Chapter 16
Matthew glanced at Emily with an indecipherable look.
His narrow, phoenix-like eyes held a complex emotion—something between pity and indignation on her behalf.
"Have you become so disconnected from society that you don't even know this?" He finally asked, his question slightly offensive despite his measured tone.
Emily instinctively took two steps back, a fine, needle-like pain spreading through her chest. This question was too difficult to face.
She lowered her head slightly, unaware of the regretful look that crossed Matthew's face.
Realizing he might have spoken too harshly, Matthew pressed his lips together and softened his tone. "My dad used to tell me how heartless he thought you were—dropping out to get married without leaving any room for discussion. He always hoped that someday you'd regret it and come back to him. I guess you really did cut yourself off completely from the pharmaceutical world."
As he spoke, he handed Emily his phone.
"Here, this is Sophie, Mr. Whitman's prized student who just returned from overseas. Her current research topic is identical to yours from back then. No wonder my dad is in such a state."
When Emily saw the familiar face, a surge of anger shot straight to the top of her head.
She should have realized it sooner—a recently returned pharmaceutical PhD named Sophie. There couldn't be another person with that name.
Matthew had pulled up a news article about Sophie, which happened to feature gossip about her relationship with Alexander.
#Pharmaceutical Genius Sophie Laurent And Alexander Foste, Both Successful in Work And Love#
In the photo, Sophie was smiling radiantly. Even paired with Alexander's characteristically stern expression, they looked remarkably well-matched.
Emily's pupils contracted as pain squeezed her heart until she could barely breathe.
Sophie. It was her again!
She had already destroyed Emily's marriage, and now she was trying to kill her mentor too?
Emily trembled with rage.
She rarely lost control of her emotions like this. Even Matthew noticed something was wrong and gave her a puzzled look.
Just as he was about to say something, Emily grabbed his wrist. "Matthew, I want to join your company."
Emily spoke without much forethought, driven purely by impulse.
She had always told herself that Alexander's heart wasn't with her—that was the fundamental reason for her unhappy marriage. If it hadn't been Sophie, it would have been some other woman.
Emily had never wanted to become the kind of wife who focused solely on competing with other women.
But Sophie had gone too far.
In this moment, her desire to challenge Sophie reached its peak!
Emily's reasoning was simple: Sophie's research direction was almost identical to hers from years ago, and Sophie's conclusions hadn't progressed beyond Emily's previous work.
If she returned to pharmaceuticals now, she could easily outperform Sophie.
Matthew stared deeply at Emily's pale hand, noticing her blue veins and prominent tendons.
She was much too thin.
Along with this observation came an overwhelming sense of concern that he couldn't shake.
Matthew's silence felt like cold water gradually extinguishing Emily's passionate determination.
Realizing her impulsiveness, she immediately withdrew her hand, apologetically beginning, "I'm sorry, Matthew, I was just..."
At the same time, Matthew quietly said, "All right."
Emily froze.
She had expected Matthew to scold her for being presumptuous.
Matthew raised an eyebrow. "What were you going to say? It was just a momentary impulse? Too late—I've already taken you seriously."
He grabbed Emily's wrist and pulled her to his father's bedside, his tone cold and threatening. "Look at my father, your mentor, and repeat what you were about to say."
Matthew was so decisive, immediately eliminating any possibility of Emily changing her mind.
Looking at her frail mentor, Emily finally stopped hesitating and solemnly repeated her words. "I'm sorry, Mr. Thompson. I know I made terrible mistakes back then, but I've decided to return to pharmaceuticals."
As Emily finished speaking, Dr. Thompson's fingers twitched slightly, though no one noticed.
Late that night, Emily opened her laptop that had remained untouched for years.
She had bought it with money earned from part-time jobs during her freshman year of college. It had accompanied her throughout her undergraduate and graduate studies, recording all her academic theories.
Simultaneously, Emily searched on her phone for all of Sophie's research achievements.
Emily had deliberately avoided any news about Sophie, not wanting to cause herself more pain.
Now, looking at everything, she felt deeply disgusted.
It wasn't just the flood of gossip articles linking Sophie with Alexander—more disturbing was the discovery that Sophie's research direction overlapped with Emily's former work by nearly ninety percent!
Emily finally understood why Richard had been hospitalized with anger.
Sophie was practically a clone of herself.
Looking at the papers published under Sophie's name, Emily's hands began to tremble involuntarily.
Many of the pharmaceutical discoveries were exactly what she had written and saved on her computer—now published by Sophie as if they were her own!
How could this be?
Such coincidences were impossible!
Alexander's cold, handsome face flashed through Emily's mind.
She formed a bold suspicion but dared not draw conclusions.
Could he really have stooped so low?
If so, what had these three years meant to her? Was she just a complete joke?
That night, Emily couldn't sleep at all.
Just as dawn was breaking, her phone chimed with several messages from Matthew, with whom she had exchanged contact information just yesterday.
Matthew: [Start next month.]
[Before then, attend this lecture at the university.]
[Here's the time and location. Arrange it yourself.]
[Transfer: $20,000]
[Transfer: $20,000]
[Advance on your salary.]
Those two transfer notifications made Emily's face flush with embarrassment.
Although she desperately needed money, she immediately hit "return" without hesitation.
Before Emily could finish typing her polite refusal, Matthew sent a question mark.
Emily fumbled more frantically with her phone.
Apparently impatient with her slow response, Matthew quickly called her.
Emily instinctively took a deep breath.
After answering, she immediately forced a smile into her voice. "Matthew, I can't accept money I haven't earned yet. I just can't..."
Before she could finish, Matthew cut her off, his expression unreadable. "You don't have much credibility with me. To ensure you won't back out, keep the money. That's how I'll believe you're serious about coming back."
Emily opened her mouth, caught off guard by his logic. "Matthew, that doesn't make sense."
Matthew's tone remained cool. "It makes perfect sense. Haven't you heard that people feel obligated when they accept something?"
Emily was speechless. "Yes, but..."
Matthew didn't give her a chance to continue, simply saying, "Then it's settled," before hanging up.