Chapter 410


    Sophia''s question brought a blush to Charlize''s cheeks. However, as the older woman was the first to


    learn about her crush on Spencer, shefortably shared, “After I got home from dinner with you that


    day, I did as you told me to. I told him I was merely his subordinate, so he had no right to meddle in my


    life after working hours. I also said I had no obligation to take instructions from him after work...”


    At that time, Spencer''s face darkened as soon as he heard her utterances, but Charlize remembered


    Sophia''s advice and pushed ahead with the n, continuing to tell him off. Subsequently, she followed


    Sophia''s instructions wholly, limiting their interactions to work-rted matters.


    In the first few days following the confrontation, Spencer would put on a grim face whenever they met.


    Charlize had a hard time pulling through more than a week of tense interactions with him. Luckily, her


    university club buddies initiated a gathering to celebrate the birthday of their club leader just as she


    was on the verge of giving up on her standoff with Spencer. The group chat with the buddies was lively


    and fun, which sessfully distracted her. Eventually, she did not find Spencer''s poker face as


    terrifying as before.


    Still, she was disappointed that Spencer had not softened his stance and initiated contact with her.


    Sophia had warned her that if he did not do so, it simply meant he was never interested in her.


    However, that feeling of disappointment was dulled by the excitement of attending the highly


    anticipated gathering with her university buddies. Suddenly, work did not seem so unbearable and


    agonizing anymore. Finally, the weekend arrived, and she packed her bag to head to the beach for the


    gathering.


    She was close to her friends from the university club and always had a good time with them. They had


    nned lots of exciting and enjoyable activities for the gathering, such as surfing, barbecuing, camping


    on the beach, and so on. Even the schedule itself screamed fun.


    The weather was fantastic that weekend, and the getaway chased away Charlize''s blues.


    They went snorkeling during the day and were enthralled by the beauty of the underwater world. In the


    evening, they sat on the sand, celebrating the club leader''s birthday with a barbecue feast while ying


    the game of “Truth or Dare.”


    It all went well until the birthday boy made a love confession to Charlize, and that surprise move


    stunned her.


    All her friends were in cahoots with her admirer. They used the pretense of a birthday celebration to


    allow their club leader to make a surprise love confession to her.


    The site was beautifully decorated with romantic fairy lights, and their friends enthusiastically cheered


    them on. Charlize''s admirer was a perfect gentleman too, so it was a wless and beautiful confession


    session. However, her heart was with Spencer, and when she thought of how he had given her the cold


    shoulder and had not invited her for a game of badminton in the past ten days, she felt sad all of a


    sudden.


    Despite her low spirits, Charlize felt obliged to politely reject her admirer without making anyone feel


    awkward. After all, he had put a lot of effort into nning that asion.


    Just as she was contemting the best way to handle the situation, Spencer suddenly appeared out of


    nowhere to crash the party. He took her hand in his, turned to her dumbfounded admirer, who was still


    awaiting her response to his confession, and said, “I''m sorry, but she''s taken. She''s my girlfriend.”


    The stunned Charlize was led away by Spencer, and in her daze, she did not notice where he was


    bringing her. By the time she recovered from the shock, she was already on a quiet stretch of the


    beach, away from everyone else. All she could hear was the soothing sound of waves crashing on the


    shore.


    Charlize took a few seconds topose herself before trying to confront Spencer.


    She tried her best to appear confident and in control, just as Sophia had advised. However, she was


    too nervous and ended up stumbling over her words. To her surprise, she saw Spencer''s face break


    into a smile.


    The man looked absolutely dashing when he smiled. If not for the tense situation they were in, Charlize


    would have been happy to stare dreamily at that mesmerizing smile forever.


    However, she found it impossible tough along with him since he wasughing at her. At the thought


    of Sophia''s words, she flew into a rage and growled, “What are youughing at, Mr. Lacroix? Don''t you


    think you owe me an exnation for saying something so misleading?”


    Probably because she felt humiliated and furious, her countenance was cold when she said those


    angry words to him.


    Deep in her heart, she was already mourning the end of her crush and sadly imagining a lonely life


    ahead for herself.


    At that point, her imagination was running wild. While she hesitated on whether she should simply go


    all out and take advantage of him, Spencer suddenly reached out to gently wipe the tears from her


    cheek. “You are so dumb, Charlize Johnson,” he chided gently.


    Enraged by his condemnation, Charlize shed more tears. Then, he added, “Can''t you tell I''m deeply in


    love with you?”


    With that confession, he lifted her chin to turn her face toward him and kissed her.


    It happened eight days ago, but it still felt surreal to Charlize.


    She gave Sophia a shy nce and continued, “From that night onward, we became a couple.”


    Something came to her mind, and she could not help but wonder out loud, “You''re so amazing, Ms.


