"...What did you say?" Felix Preston's handsome brows knitted together, and he wondered if he had misheard.
Sonia Quincy looked up at him, her gaze unusually serious, as she repeated her earlier words, enunciating each one. "I said, I'm not divorcing you, and I'm not getting an abortion. No matter what situation you're in, the baby and I will stay by your side."
"..." Felix Preston said nothing. He couldn't figure out what Sonia Quincy was trying to pull now.
'Just an hour ago, she was screaming and shouting, demanding a divorce. He'd only said a few words to try and get her to stay, and she had flown at him, hitting and cursing. Now that he'd agreed to the divorce and the abortion, she was suddenly against it.'
"Sonia." He sighed heavily, his deep voice thick with exhaustion. "I have no money left. I don't have the ability to give you the life of a wealthy wife anymore. There's no point in messing with me. I can't offer you any more compensation."
Sonia Quincy didn't answer him.
She glanced at her phone. Ethan Lockwood had texted that the media was rushing upstairs and would be there in about three minutes.
She rose from the bed and, under Felix Preston's exasperated gaze, surveyed the shabby little room.
Though the room was small and old, the furniture and belongings were all spotlessly clean. It was obvious Felix Preston had tidied up himself.
'Even after going bankrupt and hitting rock bottom, he still kept the place perfectly tidy, doing his best to make his wife comfortable.'
'But that woman only had eyes for money. How could she possibly have noticed everything Felix did for her?'
Felix Preston had sold everything of value in the house to pay his debts, yet he hadn't touched any of his wife's expensive jewelry, clothes, or bags. She, on the other hand, in her desperate bid to force a divorce, had frantically smashed everything in sight. The small room was littered with debris, among which lay the very designer bags and clothes she had supposedly treasured.
'She has such a pure and innocent face, yet she's never done a single decent thing in her life.'
'After marrying Felix Preston, all she ever did was ask for money to buy things, showing no concern for him whatsoever.'
Sonia Quincy's assessment of her could be summed up in a single word: stupid.
'To give up a capable, family-oriented titan like Felix Preston, and instead run off to chase some guy on the side... her brain must be filled with crap.'
'Thank heavens I was reborn into this body after I died. Otherwise, I never would have found such a good man on my own.'
'From now on, I'm the master of this body. The man the villainess didn't want, I'll take him! And not only will I take him, I'm going to spoil him rotten.'
"Just keep the money in the account. I have faith in you. You won't be content with things as they are, and I know you can make a comeback." Sonia was thrust into motherhood the moment she took over this body. Although she was over three months pregnant, her belly barely showed.
She bent down and started tidying up the wreckage in the room, piece by piece. In a gentle voice, she said to Felix Preston, "Everything before... it was all my fault. I wasn't thinking straight, and that's why I did so many terrible things. From now on, the baby and I will be here for you. Our family will never be separated."
"..." Felix Preston didn't respond, merely watching her with a look of utter confusion.
'He knew better than anyone what kind of person his wife was. He couldn't get her to change her ways when he was rich, let alone now that he was bankrupt and destitute.'
'He didn't believe a single word she was saying.'
"Sonia, why the sudden change of mind about the divorce? Are you unhappy with the property settlement?" he asked, watching her as she moved about tidying up. His voice held a desperate, almost pleading quality.
"But I really don't have any money left. Out of the ninety thousand, I only kept ten thousand for myself. I have to survive, and I have my mom and sister to look after. If I give you more, my family will have to starve. I believe I've always treated you well. Whether I had money or not, I never let you go without. Please, just try to understand my situation."
'Felix Preston was once one of heaven's chosen. People had always been the ones begging him. When had he ever been forced to beg anyone so meekly?'
'With a single, thoughtless move, the villainess had not only destroyed herself but had also dragged the brilliant Felix Preston down with her.'
Listening to Felix Preston, Sonia Quincy's heart ached for him.
She straightened up, opening her mouth to speak, but was cut off by the sound of frantic, hurried footsteps in the hallway just outside.
'The media her predecessor contacted are here.'
Sonia Quincy's expression grew serious. She put down what she was holding and walked into the living room.
Unsure of what she was planning, Felix Preston followed a few steps behind.
