Chapter 7

“Soph, don’t act impulsively. Just wait for me. After work, we’ll sit down and talk, okay?”

At that moment, Lara burst in, saying, “Hudson, your dad just called. He said he needs to talk to you. You should take the call.”

Hudson immediately turned around and hurried off, looking almost as if he were fleeing the scene. I shook my head and was about to leave when Lara suddenly stretched out her leg and blocked my path.

“Sophie, clear out your office now. I’m moving in.”

The Vice President’s office and a department manager’s office weren’t even the same thing, so I knew she was deliberately kicking me out. However, it didn’t matter anymore. I was leaving anyway. There were things I needed to take with me.

I had just finished packing up my belongings when someone knocked on the office door. When I opened it, an employee from an auction house stood there, holding an exquisite gift box, smiling obsequiously.

“You must be Mr. Hudson’s partner. This is the bracelet Mr. Hudson purchased for you at a recent auction. Please try it on.”

I froze where I stood.

What was this supposed to be? A breakup gift?

The people around us hadn’t heard what the employee said clearly. However, they recognized the logo on the gift box and immediately began whispering among themselves.

“That’s Bvlgari. Even the cheapest one costs over thirty thousand dollars!”

“No wonder Sophie is quitting. She found herself a rich man!”

Before I could respond, the auction house employee had taken out the bracelet and gestured for me to hold out my hand. Just as the clasp was about to close around my wrist…

“Sophie! I know your family is poor, but I never expected you to steal my bracelet and pretend it’s yours!”

Lara’s sharp voice suddenly cut through the room.

“I’m Hudson’s partner. Don’t you think you’ve gone too far?”

At some point, she had appeared behind us. She grabbed the bracelet off my wrist in one swift motion and looked at me with open contempt.

The sudden accusation terrified the auction house employee, who quickly began apologizing. Lara waved her hand dismissively, signaling that it was fine. Then, she turned to me with a falsely gentle smile.

“Forget it. Sophie, you come from such a poor background. Maybe you’ve never seen something this valuable before. It’s understandable if you got a little tempted…” She paused deliberately before adding, “But a company can’t tolerate this kind of petty theft.”

I touched the red mark on my wrist where the bracelet had been yanked off and sneered. Of course. There was no way Hudson would ever be this generous to me.

Seeing the situation, the surrounding colleagues began urging Lara to put the bracelet on.

“Ms. Lara, Mr. Hudson treats you so well. He’s obsessed with spoiling his wife!”

“Sophie sure has thick skin. To think she had the nerve to pretend to be you. Honestly, we shouldn’t even show her mercy. Let’s just throw her out!”

I gave another self-deprecating smile. Just as I picked up my cardboard box to leave, a familiar voice sounded beside me.

“Soph, what’s going on?” It was Hudson.

The crowd immediately began speaking up for Lara.

“Mr. Hudson! Sophie’s a thief. She tried to steal Ms. Lara’s bracelet right in front of her. That thing is worth tens of thousands of dollars, at least. Should we call the police?”

“Exactly. A vain gold digger like Sophie doesn’t deserve to stay in our company.”

Lara smiled sweetly and deliberately raised her hand, showing off the bracelet.

“Don’t listen to them, Hudson,” she said softly. “I really like the gift you bought me.”

Hudson’s expression immediately darkened. I lowered my gaze, already waiting for him to scold me—call me vain, greedy, a shameless gold digger.

Instead, he turned to Lara and said sharply, “Take it off.”