Chapter 501
Changing Only For Her
Upon hearing the same question from his father again, Mark understood that the matters of that day had reached the older man.
âDad, she and I can never be,â he replied.
Of course, he was distraught by that fact, but there was nothing else he could do.
âDoes she not like you, or do you not like her?â Quinton felt it was such a shame.
After all, he was really fond of a girl like Sophie.
âDonât ask about it anymore, Dad. All you need to know is that itâs not going to happen. Also, donât do anything to Sophie,â Mark stated.
âYou like her a lot,â Quinton pointed out immediately. âSo, she doesnât like you. Am I right?â
Does she not have any taste? Itâs my son weâre talking about!
Mark was bereft of words.
Did he really have to say it out loud? Whatâs the point of doing that?
âAll right. I understand whatâs going on now.â Quinton narrowed his eyes as an idea formed in his mind.
Since my boy likes her, Iâll make sure he gets what he wants. Sheâs a woman, anyway! All he has to do is get her in bed, and sheâll be utterly biddable.
Having been involved in the underworld for a long time, he clearly had many tricks up his sleeve and was determined to help his son.
Yet, Mark had no idea what his father was plotting. All he had on his mind then was the way his band members looked when they left earlier.
I mustâve really hurt them this time. Maybe they wonât come back and see me anymore.
Meanwhile, Sophie had already brought Sunny and the others back to the mansion. The four band members had not uttered a word ever since returning.
Whatever had just happened dealt a huge blow to them, after all.
Even when Mark said he wanted to leave, they did not despair as much.
Never had they expected The Wheelers to end up in such a state.
Sunny, especially, was unable to accept such an outcome, but there was nothing he could do to salvage the situation.
âAll right now. Letâs not overthink the matter. Mark just didnât want to drag anyone else down.â Although Sophie was furious, she could truly still understand Mark.
âDonât you think Mark has changed, Sophie?â Sunny asked.
He had never envisioned their leader pointing a gun at them and saying such things.
Sophie advised, âYou have to trust him, Sunny. He really just doesnât want to get you guys in trouble.
Okay, thatâs enough. Get some rest. Iâll take care of all this.â
âI donât think you should see him anymore, Soph. If he wants nothing to do with us, then so be it. Iâll pack up and return to Horington in a few days.â
Since The Wheelers had fallen apart, there was no point in him staying.
I may as well go home now so that I donât have to see everyone looking so sad.
âItâs okay if youâre just thinking of making a trip back, Sunny. But if youâre trying to run away, I wonât allow it,â Sophie uttered.
No matter what, he has to learn to deal with these problems.
Sunny voiced, âThereâs a lot of things I donât actually want to do, Sophie. I just canât accept whatâs happening.â I need lots of time now. Whatâs the future going to be like? I canât be sure anymore. I donât even know if Iâll come back.
âDonât do anything rash, Sunny. Weâre all still part of TS Entertainment. How would Sophie face our fans if we left?â one of the band members urged.
âHeâs right. Sophie founded the company for us. How could we leave without a word?â another chimed in.
âThen what do you propose we do? Are we going to keep staying here like this? What would become of us in the future?â Sunny retorted.
What value do we have now that itâs over for The Wheelers?
âSunny!â the other members exclaimed.
Whatâs the point of throwing a fit now? Isnât solving this issue what matters the most now? Weâve been buddies all these years, so shouldnât he know what Mark is like?
Sunny could do nothing but gaze at Sophie in silence, for he did not know what else to say.
âCalm down, Sunny. Everythingâs going to be fine. Iâm sure Mark also feels awful about what happened today,â she said.
âIâm tired. Iâll go get some rest,â the young man responded after a pause, refusing to say anything further.
He had already tried his best to talk himself into being understanding of Mark.
Alas, not everything was possible despite oneâs efforts.
The remaining three band members could only shake their heads at how despondent Sunny was.
âWhat should we do now, Sophie?â They were utterly at a loss.
âThereâs no need to think about that. Just keep doing whatever youâre supposed to. Iâll take care of Mark,â Sophie replied.
They only had to look after themselves at that point.
âOkay.â
âLook out for Sunny too. Heâs not in the best state now,â she exhorted.
We canât let anything happen to Sunny right now.
âOkay. Donât worry about it! Sunny will be just fine with us around. You only need to focus on Mark.â
Their leader was in a perilous state at the moment.
He could even lose his life at any given time.
âOkay. Iâll be heading back now,â Sophie uttered.
With that, she headed straight back to Wisteria Apartments. The moment she opened the front door to her unit and walked into the living room, she found Tristan still waiting for her there.
The man did not go to bed as she had requested.
Sophie took a deep breath to compose herself.
âYouâre back. Howâs everything going with TS Entertainment?â Tristan rose to his feet and walked in her direction.
âDidnât I tell you to get some rest? Do you ever listen to a word I say?â she questioned.
Despite her best efforts at controlling her emotions, the words that came out of her mouth still carried a very interrogative tone.
He stilled briefly, having not expected her to talk to him like that right after her return.
âI just had some things to take care of, Sophie. Whatâs wrong? Have the problems not been addressed?â he asked.
Sophie did not know how to respond upon seeing the manâs expression.
Instead of speaking, she bit her lip.
Noticing her reaction, Tristan stood before her and hugged her gently.
âWhat happened?â he inquired in a soft voice.
Sophie instantly felt horrible about herself. How could I lash out at him like that? Itâs not like he did anything wrong.
âIâm sorry. I shouldnât have said that,â she uttered.
Tristan held her by the chin.
âDonât apologize to me. Tell me what on earth happened. Thatâs all I want to know.â Nothing else really mattered to him.
âNothing much. The truth is, I wasnât at TS Entertainment. There were some issues with Mark and the band, so I had to head over to take care of things.â
Realization dawned on Tristan at the mention of Mark.
He knew how deep the bond was between Sophie and The Wheelers.
âYouâre not hurt, are you?â he then asked.
Still, given how brutal gang members could be with their guns and knives, he was worried about nothing else but her.
Sophie replied, âIâm fine. Itâs just that⦠I am at a loss to know how to deal with this issue!â