Sophia Shaw suddenly felt it was all utterly pointless. She knocked on the door. "Cedric, Mom has to go back to the office. Remember to eat."

"Got it!" Cedric replied.

The moment Sophia left, he came flying out. "Uncle Abbott, hurry and take me to Auntie Joanna’s house. Dad and Auntie Joanna are waiting for me."

Abbott felt a pang of pity as he glanced at the meal on the table. "Why don’t you eat before you go? Your mom made it all for you."

Cedric looked back, hesitating for a few seconds. "I’m not eating it! Just throw it in the trash. Mom is so annoying. She’s so scared I’ll see Auntie Joanna that she came all the way back just to keep an eye on me!"

Sophia quietly watched Cedric’s retreating form as he impatiently hurried away. A silent hole tore open in her chest, cold wind whistling through it.

So all her traveling back and forth this past year had just been a self-indulgent fantasy. She was afraid he wouldn’t eat well, afraid he’d have no one to look after him, but in his eyes, it was all just surveillance!

It was a thankless task. There was no need to do it anymore.

Sophia had actually returned to ask Cedric one question directly: after she and Vincent Grant divorced, who would he want to live with?

The answer was crystal clear.

For over a year, she’d been traveling back and forth, sleeping only three or four hours a night. Her life had been a constant battle.

Now that the weight was suddenly lifted, she found herself with more time.

She wasn’t in any hurry to go home, so she decided to take Ms. Archer out for a bite to eat nearby.

Before they left, Sophia revised the divorce agreement she had drafted a while ago. She removed the clause regarding Cedric’s custody, leaving only the one for Bun.

She printed it out and sent it to Vincent Grant via a local courier. She felt she should give him a heads-up, so she called him.

"What is it?" The man’s voice was as cold as ever.

Unlike in the past, Sophia didn’t use this as an opportunity to dote on him. She was brief and to the point.

"Starting tomorrow, I won’t be looking after Cedric anymore. I’m leaving him in your care."

"Understood."

Vincent Grant had always been a devoted father to Cedric. Even though he hadn’t seen Sophia this past year, he was always hands-on when it came to their son.

"Also, please look at the document I had delivered to you..."

She spoke quickly, but he hung up just as the last word left her lips.

Sophia gave a bitter smile. Shaking it off, she motioned for Ms. Archer to join her for dinner.

As they were getting ready to leave after their meal, Ms. Archer said awkwardly, "I think I ate a little too much. My stomach’s upset, I need to use the restroom."

Sophia took Bun from her.

Bun was always very well-behaved. She would sleep after eating and never made a fuss. She was awake now, just blinking her big, watery eyes and playing with her little tongue.

Ever since the accident, Sophia had been traumatized. She didn’t dare let the baby out of her arms for even a second when they were outside, holding her tightly.

One of Sophia’s hands was still swollen and useless after Joanna Sherman had stepped on it. After holding the baby with just one arm for a little while, it started to ache and sag.

She had no choice but to awkwardly lean into a corner, using the wall for support. As she looked up, she saw familiar figures on the floor above.

Vincent Grant and Cedric.

And of course, Joanna Sherman.

The three of them sat at a table, a picture of happy family life.

Vincent was holding the child in one arm while eating with his free hand. He had refined features and strong, powerful arms. He held the child effortlessly in one arm, a stark contrast to her own sorry state.

Joanna Sherman gestured with her chin. "Don’t hold her like that, you must be tired. Why don’t you put her in the stroller?"

Vincent didn’t move. "There are too many people around. It’s not safe."

Cedric nodded emphatically. "The last time my little sister fell off the bed, she got really hurt! Dad and I will never let her get even the slightest bit hurt again!"

Sophia felt as if she heard a sickening tear as the father and son’s words ripped her heart to shreds.

Joanna Sherman’s child merely fell off a bed, and they felt guilty about it. But their own daughter and sister nearly died in the mountains, and they’ve yet to ask a single thing about her!

The contrast was staggering!

What a cruel father and son!

When she saw Bun’s wide eyes also looking toward her own father and brother, Sophia’s heart clenched. She quickly covered the baby’s eyes. "Sweetheart, don’t look, don’t look!"

Tears streamed from her eyes without warning.

Ms. Archer returned to a startling scene. "What happened?" she asked, alarmed.

