Chapter 330 Man... Can Play
"Are you really sure the person who came back is Benjamin? You saw him fall into the sea with your own eyes back then."
Sophia told him firmly, "Matthew, I'm sure. The person in front of me now is Benjamin."
"No matter how he's changed, no matter if he has his memory or not, I won't be wrong about him."
"If I can't even recognize him, what right do I have to say I love him?"
Matthew had always known Sophia loved Benjamin deeply, but he didn't expect it had reached such an intense level.
Two years hadn't faded her love for Benjamin at all - instead, it had only grown stronger.
He tried to persuade her: "Even if he really is Benjamin, how can you be sure he didn't come back with some scheme or hidden agenda? Wouldn't you be putting yourself in danger? I don't agree with this."
Sophia was his only junior, he'd watched her grow up since she was little. He wanted her to be happy forever, not get hurt over and over again because of some man.
Two years ago, he'd fully realized how powerless he was, only able to watch Sophia suffer without being able to help.
Now he didn't want that to happen again.
Men... they were fine for casual fun, but if she was going to get serious, it definitely shouldn't be with Benjamin, or Finnley as he was now.
But Sophia was unusually stubborn, her tone serious and firm: "Matthew, I know you care about me, but he won't hurt me."
Matthew was almost amused by her certainty. "How do you know he won't? You trust him that much? What if..."
Before he could finish, Sophia interrupted him, "Matthew, there's no 'what if.' I believe he won't do that."
Sophia truly believed that even if someone lost their memories, some things ingrained in their bones would never change.
The Benjamin she loved had never been someone who couldn't tell right from wrong or was controlled by others.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have fallen in love with him.
She trusted Finnley, and she trusted her own judgment.
Sophia and Matthew parted on bad terms - their first cold war in over twenty years.
When Finnley came back from his chat, he found Sophia listlessly leaning on his shoulder pretending to sleep.
As for Matthew, his face was so dark it looked like ink could drip from it.
Even Joshua's look at him had become somewhat complicated.
However, Finnley didn't ask what had happened - speaking up now would be like walking into the line of fire.
After returning home, Finnley and Sophia's attention had been on the White family, so they'd unconsciously ignored Matthew and Joshua's presence.
Now that Preston had left and the living room had quieted down, Sophia glanced at Matthew and saw his face was still very unpleasant.
She pressed her lips together, feeling a bit guilty, but she didn't regret it.
Every word she'd said to Matthew came from her heart.
No matter what happened, she was willing to trust Finnley.
As for the consequences... if she really trusted the wrong person, she could only blame herself.
"Alaric, Finnley and I need to go out for a bit. Matthew, Joshua... will you stay for dinner tonight?"
Matthew instinctively wanted to refuse, but before he could speak, Joshua beat him to it: "Sure! Sophia, don't be upset. Matthew is just very stubborn."
Sophia looked at Matthew, feeling hurt. The old Matthew would never have interfered with her decisions - he would have firmly stood by her side.
But this time, when she needed family support the most, Matthew had thrown cold water on her.
Even though she didn't say it out loud, Sophia couldn't help feeling sad.
Hearing Joshua's words, Sophia slowly shook her head. "It's my fault for arguing with Matthew. Matthew, I'm sorry, but I don't regret it."
"You!"
Matthew had thought she knew she was wrong, but he didn't expect her to still be so stubborn.
His chest felt like it was blocked by a heavy stone, suffocating, but he couldn't bring himself to lash out at Sophia.
Joshua, standing beside him, tugged at his sleeve and said quietly, "That's enough. You know her personality - the more you try to stop her, the more stubborn she gets."
"Who am I doing this for?" Matthew was quite angry.
Robert was always busy with other things and had no time to look after Sophia.
Joshua was carefree and thoughtless.
And Gregory had been in closed training for years with no news - each one more unreliable than the last.
He was worried sick.
Matthew sighed deeply and rubbed his temples.
Sophia's eyes grew slightly moist, feeling uncomfortable but stubbornly sticking to her position.
As Sophia and Matthew silently faced off, the atmosphere in the living room became awkward.
Finally, Matthew gave in and spoke first: "Do whatever you want. Just don't come crying to me later."
After saying this, Matthew left directly.
Joshua watched his back and twitched his lips speechlessly.
He looked at Sophia and ruffled her hair comfortingly: "Leave Matthew to me. You focus on your own business. If you run into trouble, remember to call me. I'll always be here."
With that, he glanced at Finnley and left as well.
Actually, he wasn't comfortable leaving Sophia with Finnley either.
Whether he was the former Benjamin or not, he was now a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment.
Sophia was innocent, willing to believe anything for love.
But what could he do?
This was the path she chose - no matter how many obstacles she faced in the future, she'd have to bear them herself.
All he could do was stay for now and keep an eye on Finnley. If he dared hurt Sophia, he'd better be ready to pay the price.
After Matthew and Joshua left, Alaric and Cillian, who had no idea what had happened, exchanged glances, their eyes equally confused.
"What happened?"
"No idea."
"Benjamin didn't bully Sophia, did he? Doesn't look like it? Then why are Matthew and Joshua so angry?"
"No idea."
"...So what do you know?"
"I know as much as you do."
"..."
Cillian looked at Alaric speechlessly and stopped talking.
"Let's go find Thaddeus." Sophia ignored Alaric and Cillian's gossip, took Finnley's hand, and headed out.
Finnley had somewhat guessed what she and Matthew had talked about, but in the end said nothing.
He understood that Matthew and Joshua were looking out for Sophia, so he would treat her even better and prove through his actions that Sophia's choice was right.
They drove to the NSA and were led by Sidney to Thaddeus's office.
"Sophia, do you know who kidnapped Cillian?"
Sophia blinked innocently, her eyes full of confusion: "Thaddeus, shouldn't you be investigating this? I think those people were deliberately getting revenge on me by kidnapping my family."
Thaddeus chuckled softly, not contradicting her, only saying: "After investigation, the ones who kidnapped Cillian and those caught at the hospital are indeed part of the same group, but they won't talk. We can't get anything out of them."
Sophia tilted her head, her dimples faintly visible: "Thaddeus, with all your interrogation experience, there are actually people you can't get to talk?"
From what she knew, Thaddeus used to do criminal investigation work and had his own methods for interrogating criminals.
If even he couldn't get them to talk, either they were too tight-lipped, or... Thaddeus was digging a trap for her to fall into.
Sure enough, Thaddeus continued: "Since they're targeting you, I believe if you personally questioned them, you should be able to get something out of them."