Chapter 422
Changing only for her (Sophie and Tristan)
âThatâs enough. Letâs go. Nobody can bully me,â Sophie said. Besides, itâs just Willow. What can she do
to me?
âAll right. Letâs go!â
Tristan wrapped an arm around Sophieâs shoulders and opened the car door to let her get inside first.
Then, he turned around and declared in a stern voice, âThis is a warning. Nobody here has the right to
criticize my woman!â Tristan would not stand for people trying to hurt his girl.
Willow fumed with indignance when she heard him.
Unlike Tristan, Clayton had never sided with her like that.
Besides, Tristan would never believe anything others said about Sophie. It was virtually impossible to
sow discord between them.
Tristan only got into the car after making his statement.
If not for the fact they were Sophieâs mother and sister, he would have lashed out long ago.
âWhy are you so angry? Iâm not even that mad at them. Donât get all worked up because of those
people. Itâs not worth it,â Sophie said after Tristan entered the car.
âItâs not that. I just donât want them to hurt you. Why donât we also get engaged?â If keeping their
relationship in the dark would put her through all this, Tristan would rather they make it public for
everyone to know.
Sophie shook her head right away.
âForget about it. Classes are starting soon. Weâll talk about this after I graduate from university.â Sophie
knew she would be the talk of the town, garnering unwanted attention and trouble if she went to the
university as Tristan Lombardâs fiancée.
Even though she could not care less about what others thought of her, she loathed dealing with
unsolicited troubles.
âWell, everyone thinks that Iâm the one whoâs refusing to acknowledge our relationship when itâs you
refusing to make it official,â Tristan grumbled.
Iâm more than willing to acknowledge our relationship.
Knowing making it official would spell trouble for them both, Sophie was in a bind.
âThatâs not what I meant. I just donât want to get you into trouble,â Sophie mumbled.
Tristan relented and said, âOkay. Weâll talk about this after you graduate from university.â After all,
theyâd have to wait until after her graduation anyway.
âThank you for being so considerate.â Sophie took his hand in hers, grateful that he was willing to
respect her wishes.
Sophie vowed she would not forsake his unconditional love.
Meanwhile, Charmaine led Willow into the house.
âWilla, youâd better apologize to your grandpa. At the end of the day, he is still your grandfather. Itâs
really not wise to sour your relationship like this,â Charmaine said, trying to talk sense into her
daughter.
âWhy do I have to apologize? I donât think Iâve done anything wrong. Since he only has eyes for Sophie,
what does anything I do have got to do with him?â Willow replied stubbornly.
After all, she was Claytonâs fiancée now.
There was no need for her to take all this crap anymore.
âThen please donât stir trouble for Sophie again. Please, you have enough to worry about as it is,â
Charmaine pleaded.
âMom, why are all of you siding with her? Why donât you guys ever consider how I feel?â Willow
rebuked.
Charmaine furrowed her brows.
âWilla, I am on your side and always have been. How heartless of you to say that.â
Willow let out a derisive snort.
âForget it. Iâm tired, so Iâm going upstairs to take a rest. Iâve got a date with Clayton later!â Willow
uttered in a huff, disregarding everything that her mother just said.
She truly thought that she had married into a wealthy family.
In the evening, Tristan brought Sophie to Nocturnal to have drinks with their group of friends. Even
though Ysabelle was all tuckered out from work at TS Entertainment, she still joined them.
âSoph, whatâs up with Clayton? Does he really have feelings for Willow?â Ysabelle asked in an
incredulous tone, still unable to believe it. âWhy do I somehow feel like heâs got some hidden agenda?
Willow must be really dumb to not suspect anything,â she continued.
âYsabelle, Iâve got to say that youâve become smarter after spending time with Sophie,â Felix teased.
Ysabelle glared at him in response.
âFelix, what are you getting at? Are you trying to aggravate me? Iâve always been smart, okay? Youâve
just never realized it,â Ysabelle refuted. How could he say that? I have my pride.
âIâm sorry for pointing out the truth,â Felix said with a shrug.
Rendered speechless by her fury, she chose to ignore him.
Felix was someone who could make one have very polarized feelings for him. Sometimes, one would
pity him when he was bullied. More often than not, however, his words were infuriating.
Charles was left speechless at their interaction.
Felix had a crush on Ysabelle, and yet he wasnât showing her any mercy with his snark.
How long is he going to take before he succeeds in making Ysabelle his wife? Heâs been around her
for so long, and yet the girlâs realized nothing about his feelings.
On the other hand, Sean picked up a glass and took a sip of his liquor, seemingly uninterested in their
conversation.
Willow had not left much of an impression on him.
All he cared about were his cases.
Well, the friends sitting before him were also an exception.
âWhat are you thinking about?â Tristan asked when he noticed Sean keeping quiet. âYou have to stop
being a social hermit. Go and make more friends. Even better if you manage to snag a girlfriend.â
Given Seanâs age, people would start to question his sexual orientation if he did not get himself a
girlfriend soon.
âItâs not like I have the time,â Sean replied.
There were mountains of cases piling up at the firm, and he had to deal with them one by one.
It didnât help matters that only major cases would make it to his firm.
âSophie, could I ask you for a favor?â
Everyone was taken aback by Seanâs question.
âSean, are you in trouble? You know you can always tell me if you encounter any problems,â Charles
hurriedly said. Sophie is just a high school graduate. What help would she be to Sean?
âYou wonât be able to help me. Only Sophie can,â Sean answered. He had recently been struggling to
solve a very tough case.
Sophie raised a brow curiously.
She never expected that a cold and distant man like Sean would ask her for help.
Well, he did help out a lot with Sunnyâs matters previously, so I should return the favor this time.
âFire away,â Sophie said.
âNot today. Could you come to my office tomorrow when youâre free? This is not a good place to talk
about it,â Sean replied.
Charles grew even more curious.
âSean, what problems did you get yourself into? Canât you even tell us?â The fact that Sean was going
to tell Sophie but not them made him feel somewhat bitter.
âYou wonât be of help even if you know about it. So, whatâs the point?â Sean refused to dwell on the
subject.
Besides, it was quite a dangerous favor to ask of Sophie.
Sean decided that he would seek for her consent in the matter first before proceeding. He wouldnât
force her to do anything she didnât want to do.
Tristan was getting curious as well.
Has Sean really encountered trouble? Why does he need Sophieâs help?
âThatâs my girl! Even Sean is asking a favor from you,â Ysabelle declared, feeling proud for having a
friend like Sophie.
âRight, Soph, so what are we going to do with Willow? Sheâs a Tanner as well. I donât think itâs going to
do the Tanners any good if she keeps doing things that will humiliate your family,â Ysabelle
commented.