Joanna Sherman’s expression was cold, and as if she wanted nothing to do with the couple, she got up and left on her own accord.

Sophia Shaw truly had no idea what to say to Vincent Grant.

If there was anything to discuss, it was only the divorce.

"My lawyer..."

"Cedric is sick," Vincent Grant cut her off, holding his phone out to her. "He wants to talk to you."

"He’s sick?" Sophia Shaw took the phone reflexively.

Only after holding it did she remember they had already cut ties. She calmly handed the phone back. "If he’s sick, he should see a doctor. I’m not a doctor. I can’t cure him."

Vincent Grant stared at her, his gaze heavy.

"Sophia, when did you become so cold-hearted?"

"Cedric is your own son!"

Sophia Shaw slowly lifted her face to look at Vincent Grant. "Does Cedric Grant even think of me as his own mother?"

"If I’m not mistaken, his first call was to Joanna Sherman, wasn’t it? She wasn’t available, so he thought of me."

Vincent Grant froze.

Sophia knew she had guessed right.

’How ridiculous.’

’In my own son’s heart, I’ll always be second choice.’

’Meanwhile, my enemy holds the top spot without a problem.’

’I actually thought that because he seemed so upset when we talked about cutting ties last time, he must have had genuine feelings for me.’

’But now it seems it was just a knee-jerk reaction, nothing more than being unable to adapt.’

Vincent Grant didn’t take the phone. Sophia bent down slightly and placed it on the small coffee table next to them.

Without pulling her hand away, she looked at the phone and said softly,

"Tell Cedric Grant I’m giving him one last chance. It’s a choice between two options. Either he stays firmly by my side from now on and never contacts Joanna Sherman again..."

"...or we cut ties permanently!"

"Sophia!"

Vincent Grant hadn’t expected Sophia to be so absolute. His voice was laced with a thin veil of anger.

"Cedric only admires Joanna!"

"I’m sorry, but my child is not allowed to admire Joanna Sherman."

’Joanna Sherman’s family murdered my mother. They’re detestable Vampires, vicious scum!’

’They’re the reason I lost my mother when I was just a child...’

’I’m not that magnanimous!’

She had said her piece. The choice was now Cedric’s.

Sophia walked straight past him.

Vincent Grant snatched her by the wrist.

Expecting him to launch into another lecture, Sophia was surprised when Vincent merely glanced at the empty cup in her hand. "Sophia, are you doing this because of Levin Sawyer?"

"Just because Levin Sawyer’s mother seems to like you, you actually believe she’ll accept you?"

"What? Are you dreaming of marrying into the Sawyer family, willing to abandon your husband and son to do it?"

Vincent Grant jutted out his chin. "Now you’re even compromising on a simple drink, just to do what Levin Sawyer wants?"

"If I recall correctly, you’ve never liked sweet and sour flavors. You only like bitter drinks."

Sophia shut her eyes. The slight tremble of her brow betrayed her exhaustion.

’So, in Vincent’s mind, I’ll never be able to shed the label of a scheming, manipulative woman!’

’When I pursued him, it was to break him and Joanna Sherman apart.’

’Now that I’m with Levin Sawyer, it’s to become the next Mrs. Sawyer!’

’In his eyes, I’ll always be scheming, always despicable!’

"Vincent,"

she said softly.

"I’ve never liked bitter things."

She only drank them because he did. And he didn’t drink them because he liked them, either.

It was because... Joanna Sherman liked them!

’I didn’t know at first. I thought that if I copied his habits, molded myself into his image, I could surely win his affection.’

’So even though I despised anything bitter, I forced myself to give up sweets.’

’Knowing he liked calm, composed women, I forced myself to file down all my rebellious edges, transforming into a gentle, harmless girl, as if I were poured from a mold.’

That was, until the day Joanna Sherman returned. She had gone looking for Vincent and stumbled upon their get-together.

Through the door, she heard Justin Hughes say to Joanna Sherman, "Vincent has a massive sweet tooth, you know. He forced himself to drink bitter coffee for five years, all for you."

"He missed you desperately but was too ashamed to see you, so he used the bitterness of the coffee to soothe his longing."

Vincent was sitting right there and didn’t say a word in protest.

