Chapter 686

“Ah, Julia, pard,” Sofia began. “What the hell is this? Do you believe this?”

Sofia didn’t quite believe it. Richard had high standards. The girl he liked was totally blinded by love. Anyway, it wasn’t someone as stunningly beautiful as her.

Upon hearing this, Julia asked directly, “No way. How could he be so blind as to fall for you? In other words, Richard wouldn’t dare…”

“You don’t think it’s him either, right?” Sofia asked.

“Absolutely impossible. You two are too close; you practically remember when the other wet the bed. How could such familiarity breed romance?” Julia said.

In short, Julia believed Sofia’s marriage to Richard was an accident. As for romantic feelings, there were none.

“What you said is true,” Sofia said.

“Of course it’s true,” Julia affirmed.

Sofia added, “Then how come my brother has such feelings for Stefi?”

“If you talk about remembering the appearance of the other one wetting the bed, Stefi did a lot of such things in Sebastian’s bed when she was a child,” Julia responded. “In her infancy, Sebastian took care of her for a long time. To say they are familiar with each other is an understatement.”

“Sebastian can have such thoughts towards Stefi, why can’t Richard towards me? Is it because I’m not worthy?”

Julia was speechless; she didn’t dare to discuss Sebastian’s gossip, even if the other one was his sister. If this reached his ears, the whole family would be doomed, especially since it was about Sebastian and Stefi. Julia had heard about what happened to the two families at the banquet a while ago.

“Anyway, you and Richard are impossible,” Julia said. With their personalities, anyone would think it’s impossible. Back then, because of Stefi, Sofia and Richard almost tore each other apart. If Richard could really have feelings for Sofia, then he must’ve never seen a woman before.

Sofia was confused. “Then why did he take the blame for Dan?”

Julia exclaimed, “Don’t you get it? Dan is part of Dark Portal, and the situation there is incredibly complex right now. Richard is at least your husband in name; it should be because he is worried that you will cause a mess that cannot be cleaned up, I guess.”

When Julia said that, Sofia thought it was possible. “Yeah, maybe.”

“If that’s the case, then Richard is quite generous. This is not something he would normally do. It seems that he really doesn’t want anything to happen to you,” Julia said. After all, Dan had a complicated background. If Sofia had really taken half of his life, the people behind him would definitely not let it go.

Sofia’s breath hitched at her words. The faces of those who wanted her dead last night flashed through her mind. They were either from Dark Portal or the Rossi family. She would deal with them after she got what she needed from Lura.

She added, “Dark Portal has been quite active recently. You have to be careful after what happened between you and Dan.”

“Not just Dark Portal, but also Sandara.”

Speaking of Dan, when he first approached Sofia, no one would have thought that he had such a complicated background. At that time, he looked like a penniless guy.

“I know, that bastard,” Sofia replied. The more she thought about it, the more Sofia felt sorry for Richard. After she got the thing back from Luca, she would go back to Fiorenza and help Richard get more from the Casalini family.

To be honest, the Casalini family had suffered a lot in recent years. Anyone associated with Valentina had been eliminated. And since Richard severed ties with the Casalini family, Sebastian showed them no mercy. What he demanded from Matthew last time was probably all the family had left. No wonder Richard’s stepmother, Mona, and Adrian were in such a desperate panic then. The Casalini family didn’t have much left, and now Sofia had taken a big chunk of it. But she could understand Richard’s ruthlessness. After all, Mona was probably the one who killed his mother.

“In that case, you should treat Richard well,” Julia added.

“You’re right,” Sofia said. Sofia thought she would kill Dan if she returned now, convinced he had toyed with her emotions by faking his death and rendering her love worthless.

At the Giovanni residence, Stephanie was lying on a chaise lounge, talking to Ella on the phone. Back in Long Harbor, Ella had been quite the gossip, and after last night, Stephanie worried it might affect her. But now…

“You think they are ugly?” Stephanie asked.

“Yes, really ugly,” Ella replied.

Laney and Lily, the twins known as the ugliest princesses, raided Lorenzo’s villa last night. Although Stephanie had never met them, she had heard rumors about their supposedly hideous appearance.

“That’s what you’re focused on…”

Stephanie was speechless, but Ella’s reaction was like her old self back in Long Harbor—she loved to watch the show and gossip then. Last night’s incident, however…

“They were going to arrest you,” Stephanie added.

Ella simply said, “Oh.”

Stephanie was confused about Ella’s reaction. Before she could speak, Ella burst into laughter again, her laughter echoing eerily in the silence.

Stephanie twitched her lips. “What are you doing?”

“I couldn’t help myself, Stefi. I’d never…” Stephanie froze, unsure how to continue. “…seen anyone so ugly that it actually affected my appetite for days,” Ella said.

“Lorenzo showed me the mistress’s photo and the man’s photo. They’re bad people, but they look good. How can their baby be so ugly?” Ella continued. She couldn’t help but click her tongue when she mentioned how ugly the baby was, which showed how outrageous it was!

“You even saw the photos of the mistress and the man?” Stephanie asked.

Stephanie was astonished by Ella’s reaction after seeing the pictures. Although she knew that Ella had recovered, the speed of her recovery was unbelievable. Stephanie wondered that just yesterday, Ella was still crying about Andrea. But now… she had seemed recovered.

“Your emotions are like a flipped switch,” Stephanie said. Most people would need time to process something like that. Just a few days ago, Ella was feeling so down, but now she looks much better.

“I was worried about my mom’s safety before,” Ella said. “She may be strong, but she’s still a woman.” The idea of her being captured by an organization like Dark Portal was horrifying. Ella said, “Knowing how capable she is, I feel a lot better.”

“Capable people won’t be bullied. And while my mother is going through a difficult time, at least it’s better than before when we were kept in the dark. The uncertainty was torture, leaving me in a state of constant anxiety.”

Hearing Ella say this, Stephanie was relieved.

Ella added, “They’re so ugly. Their ugliness makes me doubt if they’re even related to her.”

Stephanie said nothing.