Chapter 12 Bethany Is The Culprit

• Katherine had to acknowledge that Sophia was very skilled in understanding other people's minds.
• Felix personally brought staff from Odyssey's legal department to see Katherine. If Katherine and her team refused to remove the articles and make a public apology, they would receive a court summons on the next day.
• Nevertheless, Katherine was only trying to help Sophia to teach the pretentious Bethany a lesson. Moreover, Katherine also wanted to create some trouble for Alexander. It was to compensate for the unfair treatment that Sophia had received during her stay in the Xenos residence for three years.
• As a matter of fact, Katherine had been in the entertainment industry for almost ten years. Hence, it was her forte to deal with online arguments on ambiguous rumors such as the one they were currently in. In fact, she knew that online statements would always be used to spread rumors.
• Besides, Alexander did not keep boundaries with people of the opposite gender during his marriage with Sophia for the past three years. Therefore, he would still be deemed guilty when such scandalous pictures showed up.
• Katherine did not expect that they would dare to bring lawyers to come to her office to negotiate. The two lawyers had been talking non-stop as if they were on steroids. In the end, she was inexplicably unnerved by the tense situation.
• However, she had portrayed herself to be a very strong and powerful character to the public. Thus, she did not allow herself to show the tiniest bit of fear. Staring directly at Felix, she gave him a cold smile. “After having talked for such a long time, do you know who gave the pictures to Sophia, Mr. Lane?”
• Felix did not expect that she had digressed from the main issue. Hence, it was not surprising that his mind went blank for a short while. Eventually, he blurted out, “Who?”
• “Who could it be other than Bethany? I'm fine with deleting the articles, but you need to ask Bethany to delete the pictures that she had forwarded to Sophia.”
• Unfortunately, Felix did not have the means to do that. The sudden truth puzzled him. Nevertheless, he had been Alexander's secretary for nearly eight years. At the crucial moment, he was still able to think clearly. “Ms. Quinn, can I ask you a question? What is your relationship with Ms. Yarrow?”
• “That's none of your business!”
• Felix was at a loss for words.
• Then, he took his two secretaries away. When Katherine saw that they had walked away, she took off her sunglasses. Patting her chest, she exclaimed, “What a nightmare!”
• Jonice, who had been at the side, was ashamed of Katherine's reaction. “Can you take care of your image? What will we do if someone sees you?”
• “Jonice, don't worry! Is there anyone else here other than us? Hold on. My phone is ringing. It's Soph! I need to inform her of the result.”
• The corner of Jonice's lips twitched. Annoyed, she closed the door before walking out of the room.
• At first, Katherine thought that Sophia was calling because the latter was concerned about what happened. Katherine was ready to brag about it when she suddenly heard Sophia's calm voice. “Ask them to remove the articles. Also, stop spending money to make those articles to be trending. I want the issue between Alexander and me to stop here,” Sophia uttered.
• Upon hearing her words, Katherine was baffled. After a short pause, she said, “Please make a sound if you are being kidnapped.”
• “Don't be silly, Kathy. I'm just a little tired.”
• Indeed, Katherine could detect the hint of exhaustion coming from Sophia's voice. The former pursed her lips. Even though she was reluctant to stop, she said, “Okay. But please don't be sad about it. We will continue to be our beautiful selves in the future. It's good to be single these days!”
• A man's gruff voice was heard suddenly. “What did you mean about having a good time these days?”
• Katherine was stunned. When she lifted her gaze, she realized Joshua was standing in the room. She flinched nervously. “I didn't say anything.”
• She pretended to be frail, pitiful, and helpless.
• Upon hearing Joshua's voice, Sophia chuckled before hanging up the phone. Then, she went to the kitchen, planning to make a hearty and delicious dinner for herself in order to comfort her wounded heart.
• An hour passed. That's it! I think it's better for me to order some food delivery.
• Finally, all the online articles were removed. Although the rumor about the love triangle between Sophia, Alexander, and Bethany was reaching its climax, it was stopped abruptly.
• After the articles were removed, Alexander also instructed his men to stop the public from spreading the news. It was not a surprise when the matter disappeared completely at night.
• However, Alexander had trouble falling asleep that night.
• When Felix told him that Bethany was the one who circulated the photos, Alexander remembered Sophia's words all of a sudden. She had told him that he had overestimated himself.
• At that time, he thought that it was no big deal. He assumed that Sophia was upset and became angry about it.