According to the original plan, this was the moment the woman was supposed to smash something or scream, signaling the media to burst in. But Sonia Quincy wasn't following the script. While the reporters were still lying in wait for their cue, she suddenly yanked the door open herself.
"..."
Over a dozen pairs of eyes stared at her in a daze. After a few seconds of silence, the reporters swiftly raised their cameras and swarmed around her.
Seeing this, Felix Preston instinctively stepped forward to shield Sonia Quincy, despite the fact that she had been screaming at and hitting him just an hour before.
"What are you doing? Get out!"
These were the very reporters his wife had arranged to be here. They ignored Felix Preston and aimed their microphones at Sonia Quincy.
"Ms. Quincy, your husband, Felix Preston, is now bankrupt. Do you intend to continue your relationship with him?"
"Ms. Quincy, rumors are circulating that your marriage to Mr. Preston was a shotgun wedding. Is there any truth to that? Are there other secrets you're hiding?"
"Ms. Quincy, we heard shouting from your apartment as we came up the stairs. Are the two of you getting a divorce?"
"Ms. Quincy..."
"Ms. Quincy..."
Sonia Quincy felt like the entire world was screaming her name.
She took a deep breath and pulled her lips into a dignified smile. Instead of following the original plan, she said, "Thank you for your concern. My husband and I get along very well, and we have no plans to divorce."
"...What?"
Her one short sentence left the reporters at the door completely dumbfounded.
'What is Sonia Quincy talking about? That's not what the script said!'
Sonia Quincy smiled at them and continued, "My husband is an exceptionally capable man. The trouble he's facing now is only temporary. I believe in him, and I will always be by his side. I will walk with him through this valley and be there when he reaches the summit once more."
"Thank you again for your concern. I appreciate you all coming out."
"Wh-what is going on..." The reporters didn't get the explosive scoop they were promised. Instead, they were forced to witness this schmaltzy display of affection. The dozen or so people exchanged bewildered glances, having no idea what game Sonia Quincy was playing.
Felix Preston's reaction was the same as theirs.
He stared, dumbfounded, at the woman beside him. 'How could she say things like that?' he wondered. 'I was only gone for an hour. How did she become a completely different person?'
'He would never have believed that such devoted, tender words could ever come from Sonia's mouth.'
Sonia Quincy noticed his expression and decided she would explain later. She placed a hand on the dusty security door and showed the reporters out.
"That's all I have to say. In the future, please do not disturb my husband and me. See yourselves out."
With that, she swung the door closed. The reporter at the front didn't back up in time and nearly had his nose smashed.
"Sonia, what on earth are you up to?" Felix Preston didn't wait for her to explain. The moment the door clicked shut, he demanded in a low, tense voice, his brows drawn tight.
Sonia Quincy tried to gather her thoughts, still unsure of how to explain, when the phone she had left in the other room suddenly began to ring.
The ringing was incessant, as if demanding a life.
"Just a second." Sonia Quincy gave Felix Preston a small, weary smile and turned back into the bedroom to get her phone.
Felix Preston followed her in and stood at the bedroom door.
The moment Sonia Quincy picked up the phone, the ringing stopped. The call had been from Ethan Lockwood.
He hadn't been calling to talk, but to prompt her to check her WeChat messages.
Sonia Quincy impatiently unlocked her phone. As she started to walk, her heel came down on a shard of broken glass.
"HISS—" A sharp pain shot up her leg. Sonia Quincy instinctively stumbled back, hopping away from the broken glass. In her haste, the phone slipped from her grasp and clattered to the floor, landing—of all the rotten luck—right at Felix Preston's feet.
Felix Preston glanced down and happened to see the two messages that had just come in from Ethan Lockwood.
—Sonia, what the hell are you playing at? The media shows up and instead of exposing Felix Preston for rape, you're acting all lovey-dovey with him?
—Is there something wrong with your head again?
The word "rape" burned itself into Felix Preston's vision. He looked up, staring at Sonia Quincy in utter disbelief. In that instant, all of his confusion was resolved.
'No wonder,' he thought. 'No wonder Sonia had changed so suddenly. It was all a trap, and she was just waiting for me to fall into it.'
He let out two short, self-mocking laughs, then spun around and stormed out of the apartment.
"Felix!" Sonia limped two steps after him, but she couldn't even catch sight of his back as he fled.
"Tsk. Now I'm in trouble."