Chapter 30

• "It's rich coming from the woman who stole someone else's husband and attempted to destroy a family. Do you truly believe he loves you? That he would leave me for you? Where is he now?" Sophia lifts a picture from the table with deliberate ease, admiring the image of them walking hand in hand. "He followed me home, and he's there now, trying to repair the damage he caused within his family. If he cared so deeply for you, why didn't he stay with you? Why didn't he tend to you when I confronted you outside?" She raises an eyebrow before dropping the picture to the floor, observing it as it lands with a calm sense of detachment. She rubs her fingers together to remove any traces of its filth, relishing in the wounded expression that flickers across the woman's face.
• "He followed you because he was concerned about you. You were a mess. He's not a heartless monster like you are," the woman retorts, scrambling to gather the scattered pictures and then pulling the paperwork closer. Her eyes grow wetter as she reads the lawsuit Sophia intends to file against her, realizing the legal consequences they both could face. With Biotech still in negotiation, Sophia understands the advantage she holds in terms of the legal aspect. If they had only waited until the deal was finalized, the ethical questions surrounding their affair would have been less relevant, merely a moral quagmire.
• "You have a choice to make. Stay and fight for your love, and I will single-handedly make you regret it for the rest of your life. Leon will eventually grow to resent the choices he made," Sophia smooths down her lapel and exhales deliberately. "Or... leave, resign from Biotech, sever ties with my husband, and I will provide you with the financial means to start fresh anywhere but here. He will keep his company, his investment deal, and his life. You will become a distant memory, a reminder to him that he should never toy with fire, and we can all forget about this distasteful mistake."