• However, after knowing the truth, Alexander suddenly felt frustrated for some reason.
• That's enough. I should have a smoke before going to sleep.
• After that day, Sophia kept a low profile for a short while. No one mentioned her at all. It was as if she had disappeared.
• Everyone assumed that Sophia had been hurt in the relationship. Thus, they thought that she had decided to concede defeat once she knew that it would be a futile attempt.
• Even though that was somewhat the truth, in actuality, Sophia had been traveling in Epea for a while. She was there on a holiday and had a wonderful time skiing, bungee jumping, surfing, and paragliding.
• She had planned to go back home in two days' time after she had her holiday for more than one month. One day, she was in a duty-free shop with the list given by Katherine in her hand. Katherine had asked her to buy a few bags and some lipsticks, which were already sold out back in their country. Suddenly, a familiar male voice was heard calling out her name. “Soph!”
• She was startled by the voice.
• When she turned around, she saw Howard Holden. He was one of the famous celebrities under Specter Entertainment.
• “Why are you here?”
• That year, Howard was only twenty-one years old, looking young and youthful. He had two fang-like cuspids that made him look very cute when he smiled.
• “I'm recently taking a break. Thus, Katherine told me to pick you up.”
• After throwing three lipsticks into the basket, Sophia gave him a half-smile. “What is she having up her sleeve now?”
• Unlike Mason, Howard was a shy person. When Sophia stared at him intently, his ears turned bright red immediately. Lifting his hand, he scratched his head. “I acted in a movie last year. It's going to be aired on the eighth day next month. Katherine told me to create some hype for it.”
• “You are quite frank.” Sophia flashed a brief smile. Then, she tore the order list and gave the other half to him. “Help me to find these three bags.”
• “Okay, Soph.”
• Sophia took a morning flight sometime after eight o'clock in the morning on the next day. When they landed in Dellmoor, it was already past three o'clock in the afternoon.
• When she got off the plane with Howard, they were surrounded by paparazzi who had been called to be there by Katherine.
• Then, they had to wait at Dellmoor for eighty minutes in transit before heading back to Jadeborough. Thus, it was already past eight o'clock at night when they arrived back in Jadeborough.
• Howard's manager had arranged for a car to send them back home. Katherine had asked her to buy many things. Hence, Sophia found it hard to take them back herself. Howard had to help her with her other luggage.
• “Genie, heat up the water.”
• They put on house slippers after they entered the house. Sophia proceeded to the kitchen to wash two glasses. She then headed back to the living room and offered Howard a glass of warm water.
• “Soph, your smart home butler is quite interesting.”
• She sat down on the couch. Raising her eyebrows, she asked, “Do you like it? If you do, you can ask Katherine to give one to you.”
• The young man looked like he was deeply interested in the system. Upon hearing her remarks, he had an excited look on his face. “Is it a system developed by Joshua's company? I've noticed that there is no system like this on the market.”
• Sophia nodded. “Yes, that's right. They are currently waiting for the government's approval. I think it should be introduced in the market at the end of this year. If you like it, you can mention it to Katherine. She may be able to let you use it in advance.”
• “Can I?”
• “Why not?”
• “Thank you, Soph.”
• She took a sip of the water. “You don't have to thank me.”
• Shortly afterward, Howard left the house. After she had sent him out, she instructed Genie to fill the bathtub with water while she unpacked her luggage. Subsequently, she took her sleeping gown and went straight to take a bath.
• The past few days had been quite eventful for her. Moreover, she had to sit on a plane for more than fifteen hours. It was not surprising that she fell asleep in the bathtub.
• While she was sleeping, there was another trending news on Twitter. The third trending topic on the social media platform was titled: Howard's Secret Lover
• Alexander received Samuel's WhatsApp message right after the former had finished his work overtime. Before he opened the message, his phone's quick notification indicated that it was a photograph.
• Although he thought that Samuel was childish, Alexander proceeded to open the message nonetheless. In their chat, Samuel sent him a message: Alex, your ex-wife is incredible. It's only been a short while before she has found herself another young man.
• When Alexander tapped on the photograph, he saw that it was Howard, who was a popular young celebrity. In the photograph, Howard was seen protecting a woman who had an alluring figure.
• Even though the woman only showed a third of her face, Alexander recognized her almost immediately. Howard's so-called secret lover was Sophia, the woman who had divorced Alexander three months ago.