    Yarrow. How did you know he likes me too?”


    Charlize was innocent and a little oblivious in love, but she was not dense in the head.


    After that fateful day, she recalled all the past incidents and pieced together quite a fair bit of the puzzle


    herself.


    However, she was still amazed by the fact that Sophia was so certain that Spencer harbored romantic


    feelings for her.


    After all, she had only shared with Sophia what she did or felt as the one with a one-sided crush on


    Spencer.


    Sophia gave her a smile and revealed, “Because you can''t hide the love in your eyes.”


    Worried that Charlize might not understand her point, she borated, “Initially, I was also second-


    guessing. After all, Mr. Lacroix is a sessful young man who is also your direct superior. If he wanted


    someone to join him for a game of badminton, he could have reached out to many other people. It isn''t


    necessary for him to choose you, his subordinate, to join him in the game. Getting one''s subordinate


    involved in one''s private life is something a superior would usually not like to do. However, when we


    met Mr. Lacroix after dinner that day, I could tell from the look in his eyes that he was in love with you,


    Charlize.”


    Sophia got Charlize another ss of juice beforeplimenting her. “You''re pretty and lovable, so it


    doesn''t surprise me that he fell for you.”


    “I feel so dumb whenever Ipare myself to you and the others, Ms. Yarrow,” Charlize confessed.


    She was awed by the perceived huge intellectual difference between a genius such as Sophia and


    someone asmon as herself.


    It made her feel like a pathetic fool.


    The two of them had been chatting for more than half an hour, so Sophia reckoned it was almost time


    for the cake-cutting session.


    After taking a final sip of her juice, she smiled at Charlize and urged, “Let''s get back inside. Mr. Quail


    should be cutting the cake soon.”


    “Yup, sure!” Charlize nodded and stood up to walk back into the hall with Sophia.


    Just as they stepped in from the balcony, they overheard someone mention Sophia''s name.


    Instinctively, Charlize looked at Sophia, who shook her head and made her stop in her tracks.


    “Goodness gracious! How could Suny of Sunshine Group be Sophia Yarrow?”


    “I find it absurd too! How is it that Sophia is Suny of Sunshine Group? It''s impossible! If she really is


    Suny, then why didn''t she refute us when we mocked her for being a gold digger back then?”


    “Gosh! Who knows! Sophia is so weird! Why is she hiding the fact that she''s wealthy? Could she be


    worried we''d rob her of her money if we knew?”


    “s! Anyway, let''s keep out of her way and not mess with her in the future. Look at what happened to


    Kay. Now she has to stay abroad and can''t even return home!”


    “Yup, we can''t afford to offend her! She''s being ced on a pedestal and is unrivaled in Jadeborough


    now. Moreover, she''s also Alexander''s girlfriend. From the way I see it, they are probably getting


    married soon.”


    The threedies standing before Charlize and Sophia had their backs toward the doorway to the


    balcony, engrossed in their gossip. Since they were in a corner, they probably thought that no one


    would overhear them.


    Sophia could identify that two of thedies were Ka''s friends, and thus, she could not be bothered to


    deal with them.


    However, Charlize was deeply infuriated by what they had said and wanted to step in to rebuke them.


    Sophia held her back and jested, “Forget it. They said that they couldn''t afford to offend me anyway.”


    Sophia was not perturbed by their harmless gossip. To her, it was nothing intolerable.


    Charlize, on the other hand, was still vexed. “Although they didn''t say anything evil, I''m still offended by


    what I overheard. I''m not about to let them off without giving them a warning, Ms. Yarrow,” she insisted,


    pouting in annoyance.


    Sophia noticed Charlize appeared to have taken the gossip quite personally, so she smiled and


    stopped trying to dissuade her.


    Without further objections from Sophia, Charlize stepped forward and headed toward the gossipers


    with her ss of juice in hand. “Are you jealous of her well-deserved wealth? It''s just too bad that you


    can only fume in silence, as you''re simply no match for our capable and talented Ms. Yarrow. That


    feeling of inadequacy must be really depressing, isn''t it?” she mocked.


    Her appearance gave Maggie Bronson and her fellow gossiping partners a jolt. Upset with Charlize''s


    scathing words, the three women turned around and were about to argue with her when they saw


    Sophia standing behind Charlize, looking at them with a half-smile on her face.


    Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org.


    Knowing they were in the wrong, they hung their heads and sheepishly greeted Sophia before they


    scurried off with their sses of juice.


    As Charlize watched them flee, she spat in contempt and muttered, “Cowards!”


    Sophiaughed softly and urged, “All right. Let''s head back to Mr. Quail''s party.”


    “Okay!” Charlize happily agreed.


    Satisfied that she had stood up for Sophia, she retracted her gaze and obediently joined her in search


    of her older brother and his friends.