CHAPTER 42: CHAPTER 42: TORE HIS CLOTHES AGAIN

Late at night.

Zane Sterling stood by her bed, his brows furrowed, silently staring at the girl.

His gentle fingertips lightly traced the tear stains at her eye corners.

Was she crying over Henry Quinn?

A surge of jealousy.

"Sophia Lowell, there’s always tomorrow."

——

The next morning,

Sophia Lowell was woken up by the familiar alarm clock.

Perhaps it was the jet lag, or maybe she cried too much last night; her eyes were slightly swollen and red.

She looked around, but there was no sign of Zane Sterling, not even a trace of warmth beside her.

She got up, saw the piece of cloth she was wearing, and thought about the absurd things she did last night, feeling intensely embarrassed.

How could she face him...

After washing up, she went downstairs with her bag to have breakfast.

"Aunt Sutton, when did he leave?"

She didn’t call his name, didn’t call him husband, just referred to him as ’he’.

Aunt Sutton, who was making breakfast, looked up and politely responded, "Didn’t see him when I came this morning."

Sophia was stunned. Did he leave last night?

She opened her phone, clicked on ’husband,’ and saw nothing. She stared blankly for several minutes.

She sipped her milk, unable to eat, said goodbye to Aunt Sutton, and left the house.

——

"Sophia, did you get under-eye fillers? Your eye bags are so big that you have triple eyelids now." Lily Ellison leaned in close to Sophia.

Sophia absentmindedly smiled, saying nothing.

"Did you hear? Two department managers were promoted from the branch office, one in the PR department and one in our department, both are tough characters!" Lily Ellison continued.

She pulled Sophia into a colleague group chat called [Eight Million Daily Salary] apart from the company’s senior executives.

"So what?" Sophia never paid attention to group messages unless it was a group where she was mentioned.

"I thought if Director Nash got promoted, you’d also get promoted, so I’d have someone to rely on."

"That idea might be a bit too optimistic, Lily." Sophia picked up a small mirror, glanced at her swollen eyes, and then unconsciously checked her phone, still clean and empty.

"You’ve checked your phone 28 times and looked in the mirror at least ten times in the past hour at work. Is it love?" teased Lily Ellison. "Did you find love in The S Republic?"

Sophia was startled and turned to look at her.

"You seem like you’re in love."

Sophia also realized that she had been preoccupied by that man all morning.

For a week now, she’d wake up in his arms and fall asleep in his embrace, as if it had become a habit without her knowing.

Today, with his sudden absence, her heart felt empty.

But she didn’t dare message him.

After being rejected by him last night, there was an indescribable feeling in her heart.

If she suddenly messaged him, would he also ignore her?

Sophia patted her cheeks and finally opened her laptop to start summarizing materials from The S Republic Fashion Week.

When lunchtime came, she went to the cafeteria to get her meal.

Sitting alone by the window, she absentmindedly ate her food.

"Clack."

Two more plates of lunch appeared on the table, belonging to Ethan Sinclair and Zane Sterling.

"!!"

Seeing the two of them across the table was like they had risen from the dead.

Nonetheless, seeing him made her mood a bit better,

"Morning," Sophia said.

"Did Ms. Lowell not sleep well last night?" Zane Sterling asked, looking at her drooping, multiple eyelids.

This man, who hadn’t messaged for a whole day, only to open his mouth and make a sarcastic remark.

"It’s still ’morning,’ heh heh..." Ethan Sinclair quipped.

Lily Ellison, passing by, saw the two big shots next to Sophia and gestured for her to stay away from these influential figures in fear.

Sitting with them didn’t feel strange to Sophia since they had just returned from The S Republic together, possibly to discuss other matters.

"We’ll be working overtime for year-end tasks these days, so we might not finish work so soon." It’s unclear whether this was meant for Sophia or Ethan Sinclair, but they both understood.

Ethan Sinclair quickly gobbled down a few mouthfuls of food and hurriedly ran off after being half-full.

Sophia didn’t dare to ask about the events of last night; for her, it was akin to a black mark that’s difficult to bring up.

"I had some urgent company matters to handle last night, so I went out," Zane Sterling paused his chopsticks and nodded, "I might not be home for the next few days."

"Okay." Sophia pursed her lips.

Was he reporting to her?

Silence——

"Mr. Sterling, take your time eating; I’m full and will leave first." She wasn’t sure why she hurriedly left.

She hadn’t eaten anything.

Zane Sterling responded with a hum, absentmindedly continuing his meal.

——

For over a week, Zane Sterling hadn’t returned to the villa, possibly avoiding her, and his presence was scarce in the company as well.

On the weekend, Sophia Lowell visited the [Old Tailor’s Boutique].

Relying on her memory, she went inside and saw Grandpa Sterling.

Today, she was dressed casually, her hair tied up carefree, her slight frame swaying beside Grandpa Sterling.

The diligently working Grandpa Sterling turned his head to look, taking a few seconds to recognize her.

"Sophia?!"

"Grandpa Sterling!"

Sophia cheerfully stood by his side.

Grandpa Sterling looked around but couldn’t see Zane Sterling.

"Where’s he?"

"It’s year-end, so he’s busy." Sophia absentmindedly toyed with his measuring tape on the side.

"What made you come to see grandpa today?"

"I wanted to make him a piece of clothing myself." Sophia blushingly said, "Could you help me?"

Grandpa Sterling frowned, "Did you tear his clothes again? If that’s the case, I’ll find him some cheap fabric."

Are youngsters playing this way now?!

"No, no, no! Grandpa, I just wanted to genuinely make him a piece of clothing; you used to make his clothes, and I wanted to make him a set too."

Her explanation seemed like a flimsy excuse to him.

She vaguely remembered, the only time seeing him in a white shirt was the day of his check-up, the day he fought with Henry Quinn, and the day she moved into his home.

But that outfit had been stained with blood, and she never knew if it was cleaned, as she hadn’t seen him wear it since.

"That’s not a problem!" Grandpa Sterling cheerfully said, "But you have to come after tomorrow; I don’t think I’ll have the time today."

"That’s not a problem, I can help you out for now, and when I make clothes, you can help me too."

"Haha! Sure, sure!" Grandpa Sterling readily agreed.

Sophia successfully stayed on, helping prepare fabrics and assisting in tailoring clothes.

Sometimes she would sit and help operate the sewing machine or take measurements for customers.

Not realizing until doing it, tailoring is truly exhausting and laborious work, no wonder the prices are so high, yet still worth every cent.

After a hectic day, Sophia was exhausted, and by around four or five in the afternoon, she fell asleep in a rocking chair.

When she awoke, it was already eight in the evening.

She ended up staying for dinner at the small courtyard before leaving.

"Goodbye, Sophia!"

Over several meetings, she got along well with Corinne Chapman, one of the store’s staff members.

"See you tomorrow!" Sophia walked out of the yard, got into her Volkswagen, and left.

Upon returning, the maids had finished their chores and left, leaving behind an echoing, empty mansion.

Sophia felt as if even her breath was echoing.

The next day, she got up early, finished breakfast, and headed to the small courtyard.

In the following days, she busily worked in the courtyard at night; sometimes, they would leave, and she’d still be burning the midnight oil.

Finally, Grandpa Sterling simply gave her an extra key.