Sophia handed the baby to her. "It’s nothing. Just some dust in my eyes."

She turned away, grabbing a tissue to wipe the tears from her face.

"Well, well, what’s this little show all about?"

A voice dripping with sarcasm sounded from behind her.

Justin Hughes and Jenson Forrest walked in from outside the restaurant.

Justin Hughes’s face was a mask of contempt, his lips curled in a sneer. Jenson Forrest’s lips were pressed into a thin line, his gaze somber.

"Vincent’s just trying to have a meal. Do you really have to stalk him? What’s the point?"

Justin’s words were laced with barbs, and he spoke loudly, as if to ensure everyone could hear. Diners at the surrounding tables all turned to look at Sophia, their expressions a mixture of things.

Pity.

Mockery.

Contempt.

Her crumbling marriage had been brutally and unexpectedly exposed for all to see. Sophia was mortified.

The commotion alerted the party upstairs, and they looked over as well.

When he saw Sophia, the warmth on Vincent Grant’s handsome face vanished, replaced by a dark scowl.

Sophia looked back at him.

He did not attempt to hide it, openly holding Joanna Sherman’s daughter in his arms. His gaze flickered over the bundled baby in Ms. Archer’s arms for just an instant before retracting.

His eyes were cold, without a flicker of emotion.

It was a clear message: He didn’t care. It didn’t matter to him in the slightest.

Sophia thought she had steeled herself against Vincent’s coldness, but his indifference still tore her apart.

Even coming face-to-face with his own daughter, he wouldn’t deign to show even a shred of fatherly affection!

She opened her mouth several times, wanting to ask him, "Doesn’t your conscience bother you, treating your own flesh and blood this way?"

But when she turned and met the cool, mocking gaze of Joanna Sherman, she shut her mouth.

Her own life was humiliating enough; she didn’t want her daughter to have to live in subservience as well.

Because Cedric was there, no one said anything more.

But hateful glares remained fixed on her—gazes that seethed with indignation on Joanna Sherman’s behalf, wishing they could tear Sophia to pieces.

Sophia didn’t offer any explanation. She was done wasting her breath.

"Mom," Cedric called out softly, a flicker of embarrassment in his eyes. He only had to glance up to see his baby sister, but his gaze was mostly fixed on Joanna Sherman and her daughter.

He was afraid she would drag him away, afraid of being separated from them.

Sophia gave a faint smile, not chiding him. "Just finish your meal."

Outside the restaurant, Sophia looked down at Bun, and Vincent’s indifferent gaze came back to her.

Though Vincent loathed her, he had never once neglected their son, Cedric. He kept the boy by his side whenever he had free time.

Perhaps it was because Joanna Sherman had a daughter of her own that he no longer had any interest in Bun.

Or perhaps he thought she had used her old tricks to get pregnant with Bun, and his disgust for her methods extended to the child herself.

It was unfair to her, and just as unfair to Bun.

It’s for the best, Sophia tried to convince herself. If he doesn’t want Bun, at least we’ll be spared a nasty custody battle down the line.

Inside the restaurant, Justin Hughes and Jenson Forrest sat down with them. Cedric wolfed down his food and ran over to Vincent. "Dad, I’ll protect my sister now!"

He’d eaten twice as fast as usual just so he could look after his little sister.

Vincent placed the child back in her stroller, and Cedric immediately began cooing at the infant.

Justin glanced toward Cedric, and once he was sure the boy was out of earshot, he said, "Vincent, it’s bad enough that Sophia is stalking you, but does she have the nerve to bring some other kid here just to make you two feel guilty?"

He said, "You two," then shot a furtive glance in Joanna Sherman’s direction.

Joanna Sherman remained cool and aloof, her head bowed as she continued to eat slowly.

Seeing she wasn’t interested, Justin Hughes changed the subject. "Yancy Shaw recently submitted a major partnership proposal to my dad. I saw it and rejected it on the spot! He’ll probably come to you next."

Yancy Shaw was Sophia’s uncle, and since Justin couldn’t stand Sophia, he naturally wasn’t going to show her uncle any respect.

Vincent, who had just freed up his hands and was about to open an envelope, paused. He casually tossed the document from Sophia onto the chair beside him.

After they finished eating, the group left.

The envelope fell to the floor, where it was trampled underfoot.

Eventually, a janitor swept it up and threw it in the trash.