Chapter 6 Denying Pure Friendship

Sophie glanced at Matthew and shook her head at him, signaling that she could handle this herself.

She couldn't reveal her intention to divorce yet, or it would cause a lot of trouble later.

Matthew understood her signal. He slowly let go and took a step back, but his eyes remained wary as he looked at Preston.

The exchange between the two was particularly grating to Preston's eyes.

He pulled Sophie into his arms and glared coldly at Matthew.

Sophie patted him gently and explained softly, "Matthew and I are just ordinary friends. Don't be so hostile."

"Ordinary friends?" Elena's eyes darted around as she bit her lip, looking very innocent. "Can men and women really be just friends? I think this gentleman seems quite different toward Sophie, so protective."

Her troublemaking worked. Preston's expression clearly grew colder after hearing this.

Sophie looked at her coldly, her lips curling mockingly. "Haven't you seen it before? I thought you and Preston had that kind of pure friendship? Or not?"

This directly hit both of their sore spots. Denying pure friendship would be like falling into her trap.

Elena was speechless. She looked at Preston with grievance in her eyes. "Preston, that's not what I meant."

Preston had already told her that if she wanted to keep this baby, she had to listen to him.

The first condition was that Sophie couldn't know about their relationship, and couldn't know the baby was his.

She had agreed, originally planning to scheme step by step. But now it seemed like she'd caused herself big trouble!

Preston pressed his thin lips together and tightened his arm around Sophie, smiling slightly. "Alright, Sophie, I'm not doubting you. Elena is pregnant and her hormones are unstable. Don't take it personally."

Sophie sneered inwardly, too lazy to argue with him about this pointless issue.

She looked up at Matthew, her expression softening a bit. "It's getting late. You must have things to do. I won't keep you."

Matthew was professionally sensitive. She was afraid staying longer would expose something, so she wanted him to leave first.

Seeing the hint in the woman's eyes, Matthew looked at Preston briefly and nodded slightly. "Yes, I'll go now. Call me if you need anything."

Sophie agreed and watched him leave.

After seeing Matthew off, her expression became distant. Her eyes fell on Elena. "Elena needs to rest, right? Preston and I won't disturb you. We'll leave now. Take good care of yourself and the baby."

Hearing that she was taking Preston away, Elena panicked immediately, tears welling up in her eyes. "Preston, are you really leaving? You said you'd stay with me for the checkup. I can't do it alone."

Sophie didn't stop him but turned back to wait and see what he would choose.

Preston coughed lightly, his dark eyes looking at Elena, deep as black holes, carrying a warning. "I won't leave you alone. I'll arrange a caregiver for you. You can stay in the hospital as long as you want."

Hearing this, Elena curled up weakly on the hospital bed, looking wronged but not daring to argue back, afraid that if Preston got unhappy and thought she was disobedient, he'd make her abort the baby.

"Okay." After a pause, she added unwillingly, "Preston, if you have time, come visit me. I have no family or friends. I'm a bit scared being alone in the hospital."

Preston didn't answer. Elena knew what he was concerned about, so she turned to ask Sophie instead. "Sophie, Preston and I are friends. You wouldn't be so petty as to stop Preston from visiting me, would you?"

Her expression showed helplessness and vulnerability, making people feel sorry for her.

But Sophie saw clearly the obvious provocation in her eyes.

Sophie's eyes darkened slightly, her lips curling. "Of course not."

She was planning to divorce anyway, so she didn't care about ownership anymore.

If Elena wanted Preston, she could take him.

Elena couldn't read her thoughts. Her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly as she clenched her back teeth.

What did Sophie mean?

Not taking her seriously - did she think Elena couldn't shake her position?

Coming out of the hospital room, Sophie immediately let go of Preston and walked ahead with big steps.

Preston froze for a second, watching Sophie's back. The stuffiness in his chest finally eased, and he smiled and caught up with her in a few steps.

"Are you jealous?"

Sophie didn't look at him and pressed the elevator button. "What do I have to be jealous about? Aren't you two just friends?"

The elevator dinged and opened. It was empty inside.

Preston took the chance to pull her into the elevator and pressed her against the wall. His eyes, deep as night, were bright and captivating. His low, husky voice carried a hint of amusement. "I didn't know you could get jealous. Elena and I are just friends. She's pregnant now and emotionally unstable. I didn't want to upset her, so I came to the hospital with her."

Sophie looked at him. "Are you two really just friends?"

"What else could we be if not friends?" Preston's expression was natural, showing no sign of anything unusual. He chuckled and tapped her nose. "You look jealous."

Sophie was completely disappointed. She shouldn't have asked that question.

She pushed the man away. "I'm tired. I want to go home and rest."

Her exhaustion was real. Combined with her physical discomfort and pale face, Preston didn't suspect anything.

By the time they got home, it was already very late.

After washing up and coming out of the bathroom, Sophie saw Preston sitting on the edge of the bed looking through documents, seemingly waiting for her.

Hearing her come out, Preston closed the documents and looked up at her. "Done washing up?"

Sophie dried her wet hair with a towel, deliberately avoiding his gaze. "Yeah."

Preston got the hair dryer to help her dry her hair. Sophie wanted to refuse at first, but couldn't resist his firm attitude and could only compromise, sitting in front of the vanity and letting him help her.

The more gentle and considerate Preston was at this moment, the more disgusted Sophie felt.

She couldn't help but think of his affairs with Elena.

This brief time felt like torture, hard to bear.

She simply closed her eyes and stopped looking at him.

After who knows how long, the hair dryer stopped.

Before Sophie could open her eyes, a broad embrace hugged her tightly from behind.

Hot breath spread over her ear and neck, making Sophie uncomfortable and giving her goosebumps.

Preston didn't notice her resistance. His low voice carried some gentle tenderness. "Sophie, let's have a baby too, okay?"

Sophie felt like she'd been struck by lightning, almost unable to control the urge to push him away in disgust.

She did have his baby in her belly, but she wouldn't tell him. This baby could only be hers.

Swallowing hard, she said, "Let's not. I'm not ready yet."

Preston had thought she would be happy. Hearing her refusal, he frowned and looked at her in the mirror. "Don't you want to have a child who looks like you?"