Sophia Shaw used to look forward to visiting the base more than anything, because she could see Vincent Grant.

But ever since she’d asked for a divorce, her heart wasn’t in it anymore. Still, she answered, "Okay."

It was work. There was no reason to refuse.

Judd’s full name was Jenna Judd. She had joined the company two years after Sophia and had already become the host for the company’s official account.

As they got in the car, Jenna handed her the camera equipment. "Thanks for your hard work, Sophie! Make sure to get my good side."

Jenna was glamorous and stunningly beautiful. Whenever she looked at someone like Sophia, who worked behind the scenes, there was always a hint of superiority in her eyes.

In fact, Sophia had placed first during the original host selection.

Timothy Morgan had submitted her name, but Jack Holloway had crossed it off. Unconvinced, Timothy arranged for her to appear on camera with Vincent, but Vincent canceled the shoot on the spot.

He hated her so much that he wouldn’t even appear in the same frame!

Only after that did Jenna replace her.

Sophia gave a bitter smile. He had always made his aversion to her painfully clear. She was the fool who kept pushing herself on him, time and time again.

Thinking too much about the past left a heavy feeling in her chest.

Upon arriving at the base, the two entered the main gate and waited at the designated spot.

Jenna was adjusting her appearance in a mirror, while Sophia, with a moment to spare, found herself missing Bun terribly.

She had left Bun with Ms. Archer that morning.

Ms. Archer was a nanny who had worked for Levin Sawyer’s sister’s family for many years. She was thoroughly vetted and very experienced, so Sophia felt at ease leaving her child with her.

Seeing that there was still time, Sophia found a quiet corner to make a video call home.

Bun was sleeping. Her two little pink fists were raised, her rosy apple cheeks flushed from sleep, and her tiny mouth smacked from time to time.

Just looking at her made Sophia feel incredibly happy. The heavy feeling in her chest from before vanished without a trace.

A little over ten minutes later, Vincent appeared with Joanna Sherman.

Vincent had a natural air of nobility; even in a work uniform, his charm was undiminished.

Joanna’s long, wavy hair cascaded over her work uniform, adding a touch of allure to her cool demeanor.

When their eyes met, the sweetness between them was palpable.

"They look so good together, so intimate!" Jenna sighed, then ran over to discuss the filming details with them.

Sophia deliberately ignored their intimacy, lowering her head to put on a hat and mask, covering her face completely.

Vincent didn’t like her. Every time there was a shoot, no matter how hot it was, she always covered herself up like this.

She waited until Jenna, in the distance, gave her an OK sign before walking over with the camera equipment.

Jenna walked and talked with Vincent and Joanna.

Sophia filmed the three of them while also capturing shots of the surrounding environment.

After they finished talking about matters related to the rocket launch, Jenna changed the subject.

"Let me ask you two an unrelated question. President Grant seems to be especially fond of the baby Ms. Sherman just adopted. President Grant, could you share your feelings about the baby?"

"As if she were my own."

Sophia, who was filming, snapped her head up. She caught sight of the tender look spreading across Vincent’s lips.

He ignored his own one-month-old daughter, yet he was willing to treat Joanna’s daughter as his own flesh and blood!

Even though she had long known how deeply he cared for Joanna’s daughter, Sophia’s heart still shattered into pieces. A tear fell unexpectedly to the ground.

Joanna seemed to recognize her. She shot a faint glance her way, then looked away less than a second later.

Just then, someone slammed into her.

Sophia was thrown forward. Her hat flew off, revealing her unadorned face.

As she was about to get up, Joanna stepped on a steel plate just above her arm. The steel plate slammed down, pinning her elbow!

The pain was so intense that Sophia couldn’t breathe. Involuntary tears streamed down her face. Through her tears, her eyes met Vincent’s as he looked over. His brow furrowed slightly, as if he was worried about her.

But when Joanna let out a small "Ah!", he pulled his gaze away. He gently wrapped a long arm around Joanna, who had only swayed slightly. "Be careful."

The two of them walked past together.

Tears blurred her vision. Sophia stared at Vincent’s hand, carefully supporting Joanna’s waist. Even though she had decided on a divorce, the pain in her chest was so sharp it felt like she was being torn apart.

