7: Then Go Fight for It Yourself

Margaret Richmond was dumbfounded.

Isabella was in disbelief.

No one in all of California had ever seen anyone speak to Alexander Richmond with such audacity.

Yet Sophia had done it.

And Alexander Richmond didn’t show any sign of anger.

He looked at Sophia for a moment, then suddenly smiled. “Don’t talk about choices as if they’re so simple, child. The grandmother you speak of is my mother, and even though Isabella isn’t related to us by blood, she’s been raised as our daughter for twenty years. Even a pet would have a bond with us after that long, let alone a person—so if you expect us to unconditionally choose you over them, that’s not something that’s going to happen easily.”

Alexander Richmond stood up, his towering height of over six feet making Sophia seem almost small and adorable by comparison.

He looked down at this newly discovered daughter, his gaze warm and tinged with amusement, despite the height difference. “You may not care for the Richmond Family, but the fact that you’re here shows there’s something you want from us. If that’s the case, why don’t you go and take it for yourself?”

He turned to glance at the hesitant Margaret Richmond, and after a brief pause, he patted Sophia’s head. “Your mother loves you very much; don’t doubt that.”

Margaret Richmond’s eyes immediately welled up with tears.

And it was at that moment that Sophia noticed something—since the two had entered the room, they had been holding hands the entire time, never letting go.

A subtle expression crossed her face, a mix of curiosity and wariness, like a small animal encountering something unfamiliar for the first time.

Just as the atmosphere between the three of them was beginning to thaw, a voice suddenly cut in.

“Brother, the old lady made her stance very clear. Are you planning to pretend like nothing happened?”

The speaker was Ethan Richmond, Alexander Richmond’s only brother. With the peripheral relatives having left, only his family had the privilege of entering the tea room.

Alexander Richmond’s expression didn’t change, and he calmly said to Sophia, “This is your second uncle, Ethan Richmond. Get to know him.”

“Oh, please,” Ethan Richmond scoffed. “If the old lady can’t acknowledge this girl as her granddaughter, I certainly won’t pretend to be her uncle.”

Sophia glanced at him and said, “You’re right. You don’t look like you’re related to me by blood.”

The words weren’t overtly offensive, but looking at Sophia’s undeniably beautiful face, Ethan Richmond immediately turned red with anger.

His wife, standing beside him, let out a cold laugh but didn’t bother to look at Sophia. Instead, she addressed Alexander Richmond directly. “Brother, it’s not that we have an issue with this child, but she clearly hasn’t learned the rules. Today alone, she managed to upset the old lady so much that she fainted twice. Just wait until the old man finds out; who knows how he’ll react. And from what you said earlier, are you really planning to treat Bella as an adopted daughter?”

She folded her arms and glanced at Isabella, who was standing quietly in the corner, her head down. “Look at her—this child has been treated like a princess for twenty years, and now, just because she finds out she’s not related by blood, she’s being cast aside. If it weren’t for the old lady’s affection, Bella would probably no longer be considered part of the Richmond Family.”

“Sister-in-law, what are you saying?” Margaret Richmond quickly interjected, but when she glanced at Isabella standing alone, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy. “Bella, don’t think too much about this. No matter what, you’re still...”

Margaret Richmond had just let go of Alexander Richmond’s hand and was about to walk toward Isabella, but she froze halfway there, her gaze instinctively shifting to Sophia.

Sophia: ...

I didn’t say anything.

She looked away.

Isabella lifted her head and glanced over, silent but with tears streaming down her face.

“See, see!” Ethan’s wife hurried over and half-embraced Isabella, patting her back gently before glaring at the three of them. “Brother, sister-in-law, no matter what you decide, the old lady made her position clear! If Sophia stays, Bella goes. If Bella stays, Sophia goes! If you really want to see the old lady leave home at her age, then go ahead and keep this child here! And just wait until the old man comes after you!”

“If you ask me,” Ethan Richmond added, “it’s best to send Sophia away for now. After a few years, when she’s learned the rules, she can come back. By then, the old lady will have calmed down.”

“If that’s the Richmond Family’s plan,” a cool voice suddenly echoed from the doorway, “then it works out perfectly...”

The Richmond Family members turned in surprise to see Sebastian sitting in his wheelchair, smiling faintly at Alexander Richmond.

“Why don’t I take my fiancée back to the Carrington Family—what do you think of that?”

Alexander Richmond raised an eyebrow. “Your fiancée? Who?”

“Of course, I’m talking about the third miss, Sophia.”

“You’re acknowledging the engagement?”

“I never denied it.”

“That’s not quite right,” Alexander Richmond said. “If I remember correctly, ever since you came of age, both families have brought up the engagement repeatedly, but you always turned a deaf ear to it. I thought this engagement was as good as dead.”

Sebastian Carrington smiled faintly. “Alexander, some things are better left unsaid.”

Half-hidden in Ethan’s wife’s embrace, Isabella trembled with shame. Ethan’s wife hurriedly patted her, but she dared not speak out of turn in front of Sebastian Carrington.

Alexander Richmond didn’t continue the conversation with him. Instead, he turned to Ethan Richmond and asked, “What do you think?”

“How can that be?” Ethan Richmond objected. “Even if the two families are engaged, a daughter of the Richmond Family can’t just go live in the Carrington Family so lightly. That would be a disgrace to us! Sophia has just returned to the Richmond Family, so she should stay here. Brother, you should go and talk to the old lady.”

Alexander Richmond’s lips curled slightly, in a gesture that could be interpreted as either a sneer or indifference. He merely nodded and then turned to Sebastian Carrington. “You heard that?”

Sebastian Carrington sighed in regret and then turned to Sophia with a serious expression. “Let’s spend more time together in the future. I’m quite familiar with California, so if there’s anywhere you want to go, I can be your guide.”

Sophia glanced at his legs. “Are you sure?”

“...”

Even Alexander Richmond couldn’t help but look at her.

This child really didn’t hold back with anyone. At this rate, would the Richmond Family end up as the enemy of all of California’s high society because of her?

Alexander Richmond couldn’t help but feel a bit concerned.

Fortunately, Sebastian Carrington didn’t seem offended by her remark. In fact, he even smiled—though it was brief, it was still a rare sight.

Once Sebastian Carrington was wheeled out by the Carrington Family attendants, Alexander Richmond said, “Alright, it looks like this banquet is over before it even started.”

He glanced at Sophia. “Go back to your room and rest. Once all the guests have left, come out to meet your brother and sister.”

·

As one guest after another was escorted out of the Richmond Family mansion, the banquet that should have been a night of revelry and celebration ended prematurely.

But just because the banquet was over didn’t mean the night was.

On the contrary, as evidenced by the flurry of new posts dinging into a certain secret forum in California, the night was just beginning to heat up.