"Sam, you shouldn't have said all that to Sofia. It's none of her fault that Bella had created a scene here. She was unaware of her mother's actions. You have to apologize to Sofia. Do you understand?" Camilla said as she came to meet Sam before bedtime. She always did that to make sure her children were in bed and comfortable.

"Mum, why can't Sofia and all her rich people drama leave us alone?" He asked as he put his head in his mother's lap and she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Sofia was destined to be born into a rich family. It wasn't her choice. We don't get to choose our families. We only choose to live with or leave them. Rich never sleep peacefully. They're always looking over their shoulders because something or someone keeps bothering them because of their money. But not all rich people are snobbish and proud. Some really do have a kind heart and soul. We cannot ignore their goodness because if we do their souls will turn dark and they will stop believing in being good. You will apologize to Sofia and ask her to forgive you. We know she's nothing like the people around her. " Camilla explained to him. Her soft fingers running through his thick hair providing him comfort.

"Good night, Sam," Camilla said as she kissed his forehead and tucked him in.

"Night, mum," Sam said sleepily as he drifted off into sleep. Camilla smiled at him, turned on the night light and shut the door softly.

"Yes, I'm fine. How are you?" John said.

"Is it Simon?" Camilla asked as she came to her room and saw her husband talking to someone.

"I'm fine, dad. Can you give the phone to mum so she can talk to me?" Simon said. John nodded and handed the phone to Camilla. They kept talking until Simon asked about Sofia.

"She came today. She's gotten a nice haircut which makes her look prettier. She has started work with her father today. She asked about you so I told her you're out of town and your phone is not working so she bought it." Camilla said as she walked around her room.

"Mum, I just need time to think about us. I need space. I'll be back in a day or two but till then nobody will tell her my whereabouts. Tell Sam to apologize to her." Simon said.

"Yeah, I've talked to him. He will meet her tomorrow morning and apologize to her." She replied.

"Simon, don't let Sofia down. She has suffered a lot all her life. She deserves to be happy. She has a lot of hopes from you. Someone thinks a lot before hoping something from us. Their hopes deserve to be fulfilled. I guess there's nothing worse than shattered hopes because it hurts a lot when they break because all the broken pieces pierce your heart. I hope you understand." She said.

"Yes, mum. I don't intend to let her go. Now I must go to bed. It's getting late. Good night, mum. Love you all. Say goodnight to dad too." Simon said as he said his goodbyes.

"Yes, indeed. It is getting late. We love you too, Simon. Take care. Good night." Camilla said as she hung up.

The next day, Sam and Hazel met Sofia at the park. Sam apologized to her and they were good again. They were sitting on the bench with Sofia sandwiched between Sam and Hazel when Carl came and stopped in front of her. Sofia was surprised to see him there.

"Good morning, sunshine." He said as he took off the hood of his jacket and wiped his forehead with the towel on Sofia's lap.

"Excuse me, that is my towel!" Sofia exclaimed.

"So what happened, sunshine? I think it's okay." He said as he winked at her and threw the towel back at her.

"Who are these kids? Are they your siblings? Oh, I didn't know you had any siblings." He said faking shock.

"We... are her best friends. Care to explain yourself and what you just did?" Hazel said as she stood up and put her hands on her waist sassily.

"Hazel, leave him. C'mon let's go." Sofia said as she stood up.

"So this beauty is called Hazel. A pretty name for a pretty girl. Sassy. I like my girls sassy." Carl said as he winked. Hazel was about to launch herself on him but Sofia gripped her elbow just before she could hit him.

"Let's go, Sam," Sofia said and Sam stood up. Sofia took Hazel's hand turned her away from Carl.

"You can keep this towel. I don't need it anymore." Sofia said as she threw the towel at him. luckily, he caught it right before it smacked him in his face. Carl grinned mischievously. Sofia rolled her eyes and took Sam and Hazel with her.

