Chapter 8 Solve It Yourself

When they walked out of the art gallery, night had already fallen, and streetlights illuminated the square in front of the entrance.

Jack suddenly remembered that Alexander had driven off with the car. He sighed and said, "Wait for me, I'll call the driver."

Just then, a white BMW screeched to a halt at the edge of the square. The car door opened, and Victoria jumped out in her high heels, her business suit collar still askew, looking as if she'd rushed straight over from the office.

When her eyes swept over Jack, her expression instantly turned cold.

Jack noticed her too, unconsciously clenching his hands.

Victoria strode quickly toward Sophia, pulling her directly to her side and completely ignoring Jack standing nearby.

"Sophia, I'm here to take you back," Victoria said, trying to sound casual.

Jack opened his mouth, seeming like he wanted to say something, but in the end, nothing came out. He just stood there quietly.

The night breeze blew past, and the streetlights cast swaying shadows between the three of them.

He watched as Victoria pulled Sophia toward her car, his usually playful face unusually expressionless.

Victoria opened the car door, and Sophia quickly got into the passenger seat, followed by Victoria herself.

Throughout the entire process, Victoria never looked at Jack again, let alone spoke a word to him.

Inside the car, after Sophia fastened her seatbelt, she couldn't help but look back at Jack, still standing at the entrance, then glanced at Victoria's tense expression.

"You two really have perfected the art of 'mutually assured avoidance,'" Sophia teased.

Victoria's grip on the steering wheel tightened: "Come on, stop teasing me."

Sophia tactfully changed the subject, relaxing with a smile: "Good thing it was you who came, otherwise I'd be heading back to that damn villa again."

"If you'd messaged me a few minutes later, even God couldn't have saved you," Victoria smirked. "By the way, how's the perfume boutique coming along?"

"It's going really well. At the latest, it'll officially open by the end of next month." Sophia smiled. Coincidentally, her nose would be healed by next month, too. "You're a major shareholder in the company. When do you have time to come check out the shop? If it weren't for your help, I still wouldn't know who I'd be working for."

A few days ago, when Sophia was job hunting, she happened to see a shop in a great location being transferred at a low price. She was very tempted and didn't want to miss this opportunity. Although she hadn't saved enough money yet, she had her good friend Victoria. She told Victoria about her idea to open a perfume boutique, and Victoria readily agreed, taking over the shop and covering all the costs of opening it.

"What, shareholder or not, I believe in your abilities," Victoria said with a slight smile. "You just need to pay me back the money used to open the shop. I don't want your shares—you still need to take care of Emily."

"If you really believe in me, then do as I say. We'll split the shares fifty-fifty." Sophia turned her head to look at Victoria, her tone serious.

Victoria glanced at her through the rearview mirror and pressed her lips together: "Alright, then sixty for you and forty for me. Is that okay? I happen to be free tomorrow, so I'll come see you then."

Hearing this, Sophia finally showed a satisfied smile: "Of course."

Meanwhile, at Oasis Medical Institute's emergency department.

Alexander had accompanied Lily through all the tests. The doctor confirmed it was just a minor sprain, no fracture, and she'd recover after a few days of rest.

After handling all the procedures, Alexander prepared to leave.

"Alexander, I want to rest in the hospital overnight," Lily suddenly grabbed his hand, her eyes full of expectation. "Can you stay with me?"

Alexander looked at her and frowned slightly: "Your injury isn't serious. Just go home and rest. I'll have the driver take you home."

"But I don't want Robert and my parents to worry..." Lily said pitifully. She lowered her eyes and gently bit her lower lip. "Alexander, why have you suddenly been so cold to me these past few days while you were away? You never used to be like this. You clearly promised me that no matter how busy you were, you'd call me and message me. Now that I've finally come back, do none of those promises count anymore?"

Alexander's frown deepened. He looked at her and remained silent for a long time.

Lily's heart grew increasingly anxious.

Had Alexander investigated what happened that night? But she hadn't received any information on her end. She'd coordinated the story with people inside the nightclub, and Robert had been keeping an eye on the situation there, too. Logically, she should know if there was any news. Besides, Alexander didn't seem to have taken the matter to heart.

But aside from the drugging being discovered, she couldn't think of any other reason for Alexander's coldness toward her.

She clenched her hands, her pretty face tense with anxiety, hesitating about what to do.

Suddenly, Alexander spoke first: "Lily, don't overthink it."

He reached out to gently stroke her cheek, his voice softening a bit: "I still have things to do. I'm leaving now."

Seeing that he was really going to leave, the unease in Lily's heart grew stronger. She could feel Alexander gradually distancing himself from her, and all of this was because of Sophia.

What if Sophia accidentally got pregnant and used the child to threaten Alexander?

She couldn't tolerate this happening. She had to strike first!

"Alexander." She struggled to prop herself up and hugged Alexander from behind, her voice choked with emotion. "In your heart, has Sophia already become more important than me?"

Hearing her mention Sophia, Alexander's expression changed.

Sophia's coldness, her distance, and her protectiveness of Noah all made him feel an unprecedented irritation.

He hadn't wanted to leave Sophia behind and leave first, but thinking about Sophia and Noah's ambiguous interaction made him inexplicably annoyed, unwilling to show Sophia a pleasant face.

Alexander had rarely experienced such conflicted and complex emotions.

What was wrong with him?

Alexander frowned, gently pushed Lily away, had no mind to answer, and without looking at her again, coldly left the hospital room.

Lily watched his retreating figure through tear-blurred eyes, gripping the bedsheet until her knuckles turned white. After leaving the hospital, Alexander called Jack to ask about the situation, only to learn that Victoria had already picked Sophia up.

"How can you be so useless? You can't even compete with a woman?" He was almost grinding his teeth. "Couldn't you find a way to stop her?"

"Please, you're the one worried about your Lily, why are you making me clean up your mess? I was being loyal enough by agreeing to help you take her home," Jack said irritably. "You know about my situation with Victoria. What can I do? Just don't count on me for anything involving her."

"Deal with it yourself!" He angrily threw out this sentence and hung up the phone.

Alexander's face darkened with anger.