Chapter 48

• Mr. Reed leaned forward slightly, his tone measured but laced with subtle persuasion. “Gavin, you know better than anyone that Sophia’s actions were never meant to be taken seriously. She’s just a little headstrong, that’s all. Her running away from the marriage wasn’t a rejection—it was impulsiveness. Besides, your engagement to Sophia wasn’t something casual; it was arranged by Old Master Stone himself. Don’t you think it’s rather ungrateful to disregard his wishes like this?”
• Liza, lounging on the sofa with an air of nonchalance, observed the family with faint amusement. The Reed family, it seemed, had perfected the art of ignoring her presence altogether. Here she was, Gavin’s lawfully wedded wife, yet they paraded into her home to undermine her. The daughter deemed her unworthy of Gavin. The mother implied Gavin’s heart still belonged to Sophia. And the father was now invoking Old Master Gu’s authority to guilt him. They weren’t even subtle—they simply didn’t care.
• Gavin set his coffee cup down, his movements deliberate as he replied coolly, “Uncle Reed, bigamy is illegal.” His calm tone only amplified the weight of his words.