Alexander discreetly glanced over to see that the person Jake held in his hands was a bright-eyed, smiling Sophia. His eyebrows twitched slightly, and as though it was none of his concern, Alexander callously lowered his head and continued to look at his phone.
Jake bent over to grab two glasses of wine and handed one to Sophia. With his own glass in his hand, he reached out to grab Sophia's shoulder. In front of everyone in the party room, he smiled generously and introduced her, "This is the person I was just saying we were waiting on... my girlfriend, Sophia."
When Isabelle saw Sophia, her mind was blown. Now, after hearing Jake's introduction, she was completely confused.
Not long ago, Sophia was infatuated with Alexander, she thought that he would become her boyfriend. How come, in the blink of an eye, she got together with Jake?
Isabelle and Sophie had the same surname. In an instant, someone asked her, "Isabelle? Jake's girlfriend has the same surname as yours. She wouldn't happen to perhaps be your older or younger sister, would she?"
Isabelle didn't have time to reply, since Sophia, clutching a glass of wine, elegantly tilted her head and said, "Sophia is my cousin."
The person who'd just asked, couldn't help but joke, "Shit... So it's really true. What a coincidence. Jake, you're actually dating one of our crew's relative."
Even if Isabelle had her doubts at the bottom of her heart, she wasn't stupid enough to go and ask Sophia about what exactly had happened between her and Jake. And so, when Sophia finished explaining their relationship and sat down in her place, Isabelle looked up at her and called out, "Sis."
Sophia turned to Isabelle and gave her a warm smile. Her eyes swept over Alexander who sat beside her as though he was a stranger, pausing only slightly. Moments later though, her face brightened up with a smile, and her line of sight jumped elsewhere.
~*~
Sophia's personality had always been outgoing. After talking with new people for no longer than three minutes, she could already be getting along well with them. And so, her arrival, not only did it not kill the mood, it actually lifted it. All that could be heard in the entire party room were, "Sophie, which university did you graduate from?", "Sophie, how did you meet Jake?", and "Sophie, why don't you sing us a song?".
Isabelle sat quietly next to Alexander She was used to these kind of scenes. After she found out her parents had passed away, she couldn't go back and had to live at her uncle's house, so she gradually lost the same confidence and cheerfulness that Sophia had in her bones. In most cases, whenever Sophia and she went out, Sophia would always easily get along with others. Yet, she would always sit quietly to one side, and smile as she watched her.
The sounds of drinking, chatting, singing, and laughing were all over the lively party room. Yet, all this commotion seemed to have no effect on Alexander beside her. He maintained a calm posture where he sat on the sofa, staring at his phone.
Next to him, Isabelle would sneak a peek at him every now and then. When she unintentionally caught sight of his phone screen, she learned that he was looking through Global Entertainment's reports.
Even in a noisy place like this, he still managed to work! Isabelle couldn't help but quietly let out a sigh. From the bottom of her heart, she silently thought, 'If he had to work, what was the point in coming here?'
Isabelle sat in the party room for quite some time, and grew a little bored. She stepped out to go to the restroom. Coincidentally, coming out from the cubicle, she bumped right into Sophia.
"Izzy." Sophia reached out and patted Isabelle on the head.
Isabelle rubbed the part where she was touched. She fixed her hair up, then quickly grabbed Sophia, who was about to enter the cubicle, "Sis, what's actually going on? How come you're with Jake?"
"We bumped into each other at a charity event the week before last. We exchanged numbers, got talking, and we felt like we both got along quite well, so we started dating," Sophia said in a light-hearted tone.
"But a while ago, didn't you say that you liked Alexander..." Isabelle genuinely cared about Sophia, but she also wanted to know how she actually felt about Alexander.
When Sophia heard the word, "Alexander", she thought back to the image of her being rejected by him not so long ago. Immediately, she pursed her lips and interrupted Isabelle. "He said he has someone he likes, and that person isn't me. If the love from one is unrequited by the other, why should I waste any more time on him?"
When Sophia said that, she paused for a moment, then asked, "Izzy, do you know who Alexander likes?"
Isabelle shook her head.
"Forget it." Sophia smiled with an attitude as though she didn't want to talk about it. She then said candidly, "They're all waiting to go back to playing games. Let's talk about it if we have some time later."
When she finished speaking, Sophia headed straight for the cubicle and closed the door.
~*~
Annabelle spent her day frightened and on edge. Yesterday, she was furious when she cut Isabelle's swing for her shoot. In the end, she was fine, but in a fit of rage, Alexander asked the director to investigate the issue.
