Chapter 9: Moving Out

Emma heard this and laughed—a sharp, mocking sound.

She swept her gaze over Sophie from head to toe, contempt in every glance. "Use me? Sophie, are you actually concerned about me, or are you just jealous?"

"I…" Sophie found herself speechless, the words dying in her throat.

"You're jealous that he's willing to spend money on me without hesitation, aren't you?" Emma stepped closer, her voice laced with deliberate malice.

Each word cut into Sophie like a blade—precise, merciless.

She stared at this woman who had once been her friend—familiar yet now completely foreign—and felt her blood turn to ice. In Emma's mind, every bit of concern Sophie had offered had been twisted into pathetic, jealous grasping.

Emma's phone rang.

She glanced at the screen, her expression instantly softening into something sweet and saccharine. "Hello? Yes, I'm all packed. Are you downstairs? Perfect, I'll be right down."

She ended the call, grabbed her last suitcase, and strode toward the door in her heels without sparing Sophie another glance. Only one parting shot drifted back. "Don't contact me anymore. We're not in the same world now."

The door slammed shut with a dull thud. Sophie stood frozen, taking several long moments to process what had just happened.

She rushed to the window just in time to see Emma approaching a black Bentley parked below.

The car door opened. A suited man accepted her luggage with practiced deference.

Not Sebastian—probably his driver or bodyguard.

Sophie's heart plummeted. She watched the luxury car pull smoothly into traffic, and a thought crystallized in her mind.

By the time she made it downstairs, the Bentley had already merged into the flow of vehicles.

Sophie chased after it almost on instinct, trying to catch the license plate number.

But the car moved too quickly. She caught only the last few digits.

She stopped, gasping for breath, hands braced on her knees as she watched the car disappear around the corner. But her expression slowly hardened with determination.

She pulled out her phone, scrolled to a contact, and dialed.

The call connected quickly. Mireille's characteristically energetic voice came through. "Hello? Sophie? What's up so early?"

"Mireille," Sophie drew a deep breath, forcing a lightness into her tone, "doesn't your brother work at the DMV? Could he help me trace a vehicle?"

"Sure."

Less than half an hour later, Mireille called back.

Her voice carried an apologetic note. "Sophie, my brother checked, but he says the owner information for luxury vehicles like that is highly classified. He doesn't have clearance to access it. I'm sorry we couldn't help."

"It's fine, I was just curious." Sophie swallowed her disappointment. "Don't worry about it. And thank your brother for me."

After hanging up, Sophie surveyed the empty apartment, watching her last shred of hope flicker out.

Emma had vanished completely, taking all her secrets with her into whatever gilded cage Sebastian had prepared.

A wave of helplessness crashed over her. Days of exhaustion and hurt reached a breaking point.

Soon her phone rang again—an unfamiliar number.

Sophie hesitated, then answered. A familiar male voice came through.

"Sophie? It's me, Samuel. I'm with Mireille—she mentioned you've been having a rough time lately?"

Samuel Harris had been Sophie's classmate in college, a good friend. After graduation, he'd stayed in Empire City to build his career, but everyone had been too busy to keep in regular contact.

"I'm fine." Sophie smiled, though her voice carried a rasp she didn't quite notice herself.

"You don't sound fine." Samuel's laugh came through warm and easy. "Don't bottle everything up. I haven't seen you in forever anyway—let's grab dinner tonight. My treat."

His concern felt like warmth breaking through the cold. Sophie didn't want to burden anyone with her problems, but she desperately needed an outlet.

"Okay," she agreed.

That evening, they sat across from each other in an elegant restaurant.

"Look at you—you've lost so much weight." Samuel shook his head, genuine worry in his voice. "No matter how busy work gets, you have to take care of yourself."

"I know, I know." Sophie laughed despite herself, her mood lightening.

Dinner passed pleasantly. They reminisced about college antics and commiserated over work frustrations.

With an old friend, Sophie temporarily forgot Sebastian's coldness and Emma's betrayal.

After the meal, they stepped out of the restaurant. Samuel scratched his head sheepishly. "Hey, Sophie, could you help me with something?"

"Of course. What do you need?"

"My girlfriend's birthday is next week, and I want to get her a necklace, but I'm completely clueless about this stuff. You have great taste—would you come help me pick something out?"

"Absolutely." Sophie agreed readily.

They headed to a high-end jewelry store in a nearby shopping center.

Under brilliant lighting, jewels sparkled under the glass cases.

"What do you think of this one?" Samuel pointed to an elegantly designed platinum necklace.

"It's beautiful—very sophisticated. It would suit your girlfriend perfectly." Sophie smiled as she offered her opinion, then asked the clerk to bring it out so Samuel could see it properly displayed.

She bent her head to examine it more closely, the graceful curve of her neck lit perfectly under the lights, her expression relaxed and natural.

The scene fell directly into the line of sight of a man who had just finished a meeting on the other side of the mall.

Sebastian stopped dead in his tracks.

He stared at the woman who just days ago had been on her knees before him, tears streaming down her face—now laughing easily with some strange man, intimately helping him select jewelry.

Those desperate tears had apparently been nothing more than a performance she could turn on and off at will, replaced with laughter whenever it suited her.

Sebastian's expression turned glacial.

Those ice-blue eyes locked onto Sophie's figure through the crowd like a blade forged from ice.

He didn't approach. Instead, he pulled out his phone and sent a message, his face expressionless.

Sophie was discussing the details of another necklace with Samuel when her phone buzzed in her pocket.

She pulled it out. Sebastian's name flashing on the screen made her chest tighten.

Sebastian: [Have you finished the PPT for next week's department integration meeting?]

Sophie froze.

She remembered clearly—this meeting had been cancelled. Sebastian himself had told her so just a few days ago because of scheduling conflicts.

She didn't dare delay. She typed back immediately: [Mr. Carter, wasn't that meeting cancelled?]