Chapter 264

Chapter 264

She threw back the covers and swung her legs off the bed. The moment her feet touched the floor, a wave of dizziness slammed into her. Her vision went black, her knees buckled, and she pitched forward.

Gerald caught her by the waist and pulled her back.

"Don't move. Your body hasn't recovered yet." His arm locked around her side. "Lie down."

"Let go." Sophia turned her face away. "I'm leaving."

"Where are you going?"

"Home."

Gerald didn't let go.

He looked down at her. His dark eyes were threaded with fine red veins, like he hadn't slept all night.

"Milo's been waiting for you to wake up."

Sophia's struggling paused.

"He cried until midnight last night, asking me when Mommy would wake up. I told him soon."

Gerald's voice dropped lower than usual. "This morning it took me a long time to calm him down. I promised him you'd be awake by the time he got home from school. That was the only reason he agreed to go. Are you sure you want to leave now?"

Sophia's throat tightened. She fell silent.

She leaned back against the headboard and turned her face away.

"Last night was a trap set by Claire."

"I know." Gerald withdrew his arm and sat down in the chair beside the bed. "She's already been dealt with."

"Dealt with?" Sophia let out a cold laugh. "What does that mean? You scolded her? Or you didn't even do that much."

Gerald didn't answer.

He reached into a bag beside him, pulled out a document, and set it on the sheets.

"The project that was taken from you—here's the original contract. The secondary party has been changed back to your studio."

Sophia glanced down at the document.

The cover bore an official red seal. Today's date.

She flipped open the first page and saw Lloyd's signature, followed by an even higher-level approval stamp.

Her pupils contracted slightly.

But the surprise was quickly buried, replaced by something colder and deeper.

She closed the document and pushed it back toward him.

"No thanks."

Gerald frowned. "Your team worked on this project for months."

"I know." Sophia lifted her gaze to meet his. "But something that was stolen from me, handed back by someone else—that's not the same as taking it back myself. I won't sign this."

And inside, she felt cold. She'd just asked him whether he'd even bothered to scold Claire, and he'd said nothing. His silence was an answer in itself.

She'd been hurt this badly, and he was still protecting Claire.

She set the document on the nightstand. Her tone was flat and hard. "If someone steals a project from me, fine—it's gone. Same goes for people. Anything that can be taken from me, I don't want. But the person who hurt me? I will make her pay."

Gerald's brow furrowed, but he didn't respond to that.

He didn't take the document back either. Instead, he pulled another file from a different pocket.

"What about this?"

Sophia looked down.

The cover read: 'Apex Materials — Five-Year Exclusive Supply Agreement.'

Apex Materials had the best raw materials in the industry. What was Gerald playing at?

"What do you want?" She raised her head and looked straight at him.

Gerald leaned back in his chair, his gaze resting on her face.

"This is yours. Stay here for a few days. Spend some time with Milo."

Sophia stared at him for several seconds. A thin, bitter smile curved the corner of her mouth.

"Gerald, doesn't all of this strike you as ridiculous?"

Gerald held her gaze.

"Call it fake. Call it self-serving. I don't care. Someday you'll understand what every single thing I've done actually means."

Sophia scoffed and didn't bother responding.

She left the supply agreement lying on the sheets. She didn't push it away. She didn't take it either.

"Three days," she said. "I'll think about it."

The tension in Gerald's jaw eased by a fraction.

"Okay."

---

That afternoon, Milo came home from school. The moment he heard Sophia was there, he dropped his backpack and bolted toward the bedroom.

"Mommy!"

He threw his arms around her.

"I thought you weren't coming back again." His voice was muffled against her.

Sophia felt something squeeze tight around her heart.

"Mommy's right here."

Milo lifted his face. His eyes were still red, but a wide grin was already breaking across his face.

"Are you hungry?"

Before Sophia could answer, Milo whipped his head toward the door and yelled, "Daddy! Mommy says she's hungry!"

Gerald stood in the doorway, watching the two of them.

"Dinner's ready."

---

A small round table was set for the meal. Milo sat next to Sophia, gripping his little fork with both hands. He carefully speared a piece of short rib and placed it wobbling into her plate.

"Mommy, eat."

Sophia smiled. "Thank you, Milo."

Milo picked up a shrimp. "This one's for you too."

Gerald's gaze drifted to the mountain of food piling up on Sophia's plate.

"Milo, Daddy's plate is still empty."

Milo looked up at him, completely serious. "Mommy wasn't here before. So we have to love Mommy more."

Gerald let out a quiet laugh.

Milo spooned some soup into Sophia's bowl.

---

After dinner, the three of them walked along the pond behind the villa.

Sophia wore only a thin blouse. The evening chill made her hunch her shoulders. She was about to fold her arms when a jacket settled over her shoulders from behind.

Gerald stepped around in front of her.

"Don't catch cold."

Milo was crouched a short distance away, watching the fish in the pond.

Sophia pulled the jacket off and held it back out to him.

"You don't have to do this."

"Fake," she added, pressing the jacket into his hands.

Gerald gripped the jacket. Something darkened in his eyes.

Milo ran back and grabbed Sophia's hand.

"Mommy, the big red fish swam away!"

Sophia let herself be tugged toward the water's edge.

Just then, someone came to announce that Vaughn had arrived.

---

Vaughn walked in from outside. He glanced at Gerald without so much as a greeting, then went straight to Sophia. His eyes swept over her from head to toe.

"Sophia, you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Vaughn scooped Milo up and tossed him in the air.

Milo giggled and threw his arms around Vaughn's neck.

"Uncle Vaughn!"

"Miss me?"

"Yes!"

Vaughn set Milo down and turned to Sophia.

"Coming home?"

Milo immediately tightened his grip on Sophia's fingers.

Sophia pulled him into her arms.

"Vaughn, you head back first. I'm staying a few more days."

Vaughn's gaze lingered on Gerald's face for a beat. Then he told Sophia to call him anytime she needed anything, and left.

---

At the same time, in the study of a villa in Amber District.

Caspian held his phone, staring at the screen as it lit up with an incoming call from Randall. He picked up. The voice on the other end carried unmistakable displeasure.

"Caspian, you've been spending a lot of time around Gerald's wife? I'm not going to ask what your relationship with Matilda actually is, but her husband has already made his position very clear. You need to keep your distance."

Caspian was silent for two seconds.

"Dad, Matilda and I are just colleagues. Nothing more."

A long pause. Then Randall sighed. "Keep it under control."