That morning, Jake had flown to France to take part on the runway, so Sophia picked up her parents after work and went home together with them.

Compared to the past, they got back today rather early. When they arrived home, servants hadn't made dinner yet.

Sophia took a shower and brewed a pot of green tea, then brought a cup for her parents, who were reading a newspaper in the living room.

Her father took a sip of tea. With work on his mind, he casually asked Sophia something.

"Dad, when you're at home, could you not always be busy with work?" she complained, which also prompted her mother to chime in. Then, the doorbell rang.

Sophia stood up to open the door. When she saw Mrs. Williams, she smiled. "Auntie."

Mrs. Williams ignored her. Without changing her shoes, she stomped into the house.

When both Sophia's mother and father saw her expression, they knew that something was wrong. They glanced at each other and Mrs. Davis stood up with a smile on her face. "What happened? Why are you so angry?"

Mrs. Williams remained silent, tossing the photos onto the coffee table.

Both Sophia's parents froze, then reached to pick a photo each. The moment they took in their contents, their faces paled instantly.

After a moment, Mr. Davis said, " There could be a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding? I hope it's a misunderstanding, but the photos are out, so how can you call this a misunderstanding? Now, the entire business circle is aware of this scandal, your precious niece cuckolded my son! I'm sure they're all laughing at my James right now!"

Since Mrs. Williams was infuriated, her words became especially mean and crude.

Mrs. Davis tried to salvage the situation. " I don't think you should be so agitated, you should know that Izzy and Sophie were both James and Alexander's classmates, this could just be a meal..."

"JUST A MEAL? Besides, who eats like this?" Mrs. Williams bent down, pointing at the photos aggressively.

Since they were at the wrong, the Davis parents smiled while instructing Sophia, "Get auntie some tea."

Mr. Davis then turned to Mrs. Davis. "Get Izzy here right now."

Mr. Davis stood up, tapping onto Mrs. Williams's shoulder. "Calm down, we'll ask Izzy when she gets back."

After Sophia poured Mrs. Williams a cup of tea, she picked a photo up to take a look. Inside, Alexander and Isabelle were sitting at a table beside a lake while having a meal.

~*~

Alexander was tenderly using a wet tissue to help Isabelle clean her hands. Isabelle, in the meantime, had her face lowered, her gaze focused on the hand that Alexander was wiping, a hint of embarrassment on her face.

After staring for a few moments, Sophia lifted her head to look at Mrs. Williams's infuriated expression then back at her disappointed parents. Fury erupted in her chest, and grabbing the photos, she left the house.

Just then, the maid outside, who was watering the plants, greeted her, "Miss Davis."

Sophia ignored her, entering her car. Without even fastening her seat belt, she stomped on the accelerator.

~*~

For the past few days, Isabelle had been having dinner with Alexander, but this afternoon, he had informed her that he had to work overtime. So when it was 6 pm, she called for takeaway.

Since she hadn't been alone for dinner these last few days, she didn't have much of an appetite today. She didn't touch the takeaway that she had bought. Leaning against the sofa, she stared at the television for a while when her phone vibrated. Looking down, she saw that Alexander had just replied to the text she had sent half an hour ago.

[Have you had dinner?]

Isabelle looked at the takeaway on the table. [No, I'm not hungry.]

This time, Alexander replied instantly. [Do you want to eat supper tonight?]

With hesitation, she replied, [Yep.]

[I'll contact you when I'm done.]

Before she could reply, her phone suddenly rang —it was a call from Davis family. Without hesitation, Isabelle picked up, and the moment she did, her aunt's urgent voice came through. "Izzy, do you have time now? Come back right away."

"Now?"

"Yes, right now."

Izzy could hear the seriousness from her aunt's voice. It sounded as if something serious had happened, so she replied with a faint "yea" before adding, " I understand, I'll come over now."

~*~

Global company had several new projects recently, causing Alexander to be unusually busy. The entire company was working overtime just to get things done.

Expressionless, Alexander listened to the ideas from the project manager. He glanced over at his phone. When he realized that Isabelle hadn't replied to his text, he locked his phone, placing his focus back on the screen.

