Being Pursued By Ex-husband

Cherie had yet to marry Espen at that time, so naturally, she did not know about those matters. “What sister? What are you talking about?”

“Yeah, Dad, what are you talking about?”

Susan and the others did not know either, and they were confused upon hearing Espen's words.

Espen glanced at them and sighed. “Thirty years ago, your granduncle had another daughter, but his daughter was kidnapped by human traffickers at ten years old when she went along with your grandaunt on a business trip. The Dawsons had looked tirelessly for Rachel back then, but their search for more than ten years was fruitless. Perhaps they were tired, for it seemed like they gave up later on.”

All of a sudden, Espen froze before saying, “Do you have a photo of Sophia?”

That time when Penelope passed away, Espen had not paid too much attention to Sophia; he only gave her a glance.

However, Espen still remembered what Rachel looked like, for Rachel was a pretty child back then.

Back when Godin Dawson was still alive, Espen and Kasper were on good terms. The two doted on the younger girl, Rachel, and after Rachel went missing, he and Kasper worked hard to look for her. They even continued to look for her while attending university, but alas, their efforts were for naught. Eventually, Espen gave up.

It was now apparent to him that the Dawson family never gave up looking for Rachel.

Susan did not dare to believe in it, but she did not want to give up so easily too, so she showed Espen a photo of Sophia she found online.

Espen visibly stiffened when he saw the photo. “They look so similar! They really do!”

He was only half-sure that Sophia and Rachel were related before seeing the photo, but after seeing it, he was almost certain that they were related.

Regardless of whether or not Sophia was actually Rachel's daughter, Perrin would still dote on Sophia because Sophia looked so much like Rachel.

After a glance at Susan, Espen said, “Did you do something to Sophia?”

Susan tensed. “No, I didn't, Dad.”

Espen's expression darkened. “Don't assume that Lukas doesn't know about all the things you've done. I don't care whether or not you've done those things back then, but from now on, don't lay a finger on Sophia anymore. Also, don't go over there for now. We'll put this aside until after your granduncle's birthday.”

Espen had never wished for things between him and Kasper to get so ugly, but in recent years, Cherie and Susan had done too many things behind his back. However, as he was benefitting from what they did anyway, he turned a blind eye to their actions. Little did he expect Sophia to appear.

Meanwhile, Sophia had no idea what Susan and her family were thinking about, but she knew that it was unlikely Susan would pull any other dirty tricks after Lukas' visit.

When Lukas came home, she had just finished a round of chess with Perrin.

Perrin could not win against her, so he wanted to cheat, but even after cheating, he still lost. Hence, at the moment, he was insisting on another round with Sophia.

When Lukas came back, Perrin grabbed him and said, “Come over here. Play a round with her.”

Lukas glanced at Sophia, and Sophia chuckled helplessly. “He was the one who didn't let me go easy on him.”

Perrin blushed when he heard that, and he scoffed, “The best mentors tend to train even better players. You're my granddaughter, so it's nothing unusual for you to be better than me in chess!”

Sophia chuckled and agreed with him. “Of course! Where would I be if you weren't smart in the first place!”

At that, Perrin nodded in satisfaction. “Do play one round with each other. I'll be watching at the side.”

A pause after, he added, “Don't worry. I won't be a commentator.”

A rare laugh escaped Lukas. “I hope you do remember to stay silent later on!”

Perrin huffed, “Start now! Don't underestimate your cousin. She's quite a good chess player.”

Sophia then softly said to Lukas, “Lukas, do go easy on me.”

Lukas lifted his head a little to glimpse at her. “Okay.”

Sophia was younger than him; he was definitely going to go easy on her.

Yet, ten minutes later, he found it unnecessary.

The round took nearly an hour, and in the end, it was a narrow victory for Lukas.

Perrin clicked his tongue and remarked, “Look at you. You underestimated Sophia, didn't you? Would you have won if Sophia had not gone easy on you?”

Sophia took a sip of her coffee and replied, “Granddad, I didn't go easy on Lukas.”

Lukas was indeed impressive, and she truly did not go easy on him earlier. It was just that she suddenly recalled what Lukas had told her the night before and found herself distracted. That was how she made the wrong move, causing her to lose to Lukas.

Right then, the door to the study opened, and Kylie walked in. “It looks like the three of you are enjoying your life here while you leave me alone outside. Why, are you going to let me eat lunch by myself as well?”

Sophia raised her head to look at Kylie. “How can we possibly do that? Is Uncle Kasper not coming back for lunch today?”

As she said that, she lifted a brow to tease Kylie.

Kylie smiled and gently patted her head. “Your Uncle Kasper and I are an old couple now, so we don't need any alone time anymore. Come and have lunch once you're done with your game.”

As Lukas had booked a spot in a restaurant for dinner, they had a lighter lunch.

It was Sophia's twenty-eighth birthday that day. After eleven years, she was finally spending her birthday with her family again.

At night, they went out for dinner. After dinner, Sophia received a pile of presents.

When she returned to her room, she was abruptly hit by the yearning for Alexander.

Right as Sophia took out her phone and was about to call Alexander, she accidentally clicked on the notification of Katherine's message.

Upon seeing the picture that Katherine sent her, she froze. She replied: Where did you get this from?

Katherine was swift to answer: What do you mean where did I get this from? The moment the sky turned dark today, all the LED screens around Jadeborough's business district lit up with this. Even the lights above the cabs wrote, “Happy birthday, Sophia Yarrow.” You're even trending on Twitter! What a pity it is that you're not in Jadeborough. Alexander's efforts have gone to waste.

Right as Katherine sent that message, Sophia saw Alexander calling her. She quirked a brow and answered the call. “Sophia speaking.”

“Have you had dinner?”