Chapter 112

This woman dared to double-cross him, going through his mother to successfully install herself.

Ethan realized too late that Isabella was far more calculating than he imagined.

The purity and innocence he thought she had were all an act.

He was completely fooled, even lost Sophia because of it.

If not for her, how could things with Sophia have come to this?

The thought deepened the disgust in his eyes.

He refused to set foot anywhere she was.

He'd been sleeping at the company for days.

Isabella didn't dare approach him directly, so she pressured him incessantly through Victoria.

To placate his mother, he had to return to the villa.

But that was it.

…

10 PM.

The villa was brightly lit.

He pushed the door open.

Isabella stood in the foyer, reaching for his coat.

Ethan sidestepped her and walked straight to the living room.

Isabella's hands hung awkwardly in the air.

She bit her lip.

She wore a light-colored knit dress, hair cascading over her shoulders, looking gentle and harmless.

Ethan ignored her completely.

He addressed Victoria.

"You wanted me back. I'm back."

He turned to go upstairs.

"Stop."

Ethan paused.

"I'm tired. I need to rest."

Victoria frowned.

"Come here. I need to talk to you."

Her tone was firm.

Ethan followed with a dark expression.

In the study, he poured himself water, completely ignoring his mother's grim face.

"The child is yours. Can't you show some concern?"

Victoria knew her son too well.

Beneath the perfect exterior was utter coldness.

He loved fiercely, hated intensely.

"When did I ever say I wanted this child? Didn't you force it on me?"

His brows were sharp, eyes full of loathing.

Victoria understood his resentment, but she would never give up her grandchild.

"Whatever you think, Isabella is carrying the Roscente heir. Since I know about it, it must be born safely!"

Ethan's face turned icy.

"And after it's born? You want me to marry her?"

"I care about the child. Marriage is up to you." Victoria's tone was flat.

Ethan was silent for a moment.

"... Fine. I'll agree, but on one condition."

"Name it."

"After the child is born, Isabella disappears completely. And you won't stop me from being with Sophia."

Victoria was helpless against her son's obsession, but finally nodded.

She wasn't satisfied with Sophia either, but she was much better than Isabella.

At least an MIT graduate, now pursuing a Master's.

Good taste, generous.

Isabella had nothing but a pretty face.

Ethan left the study feeling lighter.

He grabbed his coat, ignored Isabella's pleading look, and strode out.

Right now, he just wanted to see Sophia immediately.

To tell her all obstacles were cleared.

From now on, the path was smooth.

Sophia Sullivan was jolted awake by frantic knocking.

She sat up and listened carefully.

Someone was definitely knocking on her door.

"Who is it?" she called out through the door.

Alexander Laurent was pulling an all-nighter at the lab. If it was a real intruder, she had no backup.

The knocking paused for a moment, but the person outside didn't answer.

Seeing she wouldn't open up, they started knocking again.

"I won't open if you don't speak."

"...Clara." Ethan Roscente's voice held a bitter note.

She was still so stubborn.

"...What do you want?" Hearing his voice, Sophia instinctively frowned.

"Let me in. We need to talk. I promise I won't do anything. You can leave the door ajar..."

"We have nothing to talk about." Sophia cut him off, clearly not intending to open the door.

No matter how he pleaded or knocked after that, Sophia pretended not to hear.

Ethan was uncharacteristically patient today. If she wouldn't open, he would just keep knocking.

Sophia finished her shower. The knocking was still going. She picked up her phone. "Hello, 911? Someone is persistently knocking on my door..."

Ethan was eventually persuaded to leave by the police.

Finally, peace and quiet.

Sophia lay down to sleep.

Early the next morning, she prepared breakfast, packed some clothes, and set off for the lab.

She planned to stay there for the next couple of days.

Partly to avoid further harassment from Ethan, and partly because she genuinely needed to focus.

She had to finish this paper before graduate school started in September.

It killed two birds with one stone.

Unfortunately, the very person she was avoiding darted out from a side alley the moment she left her building, blocking her path.

Sophia was startled.

"Having fun?" Ethan's face was dark as he glared coldly at her.

Sleepless and fresh from a trip to the police station, stubble dotted his once-handsome face. He looked utterly haggard.

His gaze at Sophia was a mix of love and resentment, anger and pity.

"You got me lectured all night. Are you satisfied now?" The words sounded like an accusation, but his tone was soft, almost pleading.

Sophia looked back at him, her eyes calm and unreadable. "First, I'm not playing games. You were genuinely disturbing me. Second, you got that lecture for causing a disturbance in the middle of the night. You deserved it."

