Chapter 164: Sophia, Someone Is Pursuing You
Everyone around had their attention drawn to the commotion on William's side.
They gradually gathered around.
The person who splashed the wine was a boy who looked about eight or nine years old.
He was still holding the red wine glass he'd just thrown, glaring viciously at Molly, who was being protected behind William, and shouting loudly, "Homewrecker!"
"You seduced my dad and made my mom sad. I'll make you pay for hurting my mom! "
Just moments ago.
William's suit jacket had been soaked by a waiter, and his male secretary had rushed upstairs to get him a backup suit. Before leaving, he'd left his own somewhat similar-styled suit for William to use in the meantime.
But William hadn't put it on.
A familiar business partner came over with a wine glass to chat with William. Since they needed to drink, he told Molly to go rest on the side for a bit.
Richard Taylor was the head of the Taylor family in Forton County, and also the host of this banquet.
Although he was married, his private life after marriage remained a complete mess. He loved playing around with women, especially secretaries accompanying business partners or competitors. He'd pay money to get inside information from these secretaries, gaining higher profits for himself.
Molly had caught his eye when she entered the banquet hall with William.
As soon as she was alone, he immediately came over with a wine glass to chat her up. "Ms. White, you're truly young and accomplished."
Molly's eyes flickered slightly as she smiled. "Mr. Taylor, you're the one who's truly young and accomplished—a role model worth learning from."
Who doesn't like hearing nice things? Richard was naturally no exception.
While William was drinking with acquaintances, he quietly came over to find Molly, wanting to discuss future 'cooperation' with her.
Little did Richard know his son would catch him in the act and splash wine all over Molly. When he saw Molly's wine-soaked chest, he immediately took advantage of the situation to grope her under the pretense of wiping off the wine.
"What are you doing!" Molly demanded sharply, and slapped Richard hard across the face.
The commotion here quickly drew everyone's attention.
Richard had never suffered such humiliation in public before. He raised his hand to slap her back hard.
But just as he reached out, William caught his wrist.
This led to the line Sophia had heard earlier: "Who gave you permission to touch someone from Peace Group?"
Seeing the displeasure on William's face and how he was protecting Molly, Richard's pupils contracted. A chill ran up his spine as he thought to himself: 'Could this female secretary be William's sugar baby?'
He quickly put on a smile and explained, "Mr. Smith, this is all a misunderstanding."
"I just saw Ms. White's clothes were covered in wine and was handing her a napkin to wipe it off. My fault, all my fault—I was too hasty and didn't speak up first. Ms. White misunderstood me as some Playboy."
"I've never been slapped before. When Ms. White hit me just now, raising my hand was purely a reflex. It's all a misunderstanding."
If William didn't care about his secretary, Richard would definitely have taken Molly away afterward to teach her a proper lesson.
But seeing William's displeasure, he immediately changed his tune.
The main purpose of hosting this banquet was to connect with Benjamin from Redwood Technology Co., Ltd. and William from Peace Group. He couldn't offend William over a slap.
After exchanging a glance with Sophia, Molly immediately looked away. With reddened eyes, she said bravely, "Mr. Smith, I'm fine."
"Please don't let me affect your relationship with Mr. Taylor." Molly's voice was heavy with nasal congestion and grievance.
Despite being sick today, she had still completed her work seriously. Her work ethic was beyond question.
William frowned, disliking her proximity. Using the excuse of getting the suit jacket the male secretary had left on the sofa, he moved away from Molly.
He handed her the jacket. "Put this on."
Molly clearly knew this was the male secretary's suit, but she acted as if it were William's jacket.
She looked at him gratefully. "Thank you, Mr. Smith."
Not knowing that William had given her someone else's jacket, everyone's gaze toward Molly instantly became meaningful.
After all, giving his jacket to a female secretary—that was crossing a line!
Sophia glanced over from afar but didn't look carefully, and was too lazy to even walk a few steps closer to see how things would develop.
Her phone vibrated in her clutch. She took it out and saw it was a video call request from Emily. A gentle smile spread across her face.
After greeting Joe, Sophia turned and headed to the outdoor terrace.
Richard's son had already been taken away by the Taylor family members. As he left, he kept shouting at Molly: 'You're a shameless homewrecker! I curse you! Seducing my dad won't end well for you!'
For an eight or nine-year-old child to say such vicious things—everyone at the banquet looked at Richard with disgust.
Molly played the victim to the fullest, keeping her head down without speaking.
Just then, the male secretary had returned from the hotel.
William took the suit jacket he had handed over and said to Molly, "You're not needed here. Go back to your room."
He had the male secretary escort her to her room before leaving.
With this incident, everyone now knew that the CEO of Peace Group was very protective of his female secretary—even when she returned to the hotel, he arranged for the male secretary to personally escort her to her room door to make sure she was safe.
William didn't know what these people were thinking. His gaze was searching the crowd for Sophia.
After all, in his view, Molly was a Peace Group employee. As the boss, standing up for an employee who'd been bullied was perfectly normal.
William didn't see Sophia, only Joe chatting with someone. The latter glanced at him from afar as if watching a good show.
Benjamin, who'd arrived late due to work, entered through the door and happened to see the terrace room. He immediately walked toward Sophia—he had many questions he wanted to ask her.
"Emily's such a good girl. Mommy will bring you something yummy when she comes back. Listen to Lucas these few days, okay?"
Emily was wearing soft onesie pajamas, lying on a pillow during the video call. Hearing this, she nodded obediently.
Suddenly, Emily's eyes lit up. Through the phone screen, she saw Benjamin and said excitedly, "The pretty mister."
Lucas, who'd been lying by the bed listening to her video call with Sophia, immediately leaned over when he heard Emily's words, raising an eyebrow with a smile.
Lucas said, "Sophia, someone's here to pursue you."
Sophia fell silent.
She turned around to meet Benjamin's gaze directly. Today, he wore a suit in a gray shade close to black, his azure blue eyes striking.
Benjamin spoke gently, "Sophia, I need to talk to you."
If you listened carefully, there was suppressed urgency in his voice.
Actually, Benjamin was extremely nervous at this moment. When he saw the messages his good friend had sent, he couldn't believe it.
He hadn't known that during the time he was eagerly anticipating going abroad with Sophia, his mother and grandmother had done such terrible things to her, and hadn't stopped even after he went abroad.