Just then, the meeting room door was pushed open and a secretary that hadn't knocked off came in. She signaled towards Alexander's assistant. He stopped typing, and without interfering with anyone else, he silently left the room. After a while, he silently returned back to his chair. Turning to Alexander, he whispered in his ear, "Mr. Smith, the elder Miss Davis is here, she wants to see you."

Curiosity flitted past his gaze, before his expression turned calm once more.

His assistant added softly, "I told the secretary to bring her to the lounge."

Alexander nodded faintly. He glanced at his phone before returning his attention to the meeting.

After about an hour, the meeting ended; it was currently 8.10 pm. Alexander packed the documents on his table and left the room. When he was outside, he saw an impatient Sophia. Seeing him, she immediately walked forward, and in an imprudent tone, she said, "Alexander, let's have a talk."

Alexander remained emotionless. Without even glancing at her, he brushed past and walked towards his office.

The assistant smiled politely at Sophia. "Miss Davis, if there is anything, you can speak to Mr. Smith in his office."

Sophia glared at the assistant, then, turning, stomped behind Alexander.

Alexander pushed open his office door, walking straight to his chair. Ever since early in the morning, he had only casually taken a small snack in the afternoon. He spent the rest of the day immersed in his work, so he felt extremely tired. With raised hands, he massaged his temples.

His assistant escorted Sophia into the office, and after personally making two cups of coffee, he placed them on the table before leaving the office.

Once the room was left with just the two of them, Sophia walked to the front of Alexander's office to toss the photos onto his table violently.

Alexander frowned, but his eyes remained shut as he massaged his temples.

Seeing his nonchalant expression, she remembered how he had always treated her. Infuriated, she said, "You better take a look at what it is!"

Alexander's face darkened, seemingly annoyed by Sophia's words. After pausing for a while, he removed his hands from his temples and straightened to sweep a glance past the photos on the table; they were of him and Isabelle. Without much change in his expression, he continued to sip his coffee.

"How did you get them?"

"You already know about the existence of the photos?" Isabelle heard the meaning behind his words. Unclear about his intentions, she asked, "Right, it's no wonder the photos didn't come out on tabloids. You must have already stopped it from spreading, but Alexander, even if you can stop it from going onto entertainment news, that doesn't mean you have stopped it from spreading privately."

Alexander lowered his lashes, blowing on the steaming cup of coffee as he continued to sip slowly.

Sophia clenched her fists before continuing, "You don't know where Izzy is right now?"

The moment her words fell, she distinctly heard Alexander stop drinking his coffee. At that moment, she felt confused by her own feelings. She hesitated momentarily before stating, "Izzy was summoned back home, she's back home right now because of the photos."

The cup fell, spilling onto the back of Alexander's hand, scalding it, leaving a red bruise. Even though there wasn't much change in his expression, there was still a hint of worry in his gaze.

"Alexander, the entire business circle has seen the photos. They already know that Isabelle has cuckolded James, and auntie is furious. An hour ago, she personally stomped over to my house to find my parents. Do you know the expression my parents had when they saw the photos?" Sophia paused, staring straight at Alexander. "Do you still remember what you told me a few months ago?"

Just then, she repeated the words she had said to him in the past. "Remember, I said, if you really love her, stop harassing her, let her go. You're going to ruin her at this rate!

"Now, what I want to say is that you have already ruined her!"

"Now, everyone knows that she had an affair. Auntie is her mother in law, and because of this incident she hates her, and when James finds out, he's going to scold her, and my parents are visibly disappointed with her. If Izzy and James divorce because of this, my parents and the entire Davis enterprise board will blame her!"

"Alexander, most often, the woman is blamed, not the man. You are wrong as well, but nobody will blame you, everyone will point fingers at Izzy.

"You said you love her, but is this your love?

"You ruined her reputation, how is she going to live like this?"

Due to Sophia's agitation, her words turned sharp and ruthless.