"Why wouldn't you open the door?"

Sophia: "I never open the door for strangers."

The word 'strangers' stung. Ethan retorted, "Strangers?! You don't know me? Or I don't know you?! What were those past six years then?"

"You said it yourself. That's the past. Since it's already in the past, don't let it affect the present!"

Ethan: "Do you hate me that much?"

Enough to deny everything they once had.

"No," Sophia shook her head, looking straight into his eyes, enunciating each word clearly. "Hate is built on a foundation of love. You need love to feel hate. But I don't love you anymore."

Right after the breakup, Sophia appeared calm on the surface, but inside, she was full of hate.

She hated his easy betrayal.

She resented how he just ended things.

She mourned their six years together.

But after surviving the hardest part and slowly healing her wounds, thinking of the past now felt like a light boat had already passed countless mountains.

Sophia: "I've moved on. You should accept reality too and live your own life."

"Moved on? How can you just move on?" How could she?!

Ethan suddenly became agitated.

Faced with such unreasonable behavior, Sophia could only find it laughable.

He was the one who let go first. Now, just as she was accepting reality and about to step out of the shadows, he suddenly turns back, trying to drag her into the past?

Wasn't that just hilarious?

"Ethan Roscente, don't pester me anymore. Don't make me despise you."

Her firmness and finality were like a knife, puncturing all his confidence and self-assurance.

"Clara... please don't be like this... okay?"

Sophia just looked at him, her expression unreadable.

"I've cleared all the obstacles between us. My mother has agreed. All you need to do is nod, and we can go to the courthouse to get married right away!"

Sophia: "I don't want to."

And his so-called "solutions" were nothing but self-deception.

"Clara..."

"I'm very busy. I have to go."

With that, she stepped past him and walked away without looking back.

Ethan stood frozen on the spot for a long time.

The morning rush hour crowd flowed around him, but he seemed to have lost his soul. His eyes were dull, watching everything as if the whole world had nothing to do with him.

After who knows how long, the man's rigid eyes moved slightly, looking in the direction Sophia had left. He whispered softly—

"Is there really no chance anymore?"

...

Isabella Langley didn't know what Ethan and Victoria Roscente had discussed in the study that night. Initially, she felt uneasy living there. The man's cold attitude made her feel like she could be thrown out at any moment.

But that anxiety soon faded.

Victoria spoke to her gently and soothingly, calling her the Roscente family's benefactor, and instructed the two housekeepers to take good care of her.

She even spent a fortune buying Isabella many prenatal supplements.

As for Ethan, he seemed to tacitly accept her staying at the mansion, not rejecting it outright like before.

The household staff sensed this shift in attitude and did a complete one-eighty in how they treated Isabella.

Some started addressing her as "Madam" or "Young Mistress."

Whatever she felt like eating, as soon as she mentioned it, someone would prepare it immediately.

Those luxury jewelry and handbags she never dared to dream of before, Victoria would occasionally give them to her.

Isabella lived a life of pampered luxury every day, long forgetting she was still a student. Each day she woke up in a luxurious mansion and ate expensive bird's nest soup.

No wonder every woman dreams of marrying into a wealthy family!

She only blamed herself for not thinking of this trick earlier. If she had gotten pregnant sooner, she wouldn't have wasted all those good days!

If she had one worry now...

Victoria was manageable for the time being. Even if not for her, they'd respect the "baby." They catered to her every whim, so why would they cause trouble?

The main issue was still Ethan's attitude.

The man had gone out that night and hadn't returned. Who knows what he received, but he caught a cold the next day.

He refused to see a doctor.

When a doctor was called to the house, he refused to cooperate.

Like a sulking child, he locked himself in the master bedroom. He stayed there for a full day and night, not eating or drinking. No one knew what he was doing inside.

Isabella had initially thought about going up to comfort him, to show her gentle and caring side.

But before she could even get close, she was frozen by a single look from him.

For a moment, she even felt Ethan looked at her like she was a cockroach—disgusting and despicable.

But很快, his expression returned to normal.

It made her think it might have just been her imagination...

"Baby, are you going out?" Isabella quickly got up from the sofa, fluttering over to the man like a butterfly.

"Don't call me baby. If I hear it one more time, get out!"

The lab was brightly lit.

Zoe Langley rushed over to Quincy Evans with a stack of data. "Quincy, I need these numbers crunched urgently. Do it by hand."

Quincy didn't look up. "Use the computer. I'm busy."

"The computer isn't as fast as you! It'll only take a few minutes!"