"You still owe me a coffee, Ms. Taylor!" Carl called out.

"You owe me my favorite towel. Scores are even now, Mr. Alexander!" Sofia retorted back.

"Wait. it's obvious that you and that hulk know each other but how?" Hazel asked.

"Okay, so we met yesterday at the hotel. He is our partner. And me being me didn't know that he was someone important and I misbehaved with him. I apologized but he said it's not acceptable until I have coffee with him someday." Sofia said as they walked out of the park.

 "He's bad news for you, Sofia. Be careful." Sam said.

"Yeah, I will be. It's nice to have my bro back!" Sofia said as she hugged them both in a bear hug.

"Now I'll leave or I'll be very late for work. I have a lot of work to do today. You guys have fun, yeah?" Sofia said as they parted ways and she started walking back to her house.

As she reached her house, she was greeted by her mother and father howling at each other like dogs. Mrs. Clarke's eyes widened as she saw Sofia but Sofia motioned her to be silent. She wanted to know what they were hiding from her.

"You told her. You disgraced me in front of her. You told her because you wanted to heal your bruised ego!" Bella shouted at Jeremy.

"I didn't tell her anything, Bella. Stop doubting me. Your doubt has brought us to this point! It's all you!" Jeremy said as he stood up from his seat.

"Bell.." Jeremy paused as his eyes widened.

" Now say that you didn't tell her that I cheated on you with your business partner. Yes, it wasn't anyone else. It was Sergei." Bella said as she turned around to confront him. Her face fell as she saw Sofia glaring daggers at both of them, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Princess, I can explain this," Jeremy said hesitantly.

"Don't come near me, dad. Don't touch me, please." She said as she moved back away from his touch.

"How will you explain, mum? Or you don't think you owe me an explanation." Sofia said to Bella as she walked towards her like a lioness stalking her prey.

"I don't want to explain anything. It was a mistake." Bella said as she looked away from Sofia's hateful gaze.

"You both hide things from me! Now I will make a decision for both of you." Sofia said as she sat on her father's seat and clutched her head between her hands.

"I'm leaving this house." She said as she stood up and dashed upstairs to her room. She stood under the shower with her clothes on and cried a lot. After her mind cooled down, she asked Mrs. Clarke to pack her stuff.

She got dressed and left for work without sparing a second glance to her parents.

At work, she was sitting in the restaurant, nursing a cup of hot cocoa when she saw Carl plop on the seat in front of her and she rolled her eyes. The restaurant was fairly empty except a couple at the other end.

"What are you doing here again, Mr. Alexander? Don't you have any work to do?" she said she rolled her eyes. Carl saw her bloodshot eyes.

"I don't mean to pry in your life but has anything happened? Because there must be a reason for you to have bloodshot eyes. When we met earlier, you were fine." He said as he looked deeply at her.

"None of your concerns, Mr. Alexander." She said with a firm tone.

"You can tell me anything. You can trust me. I may behave like an irritating fool but trust me, I won't judge you." He said as she stared at him contemplating in her mind whether to trust him or not.

"Okay. Let's go to my room. It'll give you more privacy." He said as he took her laptop.

"That's why you were in the park." She said as she remembered their encounter from the morning.

"Yes, because I'm having some paint job done at my place so for the time being, I'm staying here." He said as he entered his suite with her following him.

They sat the chairs on the balcony overlooking the majestic flower garden. It was a breathtaking view from up there.

"Okay, start telling." He urged. She told him everything she knew and cried along. His side hugged her and she laid her head on his shoulder. He kept passing her tissues as she cried her heart out.

"I have a proposal for you," Carl said and Sofia looked at him.

"Come with me to Switzerland. I'm leaving in two weeks. You can start fresh. I'll have someone to live with. I'm tired of living alone." He said as he smiled.

"I need some time to think. Thank you for the offer though." She said as she wiped her face and left his room after a few minutes.