Chapter 8

Sophia looked at Mason and abruptly chuckled.

There had been a complication when she gave birth to Mason, and she had almost lost too much blood. The pregnancy had also severely weakened her body.

But even so, she never once regretted bringing him into this world—until now, when she realized just how much of a joke she was.

He was only six years old. No matter how mature he was for his age, there was no way he could hide how he truly felt. As she had expected, his eyes were now clearly filled with disdain and aversion.

In the past, when he'd been close to Christina, Sophia felt hurt, but she comforted herself by reminding herself that he was just a child.

Children naturally gravitated toward people who stood out and seemed special.

At the end of the day, she was his mother. There was no way he would distance himself from her because of a stranger.

But now, the obvious loathing in his eyes made it clear to hear that even being related by blood meant nothing.

Looking Mason in the eye, she said curtly, "I'm only your mother in a biological sense. You're still young, but you have every right to choose someone else to be your mother."

She had already made up her mind. To hell with all those excuses about him being too young and not holding it against a child who didn't know any better. She wasn't going to bother anymore.

Once again, Sophia turned to leave. Kevin, however, continued studying her reaction, his brows knotted. He felt even more frustrated now. What did she mean by this?

Was she really going to let Mason see someone else as his mother? She was giving up her role as his wife?

"Sophia!" Kevin abruptly called out to her, his tone icy. "Mason is still young. He doesn't understand what all of this means. He's just close to Christina. Besides, you're the one at fault in this matter. Apologize to Christina, and I'll pretend that none of this ever happened."

He didn't believe her, yet he was willing to let her make peace with Christina. The irony was not missed by Sophia.

Looking up, she smiled and said, "That won't be necessary. I won't apologize for something I didn't even do in the first place, nor do I need you two to believe that I'm innocent. As long as Ms. Sloan can provide evidence of my wrongdoing, I'm perfectly willing to face the consequences."

She no longer cared about what her so-called husband and son thought, and she couldn't be bothered to keep arguing with them.

…

Sophia went to a cat cafe to arrange for the cat she'd left there to be brought to Rovendale with her.

Kevin didn't like pets, but Sophia adored cats. Thus, when she encountered a small calico cat, out of consideration for Kevin and Mason, she arranged for it to be raised at a cat cafe instead of taking it home with her.

Now and then, she would drop by the cat cafe to visit it.

The cafe owner got along quite well with her, and after seeing that she was taking the cat away, the owner couldn't resist teasing her, "I thought you said that your husband and son don't like cats, so you can't keep it at home with you. Are you planning on giving it away now?"

"Nope," Sophia replied, abruptly overcome with a sense of relief. Smiling, she added almost jokingly, "I just think that a husband and a son are even less important than a cat."

Her husband and son would favor another, but as long as she treated the cat well, it would always think the best of her.

The cafe owner was also quite amused.

"You got that right. Who said that once you get married, you can't even raise a cat that you like?"

Sophia smiled and said nothing. She had indeed nearly abandoned all of her own preferences for Kevin and Mason's sake.

Fortunately, once she left, she'd be alone again. The world was her oyster, and she would have a chance to live as she pleased.

After spending some time with the cat, her mood lifted considerably.

Just then, Erin called, saying that she had arranged a party to celebrate Sophia's new beginning. She didn't give away Sophia's decision to leave, however. She simply came up with an excuse to gather some of their old college friends.

By the time Sophia arrived, her friends were already drinking.

Upon seeing her, the man in the center looked up and smiled faintly before remarking in a mischievous tone, "I can't believe a busy lady like you could make time to hang out with us."

It was Gideon Irvine, one of her college seniors and an infamous flirt at the time.

During Sophia's college days, she had many friends and plenty of suitors as well, with Gideon being one of them. With her radiance and liveliness, she was always the center of attention.

Thus, people were often shocked to learn that after the Jensen family's downfall, she married Kevin and devoted herself to the life of a housewife, never attending any of the get-togethers.

Fortunately, her friends were understanding and never pried into it.

However, after three rounds of drinks, someone was tipsy enough to bring up their old college memories.

"Hey, Sophia, did you know that Gideon had a crush on you back then? If we'd known you'd end up like this after marrying Kevin, we should've just helped you two get together instead."

Startled, Sophia looked up and met Gideon's intense gaze. He had indeed tried to date her back then. Averting her gaze, she said helplessly, "I can't believe he fooled you guys. He would've happily taken every single pretty young lady home with him if he could."

Gideon raised his brows and protested, his expression innocent, "Hey! What did I do for you to expose me like that? I've worked so hard to keep up my 'deeply devoted' persona."

Everyone laughed along and moved on from the subject after some good-natured ribbing.

Gideon acted as though he hadn't been sincere in his pursuit of Sophia, and she went along with the ruse as well.

While she had indeed given up on Kevin now, she'd never once considered being with anyone else before him.

Meanwhile, Marcus, who'd just emerged from a private room not too far away, saw this sight and couldn't resist exclaiming, "Isn't that Sophia? What's she doing here?"

Kevin paused, his gaze narrowing when he saw Gideon and Sophia.

He was there to attend a welcome-home party for a friend of his. The party had just ended, and he didn't expect to run into Sophia there.

Ever since she got married, she had dutifully stayed home to take care of him and Mason. It was extremely rare for her to attend such gatherings.

Christina's eyes flashed, and she abruptly remarked, "Kev, isn't that Gideon Irvine? He has a bad reputation. Everyone knows he's a playboy. Why is Ms. Jensen hanging out with him?"

Kevin's expression remained neutral, though there was a faint chill in his eyes.

This wasn't his first time seeing Gideon.

Back in college, Gideon and Sophia already had an ambiguous relationship. Rumors abounded that he had wanted to date her. But later on, Sophia married Kevin, and Gideon left the country, thereby putting an end to the rumors.

On the other side, Sophia's group also noticed Kevin. Christina tagged along behind Kevin as he approached them.

Kevin's gaze passed over Gideon before landing on Sophia, his tone icy as he said, "What a rare sight this is. So, instead of accompanying Mason while he practices the violin, you're in the mood to come running to a place like this and hang out with another man."

Cocking his brow, Gideon glanced at Christina, who was standing behind Kevin, and remarked with a pointed smirk, "How amusing it is to hear you say that, Mr. Chase. Aren't you also hanging out with another woman?"

Christina quickly looked at Sophia, smiled, and explained, "Please don't get the wrong idea, Ms. Jensen. The incident with that hater of mine has caused quite a ruckus lately. Kev was worried that something might happen to me, so he asked me to join him. I'm sure you don't mind, right?"

Her lips curved into a smug smile, and her eyes gleamed with satisfaction. Every single word out of her mouth was a clear indication of the concern and protectiveness Kevin felt for her.

"I don't mind at all," Sophia said, brushing past Kevin without making a fuss. "Since you like him, you can have him."