She paused, and her voice next was calmer than before. "Besides, Alexander, her parents died young, the only kin she has left are me and my parents. Do you really want her to be left alone by herself?"

Alexander clenched the coffee cup.

Silence enveloped the office.

Sophia stood in front of his table, staring at him for a long while before saying, "I have said my piece, the rest is up to you. Good bye!"

She paused for a bit, then turned and left.

Outside, Alexander's assistant politely greeted her when she left, "Miss Davis."

Ignoring him, she headed straight for the elevator.

~*~

On the way to Davis house, Isabelle kept wondering what could have happened, she even thought that it was because of her aunt and uncle's health. The more she thought, the more worried she became. After enduring the entire ride back, without care, she hurriedly ran into the house.

The housekeeper was the one who opened the door. When she saw Isabelle, she spoke in a low voice. "Mister, Missus, Miss Davis is back."

After changing her shoes, Isabelle walked inside in a daze. The atmosphere in the living room was tense, and Mrs. Williams was there as well. She studied the three of them before greeting them. "Aunt, Uncle, Auntie."

Mrs. Williams remained distant, ignoring Isabelle. Her uncle nodded and her aunt stood up with a stack of photos. "Izzy, come with me."

Isabelle nodded her head in confusion, following her aunt up to the second floor.

"Aunt, what's wrong?"

Faced with Isabelle's question, her aunt passed the photos over.

Isabelle reached over and saw that it was photos of her and Alexander eating. She froze, but before she could speak, her aunt spoke up. "Izzy, even though I don't know what exactly happened between you and Williams family's illegitimate son, but I believe you, yet that doesn't mean that auntie believes you.

"Now that you are married to James, you should be more wary of your actions and should keep a distance from other guys, else it'll bring shame to Williams family.

"Besides, the Davis and Williams families have deep ties. I don't want to mention anything, but deep inside, you should know what to do." After a slight pause, she continued, "Izzy, you should know that Alexander has always been a thorn in auntie's heart. You should keep your distance."

Isabelle had wanted to explain herself, that in just a few days she would divorce James, so by then, she would be able to date Alexander if she wanted.

But she was still considered James's wife. If she were to continue interacting with Alexander now, she wouldn't be able to clarify herself.

Isabelle decided to steer clear of problems and nodded her head compliantly. "I understand, I was wrong. Me and Alexander were just classmates, there's nothing between us."

Mrs. Davis finally calmed her heavy heart after hearing the reassurances. She chatted with Isabelle for a bit more, mostly emphasizing on how to be a good wife. Then Isabelle followed Mrs. Davis down to apologize to Mrs. Williams, promising that such an incident would not happen again.

Since the Davis and Williams families had close business ties, Mrs. Williams forgave her even if she still felt unhappy.

The atmosphere cleared slightly, and in order to further clear the mood, Mr. Davis called James back for a family gathering over dinner.

~*~

After the meal, James and his father had some alcohol. When they were about to leave, he called for the driver.

When they left Davis family house, James's driver hadn't arrived yet, so they decided to take a stroll. After just a short walk, Isabelle's feet started to hurt so they found a bench to rest.

The bench faced a small park filled with children ice skating.

Isabelle looked straight ahead, imagining herself when she was young. Back then, she, Sophia, and James would often play just like that. "James, do you remember teaching me ice skating here?"

"But till today, you still can't skate independently. I guess I wasn't a good teacher, huh."

Isabelle smiled. Lifting her head, she gazed at the street lamp before saying softly, "James, I'm sorry about the photos, I made you a laughing stock."

"It's fine, what's there to apologize about? My mother was just making a mountain out of a molehill. Since brother was asked to act as me, and he was your husband for eight long months, in such a time, even strangers would become close. Besides, it was just a meal, there's nothing to make a fuss about, right? I hope you won't take it personally, my mother just takes her pride too seriously. After our divorce, you'll be free."

Isabelle's lips curled into a smile. Looking up at the sky, she asked, "James, what do you intend to do after our divorce? Are you going to marry for profit once more?"

Before the car accident, if someone would have asked James this question, he would have definitely agreed without hesitation.