Chapter 83 A Long Awaited Reunion

Chapter 83 A Long Awaited Reunion
“Do you agree to let me become your stepmother, Sophia?”
Margot’s voice cut through the silence at the dining table, sharp and demanding.
Sophia, who had been keeping her head down the entire time, flinched. The food she had just put into her mouth suddenly tasted bland and impossibly hard to chew.
“We’re going to be one family,” Margot added, her smile spreading wide.
Margot, the youngest daughter of a prominent company owner in central London, smirked arrogantly. Her eyes gleamed coldly as she looked at Sophia, as if the little girl were nothing more than a trivial obstacle to be removed.
“Your mother has been gone for a long time. You must feel lonely, wanting to be like your friends who have a mother again, don’t you?” Margot reached out, touching the back of Sophia’s hand with forced gentleness. “Don’t worry, Sophia. I will love you like my own daughter, even after I've children of my own.”
Startled by the touch, Sophia instinctively pulled her hand away. A cold sweat began to form on her small face.
“This is daddy’s marriage. All the decisions are his,” Sophia whispered, her voice trembling. Her hands clenched the edge of her black dress until it wrinkled. “Besides, my mother will never be replaced by anyone.”
Sophia quickly stood up from her chair. Her body trembled violently under Margot’s piercing gaze.
“Excuse me, I need to go to the restroom,” she said hurriedly. She turned and half ran away from the dining table, ignoring the stares of the other restaurant guests.
Her eyes were already brimming with tears she could no longer hold back.
At the table, Margot let out a low growl, her teeth grinding. “That sickly girl, did she just deliberately reject me in front of Mr. Matheus?” she muttered inwardly. Yet in an instant, her face turned sweet again. She flashed a bright smile at Christian, who still sat motionless.
“Give it up, Miss Robyn,” Christian’s voice sounded cold and cutting. He sliced his food with precise movements, not even glancing at Margot. “You can’t even convince my daughter.”
He ended his sentence with a mocking chuckle, making Margot’s face flush red.
“Sophia will accept me. She’s still young. She will understand how important our marriage is,” Margot replied, trying to keep her voice steady even as her chest burned with anger.
Inside the conveniently empty restroom, Sophia stared at her reflection in the mirror above the sink. She splashed her face with the cold running water, but it was not enough to calm her ragged breathing.
“I shouldn’t have come to this dinner. Why did Grandma insist I come while daddy was with that woman?” she murmured softly.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly. Sophia sobbed loudly until her voice broke. Her memories suddenly spun back to the past, to the faint recollections she had with Ariana.
“No one can replace my real mom except Ariana,” she cried, her sobs growing more painful.
Suddenly, the restroom door burst open. Sophia’s small arm was yanked with such force that she nearly fell.
“What did you say? You ungrateful child!”
The booming voice pierced Sophia’s ears. She widened her eyes, staring at Margot, whose face had turned terrifying.
“Miss Robyn?” Sophia’s voice was barely audible with fear.
“Surprised to see me here, child?” Margot sneered. Her grip on Sophia’s arm tightened. “Do you know how much money your dad has spent just to keep you alive?”
Sophia shook her head weakly, her body stiffening as Margot’s arrogant face moved closer to hers.
“Crownbridge Group is about to go bankrupt. All because of your medical expenses,” Margot said sharply and cruelly. She did not care that her words were a lie she had created herself. “Only I can save that company. You know how important it's to your dad, don’t you?”
“That’s not possible,” Sophia stammered.
“If you don’t agree, you will watch your dad lose his mind from losing his pride. If that’s what you want, then go ahead and keep rejecting this marriage!”
Margot shoved Sophia, sending her back crashing hard against the edge of the sink before walking away with a cynical glance.
Sophia’s body trembled. She slid down onto the cold floor, crying uncontrollably. She began hitting her own body with her small hands.
“Why do I have to be such a useless child to daddy?” she sobbed painfully. “I shouldn’t have been born if my body only causes trouble for others. Mom, I want to be with you. I don’t want to stay here.”
Her hoarse cries suddenly stopped at the sound of a stranger’s voice nearby.
“This is for you.”
Sophia blinked through her tears. She looked blankly at a small boy standing in front of her. Lucas held out a few pieces of candy in his open palm.
“Did your parents scold you?” Lucas asked with a neutral expression. He tilted his head slightly, looking straight at Sophia’s flushed face. “Don’t cry anymore. Eat this. It will help you feel better.”
When Sophia did not take the candy, Lucas crouched down and placed them on her lap.
“Lucas!” a loud voice calling from outside made the boy turn. Ariana walked quickly along the corridor, calling her son’s name anxiously. “Where are you, Lucas?”
“I have to go now, that’s my mom’s voice. Goodbye,” Lucas said briefly. He ran out of the restroom without looking back at Sophia.
Not long after, Sophia’s personal bodyguard entered in a hurry. He quickly approached her and helped her stand.
“Did you fall, Miss Sophia? I’m sorry I just got here, I can’t enter the women’s restroom freely,” he said regretfully.
At first, Sophia only stared blankly. She did not even hear her bodyguard’s words. Her awareness returned only when she heard the soft clinking sound of a few candies falling to the floor. She immediately looked down, picked them up and clenched them tightly.
Suddenly, she shook off her bodyguard’s hand. “She’s here. Ariana. That must be her child,” Sophia whispered sharply.
She ran out of the restroom.
In the crowded hotel corridor, Ariana was tightly hugging Lucas after the boy ran through the legs of the guests to reach her.
“Why didn’t you wait for me, Lucas?” Ariana asked as she kissed her son’s forehead. “Do you know how scared I was when I couldn’t find you?”
“I’m sorry, Mom. I went into the wrong restroom and met someone who was crying. I gave her my candy,” Lucas answered honestly, wrapping his small arms around Ariana’s neck.
Ariana loosened her embrace, looking at Lucas’s face seriously before smiling warmly. She straightened her son’s slightly messy clothes.
“All right, don’t make me worry again next time. Uncle Edward is waiting, we need to go back now,” Ariana said.
Her sentence was cut short when she heard the sound of footsteps stopping abruptly nearby.
“Ariana,” a hoarse and trembling voice called her name with deep anguish. “You really are my Ariana.”
The joyful cry made Ariana freeze. Before she could fully process what was happening, her body, still half crouched on the floor, was tightly embraced by someone.
“Sophia? Are you Sophia?” Ariana asked, her voice trembling.
“Yes, it’s me!”