“It’s related to me, after all. Just consider it meddling if you like,” Sophia shrugged.
But Scott Livinus was unsatisfied, his gaze carrying a clear intensity.
“Do you think just calling it ‘meddling’ will satisfy me?”
Sophia frowned. “Why should I satisfy you? I already said it; just consider it me meddling.”
She turned to leave, but Scott Livinus’s grip was strong, every muscle in his arm signaling his strength.
It gave Sophia a strange sense of being overpowered.
She tried to pull away again, but it was useless. He clearly wasn’t planning on letting her go.
For the first time, Sophia’s usually calm expression showed a crack.
She glanced around and gritted her teeth, saying, “Scott Livinus! Let go! There are people around; be careful, or they might misunderstand!”
At this sensitive time with her divorce, she didn’t want any unnecessary drama.
Scott Livinus raised an eyebrow. “Oh? So if there were fewer people around, it’d be okay?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“You still haven’t answered my question. Give me an answer!” His gaze was intense, pressing closer with each word.
This man’s determination was overwhelming enough to make anyone feel defensive!
To be honest, Sophia didn’t even know why she wanted to help him. It had nothing to do with her, but when Miss Maggie had tried to threaten him, she’d instinctively wanted to settle the matter. Partly, she felt it involved her in some way; partly, she figured she’d do the same to help any friend if they were being defamed.
“Scott Livinus, don’t push your luck!”
Sophia’s brow furrowed tightly, clearly annoyed by his persistence.
Scott Livinus’s expression immediately turned cold.
—
“Um…Oh my!” Nancy, standing at the corner of the wall, covered her mouth with a laugh. “I didn’t see anything. Carry on!”
Sophia gave Scott Livinus a strong shove, and he shot her a cold look before releasing her arm.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize you were here…I only came to get Sophia to meet some of my friends. Chloe is looking for her too.”
“I’ll be right there.” Sophia lowered her head.
Scott Livinus raised an eyebrow, then smiled slightly.
Her meaning was clear: it was none of his business. So, she had answered his question, though not satisfactorily.
Apparently, she didn’t understand the answer he was looking for.
Scott Livinus’s smile deepened.
—
By the time Scott Livinus returned, Joanna and Felix had already caught wind of the situation and arrived, but seeing that it was resolved, they stayed in the car.
“We were a bit late, Boss,” Felix said.
Felix shrugged, glancing at Sophia getting into the car with Chloe, smiling. “Who would have thought Miss Smith would beat us to it.”
For some reason, Sophia hadn’t ridden back with Scott Livinus today. It felt strange.
Taking separate cars back to the Scott family estate—it had an air of trying to hide something.
Felix pondered this, shaking his head. That couldn’t be it, right? If that were true, it would mean Sophia was actively avoiding Scott Livinus.
Could that be possible? Could someone like Boss, the “diamond bachelor” of the century, really be turned down by Miss Smith?
Joanna also smirked. “Let’s just say Boss and Miss Smith think alike—they even came up with the same solution.”
Their plan had been roughly the same as Sophia’s, only, as men, they would have gone harsher. If Scott Livinus had acted, Miss Maggie wouldn’t have just ended up at the police station; the mental hospital would have opened its doors for her.
Scott Livinus was not one to start trouble with others, but if someone provoked him, he would never let it slide. Miss Maggie didn’t understand that from the day she started playing this game, how and when it would end was no longer in her control.
In addition to everything he’d done, Scott Livinus had launched a financial attack on the Will Family. Will Christian was reportedly in the hospital after suffering an acute heart attack due to stress.
“The Will Family is in chaos. They haven’t paid employees for months, and every company is protesting for unpaid wages. It’s all over the news,” Felix reported with a sigh of relief that things were finally being handled.
All in all, it was a fortunate outcome.
As for Miss Maggie, she would be left to the legal team.
“Keep following up. Now that we’ve taken them down don’t let them stand back up.”
“Understood.”
Scott Livinus remained silent during the drive back to the Scott family estate. Once they arrived, Joanna whispered to Felix:
“Do you think it’s mutual between Boss and Miss Smith, or is it one-sided?”
Felix paused, surprised. “One-sided? How could that be? Do you think our Boss could have a one-sided crush? Do you know how much he’s worth? Do you know how many fans online call themselves ‘Mrs. Scott’ and say they’d bear his children?”
Joanna scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Are you a fanboy or what? People might think you have a crush on Boss.”
Felix choked, “I’m just saying your guess is ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous? How? Haven’t you noticed that Boss has been distracted lately? If it’s not one-sided, then what is it? I think Miss Smith just doesn’t feel the same way.” Joanna said, relying on her female intuition.
Felix disagreed. “As a man, I’d say Miss Smith definitely has feelings for Boss. If not, why would she go out of her way to help him out of that mess?”
Joanna paused. That made sense, too.
“So, what exactly is going on between them?”
“Who knows?”
Still, if Miss Maggie wasn’t the one-night stand Scott Livinus had that night, then who was? Felix distinctly remembered that among the women present at the hotel that night, only Sophia and Miss Maggie were from their circle. Could it really have been Sophia?
Felix’s eyes sparkled with amusement.
If so, then these two were truly bound by fate.
—
It was early autumn, and the days were growing cooler.
On the mountain, the mornings and evenings were comfortable, though it was still a bit hot at midday.
Sophia went to open her clinic, but for some reason, her clientele had become quite unique.
Not only had her older client brought her dozens of new patients recently.
In the past few days, parents had been raving about her treatments. Children were quickly recovering from fevers, coughs, and diarrhea—some with only a herbal patch, others with just a simple massage. They praised her endlessly, calling her a miracle doctor, and it left Sophia chuckling. After all, for her, these were simple cases.
