Chapter 267

Chapter 267
Arguments were all about ebb and flow. Once Sophia's volume and momentum rose, Zephyr's confidence weakened.

Of course, he wasn't willing to easily admit that Sophia had cornered him with her question. So he forced himself to say, "I've been worrying about what I promised you all the time. I've been thinking about you constantly. Otherwise, how would I have seen you having dinner with another man?"

Zephyr tried to steer the conversation back to Sophia's improper behavior, but how could Sophia let him have his way? Her bright gaze locked onto Zephyr like an eagle's eyes, sharp and penetrating. "Is that so? Tell me what exactly you've been worrying about!"

Zephyr fell silent. Instead, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, making the usually handsome heir look quite disheveled.

He took a deep breath, knowing he couldn't keep letting Sophia lead him by the nose. But before he could speak, Sophia beat him to it. "Mr. Sinclair, you said before to give you a week to solve the problem. What have you solved?"

Zephyr was fickle but not sentimental. In the past, if women he'd tired of dared to pester him, or if women he wanted to conquer didn't know their place, they'd experience his ruthless methods.

But Sophia was different. She and Victoria were the same type—pawns Zephyr wanted to use, and women Zephyr had to take seriously.

So he could only suppress his anger and try to placate her. "I swear, I've definitely kept your children's matter in mind. I've been looking for suitable schools for them recently. I'll tell you as soon as I have good news!"

Sophia pressed on relentlessly. "Is that so? Then Mr. Sinclair, first tell me which schools you've looked at. What are their advantages and disadvantages?"

Zephyr's mind went blank. He'd only been using empty promises to brush Sophia off. He hadn't expected her to dig so deep. Now he couldn't even make up a lie!

Seeing Zephyr's expression grow awkward, Sophia sighed again. "Mr. Sinclair, I'm not the type who loves troubling others. Moreover, helping someone is a favor, not helping is perfectly reasonable! It's just that your behavior today really offended me, so I'm giving you a taste of your own medicine! Alright, it's getting late. I won't see you out."

Sophia's words were extremely polite and proper, but to Zephyr's ears, they meant something else entirely.

During this time, their relationship had finally made a bit of progress. He'd finally seen Sophia's more relaxed and playful side. But just like that, in a few sentences, they were back to square one. He couldn't accept this change no matter what!

Just as the elevator doors were about to close, Zephyr blocked them with his hand again and walked right in, standing beside Sophia.

"Mr. Sinclair, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Sophia's tone was clearly displeased, but she still tried to maintain her composure.

But at this moment, Zephyr started acting shamelessly. "I want to meet the two children. They're called Elijah Mellon and Eloise Mellon, right? Come to think of it, it's strange—why would they have the surname 'Mellon'? Could it be that the children's father's surname is 'Mellon'?"

In Zephyr's world, he basically never actively considered the possibility that children might take their mother's surname.

Sophia canceled the elevator button and looked straight into Zephyr's eyes.

This time, the desperate Zephyr didn't look away. He even added a touch of ambiguity to their locked gazes.

There was a famous saying online: "Eye contact is humanity's spiritual kiss without lust." But making eye contact with someone you didn't like had the same effect as being forced to kiss—disgusting.

Sophia was the first to look away, then sighed.

Zephyr interpreted this behavior as a sign of Sophia yielding. He immediately said something that sounded fairly sincere. "Give me one more chance, okay? I promise you, within three days I'll definitely..."

Before he could finish, Sophia interrupted him.

"Forget it, Mr. Sinclair. Actually, I can understand your concerns. Ms. Brown's second uncle is thriving in his official career. There aren't many people in Emerald City who dare offend him now. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't challenge the Brown family for the sake of a friend I'd just met! So..."

At this point, Sophia raised her hand and patted Zephyr's shoulder. Now her face showed no trace of unhappiness. Her tone was relaxed, even carrying a joking quality. "There's no need to say those things. When we run into each other in business, just take care of me a bit!"

The more relaxed Sophia's attitude, the worse Zephyr felt inside.

Now, the deterioration of their relationship wasn't what bothered Zephyr most. Sophia kept saying "don't dare offend Victoria's second uncle" and "don't dare challenge the Brown family"—it grated on Zephyr's ears.

From Victoria to Sophia, he was actually a man very skilled at using women. But it was precisely this type of man who least wanted to hear others say he was afraid of or wary of women and the forces behind them!

Understanding Zephyr's mindset perfectly, Sophia had once again easily manipulated his emotions!

"My sister-in-law's brother opened a preschool called Esriel Preschool. I heard the reputation is pretty good. I'll call him tomorrow—no, I'll call him in a bit!"

Zephyr urgently tried to win Sophia's favor.

He belatedly realized he'd made a very major mistake in pursuing Sophia!

Because he wanted to marry Sophia, Zephyr hadn't sent her bags and jewelry. In his view, those were very thoughtless gifts, items used to tempt women without vision.

And because he still temporarily needed Victoria to help him control the Howard family, he'd chosen to be passively negligent about the two things Sophia most wanted to do.

But tallying it up this way, Zephyr realized he actually hadn't done anything concrete. He'd relied entirely on lip service to deceive Sophia. No wonder her attitude had become so cold!

Thinking this, Zephyr spoke again solemnly. "The Harbor Village project—I can cooperate with you on that too."

Sophia raised her eyebrows. This was what truly interested her. But she didn't reveal it directly. Instead, she said casually, "Mr. Sinclair, you're teasing me again. This project clearly has very strong competition. Even the Sinclair Group might not be able to secure it. How could you cooperate with me?"

To Zephyr, this question wasn't a problem at all. His expression became quite smug. "Don't worry about that. I have a ninety percent certainty of securing this project. You just need to wait for my good news!"

Seeing that Sophia still looked unconvinced, Zephyr took two steps toward her and lowered his voice. "You should know that Victoria has always been someone whose brain is ruled by love. She's never changed!"

This was Zephyr's reassurance to Sophia.

Looking at his smug face, Sophia suddenly felt a bit nauseated.