Chapter 39
The atmosphere in the car instantly dropped to freezing point.
Joshua was very professional. Even after hearing those words, his hands didn't shake at all, and he kept driving steadily.
Matthew's fingers curled slightly on his lap. He couldn't get angry, or else she'd think he was so reluctant to let go that he cared so much.
Those words did end the conversation, though.
Joshua dropped Sophie off first. When Sophie got out of the car, she very politely thanked Joshua and waved goodbye to Matthew.
Matthew didn't even glance at her.
"Drive," Matthew said, not bothering to look at Sophie.
Joshua drove off, and only then did Matthew breathe a sigh of relief.
He checked the time and called Henry.
"Where are you?"
"Getting your divorce papers done."
Matthew frowned.
Henry said, "Waiting in line. There are still 5 couples ahead of us."
"Can't you pull some strings?"
"I could." Henry said, "I've got nothing to do this afternoon anyway, so I'm just watching other people get divorced here. It'll help me in the future. What's wrong? Are you in a hurry?"
Thinking of Sophie's eager face, Matthew adjusted his mood. "Yes."
"Should I go pull some strings for you then?"
Matthew got irritated again. "Whatever you want."
After ending the call, Matthew looked out the car window, suddenly thinking about what Sophie had said earlier.
As they were almost home, Matthew told Joshua to call Henry.
"What should I say?" Joshua wouldn't normally call Henry without a reason.
Matthew bit his lip. "Tell him there's something urgent at the company and he needs to come back right away to handle it."
Joshua actually wanted to say, wouldn't it be better if he made this call himself?
In the end, Joshua still followed his instructions and made the call to Henry.
"There's just one couple left. I'll come back to the company after I'm done." That's what Henry said.
Joshua put it on speaker so Matthew could hear too.
He looked back at Matthew, waiting for what came next.
Matthew frowned, staring at Joshua.
Joshua had been by Matthew's side for years after all, so he could somewhat understand what he was thinking.
"The company matter is very urgent. Put the divorce thing on hold for now."
On the other end of the phone, there was a moment of silence.
Then came a light laugh. "Got it."
After hanging up, Matthew's hand was already clenched tight.
Sophie went home and lay down to catch up on sleep.
She slept until evening when Emily called, saying she wanted to treat Joshua to dinner and wanted Sophie to come along.
"I'm not going." Sophie refused directly.
"Come on, please. If you don't come, how can I feel comfortable?" Emily said urgently. "I don't know him well, I'm afraid it'll be awkward."
Sophie had the blanket between her legs, eyes closed as she said, "You guys traveled over a thousand kilometers together, how could it be awkward? Besides, if I go, I'll ruin things for you."
"Don't talk nonsense. There's nothing to ruin."
"If there's nothing, then make something happen. Joshua is a good man." Sophie opened her eyes. "Much better than Matthew."
"I'm just thanking him, I don't have any ideas about him."
"Then you definitely won't be afraid of it being awkward. Just use the energy you have when dealing with clients at business dinners, you'll be fine. I'm going back to sleep, hanging up now."
Sophie hugged her pillow and continued sleeping.
Her phone kept buzzing. She covered her ears with the pillow, but somehow the vibration seemed so loud, it felt like even the bed was shaking.
Emily kept calling relentlessly, insisting she answer.
"What do you want?" Sophie sat up directly.
"Hurry up and come." Emily was just as persistent. "Please."
Sophie had no choice but to get up, change clothes, and go out.
Emily had picked a pretty mainstream restaurant, not fancy, but clean and hygienic, with people coming and going, business was booming.
When Sophie arrived, Emily and Joshua were already seated.
Seeing her, Emily's eyes lit up. "Quick, sit down."
Sophie glared at her. Emily said quietly, "You're already here, help me out."
"As long as there's good food, you'll eat anything." Sophie said without humor.
Then she turned to Joshua with a smile. "We meet again."
"Sophie." Joshua knew that Sophie and Matthew hadn't divorced yet.
"Don't call me that, just call me Sophie." Sophie said. "Once I'm divorced from Matthew, let's keep things natural."
Joshua nodded.
Emily began thanking Joshua for his help and promised to pay him back as soon as possible.
He had bought so many things before and spent quite a bit of money. Emily had to pay it back.
Joshua didn't say he didn't want it. They didn't have any special relationship. The money for the gifts could be waived, but the cash given to Emily's parents should be returned.
Joshua had given too much, and Emily couldn't come up with it all at once, so she could only pay back the debt in installments.
"I'm sorry for causing you trouble." Joshua had just been thinking about what Sophie said—that no matter what method he used, he had to bring Emily away.
He had thought that if he threw enough money at it, he could definitely pave a way out for Emily.
Emily felt a bit bad about it at first, but then she thought, between money and freedom, freedom was more important.
She didn't want to listen to her parents and marry into a family that clearly had no future.
"No, I should thank you." Emily said. "If you hadn't been so generous in helping, I probably wouldn't have any future."
Joshua didn't talk much, and sure enough, it got awkward.
Sophie was curious. Didn't they talk at all on the way back?
When Joshua went to the restroom, Emily finally said, "On the way back from my parents' place, I was sleeping the whole time. He really doesn't say a word except when necessary. He's not even curious about the weirdos I went on blind dates with—doesn't ask anything at all."
"You don't know how much I wanted to vent, but he wasn't interested, so I just had to hold it in the whole way and tell you when I got back."
Sophie laughed. "He really is boring. But this kind of person has his advantages—he won't be easily fooled by women."
"I can't handle it anyway." Emily shook her head. "No matter how handsome or rich he is, I can't date a cold wooden person. I can't even imagine how that relationship would start."
"Maybe when he meets someone he likes, he'll be different."
Emily shrugged. "Maybe."
Joshua came back, and the meal was still somewhat stiff.
Finally it ended, and Emily went to pay the bill.
Walking out of the restaurant, Joshua said, "I'll drive you two back."
"Don't trouble yourself, we're planning to walk around some more." Emily took Sophie's arm and declined Joshua's offer.
Joshua didn't insist and nodded. "Then be safe. I'm leaving."
"Okay."
Joshua got in his car. Emily and Sophie watched until the car drove away, and only then did Emily let out a big sigh of relief.
Sophie frowned. "Isn't that a bit dramatic? Is it really that uncomfortable?"
"It's not uncomfortable, it's just... I can't describe what it feels like, but my heart was just on edge the whole time." Emily had never been this tense before.
Sophie laughed and shook her head helplessly. "That's not normal."
"I know."
"Could it be that you're interested in him, so you're a bit nervous?"
Emily was startled. "How is that possible? How could I be interested in him?"
"Then that's weird. Normally, it shouldn't be like this. You should be able to chat with him casually without a care." Sophie pouted. "Your reaction is not normal."