, blocking her path.
"Well, well, if it isn’t the great Mrs. Grant?"
"You mean *former* Mrs. Grant."
The two spoke in perfect, taunting harmony. They were Vivian’s former accomplices, Fiona Sullivan and Ingrid Hughes.
Sophia didn’t want to cause trouble at Jaden’s event. She suppressed her boiling anger and said coldly, "Move!"
"Move for what?" Fiona and Ingrid had no intention of letting Sophia leave. They exchanged a malicious glance.
"It’s because of you that Vincent left without even showing his face!"
"Sophia Shaw, you’re just so disgusting!"
Although Sophia was famous, she was ultimately just a scientist with no powerful family backing. The two of them didn’t take her seriously.
News of Vincent’s divorce had spread through their circle long ago.
What woman wouldn’t be interested in such a high-quality man?
Fiona and Ingrid had just snuck upstairs, hoping to find a chance to meet Vincent and make an impression on him.
But just as they got there, Vincent was already leaving.
The two of them had overheard Patrick Payne’s comment and were furious.
They had been itching to cause trouble for Sophia.
’Vincent already left?’
A flicker of some subtle emotion crossed Sophia’s mind, and she froze for a moment.
Fiona pointed outside. "Do you have any idea how many people came here today for Vincent? Because of you, you jinx, everyone’s hopes are ruined!"
"You have to apologize!" Ingrid chimed in harshly.
The two of them held their chins high like a pair of victorious fighting cocks, but they had secretly turned on their phones’ video recorders.
They were members of a secret, illegal website.
The site specialized in posting bullying videos for entertainment. The more powerful and high-status the victim, the more capable the bully was considered.
Sophia was both Vincent’s ex-wife and a rocket genius. If they could force her to apologize, they would become legendary in their circle!
Sophia’s gaze swept over the glowing screens in their hands, and a faint, contemptuous smirk touched her lips. "After all these years, you two haven’t grown up at all! Still so... childish and ridiculous!"
"How dare you! You dare to insult us!" Fiona stomped her foot in anger.
Ingrid’s face twisted with rage. "Sophia, don’t push your luck! You’ve been thrown out like trash by Vincent. We can do whatever we want to you now!"
"If you don’t apologize, don’t blame us for what happens next!"
Sophia gave a soft, cool laugh. "I’d love to see what could possibly happen."
She shoved past them, bumping their shoulders, and walked away.
Ingrid’s shoulder throbbed with pain from the shove. She glared viciously at Sophia’s retreating back. "You chose the hard way! Just you wait!"
She quickly dialed a number.
Just as Sophia stepped out of the hotel’s main entrance, three young men reeking of spoiled-rich-kid arrogance surrounded her with leering smiles.
"Well, well, isn’t it the Eldest Miss Shaw, the rich family’s abandoned wife?"
"What’s wrong? Did you get thrown out?"
Sophia was coming from the hotel. Since the Rhodes and Forrest families had booked the entire venue for the day, these rich playboys naturally assumed she had been kicked out by the hosts.
Sophia didn’t recognize these three, but she understood everything from their smug, degenerate faces.
Her lips thinned. "Is this the ’accident’ Fiona Sullivan and Ingrid Hughes arranged for me?"
The playboys smirked.
"Who cares who arranged it? Since the Eldest Miss Shaw is unwanted, why don’t you come and have some fun with us?"
"Even though the Eldest Miss Shaw is Vincent’s sloppy seconds, we can bring ourselves to keep you company."
The man said "bring ourselves to" as if it were a chore, but his eyes were filled with lust and greedy admiration.
Sophia had always been beautiful, and in recent years, she had blossomed into an even more stunning woman.
Her skin was fairer than snow, and the bright red beauty mark under her eye was as clear as a crystal. One could almost imagine how beautiful it would look in a moment of passion.
’A woman ’nourished’ by a man like Vincent Grant really is different!’
Just the thought of it made the three men flush with heat, wishing they could pin her down and have their way with her right then and there.