Pursuing Her

Then, the national treasure was taken away. After all that had happened that night, everyone had a hard time trying to recollect themselves.

Sophie was probably the calmest among them since she knew beforehand what would happen. To her, everything was within expectations, so there was nothing to be excited about.

At that moment, William finally shifted his attention to Sophie.

"You've fulfilled a long-standing wish of mine, so I want to return the favor. What would you like? You need only ask." The man was nothing but grateful to Sophie because he knew how difficult it was to find the national treasure.

When Jennifer heard that, she could not help but look nervously at Sophie. That woman probably only did what she did because she wanted to impress Old Mr. Lombard, so I don't see why she wouldn't push her luck after hearing him say that! I bet she'll demand to marry into the Lombard family!

Even though Jennifer's fingernails dug deep into her palms because of their length and how hard she clenched her fists, she felt no pain at all.

That was the only way to calm herself down, or she would lose her mind.

Everyone then turned their attention to Sophie, convinced that the young woman only went through the trouble because she wanted to impress William. This is the perfect opportunity to persuade Old Mr. Lombard to allow her and Tristan to be together, so why would she let it go?

"Don't worry about it, Old Mr. Lombard. Today's your eightieth birthday, so it's only natural for me to get you a gift. That's all there is to it." Sophie was confident that Tristan would be with her no matter what, so she had no reason to buy William off with the gift. Do the others think I'm the kind of person who'd offer presents in exchange for Tristan?

"Are you sure?" William, too, had thought Sophie would request him to agree to her and Tristan being together. Hence, he was surprised when she did not even bring up the matter.

"I wish you a long and happy life, Old Mr. Lombard," voiced Sophie, who seemed as lovable as a doe then.

William quickly forgot about the other gifts after receiving Sophie's. Even those from the Lombard siblings paled in comparison.

Glad that Sophie did not make the request she expected, Jennifer breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Old Mr. Lombard still hasn't agreed to Tristan's relationship with Sophie, I'll have a chance to turn things around.

Since it was getting late, the guests began to leave one after another.

Meanwhile, Sophie stayed beside Tristan, who did not have to see the guests off because Lincoln was around.

William was tired, so he called it a night and went upstairs.

"Come on. I'll send you home. You must be tired too!" Tristan said to Sophie.

"What for? Just let her stay here for the night! There's no need to go out this late," chimed in Sarah.

"Yeah! If you don't want others to gossip, you can sleep with me tonight," uttered Ysabelle. It shouldn't be a problem since Sophie's my friend, right? Even Grandpa can't find fault with that.

"Thank you, but I still think I should go home." Sophie did not accept the offer because she did not want William to think she was pushing her luck.

"Sure. I'll send you home then." Tristan never forced Sophie to do anything. Moreover, he would do his best to support her in everything she wanted to do.

"Okay!"

On the way out, the two passed by Jennifer, who had been waiting patiently for Tristan to offer to send her home.

"Mr. Tristan, could I trouble you with sending me home?" Even though Jennifer hesitated for a long time, she eventually decided to make the request. After all, that was the reason she waited so patiently. Today's plan didn't work because of Sophie's gift. Still, I won't give up no matter what.

Tristan furrowed his eyebrows when he realized how persistent Jennifer was. "Sorry, but I can't help you."

Even though the man apologized, there was nothing friendly about his tone.

"Send Ms. Whitley home!" Tristan ordered his driver before leaving with Sophie.

Stunned, Jennifer could not help wondering if she had humiliated herself once again.

Tristan had never once shown respect to Jennifer, and it made her feel terrible.

"It's getting late, Jennifer. Let's go back and get some rest. There's no point in overthinking it." Minerva had not left either because she wanted to wait for Jennifer.

"Okay." At that point, Jennifer was already exhausted. Even though she had tried her best, she had nothing to show for it.

Supporting Jennifer, Minerva wanted to tell her friend to stop equating hard work with success, but she did not do so because she knew Jennifer would not listen.

"I'm tired; I'm going home. You should go back on your own!" The last thing Jennifer wanted was to let others see how miserable she was then. Suddenly, she had lost all confidence. It seems Sophie isn't as easy to deal with as she appears to be.

"Are you sure you're okay, Jennifer? I really think I should send you home first!" insisted Minerva, worried about her friend.