The crew who worked on the swing knew she was over by the shoot's place at the time. To make sure it wasn't traced back to her, she spent a lot of money to buy their silence. She also agreed to sleep with Producer Johnson a few times in exchange for his help in speaking with the director to cover the truth.
The more she wanted to crush Isabelle, the more bad luck she found herself in. Her mood was indescribably bleak. Just now, she was only in the restroom for a smoke to calm her terrible mood when she unintentionally overheard the conversation between Isabelle and Sophia.
So... Sophia likes Alexander?
Whether Alexander actually liked Isabelle and if there was anything between them at all - Annabelle wasn't entirely sure. But one thing she was sure of now was that Isabelle filled her insides with a burning rage, so she really did not want for Isabelle to ever rest easy.
So Annabelle walked out from her cubicle, stood in front of the sink, and quietly waited for Sophia.
Sophia came out quite quickly. Was she really form a noble family, why did she look so high class?
Through the reflection in the mirror, Annabelle looked Sophia up and down. The other woman finished washing her hands and was about to dry them with the paper towels when Annabelle called out to her, "Miss Davis."
Sophia turned her head and shot Annabelle a friendly smile. "Excuse me, can I help you?"
Annabelle's personality had always been frank. She didn't go around in circles with Sophia but said frankly, "Miss Davis, don't you just want to know who Alexander likes?"
Sophia's eyebrows creased, but she didn't say a word.
Annabelle's lips twitched and she smiled at Sophia. "I don't know if you usually check the web's hot topics and have seen what was there a while ago... Your sister and Alexander made it to the top most searched. She went to Alexander's room late at night and didn't come out until quite a few hours later."
Sophia was always smart. After hearing Annabelle's words, she knew what the actress really meant. The corners of her lips rose, and she gave her a dazzling smile. She kept up her noble manners and eloquently said, "In your entertainment industry, just how many of your news are real? They're all a bunch of groundless rumors. As for my sister, I know her better than you."
"Then how are you so sure that the person Alexander likes isn't Isabelle?"
Sophia faced Annabelle's question with her curved, light-hearted smile, staring closely at Annabelle for a while. She opened her mouth and asked the actress in return, "If I'm not wrong, you're Miss Annabelle right?"
Annabelle blinked but didn't say a word.
Sophia kept up her high class manners, but the words she continued to say were nothing but ruthless, "Miss Annabelle, though I may not be in the entertainment industry and don't really care for matters within it, nevertheless, Isabelle is my sister.
"As for her matters, I know little about them. You're shooting a TV series together right now, and you were originally the second female lead, right? Then my sister stole the role... Based on that point alone, whatever you say to me, I will always think that you have some ulterior motive. You and I have met by chance, a one-off chance meeting. Please, tell me what makes you so sure that I would believe you over my sister?"
When Sophia finished speaking, she gave Annabelle an elegant and gentle smile. She said, "If you'll excuse me..," then turned to leave the restroom.
"Miss Davis, there's just one more thing you're probably unaware about. Last night, Isabelle was in an accident on set. She fell from a swing and Alexander didn't hesitate for one second to jump over to catch her. He even sent her to the hospital. Because of her, he was in a fit of rage and fired all of the stage prop crew!"
Though what Annabelle said was true, she wasn't sure if what Alexander had done was all for Isabelle. Nevertheless, to drive a wedge, Annabelle immediately spoke with a confident tone, as well as jealousy at the situation.
At those words, Sophia's footsteps slightly paused for a moment.
Alexander and Isabelle had known each other for many years. Though it looked like they were not close, but Isabelle was James's wife, and Alexander was James's brother.
If Isabelle was really in trouble, it would be normal for Alexander to save her.
Sophia turned her head and looked into Annabelle's eyes with a slight hint of anger. "Miss Annabelle, I don't care about whatever kind of motive you have today, but let me tell you clearly, don't even think about trying to pick at Izzy and my relationship with her.
"There's nothing more important in this world than my sister. Moreover, let me warn you, I will not argue with you this time, but if there's a next time... If I find out that you have mistreated Izzy, other people might not argue with you, but I, Sophia Davis, will definitely be the first to stand up to spend all my effort to exile you from the entertainment industry. Don't think I'm just playing either. The Davis family really has the ability to do this!"
Sophia's words crushed Annabelle with their frankness and ruthlessness. Her face grew troubled and awkward.
Sophia gave a gentle smile, turned around, and stomped elegantly away in her heels.