4. Do I have a choice....?

Agatha lifted her face from the book she was reading to look at Sophie. "What did you say, I didn't quite get that?" Agatha asked, just to make sure she heard her correctly.

Sophie exhaled deeply, clenching her fist more tightly, "I said, I would marry Maxwell Dupree," Sophie said, her voice a bit louder than the first time.

Agatha scoffed, shifting her eyes from Sophie to nothing. She removed her reading glasses and placed it on the table alongside the book.

She turned, adjusting on her seat now facing Sophie, "I must say Sophie, I didn't think you would cave in so soon. What happened? Why did you suddenly have a change of mind?" Agatha asked

"Are you going to pretend like you don't know?' Sophie asked, getting irritated.

"I don't know what you are talking about, Sophie. I actually thought you would be able to raise that money. You seemed to have so much confidence in you this morning, I wonder what changed?" Agatha said.

"Timothy got fired. There was a company downsizing, and he seemed to be the only one affected by it," 

"Is that why you changed your mind, because he is now jobless. If you ask me, there isn't much difference between being a delivery man and a jobless man. For me, I prefer the later," Agatha said.

"You are really going to keep acting dumb. Look, grandmother, I know you were the one that got him fired, Timothy is really good at his job. He has a lot of good reviews from different customers, and even if there was to be a company downsizing, he would be the last to be affected," Sophie said.

Agatha let out a small laugh, "I got him fired. Sophie, you are giving me more credit than I deserve. Do you really think I have that kind of time?" Agatha asked.

"You might not have that kind of time, but you are desperate to save your favorite granddaughter, and you would do anything just to make sure Mandy is okay," Sophie said.

Silence enveloped the room as the two stared at each other with the only sound heard coming from the air conditioner. After a while, Agatha broke the silence.

"Do you know why I don't like you, Sophie?" Agatha asked, her eyes fixed on Sophie.

"Because I am an illegitimate child..." Sophie responded, making Agatha scoff.

"No..." she shook her head negatively. "That's not why. being an illegitimate child has nothing to do with it. Besides, that was your fathers mistake," Agatha paused for a while, trying to coordinate her speech.

"I don't like you because you are weak." She stared at Sophie, making sure her words sank in her.

"You asked why the bank statement was five billion dollars when you didn't even go to an Ivy League college. You were born as a weak, unhealthy child. You spent months in the hospital intensive care unit just to recover and become healthy. No one thought you would live considering how severe your condition was, and to be sincere, the family was grateful as that would hide your fathers fault and save the family from shame. Everyone waited patiently for you to die, but somehow you pulled through, you survived, and then I thought you would be strong and all that but you grow up to be weak, not because your were sick but because you were too scared to take a leap when necessary," Agatha paused for a while, her eyes still fixed on Sophie as she studied her facial expression.

"Being weak is a flaw, Sophie, and it's so unfortunate that my eldest granddaughter has such a flaw. That's why I don't like you, Sophie. And yes, I fired Timothy, but I didn't think you would cave in so soon. I thought you would at least fight, but here you are, barely twelve hours after. That shows that you are weak, Sophie, very weak," Agatha said.

Sophie stared at her for a while, digesting every word she had uttered. "I'm not weak, grandmother. I am just human. You think I am weak because I am not as heartless as you are," Sophie said.

Agatha scoffed, "You know I have heard that, not verbatim, but was a lot similar. Yeah, now I remember it was from your mother, too, bad, you didn't just inherit her face, you got her weakness as well," Agatha said.

Sophie stared at her dumbfounded, in as much as it hurted her, Agatha was right. She was weak and too scared to face problems, but that might be because she knew no one would stand by her and cheer her on.

"You are right, I'm weak, and I am sorry, but I can't change that. Can I?" Sophie asked, not sure if that was the right thing to ask.

Agatha chuckled, shifting her gaze from Sophie, back to the book she was reading.

"Lady Jane would be here first thing in the morning for a little makeover. You better be ready when she comes," Agatha said, ignoring Sophie's question.

"And Timothy? Please, his entire family depends on his salary," Sophie said.

"You can leave now, Sophie," Agatha ordered. 

Sophie hesitated for a while before she left the room, hoping that Agatha would reinstate Timothy job at Lionheart Logistics.

The next morning, Sophie jolted up from her bed, feeling something really hot pour against her cheek.

"What the hell," Sophie forcefully removed her sleeping blindfold. She looked up, only the see Mandy's angry face staring down at her and mug in her hand.

"Mandy, do you want to peel off my skin?" Sophie asked.

"Won't it be to your advantage, at least the world would see your inner beauty instead of the outer ugliness," Mandy snapped, dropping the now empty mug on the side table.

"I clearly told you yesterday that I wanted the plan worksheet in my email by this morning, and you didn't send it," Mandy snapped, her two hands on her waist.

Sophie sighed. She had forgotten to check her email yesterday after her conversation with Agatha since she was talking to Timothy over the phone and slept off immediately after they ended their call.

"I will send it before the end of the day," Sophie said.

"Wow, Sophie. Are you now feeling too big of yourself now that you would become the Dupree daughter-in-law?" Sophie asked with a chuckle. 

She moved closer to Sophie, her lips curved in a mockery smile, "I suggest you don't get ahead of yourself, big sister...."

