Chapter 374 The Look at a Love Rival
A crisp slap echoed through the spacious living room, cutting off Celestia mid-sentence.
Her face whipped to the side, a burning pain spreading across her cheek as she looked up at the person before her in disbelief.
"Dad..."
Lachlan's chest heaved violently with anger as he snapped, "Shut up! You're getting more and more out of line. What did I tell you before we came here? Have you forgotten everything?"
Tears instantly streamed down Celestia's face, her heart full of grievance.
This was the first time Lachlan had ever hit her.
And what made it worse was that he hit her because he was taking Sophia's side—that little bitch!
She tilted her head back, tears falling uncontrollably, her eyes full of accusation as she looked at Lachlan.
"Dad, I just wanted to stay and keep Grandpa company. Is that wrong?"
"There's nothing wrong with staying, but tell me—are you staying to keep your grandfather company, or is there another reason?"
Celestia suddenly found herself speechless, guilt making her lower her eyes.
She did have other motives, but she couldn't say them out loud.
Just then, Finnley suddenly stood up and slowly walked over to Celestia.
Celestia felt a shadow fall over her.
Then came a suffocating sense of pressure.
She instinctively looked up to see Finnley standing right in front of her.
His deep eyes gleamed with a cold light, like sharp blades cutting straight toward her.
"Benjamin..."
Celestia's heart tightened, and she instinctively took a step back.
Her calf accidentally hit the sofa, and her body fell backward.
Fortunately, the soft sofa caught her, preventing her from falling to the floor.
"Celestia, if I remember correctly, I'm still the head of the White family. The only daughter of the White family? You can be, or you can not be."
Finnley didn't lower his voice when he spoke, so not only did Celestia hear him.
Lachlan, Arabella, and several servants nearby heard him too.
They stared wide-eyed in disbelief, looking at Finnley, trying to find any trace of joking on his handsome face.
But there was nothing.
Nothing at all.
He was serious.
Celestia's heart jumped, her face turning deathly pale.
"Benjamin, are you going to kick me out of the White family?"
Finnley gave a mocking smile, his body radiating a powerful and cold aura that gave off an overwhelming sense of an approaching storm.
"I've told you before—Sophia is my bottom line. Don't touch her, or don't blame me for being ruthless."
With that, he took Sophia's hand without looking back and headed upstairs.
Now Celestia was completely terrified.
No matter how much trouble she'd caused before, Benjamin had never said such harsh words.
But this time, he was going to kick her out of the White family because of Sophia?
A sense of panic rose in her heart, and she instinctively looked to Preston and Lachlan for help.
Preston just gave her a cold look. "Go back and reflect on yourself. If there's a next time, even I can't protect you."
Looking at Celestia's terrified expression, Preston shook his head in disappointment.
Finnley wasn't trying to stop her from living at the White Manor—he was protecting Sophia.
Everyone knew what Sophia meant to Finnley.
Only Celestia was foolish enough to challenge Finnley's bottom line.
"Dad, I don't want to... I'll never say anything bad about Sophia again. Please let me stay, okay?"
Celestia grabbed Lachlan's hand, begging desperately.
She had to stay here for a reason.
She wanted to see Matthew—she had to see him!
She'd been trying every way possible to see him lately, but in the end, she hadn't even caught a glimpse of him.
She heard that Matthew had come to the White Manor a few days ago and stayed for quite a while.
She knew Matthew must have come to see Sophia.
She was both envious and jealous, wishing she could take Sophia's place.
Only then did she understand what Magnolia meant by loving someone you can't have.
No wonder Magnolia would do anything for Benjamin.
Just thinking about how good Matthew was to Sophia cast a shadow over Celestia's heart.
She couldn't wait anymore, and she didn't want to wait any longer.
So she knelt before Preston, apologizing over and over, saying she was wrong.
Looking at her like this, Preston's heart eventually softened.
"I'm giving you one last chance. You can stay, but you're not allowed to disrespect Sophia again."
"If there's a next time, Benjamin won't need to lift a finger—I'll personally kick you out of the White family myself."
"Okay."
Hearing that she could stay, Celestia broke into a smile through her tears and happily returned to her original room.
Finnley brought Sophia back to their room, closing the door behind them and pulling her slender, soft waist against him, pressing her against the door.
Caught off guard, Sophia barely had time to react before she was trapped in Finnley's embrace by his tall figure.
Her long, curled lashes trembled slightly as she looked up in confusion. "What's wrong?"
"Mrs. White, don't you want to explain? What's going on with Matthew?"
Sophia paused, then realized—he'd taken what Celestia said to heart.
Not only had he taken it to heart, he was jealous.
Sophia laughed helplessly, finding it hard to believe. "You also suspect there's something between Matthew and me? You believe what Celestia said?"
"No, but I want to hear you tell me yourself."
Celestia's words were just a trigger.
He had seriously thought about it before coming to his conclusion.
Men understand men—one look is all it takes.
He'd always thought Matthew and Sophia had a mentor-student relationship and never thought much of it.
But Celestia's words planted a seed of doubt in his heart.
Judging from how Matthew treated him and Sophia, there was clearly a problem.
The way Matthew looked at Finnley was naturally the look you give a rival.
The way Matthew looked at Sophia was probably clingy and affectionate, definitely more than just gentle and doting.
Thinking back to what Celestia said—that Matthew had been taking care of Sophia during the two years he was gone—made Finnley inexplicably uncomfortable.
"So you are suspecting me of cheating?" Sophia's face darkened as she tried to push him away.
Seeing her struggle, Finnley immediately held her tighter. "I'm not suspecting you, I just want to hear you tell me."
"You are suspecting me. If you really weren't, you wouldn't ask like this."
Sophia was so angry she wanted to hit him. If she really had something going on with Matthew, what business would it be of his?
She'd practically carved out her heart to show him, what more did he want?
Finnley lowered his head, gently pressing his forehead against hers, rubbing it softly without speaking.
After a long while, he finally said, "It's not that I don't trust you—I don't trust Matthew. Sophia, I'm a man. Men understand men best."
Deep down, Finnley was still insecure.
He was afraid that because he'd disappeared for two years, because he'd lost his memory and forgotten her, she would discover how good other men were.
He was afraid of losing her. Every night when he held Sophia, he was so careful.
He was afraid this was all a dream, a beautiful illusion, and when he woke up, there would be nothing left.
Because he'd experienced Sophia's love, he was even more afraid of losing it.