Chapter 27
Thalia's counterattack could not set off any ripple in Sophia's heart. As the latter had told Yvonne to go through the legal process, Thalia would eventually end up in a more miserable state if she continued stirring up trouble.
However, besides Thalia, it seemed that there was someone else who wanted to slander Sophia's name. The way the person slandered her was pretty odd, as the person had claimed Sophia had been creating hot topics after divorcing Alexander. Even though she was not from the entertainment industry, the frequency she was on the trending search was much higher than those trending celebrities. The person even predicted that Sophia would make a debut by slandering herself.
Sophia looked rather calm when she read the comment that afternoon.
Are people nowadays so dumb?
She did not take it to heart, though. After she woke up from her nap, she spent half an hour doing basic skincare and another half an hour putting on delicate makeup.
Upon seeing the beautiful reflection in the mirror, she happily entered the walk-in closet to choose a rose pink-colored Arterius moonlight series halter V-neck trailing evening dress.
As part of the dress' rose pink-colored base had a bright finish that made it glimmer with white, it would not be a good clothing color for one with a little darker skin tone.
Even so, things were different for Sophia, as her porcelain skin tone made her look angelic and pretty in the dress.
The red Ferrari matched the Sophia that day perfectly. While waiting for the traffic light, she encountered a Maserati convertible that honked at her several times, trying to hit on her. The lady did not budge at all. She propped her hand lazily on the car window and stared at the traffic lights in front of her.
Once the traffic light turned red, she slightly stepped on the accelerator and drove off with the traffic, parting her way with the Maserati.
Although Sophia left her house quite early that day, she was still stuck in traffic for a short time due to peak-hour traffic congestion. It was already a quarter past six when she arrived at Corona.
Wasting no time, she went to the ninth floor through the VIP lane after parking her car.
"Miss, may I know-"
As soon as the elevator door opened, the waiter standing in front of the elevator saw Sophia and was so stunned that he could not finish his words.
"Room 168." Sophia flashed him a faint look.
The waiter immediately snapped back to his senses, feeling a little embarrassed. "This way, please."
"Hmm."
In truth, she had been to room 168 more than once and was familiar with the place. However, she did not mind having someone lead the way.
"We've arrived, miss."
"I'll open the door myself." Sophia waved her hand dismissively.
Looking at the gentle beauty before him, the waiter felt that even a glance of her could take his heart.
He dared not to disobey her order and retreated after acknowledging her request.
Knocking on the door, Sophia announced, "I'm here."
It was then that she noticed the door handle was loose, and the door was not closed tightly.
Holding the door handle, she pushed the door open. Bang! Everything was just as she had expected.
The room was decorated with star lights and balloons. At the same time, Katherine was directing the confetti in each of her hands toward the door.
"Happy birthday, Soph!"
The small pieces of colored paper slowly fell in the doorway, but only a few pieces landed on Sophia's body.
When Katherine saw Sophia, her eyes widened. "Oh, my gosh! You little minx! Are you really here to 'have fun' tonight?"
With a half-smile, Sophia glanced at Joshua, who was holding a birthday cake next to her, as she tilted her body and dodged Katherine's hug. "Don't hug me. Your man will be jealous."
Flashing Sophia a smile, Joshua handed the cake to the former while pulling Katherine to his side with another hand. "Stop getting handsy. Are you a rogue?"
Katherine was indeed afraid of Joshua. However, her eyes sparkled when she saw Sophia dolling up that day. "I thought you've never been into this style. What makes you suddenly change your mind today?"
Sophia lowered her head and blew out the candles on the cake. While walking further into the room, she responded, "Since it's my birthday today, I'm thinking of a change."
Having said that, she tossed the crossbody bag in her hand onto the couch. Picking up the decanter and the wineglass, she leisurely poured herself a glass of red wine.
Katherine observed her movements and helplessly swallowed a gulp. "I'm a little glad that I'm a woman, yet I regret it a bit at the same time."
"Hmm?" Joshua raised an eyebrow.
Upon seeing that, Katherine flinched and slid out of his embrace like a slippery eel. She went to sit next to Sophia and stated, "Happy birthday, Soph! I wish you earn more this year than last year!"
"Thank you. I like that blessing." Sophia took the gift from her hand.
Putting down the wineglass, she began to unwrap the birthday gift Katherine gave.
As she opened the wrapping paper, a gradient cloud-colored gift box came into her sight. Opening the box, she spotted a simple retro yet fashionable ladies' watch. It was a limited edition watch from Straize named "Breakthrough," with Sophia's name engraved on the dial.
Momentarily stunned, Sophia wore the watch on her wrist. The strap was just right, and the size of the dial matched her wrist perfectly.
She loved it.
"Thank you."
With a smile, Sophia propped her chin with one hand and stared at Katherine. "I remember this watch costs more than a million. How did you manage to save up that amount of money?"
Last year, Katherine had had her eyes on a riverside mansion, which cost one hundred eighty million. She secretly saved money as she did not want Joshua to know she intended to buy the mansion as their newlywed house. Although she was a glamorous superstar, she had been forcing herself to save money and living on a tight budget every month.
In truth, over a million was not a big deal. It was just that Joshua had suddenly proposed to Katherine in June this year, and she had to rack her brain for a way to buy the mansion before the wedding.
The watch actually cost several months of her living expenses.
"Why are you asking me this? This watch is nothing as compared to our twenty years of friendship, despite the price!"
Hearing that, Sophia gave a smile. "True."
As it was a rare opportunity for the trio to gather, Sophia drank quite a lot that night. Her alcohol tolerance was decent, though, and she only felt tipsy.
On the other hand, Joshua tried to restrain himself from consuming alcohol and only watched the ladies enjoying their drinks at the side.
Sophia felt relaxed with the two of them around. However, she still had another birthday celebration around ten o'clock.
The next venue would be a little more lively, as it was the bar where she became famous for her dance last time.
Before she moved to the next venue, Katherine suddenly wrapped her arms around Sophia's. "Soph, since today is your birthday, why don't we play something exciting?"
Raising her brows, Sophia asked, "Oh? What do you have in mind?"
Katherine shot her an exciting look. "Kiss the first man you meet after you leave this room. You're divorced, anyway. Do you dare to do that?"
"Stop fooling around." Joshua tugged at Katherine, making the latter feel wronged.
"I'm not! Come on, think about it. How bad could a man who could afford to reserve a Corona's platinum room be? I've enquired about it. Those who can reserve a room on this floor are no ordinary people, so Soph actually has nothing to lose!"
Normally, Sophia would not accept it, but she felt a little ecstatic that day after having a drink or two. "Sure. Why not?"
"Yay! Let's go, my queen!"
When Sophia was not even ready, Katherine opened the door and pushed the former out. Staggering forward, Sophia knocked into a man.
The man was a bit tall. As she lost her foothold and bumped over, she could only see his sexy Adam's apple.
Katherine's words earlier came into her mind, and she went all out as she raised her arms to hold the man's shoulders. Looking up, she crinkled her eyes like a charming painting before asking, "May I kiss you. sir?"
However, her expression stiffened in the next second.
D*mn it! This man is my ex-husband. How am I going to plant a kiss on him?