Chapter 84
Megan's cry had been a thunderous one. As she had said earlier, there were reporters by the coast. The moment she bawled, the reporters, who had been waiting to get a good scoop, swiftly turned their cameras toward her. They were a distance away from the boat, and it was dark at night. Thus, the visual quality of their recording was lousy. Nevertheless, the audio quality was not.
The moment Katherine had played the recording on her phone, the reporters instantly figured out what was going on.
Thus, when Samuel carried Megan down from the boat, the reporters surrounded them.
It was a cold day, and Megan had foolishly jumped into the water earlier. Although she had been brought out of the water, she was still shivering in Samuel's arms.
Furthermore, the last glance of the look on Sophia's face made Megan even more fearful of lifting her head. Just a moment ago, Megan had been speaking confidently, but now, she was hiding in Samuel's arms like an ostrich with its head in the sands.
The paparazzi had it tough, for they had been waiting for a long while in the cold night to get a worthy piece of news. No one was willing to give up getting the scoop now that the opportunity had appeared.
However, the Schild family was in charge of Midway Media, and local showbiz was monopolized by Midway Media and Planetary Media. Hence, Samuel's bellow in cold fury frightened the others away.
In the blink of an eye, the reporters quickly moved aside to open up a narrow path for Samuel to leave.
After Samuel brought Megan into the car, he grabbed a towel from the backseat and threw it at her. "Dry yourself!"
The moment Megan was in the car, she began crying. "Sophia's too much!"
Unfortunately, her cries only irked Samuel even more. "Shut up, Megan. You're making me so frustrated. Do you want me to chase you out of the car and let the paparazzi surround you instead?"
Megan shuddered at that. She then stole a glance at Samuel and realized that he genuinely had an angry look on his face, so she hastily softened her sobs.
Megan had already made a fool of herself. If Samuel were to kick her out of the car, she would then truly embarrass the Queen family for good.
Meanwhile, as Samuel had taken Megan away, Sophia decided not to linger.
She glimpsed at Katherine and said, "I'm leaving."
"Huh? It's still quite early. Are you going back that soon?"
Sophia's eyes flitted toward the reporters on land. "I'm sleepy."
Katherine's lips curled downward. "All right. I'll send you to your car, then."
"It's fine. There's a group of paparazzi around."
Katherine craned her neck to look at the group of reporters. "This is all Megan's fault."
Sophia did not deny that. After a chuckle, she said, "Bye."
She then waved and left.
"The incident that happened three years ago... Was it the one that happened during Old Mr. Queen's birthday celebration?"
Sophia had only managed to take a few steps before Alexander caught up with her.
Upon hearing his voice, Sophia tilted her head to the side. However, instead of answering him, she said, "Paparazzi and reporters are all over the place. I don't want to appear on news with you tomorrow."
Alexander halted in his tracks and took two steps back. "Did Megan push you into the pool three years ago?"
Sophia liked the way he knew what to do, but she did not like him talking about old matters.
Nevertheless, the question was out, and she did not plan to hide it from him. After all, Sophia was not one to take accusations silently. "Yes, but to be more precise, your sister and Ms. Queen were the ones who pushed me into the pool."
If she hadn't wanted to keep Alexander's dignity intact back then, she would not have dropped the matter so easily.
Sadly, no one appreciated her silent endurance.
That night, when she appeared in front of him, drenched from head to toe, he had spared her with nothing but a brief, cold look.
Tsk. Even now, I still think that was heartless of him.
Alexander never expected that answer from her. Back then, it was less than a year since he married Sophia. That day was the birthday of Megan's grandfather. As Alexander was a good friend of Samuel, and Samuel was Jessica's nephew, Jessica had told Samuel to invite Alexander to the occasion. Alexander could not refuse to attend.
Frankly, he had not wanted to bring Sophia there, but Thalia had lied to Sophia and brought Sophia to the event.
Back then, he thought that Sophia was deliberately trying to seduce him. Hence, when he saw her at the birthday celebration, he felt disgusted by her.
Furthermore, when Thalia, who had always looked down on Sophia, spoke on her behalf, Alexander began thinking that Sophia was slyer than he thought.
That night, he did not let her spend a second more than necessary by his side. Halfway through the celebration, a commotion broke out in the garden, and Samuel dragged him to the source of the noise. It was then he saw Sophia climb out of the pool, completely soaked.
Everyone was laughing at her, even Samuel. Samuel was laughing at her, thinking that Sophia was desperate enough to pull a lowly trick like that in hopes of gaining sympathy.
Alexa der had been standing a short distance away from pool. As she walked toward him, he began feeling the people were laughing at him as well.
She had looked pale back then. Once the drenched woman reached him, she said, "Alexander, I'm feeling a bit cold."
The deathly pallor of her face made her seem miserable, but he could think of nothing but mocking thoughts. All he gave her was a look of disdain before he turned and left.
Now that he thought about it, he realized she might truly have felt uncomfortable that night.
Sophia had told him that she was feeling cold in front of others. Perhaps she hoped to gain a trace of sympathy from her husband to take her away from the scene even though he could not spare her any love.
However, he did not.
The recollection of the events of that night made Alexander feel frustrated and upset.
When he gazed at Sophia, he took in her aloof expression and the cold look in her pretty eyes. It was as though the fragile Sophia of that night never existed at all.
He was the one who killed that part of Sophia, and he knew it.
"Sorry." He fixed his dark eyes on her.
Sophia let out a soft chuckle. "It doesn't matter anymore."
She was going to settle the score herself.
Having said that, she let the smile fade away and ambled out.
Alexander watched her retreat. The icy wind pricked his skin, and he took out a cigarette from its box before lighting it. Then, he quietly inhaled the smoke as he looked out into endless darkness.
He knew that Sophia was avoiding him as if he was the plague. Once upon a time, she loved him with all her heart. She had wished for him to spare her just one glance. Now, she despised him and did not want him to come close to her at all.
Alexander took another puff of his cigarette before gulping. He then stamped out the cigarette, about to leave.
"Mr. Xenos, it's been a long time."
A man's voice came from behind him, and Alexander turned after frowning. It was Stephen.
Stephen was a man he did not like. "Mr. Goodstone."
"Mr. Xenos, it seems like you don't quite like me."
"You're right."
He then walked to the side and threw the cigarette into the trash can.
Stephen smiled. "Sophia has talked to me about you before. She said that she's feeling troubled by your presence."
Alexander scowled in an instant. As he gloomily stared at Stephen, he said, "And? Does that have anything to do with you?"
"Of course, it does. She's my girlfriend."
Alexander snorted. "Even a married couple can get a divorce. How would you know that you won't break up with her?"
"I'm not you, Mr. Xenos."
The taunt in Stephen's words was obvious.
Nevertheless, he remained smiling as he said those words. It was as if he was merely talking about the weather.
Alexander's expression darkened further. A beat later, he said, "She doesn't like you."
With that, he left.
Stephen remained in his spot as he watched Alexander leave, the smile on his face fading bit by bit.