Chapter 18

• "I appreciate that she's more than just a beautiful face and an empty mind whose only talent is birthing Hale children. I selected her for her abilities," Mother directs towards Sophia, smiling warmly, and Sophia mechanically returns the smile. She feels nothing inside at those words because they have been ingrained in her soul since she was eleven years old.
• "That's why POLO has achieved a level our forefathers never reached. Leon and Sophia make a powerful duo." Johnny interjects to ease the tension in the room, and Sophia nods gracefully and plays her turn. To survive in this artificial and ruthless society, one must play nice and surround oneself with a variety of catty frenemies. Ignoring them, showing nothing, feeling nothing, just as mother taught her.
• "Speaking of which, where is your handsome son? We never see Leon at all. He must truly be a workaholic like his father was." One of the plumper, overly made-up women, adorned with her entire jewelry box, pipes up, looking wistful. Leon is still the talk of the town, even after being married all this time. Most of these women wait eagerly with the hope that one day he divorces Sophia and gives their daughters a chance.