Chapter 141

“What exactly are you trying to say?” Odalys asked coldly. “Sophia and I are both signed under the Bennett Group. She’s swimming in resources, while I’m stuck playing minor roles and running errands. Is that what you call family? I’ve been signed with the Bennett Group and haven’t seen a single paycheck. Is that what family means? For Sophia’s sake, you don’t even care about right or wrong, and you immediately slander me. And now you’re talking about being family? What does family even mean?!”

Her questions left Atlas silent. A disquiet settled in. He had always thought of them as family, that they shouldn’t be splitting things up like this. But looking back, he realized he had never actually paid her—no salary, no resources. She had been working for free all along. “Tut, that was to be expected. We’re family. Why should she care so much about that?” Atlas thought to himself.

“When we get back, I’ll have Henry send you your wages,” Atlas said, trying to sound confident.

“You just want money, don’t you?”

Odalys listened, then turned and walked toward him. Atlas watched, excited, as she pulled something out. To his surprise, she paused for half a second before swinging her empty hand in front of him, then slapped him hard across the face.

“Ouch!” Stellan grunted, unable to look at the burning slap mark on Atlas’s face. It wasn’t right to hit someone, but for some reason, when Odalys slapped him, Stellan couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction. He remained silent, feeling like something was wrong with his thinking.

“Forget the wages. Let’s just call the wage my compensation for this slap. When you get back, ask Mr. Bennett to buy you some ice for your face,” Odalys said coldly.

Atlas was furious, his face turning red.

“And by the way,” Odalys warned sharply, “Sophia came to find Rafael tonight because of you, didn’t she? How else would she have turned around and accused me of sending her after she got caught? My hands are going to start itching every day. And if you keep slandering me like this, I can’t guarantee I won’t keep slapping your face.” Odalys didn’t want to cause trouble, but she wouldn’t let anyone falsely accuse her.

Chapter 111

Atlas was stunned. He stared at Odalys, then glanced at Sophia. “What are you talking about? Sophia wouldn’t come to meet Rafael at night. Why would she do that?” Atlas’s heart sank. If that’s true, then Sophia is really a lost cause. Is she so desperate for attention that she wants to try something with an old bachelor? Atlas thought. Earlier, he had seen Sophia hugging Fumian and had managed to ignore it, but he couldn’t tolerate her with Rafael.

“If you don’t believe me, ask Kenny. We were out for a walk last night and saw her sneak into the room. If we hadn’t stopped her, she would have been in his room by now,” Odalys said with a low laugh.

Her words hit Atlas like a bomb. He turned around in disbelief, looking from Sophia to Rafael and quietly asked, “What were you doing there last night?”

“Atlas…” Sophia stammered, her lips trembling, unsure of how to explain herself. She suspected her undergarments had been tampered with, and she couldn’t explain why only her underwear had been touched. She’d been about to ask Rafael if it was him, but there were four women on the variety show cube. And if Rafael pushed her too far and talked about what happened in the room that day, she’d be ruined. Sophia was in a panic. It felt like all her plans were falling apart.

Sophia tried to speak, but suddenly she was lost for words. Her eyes welled up with tears as she glared at Odalys, then stomped her foot and shouted, “Odalys, why are you targeting me?”

After shouting, she spun around and ran off. Seeing this, Atlas quickly hurried after her.

“Ms. Stone,” Francis called out as he approached. When his tall figure appeared in front of her, it was striking for a moment. After all, with his modeling background, Francis’s height was definitely an advantage.

“What’s the matter?” Odalys raised an eyebrow. She didn’t have much of an opinion about Francis. He always seemed to be looking for quick…

“I just wanted to explain. What happened earlier wasn’t related to Group A. It was all Sophia’s drama. Not everyone in Group A is targeting you,” Francis said in a hushed voice. He looked at Odalys with a scrutinizing gaze. He felt like he couldn’t quite figure out this woman. She seemed to have an effortless air about her, as if nothing really mattered. She didn’t care about maintaining any kind of image or persona like the others. While everyone else came to the variety show trying to keep up appearances, Odalys was the only one who didn’t bother.

“Got it,” Odalys responded quietly, her tone even. She said nothing else but turned and quickly moved to Freya and Selah’s side and started walking toward the door.

“Do you think she’s actually interested in Rafael?” Selah asked, clearly worried. Rafael was creepy, and he probably hadn’t bathed in days. They could smell a foul odor even from a distance.

“Who knows?” Odalys replied indifferently.

As the group began to disperse, Rafael, seemingly agitated, called out, “What’s going on here! You came here for a variety show, and now you’ve made my wife leave. What’s wrong with you all!”

Kenny noticed, signaling his assistant with a glance to step in and calm things down. Everyone else slowly began to leave, and the cameraman moved the camera away.

(The following are social media comments and not part of the narrative, though they could be integrated as such)

Oh my God, now I’m really curious. What’s Sophia up to sneaking in at night! Is it a date, or is there something more to it?

I admire Odalys so much. Her skills are incredible. She doesn’t let anyone walk all over her. That’s how women should be. When you’re tough, people don’t dare mess with you.

The Bennett family members all seem crazy, honestly. They’re so unpredictable. I really don’t like them.

Later that night, the news about Sophia meeting an old bachelor went viral again with hashtags #ShockedSophiaSecretlyMeetsOldBachelorAtNight #WhatsSoGreatAboutAnOldBachelor #SophiaThrewHerselfAtAnOldMan. There were also hashtags related to Odalys: #OdalysKnockThemDownAndWalkAway #OdalysBeStrongThatsYourFoundation #DontProveYourselfWhenSlanderedJustWalkAway. These hashtags took over the trending topics once more, and the gossip within the industry was in full swing. After all, the Bennett Group was already under pressure, and Sophia’s reputation had been in the gutter for a long time.

Chapter 111 (Continued)

Those who had been suppressed by the Bennett family in the past wasted no time in piling on and tearing Sophia down. Sophia, however, had no idea about the storm brewing online. She was running back home, straight to her room, locking herself inside. No matter how hard Atlas knocked on the door, she refused to open it.

“Sophia, open the door,” Atlas called from outside, worry in his voice. He never expected Odalys to publicly embarrass Sophia, let alone slap him twice in front of everyone. If Atlas hadn’t shown up when he did, he wasn’t sure what would have happened to Sophia.

There was a bitter chuckle from within the room. Sophia let the emotion build before finally opening the door. She stood in the doorway with her hair disheveled, her head lowered, and her eyes red as she turned her face away. A tear rolled down her cheek, and Sophia forced a hollow smile. “Am I a terrible person? Otherwise, why would she hate me so much?”