Chapter 57
Everyone was busy toward the end of the year. Sophia was not as free as before.
The documents were sent to the mansion in batches for her to review. Usually, Sophia only showed up at Sunshine Group once or twice per month. However, she had to go to the company two to three times per week. She had more meetings in December than in the previous ten months combined.
After the meeting ended, Sophia left the company after saying goodbye to Yvonne.
She had made her points clear during the meeting. There was no reason for her to stay behind.
The moment Sophia stepped out of Sunshine Group, she received a call from Joshua.
Technology Innovations had only been on the market for more than four months. Joshua was bound to be busier than Sophia toward the end of the year.
Therefore, Sophia's first reaction when she received Joshua's call was that something had happened to Katherine. She asked, "What happened to Katherine?"
"She's fine."
Joshua did not beat around the bush and continued, "I want to propose to her on the thirty-first of this month."
That's good news.
The corners of Sophia's lips curled into a smirk. "What's the matter? Do you need my advice?"
The three of them had known each other for many years. Sophia knew Joshua's personality well. He would hardly call her if nothing happened.
"I want to buy a house and an engagement ring," Joshua admitted.
Sophia let out a snort upon hearing that. She recalled that Katherine told her not long ago that she wanted to save money so that she could surprise Joshua by giving him a new house. They are too much!
"Today is the twentieth. When are you planning to buy the house?" she probed.
That was how friends were supposed to be. They would go straight to the point instead of beating around the bush.
"When will you be free?" Joshua asked.
"This is an important event in both of your lives. I'll make myself free on any day for you two."
"What about the day after tomorrow?"
Sophia thought for a while and replied, "All right. See you then."
After hanging up the phone, Sophia looked down at her hands. Eight months ago, there was a ring on her finger, indicating that she belonged to someone else.
However, there was nothing on her hand at that moment. Even the traces of wearing the ring for three years had completely faded.
She was not as lucky as Katherine, who was able to marry the man she loved.
Snapping back to reality, Sophia got into her car and went back to the mansion.
Katherine was out of town for the past few days. It was indeed a huge surprise for Joshua to prepare for the marriage proposal during this time.
To help Joshua choose a new house and an engagement ring, Sophia purposely asked Yvonne to move up the meeting to the day before.
After graduating for many years, it was the first time that Sophia had stayed inside the company for a whole day.
Joshua had long been looking at several properties. All of the new properties were not far away and had just gone on sale in the past year. Furthermore, those properties were located in the city center. The starting price stood at one hundred thousand per square meter.
Joshua came over when Sophia finished her breakfast.
Even though the two had known each other for more than twenty years, Sophia rarely communicated with Joshua in private. Still, they maintained a good relationship throughout the years. However, they were not as chatty as Katherine.
It was peacefully quiet inside the car. Then, it came to a halt at the red light. Sophia turned to look at Joshua. "Didn't you plan to get married after two years?"
Glancing at her briefly, Joshua replied, "There's no difference between getting married now and getting married in two years."
Sophia laughed at his frank remark.
I wonder how much money Katherine had saved? She probably didn't expect Joshua to be that impatient to marry her, right? Ah. I kind of envy her.
It was undeniable that Joshua loved Katherine. He knew her like the back of his hand.
Instead of asking for my advice, he just wants to show off his undying love for Katherine.
Joshua took Sophia to check out three houses. She could tell that those were all Katherine's favorite models. The only differences were probably the size of the house and its location.
"Which one do you think is best?" Joshua probed.
Upon hearing his question, Sophia walked toward the balcony. "I think the house in Eden Residences is better."
Joshua flashed a rare smile. "I think so too."
Arching an eyebrow at him, Sophia asked, "It's settled then?"
Joshua nodded in response. Then, the two of them returned to the sales center of Eden Residences.
Joshua was well-prepared. He only put Katherine's name in the contract and made the full payment of more than thirty-six million.
The staff of Eden Residences mistook Sophia for Katherine. They also praised Joshua for his affection for her.
Sophia's eyebrows twitched over their misunderstanding. "I'm just his friend. The person on the document isn't me. She's my best friend."
Upon hearing her clarification, the staff immediately apologized. Sophia smiled at them and said, "It's indeed easy to give other people the wrong impression."
Looking at Joshua, she added, "I'll wait over there."
Joshua nodded. "Okay."
The moment Sophia walked to the rest area, Samuel coincidentally walked in with a girl.
The girl looked familiar even though Sophia had never met her before. However, since she had nothing to do with that girl, Sophia also had no intention of greeting Samuel.
When Samuel entered the room, he immediately saw Sophia. He came to purchase a house with his cousin, Veronica Queen. Nevertheless, he did not expect to run into Sophia, who was buying a house too.
Veronica had already seen the house. She was there to sign the contract. Sophia was sitting at a distance from them as the other party did not seem to like her very much. Samuel decided not to greet her since she did not see his arrival.
After leading Veronica to the staff, Samuel took his seat. Then, he heard a conversation among the staff on the side of the table. They were boasting about how much the man on the roundtable loved his girlfriend. He made the full payment in his girlfriend's name. Therefore, they must have a deep relationship.
Samuel snorted. He had seen this many times in their elite social circle. Buying a house as a present was a common thing for the descendants of wealthy families.
Since the man didn't say a word, maybe he bought the house for his lover.
Of course, that was what Samuel thought before he saw that the man was Joshua. His heart raced frantically when he realized the man's identity. Sh*t. This is bad.
Veronica, who was sitting beside him, thought something was wrong with the house. She asked curiously, "Samuel, what's the matter?"
Shaking his head, Samuel uttered, "It's nothing. Just continue with the paperwork. I have an urgent matter. I have to make a phone call now."
Veronica urged, "Oh, okay! Go ahead, Samuel."
Before she could finish her sentence, Samuel had already darted off.
The Schild family was in the entertainment industry. Therefore, Samuel naturally paid attention to the latest gossip. He undoubtedly knew who Joshua was.
Joshua was the young chairman of Technology Innovations. A few months ago, there were rumors of Sophia and Joshua being a couple after her divorce from Alexander.
At that time, Samuel thought the rumors were fake. After all, Joshua was well-known for being a workaholic. There was no news of him having a girlfriend after seven or eight years in business.
Back then, the tabloids even dug deep into Joshua's private life. After a thorough analysis, they concluded that Sophia and Joshua were not a couple.
Samuel agreed with that analysis in the past. However, he was shocked upon seeing Joshua and Sophia purchasing a house together that day.
What the hell? They've already bought a f*cking house for their wedding? Isn't this proof that they're a couple? Or should we wait until they have a child before labeling them as a couple?
Samuel's first reaction was to call Alexander. Despite knowing him for thirty years, Samuel might not have noticed Alexander's unusual behaviors recently.
It was apparent that Alexander wanted to get back with Sophia. However, it seemed like the latter had already moved on from him.