Chapter 5

A man's strength was ultimately far greater than a woman's. That kick knocked Sophia unconscious.

When she woke again, it was deep into the night. She lay on her own bed, her waist aching, her stomach aching, her face aching—but the worst pain was still in her chest.

That unbearable feeling overwhelmed her. Sophia leaned over the side of the bed and retched up bile.

From yesterday until now, she'd eaten nothing. She'd only had a little alcohol. Her stomach was completely empty—there was nothing to throw up.

Just then, her bedroom door was gently pushed open. A sliver of light spilled in.

Sophia immediately sat up straight, unwilling to let the visitor see her in such a miserable state.

Whether it was her parents or Margaret, not one of them treated her like family. Not one of them cared about her. So why should she show weakness and give them something to laugh at?

"Ms. Sophia Windsor, are you all right?"

Hearing that voice, Sophia realized she'd been overthinking.

The person who'd come to check on her wasn't her parents or Margaret—it was Uma, the family's housekeeper.

She held a glass of honey water in her hands and carefully set it on the nightstand.

"This is honey water. Drink it. You'll feel better."

Hearing Uma's gentle concern, Sophia's nose stung with emotion.

She never expected that in this cold house, it would be Uma—someone with no blood relation—who gave her a trace of warmth.

She took the honey water. After hesitating for a long time, she couldn't help asking, "Where are they?"

Uma looked at her with pity. "Mr. Windsor and Mrs. Windsor took Ms. Margaret Windsor out to dinner and shopping."

The hand holding the glass trembled violently. Honey water spilled onto the blanket.

Sophia smiled bitterly.

She was truly stubborn, always humiliating herself over and over again.

Uma looked at her with sympathy. To keep her from dwelling on it, she quickly changed the subject. "Miss Sophia, when I helped you back to your room earlier, I noticed your pants were soiled. Did you get your period? Do you need to go to the bathroom and clean up?"

Her period?

Sophia's heart sank sharply.

With Uma's reminder, she vaguely remembered—her period was already over half a month late.

Could it be...

Impossible!

Robert always made sure she took the morning-after pill.

No, not always.

An incident from early last month suddenly surfaced in Sophia's mind.

At the Russell Family's party, a playboy from the family had said a few flirtatious things to Sophia, completely enraging Robert.

He'd drunk heavily and tormented Sophia all night long.

That night, he'd been drunk out of his mind. She'd been exhausted to the point of collapse. Both of them had completely forgotten about the pill.

Counting the days, it seemed to line up perfectly.

Sophia shook her head lightly.

Wild speculation was pointless. She needed to go to the hospital for a checkup.

The next morning, Sophia asked her manager for the day off and headed straight to the hospital downtown.

The OB-GYN department was crowded. The test results would take an hour. Sophia found a seat and quietly waited.

Her face showed no expression, but her heart was a tangle of emotions.

If she wasn't pregnant, there was nothing to worry about. She'd just continue with her plan.

But what if she was?

Sophia gently closed her eyes. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't come up with an answer.

Her phone suddenly rang loudly, drawing sidelong glances from those around her and startling Sophia out of her thoughts.

She steadied herself and saw the caller—Ian Miller, Robert's special assistant.

"Ms. Windsor, there's an urgent matter at the company that requires your attention. You must arrive within half an hour."

He didn't give Sophia a chance to refuse. After speaking, he hung up directly.

There were still over forty minutes until her test results came out. Reluctantly, Sophia had no choice but to leave the hospital and rush back to the company.

The moment she walked through the company doors, Sophia sensed something was off.

Several young receptionists were huddled together whispering. When they saw her, they immediately scattered and pretended to be busy with their work. Clearly, she'd been the subject of their gossip.

Sophia's heart leapt into her throat, but she kept her composure and walked straight into the elevator.

When she pushed open the door to the secretarial department, she finally understood why.

A dozen young, beautiful assistants stood in a row, trembling before an elegantly dressed woman.

Victoria Brown, the eldest daughter of the Brown Family. Robert's fiancée.

She was casually admiring her freshly manicured nails. She didn't even glance at Sophia, as if Sophia were nothing but insignificant air.

One assistant suddenly spoke up, her voice deliberately flattering. "Ms. Brown, that's Sophia! We're all proper, hardworking employees. She's the only one who has something shady going on with Mr. Howard. She's always seducing him!"

Sophia opened her mouth but couldn't say anything in her defense.

Whether she'd been willing or not, what had happened between her and Robert was real.

Victoria looked up and swept her gaze over Sophia a few times. Her eyes were like those of someone appraising merchandise.

"She does have some looks. Seems my fiancé has decent taste."

Sophia's cheeks burned. She lowered her eyes in humiliation.

Everyone else in the office didn't dare breathe too loudly, afraid that one careless movement or glance would offend this future boss's wife.

Victoria slowly stood up, her tone indifferent. "I don't care what schemes you had before. Now that Robert's and my engagement is set, you'd all better put away any inappropriate thoughts and do your jobs properly! If I find out anyone still dares to cross the line..."

She paused here and looked meaningfully at Sophia before continuing, "Don't blame me for being rude."

The dozen assistants chorused in agreement. "Understood."

Victoria walked up to Sophia and deliberately called her out by name, her tone icy. "Sophia, do you understand what I mean?"

Despite the embarrassment and humiliation churning inside her, Sophia kept her face calm. "I understand."

But the next second, Victoria raised her hand and slapped Sophia hard across the face.

Muffled gasps of shock rippled through the room.

The slap knocked Sophia's head to the side. Blood trickled down from the corner of her mouth.

She looked at Victoria in disbelief. "Ms. Brown, what's the meaning of this?"

Victoria let out a cold laugh. Without any explanation, she raised her hand to slap her again.

Sophia instinctively tried to dodge.

Victoria saw through her intention. She looked at the assistant who'd spoken earlier and arrogantly lifted her chin. "Hold her down for me."

The assistant froze, then walked forward with an excited expression.

She'd already had a conflict with Sophia. Naturally, she wouldn't pass up this perfect chance for revenge.

Sophia had been weak lately. Within moments, the assistant had her restrained. She couldn't move.

Victoria grabbed Sophia's chin, her long nails digging cruelly into her flesh.

"What do you think you are? I slap you twice and you dare not take it? You even dare to dodge?"

Sophia bit down hard on her lip, tasting blood.

She didn't want this either. But no one had ever truly respected her wishes.

This time, Victoria drew back her arm in a full arc. It looked like she intended to knock Sophia unconscious.

Just as her palm was about to land, a large hand with distinct knuckles suddenly grabbed her wrist.