Liam Winston's voice was icy.
"Mr. Sullivan might not be familiar with our family affairs."
"Sophia deliberately approached my grandfather back then."
"After saving him, she demanded to marry into the Winston family."
"She's an orphan with barely any education."
"How could someone like her understand pottery?"
"Don't let her deceive you, Mr. Sullivan."
Chloe Evans shook her head gently.
Tears glistened in her eyes.
"Liam, don't speak about her like that."
"She had her reasons."
"And it's only been a few days since your divorce."
"Yet she..."
Chloe trailed off, leaving the implication hanging.
Disgust twisted Liam's expression.
"She's worthless beyond her pretty face."
"Couldn't handle hardship after the divorce."
"Now she's trying to climb the social ladder."
"Even daring to fool you, Mr. Sullivan."
Sophia's hands paused briefly over the clay.
She lifted her gaze to meet Liam's.
Her eyes were devoid of emotion.
Pretending not to be disappointed would be a lie.
She never expected Liam to become like this.
Saving Mr. Winston Sr. had been accidental.
She thought Liam would remember their childhood.
How they escaped kidnappers together.
How he promised to marry her.
But he forgot everything.
Only she carried those memories.
When his first love returned, she stepped aside.
Then Chloe fled abroad before the wedding.
Mr. Winston Sr. begged her to salvage the situation, so she agreed to marry Liam.
Three years of marriage earned her nothing but scorn.
A soft laugh escaped Sophia.
The last remnants of affection vanished.
Ethan Sullivan sensed the shift in her mood.
He didn't offer empty comfort.
He knew Sophia despised pity.
"Every porcelain piece at home was made by me."
Sophia's tone was detached.
"You rarely came home. Never noticed."
"As for climbing the social ladder, I can't compete with Miss Evans."
Liam stiffened.
He expected Sophia to protest.
To lose her temper.
But she simply regarded him with calm indifference.
Making his earlier outburst seem ridiculous.
Sophia had never hidden anything.
Liam simply never saw her.
Convinced she was a gold-digger.
Why would he care about home decor?
Over time, she stopped making ceramics altogether.
Sophia's focus wavered for a second.
The clay tilted slightly in her hands.
She glanced at the pair before her.
Cold distance filled her eyes.
"Was there something else you wanted?"
Her peaceful day had been disrupted by these two.
Liam found himself speechless.
Sophia had always been gentle around him.
Never showed him this side.
Her quiet intensity left him breathless.
Chloe touched her cheek unconsciously.
The slap's red mark lingered beneath her concealer.
Ethan let out a derisive chuckle.
"Mistaking glass for diamonds."
"What an enlightening spectacle."
"Some vilify treasures while cherishing trash."
His fingers traced the curve of Sophia's unfinished pottery.
"With Miss Sullivan's talent."
"She needs no one's patronage."
"If she established her own studio."
"You'd all be rendered irrelevant."
Ethan's voice dropped dangerously low.
Frost laced every word.
"Speak your piece."
"Or get out."
"Stop polluting the air."
He wouldn't let them ruin Sophia's artwork.