Quincy gestured with his chin toward the opposite bench. "Ask Sophia Sullivan. She can do it."

After the last correction, everyone in the lab had witnessed Sophia's ability.

Only Lillian Lopez still thought it was just luck.

"Dr. Langley, need some help?" Sophia offered.

Zoe's eyes lit up. "Yes, please calculate this for me…"

Two minutes later, Sophia looked up. "I've sent the results to your internal email."

Zoe was stunned. "That fast?"

Quincy put down his work and reached for the data. "Let me see that."

Zoe glared at him. "You were too busy to do it a second ago. Now you want to see it after she's finished? Are you messing with me?"

Quincy ignored her, grabbing paper and a pen to calculate.

Simon Lowell immediately pulled out his phone to time it.

"...Done. How long?"

Simon checked the screen. "Two minutes and five seconds."

Almost the same time as Sophia.

Quincy looked at Sophia intently. "Did you formally study speed math?"

Sophia hesitated. "Does mental abacus count?"

"When did you learn it?"

"Five? Or six? I don't really remember." She smiled apologetically.

Quincy took a deep breath. "That's it?"

"Is there more required?" Sophia looked confused.

Quincy was speechless.

Simon was eager. "Professor Evans, I've studied speed math with you for over half a year. How about a contest between me and Sophia?"

Everyone was immediately interested.

Quincy nodded. "Good idea. It'll test your progress."

"I'll set the problems. The winner answers the most correctly in the shortest time, within ten minutes."

Zoe smiled and leaned in. "Let's make it interesting. The loser buys dinner, okay?"

Simon rolled up his sleeves. "Bring it on! Dinner is on me tonight."

A slight smile touched Sophia's lips. "Alright. But I'm afraid you'll be paying, Simon."

Her rare show of confidence excited everyone.

Lillian muttered under her breath, "Such a show-off…"

Only Simon heard her.

Zoe urged, "Hurry up, Quincy. I can't wait."

Quincy's pen flew across the paper, writing five problems in half a minute.

"Ready—begin!"

Sophia scanned the questions. They were pure calculations, testing only speed and accuracy.

By the third minute, Sophia had finished two problems.

Simon was faster, already on the third.

Zoe and Quincy exchanged a look.

Zoe asked, "Who do you think will win?"

Quincy said, "Simon is leading for now."

By the fifth minute, Sophia had done four and started the fifth.

Simon was stuck on the fourth for a few seconds, falling slightly behind.

Sophia had pulled ahead, but her lead was slim.

In the sixth minute, both were stuck on the final problem.

At six minutes and fifty seconds, Sophia wrote down her answer.

Simon was ten seconds behind.

He wiped his brow. "It's fine. We still need to check accuracy. I'm confident."

But the results showed Sophia had all correct. He had one wrong.

Simon was stunned. "How…"

He had to admit it. "Sophia, you're incredible. Really, just mental abacus?"

Quincy nodded to himself.

Not only was Sophia capable, but her composure was rock-solid. She never panicked under pressure.

That alone guaranteed Simon's loss.

Zoe teased, "Well, Simon? Convinced?"

Simon nodded repeatedly. "Convinced, convinced. Results speak for themselves. I have to admit it—"

Losing to Quincy was one thing, but Sophia was just an undergraduate. The result was hard to believe.

Zoe patted his shoulder. "You win some, you lose some. There's always next time. But don't try to skip out on dinner."

Simon said cheerfully, "My treat tonight! But Sophia, how did you solve the last one? It was so fast."

Sophia generously shared her method.

Simon had a sudden realization. "You can calculate it that way?"

"The method isn't important. The correct result is."

"...I see."

Quincy pressed again, "You really never studied speed math formally?"

Sophia shook her head. "No."

She'd realized as a child that her mental math was faster than others. Problems that took minutes for others, she solved instantly.

"I have a set of speed math notes. I compiled them myself. Would you like to see them?"

Zoe was surprised. "Quincy, you never let anyone see those notes. Why the generosity today?"

Quincy said calmly, "Good things should go to those who deserve them."

Sophia was flattered. "Is that appropriate?"

Quincy said, "Just say yes or no!"

Sophia said, "Yes!"

Simon looked at Quincy resentfully. "...Don't I deserve them?"

Oh well. His devotion was misplaced.

Zoe said cheerfully, "Shall we discuss what to eat tonight?"

"Going out to eat?" A cool voice came from the doorway.

Everyone turned.

Alexander Laurent stood there, wearing a shirt and trousers, pulling on his lab coat.

He fastened the buttons as he asked, "Reached a decision? Where are we going?"