It was only then that Sophia understood why Vincent always had that look on his face when he drank bitter coffee, as if he were savoring something sweet.

’He wasn’t drinking coffee. He was drinking his memories of Joanna Sherman.’

’And I had ridiculously thought it was his own preference. Like a fool, I’d brought home cases of bitter coffee.’

’That stuff was so bitter it made my tongue go numb, but I pinched my nose and forced myself to drink it, cup after cup.’

A moment later, Justin Hughes added, "Joanna, you should see his office. He hires all the female employees based on your type—he won’t take anyone who isn’t cool-headed and composed."

"Vincent is practically possessed with how much he misses you."

’I knew Justin Hughes wasn’t lying.’

’Because I’d heard Vincent on the phone with HR myself: "I don’t want anyone who isn’t composed! I’d rather have someone aloof than someone undisciplined."’

’It was because of that one sentence that I worked so hard to change myself.’

’And it all turned out to be a complete joke!’

Sophia downed the cup of sweet and sour orange juice right in front of Vincent.

It was both sweet and sour, so delicious it was almost comical.

’So this is how liberating it feels to not have to debase myself and compromise!’

"And as for you accusing me of abandoning my husband and son... Vincent, you’re pathetic!"

With a sharp tug, Sophia wrenched her hand free.

Not wanting to see his reaction, she stormed out.

Only when she was out of Vincent’s sight did she grab onto a railing, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

She clutched the cup in her hand so tightly that the vermilion beauty mark beneath her eye seemed to tremble with the force of her emotion.

’From the very beginning, it was Vincent and Cedric who abandoned me and Bun.’

’It was them who, time and time again, put Joanna Sherman’s daughter first, completely disregarding whether Bun lived or died.’ 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

’They even stepped on her and injured her.’

’How dare Vincent accuse me of anything?’

"Sophie."

Sophia’s assistant, Jacobs, came running up.

Levin Sawyer had been worried Sophia was so obsessed with work that she’d forget to eat, so he’d specifically hired Jacobs to look after her.

Sophia quickly composed herself and turned to face her.

Jacobs said, "The team of experts they invited has arrived. They asked for you to come over and meet them."

A satellite launch was no small matter.

Especially since this was Cathan’s first rideshare launch.

For safety’s sake, the government had repeatedly intervened, going so far as to bring in an expert team to consult.

"Alright."

Sophia gave a slight nod and followed Jacobs into a smaller banquet hall.

A man in his sixties was standing in the hall, and Joanna Sherman was there as well.

The man was resting his chin on his hand, listening to Joanna Sherman speak.

’The man looked somewhat familiar, but I can’t place where I’ve seen him before.’

"Miss Shaw." The government’s project lead approached and greeted her warmly.

He gestured to the man in his sixties. "A total of eight people are on the expert panel. This is Professor Lane, the head of the panel."

"Let’s go say hello."

Sophia walked over with him.

The project lead gestured to Sophia. "Professor Lane, this is the general director of the project..."

Before he could finish, Professor Lane waved a dismissive hand.

Not wanting to interrupt, the project lead had no choice but to lead Sophia away.

Professor Lane and Joanna Sherman chatted for over half an hour before they were finished.

After Joanna Sherman left, Professor Lane only exchanged a few brief words with Sophia, asked for her resume, and then departed in a hurry.

When the banquet began, the experts were nowhere to be seen. Word was they were in an emergency meeting.

Even Vincent Grant had disappeared somewhere.

Mrs. Sawyer and her party hadn’t been invited. They had only stopped by earlier on the pretext of visiting her son, so naturally, they wouldn’t be attending the banquet.

The only ones in the banquet hall were Joanna Sherman, Sophia Shaw, Levin Sawyer, and the representatives from the partner organizations.

Everyone was chatting and laughing, making for a pleasant atmosphere.

Many people were speaking with Joanna Sherman. She would switch from showing off her German to her French, and then to her Dutch.

Seeing her command of so many languages, the company heads praised her effusively. "Miss Sherman, you’re truly a woman of many talents."

"You’re a master of languages and you can launch rockets. It’s terrifyingly impressive!"

"A true genius, right here."

"To be this capable at such a young age... her future is boundless."