At three o'clock in the afternoon, Sophie stepped into the C&C office. She looked up and saw that Ned was not in the president's office. It turned out he hadn't come in that afternoon—he had been called out by Archibald.
Archibald had now been arranged by his father to work in the Commerce Department, temporarily serving as a junior clerk. Although he wasn't currently in the department handling the energy merger case, he still had access to a lot of information. He needed to discuss some matters privately with Ned, so the two of them made an appointment at a café with private rooms and talked over coffee.
Originally, Sophie had planned to come to the office and talk with Ned about her and her mother going to the United States.
After a period of rehabilitation, Dr. William believed that her mother's physical condition could now withstand a long-distance flight, and going to the U.S. for treatment was currently the best option.
During lunch with her mother that day, they had an open and honest conversation.
"Sophie, are you and Ned still together?"
She didn't want to lie to her mother. "Yes, Mom. We never broke up. I love him."
"Then why are you still urging me to go to America? You'll be going too when the time comes. What about the two of you?" Her mother looked at her and spoke slowly.
"That's totally normal! I can transfer to study in the United States and take care of you at the same time!" Sophie said optimistically. "As for our relationship, he says he loves me—more than anything!"
Sarah's eyes stared blankly ahead, as if she were reminiscing about something. Then, slowly, she came back to herself. "I'm willing to go to the United States for treatment, but I want to meet Ned and talk to him."
"You want to see him? Why? To make him break up with me?" Sophie was afraid her mother would use the trip to America as an excuse to force Ned to end things with her.
"No. Since I've agreed to go to the U.S. for treatment, I won't play any tricks," her mother said very slowly. "I just want to meet him… to talk about your plans to study abroad."
"Then why not talk to Uncle Jonathan? Why him? Mom, what exactly are you trying to do? Tell me!"
"I don't want to keep bothering Jonathan. And I'm afraid that once I go to America, I may never return to New York. I have to entrust your future to him." After saying this, her mother gently closed her eyes.
Sophie's eyes welled up. "Don't say that, Mom. You'll get better—you definitely will. I'll go to C&C this afternoon and arrange a time with him so we can both come see you. Don't worry."
Sarah nodded, lay back down, turned over, and fell asleep.
Around 4:40 p.m., Archibald and Ned finished their conversation. They made plans to go to a nightclub that evening with Ryan and the others for drinks, then left the café separately.
Ned didn't return to C&C; he went straight home.
"You didn't come home last night?" Victoria was just about to head into the dining room for dinner when she saw her son coming home so early. She was surprised.
"I slept at the office last night," he said as he walked upstairs.
"Slept at the office? Why would you sleep there?" Victoria followed him into his room.
"There's a rest room inside," he answered curtely.
Victoria glared at her son. "Don't do that again. This morning your father scolded me because of you!"
Ned grinned, loosened his tie, and took off his shirt.
"Have you eaten?" Victoria was still concerned about her son.
"It's only 5:30. It's still early."
"Early what? Eating dinner earlier is better for your health. I'll have the butler set an extra pair of chopsticks for you—"
"No need. I'm not eating at home."
"You're going out again?" Victoria's eyes widened.
"I'll be back tonight." He walked into the bathroom. He only planned to come home for a quick shower and a change of clothes before heading out.
"Are you treating this house like a hotel?"
"Mom, please leave. I need to shower and then I'm going out."
"You..." Ned had already closed the door.
Victoria stared at the bathroom door. She couldn't very well bang on it and drag her son out, so she just stood there fuming.
When Ned came downstairs, Victoria was already waiting for him in the living room.
"Aren't you going to have dinner?" he asked.
Seeing that her son was still dressed impeccably in a suit, Victoria asked, "Why are you wearing a suit again? Another business engagement tonight?"
"I'm going to C&C."
"Work's over. Why are you going back to C&C? Haven't you worked enough for the whole day?"
Ned said nothing and walked toward the front door.
"Are you going to the hotel to meet that Sophie Davies?" Victoria's face darkened.
"You're overthinking it."
"Then why are you going back to the hotel?" Victoria followed him all the way to the garage. "You'd better transfer that girl to another department right now, or I'll definitely make your father fire her!"
Ned unlocked the car with the central control, glanced at his mother, and said coolly, "I'm leaving."
Victoria kept frowning until her son's car disappeared from sight.
Before driving to the hotel, Ned took a detour around the city. It was nearly eight o'clock in the evening when he finally returned to C&C and stepped into the office.
"You're still here?" Seeing Sophie, he froze in the doorway.
He hadn't expected Sophie to still be at the office. He had deliberately driven around just to avoid running into her.
"Yes, I was just about to turn off the lights and leave." She had only just finished tidying her desk and stood up when he walked in.
He nodded, then walked straight toward his own office. "No need to turn off the lights," he said without looking back as he pushed open the door.
Sophie froze in place, standing there for a long moment.
She waited, but Ned showed no intention of turning around to speak to her…
"Then I'll head out first," she said softly, her eyes downcast, a trace of loneliness in her voice.
"Fine," he replied coolly.
Sophie slowly turned. Just before leaving the office, she glanced back at him one more time…
Ned was sitting in his executive chair, staring intently at the computer screen.
She turned away again and walked off in silence.
The moment Sophie left, Ned's gaze shifted from the screen to the closed door at the end of the hallway.
He just stared at it, his cold, handsome face betraying no emotion.
Ned didn't get home until nearly two in the morning, yet he appeared at the breakfast table bright and early the next day.
At eight o'clock, the moment Jonathan received a phone call at the table, he immediately said to his son, "Wait a bit. You'll ride with me today. We're going to the office together."
Ned glanced at his father. "Alright," he answered indifferently.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he calmly finished his breakfast.
In the car, Jonathan said to his son, "The test results are out."
Ned didn't respond.
Silence fell between father and son until they reached the hospital.
"Does she know about this?" Jonathan didn't get out right away after parking. He stayed in the car and continued asking Ned.
"Of course she doesn't," Ned replied coldly.
"When do you plan to tell her?" Jonathan pressed.
"I can't tell her until everything is certain."
Jonathan looked at his son. "What exactly are you waiting for? This kind of thing needs to be resolved quickly. You can't keep dragging it out, because the two of you might very well be—"
"It's too early to say anything now!" Ned cut him off. "If the result isn't what you think it is, there's no reason to sacrifice our relationship."
Jonathan was stunned. "You mean you're still together?" His expression was one of disbelief.
"Why not? We have no reason to break up."
"How can you say there's no reason? Are you really going to wait until the truth comes out before ending things with her? That would hurt both of you even more!"
"I'll decide what happens between us."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"These are two separate matters. They shouldn't be mixed together."
"Two separate matters? They're clearly the same thing!" Jonathan grew agitated. "You have to understand—she might be your biological sister!"
Ned's face remained expressionless.
"Did you hear what I just said?!" Jonathan demanded.
Ned turned his head and looked his father straight in the eye. "We'll talk after we see the report." With that, he nodded slightly, opened the door, and got out.
Jonathan lowered his gaze, his heart heavy with worry and deeper regret. He never could have imagined that, in this vast sea of people, two individuals who might be blood siblings would not only meet…
…but even fall in love.