"Why? You might want him back?" Sophie asked, turning sharply at Mandy 

"No, over my dead body. But I would suggest you research your groom first before jumping on the proposal, Oops, I almost forgot, you don't have a choice," Mandy said, letting out a small laugh.

Sophie stared at her, feeling her anger rile up, but she couldn't do anything to Mandy. She was the golden child, and if Sophie as much as talk loudly at her, Carlos and Beatrice won't let it slide at all.

"I want that plan worksheet by noon, failure to deliver, I would make sure I make your remaining days in this house a living nightmare, I'm sure you wouldn't want that," Mandy snapped rudely before she left banging the door after her.

Sophie slumped into her bed. It was just morning, yet she was already tired, thanks to Mandy, who made sure to ruin her day even before it started. 

She grabbed her mirror. Luckily for her, the hot water didn't inflict any visible injury to her face, but she still applied some remedies to the area just in case of any latter effects.

She hissed, turning to grab her phone from the bed cabinet, but she couldn't find it there. She paused, scanning the room with her eyes, but she couldn't find the place anywhere.

"What the...." Sophie was sure she had left the phone on her bed cabinet, but for some reason, she just couldn't find it.

"Did Mandy take it?"

"No, she couldn't possibly do that. I need my phone to do the work for her. She can't take it," Sophie said, brushing off the idea.

Just then, a slight knock was heard, and the door opened, revealing a maid. 

"Good morning, Miss Sophie, Madame Agatha demands your presence in the greenhouse," the maid said and left immediately, not willing to entertain any more questions from Sophie like the last time.

Sophie exhaled deeply, getting frustrated. She had promised to call Timothy this morning and know if he got any email from Lionheart Logistics asking him to resume work again, but now she can't find her phone, and she is almost certain that he would be calling her.

Nevertheless, she took a quick shower before heading downstairs, dressed in another worn-out cloth Mandy had handed down to her.

"Good morning, grandmother, good morning, madam," Sophie greeted with a light bow. Immediately, she walked into the greenhouse.

Agatha, who was chatting and drinking wine with her visitor, Lady Jane, turned to look at Sophie before shifting her gaze back to Lady Jane.

"Lady Jane, this is my granddaughter Sophie, the one I told you about over the phone," Agatha said.

"Her?" Lady Jane visibly stunned. 

"You know, when you said she looked shabby, I thought you might be exaggerating, but looking at her now, Shady isn't the right word to use and frankly I can't find the right words either," Lady Jane said, making Sophie lower her head to the ground in embarrassment. 

"I told you so, Lady Jane. You know I keep doubting if she is truly my grandmother. The Rowling females are known for their beauty, but Sophie... she is just.... different, so different," Agatha said, disappointed.

"Did the DNA prove she was a Rowling?" Lady Jane asked sarcastically.

"You think I would accept her without a DNA," Agatha said, and they both let out a small laughter. 

"So, do you think you can fix her up?" Agatha asked.

"That depends on how much fixing you want, Madame Agatha," Lady Jane said.

"Just enough to make her look good and presentable for the media on her engagement and wedding. We wouldn't want to embrace the Dupree family," Agatha said.

"Well, that's a lot of work, but let's see..." Lady Jane said, standing up. She moved towards Sophie, taking a closer look at her face, hair, body, and everywhere else.

"Hmmm... we would start by changing the hair color, I don't think dirty blonde is her color. Let's try black. It's more elegant, more conservative, and goes with anything," Lady Jane said.

"What.... No, I like my hair color. It's naturally I was born with it," Sophie protested. 

"For her face, we would start by treating her acnes, and her nails would definitely be needing a manicure and a pedicure obviously. Her outfit would need to be changed, and since she's chubby, I think a short hairstyle would be better," Lady Jane added, totally ignoring Sophie.

"Perfect, anything you say is good, and she is all yours. Teach her how to talk, walk, and speak like a Rowling, I would be counting on you," Agatha said, standing up.

"You have nothing to worry about. My team and I would do a fabulous work," Lady Jane said.

"Good, I would be in my office if you need anything," Agatha said, and with that, she made to leave, but Sophie stopped her.

"About Timothy..... Did you make the call? I can't find my phone. I would have asked him myself if he got his job back," Sophie said.

Agatha stared at Sophie from hair to toe as if sizing her up. "Timothy would be find, you have nothing to worry about, and I suggest you forget about him," Agatha began.

"As for your phone, you would get a new one before the end of the day and a new laptop as well. I can't risk having that boy contact you again. And for your own good and his own good Sophie, I suggest you don't contact him. Three hours of taking over the phone should be enough goodbye, don't be greedy, and end up hurting yourself or him," Agatha said.

Sophie stared at her stunned. Agatha's voice was firm and calm, but Sophie knew that was a threat, and Agatha wasn't the type to make empty threats. She won't take it lightly if she ever sees him with Timothy ever again, and Timothy might end up losing more than his job next time.

Sophie exhaled deeply as Agatha's retracting figure disappeared out of sight. Since she was a child, she had wished she would get Agatha's attention and be in the spotlight like Mandy, but now that she was getting the attention, Sophie didn't want it anymore. It was hell being in the spotlight and having Agatha's attention, and she wondered if this was what Mandy had been going through all these years of her being in the spotlight.