Joanna clearly did it on purpose, but Vincent was willing to let her get away with it!

"Tch!"

A scoff came from above her.

Vincent and Joanna’s mutual friends, Justin Hughes and Jenson Forrest, were looking down on her.

After his scoff, Justin walked away.

Jenson bent down to pull her up, but his words were no kinder than Justin’s scoff. "You should’ve expected this karma when you schemed to break them up back then."

"I didn’t..."

A lump formed in her throat, and she couldn’t get another word out. Even Vincent didn’t believe her, so how could Jenson?

Sure enough, Jenson tossed out, "You’ll never change!" and strode away.

Sophia collected herself and, cradling her aching arm, hurried after them, only to find an annoyed Jenna Judd.

"Can’t you be a little more professional? We finally got a chance with President Grant and Miss Sherman, and you completely ruined it."

Jenna was a huge fan of Vincent. She had even gotten her hair done specially for today’s meeting, but in the end, she didn’t even get a photo with him!

"You’re on your own for the footage!"

After returning to the office, Sophia pulled up Vincent’s digital avatar.

Vincent wasn’t fond of being on camera, so Sophia had personally trained this digital avatar, spending hundreds of hours polishing it until it was indistinguishable from the real Vincent.

Sophia input the script, and the digital Vincent looked at her and spoke eloquently.

Only his digital self is willing to face me, Sophia thought with a touch of sadness.

Levin Sawyer called. "I sent you some of the latest parameters for the rockets. Take a look."

This was all top-secret company information, not to be shared with outsiders.

Ever since leaving Levin and the company, she hadn’t done any work related to rockets. She only picked it up again a year ago, but it was mostly just the basics.

It was like she had been stagnating.

The data Levin sent was exactly what she needed to catch up.

Sophia hummed in agreement. "If there’s anything I don’t understand, I’ll ask you."

"You’re so brilliant, there’s no way you won’t understand it."

Levin never held back his praise for Sophia.

Sophia smiled but didn’t say anything.

After hanging up with Levin, she made another video call to see Bun at home. When the call ended, her finger moved and landed on Cedric Grant’s name.

Ever since she got back from the base last time, she had stopped calling him at the same time every day.

She had thought it would be difficult, but it turned out to be easier than she imagined.

Today was the first day of school, so Cedric must have returned from the base. Sophia thought for a moment, then decided to go home, pick up Bun, and visit Cedric.

Bun lived in her and Vincent’s marital home, while Cedric lived in Meridian, a city fifty kilometers from the base.

Cedric used to live with her in the marital home, but he later insisted on moving to the base.

The base was too remote, and there were no schools nearby. Vincent had arranged for him to live in his current place and transferred him to a school there.

Sophia’s heart ached for her son, so she drove six hundred kilometers round-trip every day to take care of him. For over a year, she had spent most of her time on the road.

When Sophia arrived, Cedric had just gotten back from school and was running joyfully into the house. He froze when he saw Sophia, as if just remembering he had a biological mother at home. "Mom, you’re back."

Sophia patted the swaddled baby in her arms. "Cedric, let me introduce you to..."

"Oh, man, I have so much homework to do!" Cedric interrupted, rushing into his room with his backpack still on.

"Well..." Ms. Archer, who had walked in a step behind her, looked surprised at the scene.

Sophia shook her head in disappointment and handed Bun to Ms. Archer. "I’ll go make dinner for him."

Cedric used to have a very sensitive stomach, so Sophia had gotten into the habit of cooking all his meals herself.

It didn’t take her long to make two dishes and a soup. As she was making the last dish, she wanted to ask Cedric what flavor he preferred, so she walked to his door.

His cheerful laughter came from inside the room.

"Hee hee, little sister is so cute! Auntie Joanna, when can I come visit you guys?"

Sophia’s heart, which had only felt a slight chill, now crashed into an icy abyss.

Cedric was so "busy" he didn’t even have time to see his own sister. It wasn’t because he had homework, but because he was on a call with Joanna Sherman and her daughter!

"Today? But... Mom’s home today..." Cedric bit his lip, embarrassed. A look of near-tears crossed his fair, handsome face.