Being Pursued By Ex-husband
Chapter 454

Chapter 454

Megan happened to be eating out with friends that day. As she was leaving the restaurant, she realizedshe left her purse behind and made a U-turn to retrieve it.

She retrieved her purse without incident and headed for the elevator. On her way there, she noticedsome people chatting in a small lounge.

Megan recognized them as people who ran in her social circles. She would not exactly call themfriends, but she was well acquainted enough with them to remember their names.

She had been married to Casper for almost a year by then, and he had proved to be a kind husband.Marriage had changed Megan for the better, removing her from Jessica's round-the-clockmollycoddling at the Queen residence.

The Coopers were a prestigious lot and had high expectations for their daughter-in-law. Megan oftenfound herself at odds with her in-laws at the beginning of her marriage, though Casper threw hissupport behind her in every disagreement. He would educate her on the proper etiquette wheninteracting with elders and acceptable social manners in public.

Over the course of a year, Megan had certainly become more socially adept and mature.

She knew it was prudent to greet her acquaintances in the lounge politely, even if they were not closefriends.

Before she could approach them, however, Megan heard them discussing a familiar name—SophiaYarrow.

Jadeborough's upper society had been horrified upon learning of Alexander's car accident half a yearago. There were the usual blabbermouths, the sympathizers, and those who attempted to capitalize onhis misfortune. Some people had even tried to woo Sophia.

Sophia took over the reins at Odyssey, keeping the corporation running as it did when Alexander wasstill around, quashing their delusions of whisking Sophia away.

Megan knew her acquaintances were discussing Sophia because of a particularly incriminating photocirculating WhatsApp that morning.

She had once been notorious for her conflicts with Sophia, which embarrassed the Queen family to noend. Thankfully, the two women ended up burying the hatchet. Sophia and Alexander even attendedher wedding with a lovely and expensive gift.

Her newfound maturity allowed Megan to realize how she had always instigated their past conflicts.Naturally, she now viewed Sophia through a wholly different lens.

In her husband Casper's words, Sophia was more impressive than most people they knew, given howshe had singlehandedly founded Sunshine Group and invested in many successful, listed companies.

Sophia's pretty looks were only icing on the cake. She was intelligent, talented, and a natural-bornleader.

Megan had been jealous when Casper was praising Sophia, but half a year's observation convincedher that Casper was merely stating the truth.

A woman's animosity toward another came easily, but so did a favorable impression.

After her marriage, Megan found herself admiring independent, capable women much more thanwealthy heiresses who only knew how to swipe a credit card.

She truly admired and respected Sophia's abilities.

That was why she immediately wrote off what Sophia's photo had alluded to earlier that morning.

Of course, Megan could not claim to know Sophia like the back of her hand, but she was certain thatSophia would never be such a disloyal partner.

If Sophia was going to give up on Alexander so easily, she would not have married into the Xenosfamily while subjecting herself to all the gold-digger accusations.

Everyone bore witness to Sophia's well-being during her married years. Even when she divorced himthree years later, she acted with equal resolve.

Their reunion afterward was also built on the foundation of stronger feelings and the two being on equalfooting. Megan herself believed their remarriage was only a matter of time.

It was inconceivable that Sophia would seek a new lover while Alexander's fate remained unknown.

Megan frowned, though she did not interrupt her acquaintances' conversation. A nasty, ungroundedremark by one of the women ticked Megan off. She burst into the lounge and berated them, "Did youknow all this baseless gossip is basically slander against Ms. Yarrow? If she knows about this, I'm sureSunshine Group and Odyssey's legal departments will be on your doorstep. I'd strongly advise against

meeting them in court."

Jadeborough's social circle was only so big. Anyone who had attended a black tie dinner would knowwho Megan was.

The three women gossiping about Sophia appeared somewhat sheepish. The one who accusedSophia of killing Alexander pouted and retorted, "That's funny, Ms. Queen. We're just doing someharmless gossip here; it's not as if the public will hear about this. We won't go to the press with ourdiscussion, either. Why are you suddenly accusing us of slander?"

Megan scoffed and shot back, "You'd do better to say kinder words in the future! You may not thinkmuch of me overhearing your gossip, but what if Mr. Schild and Mr. Quail were here? Your familybusinesses would be on their last legs!"

Her threat finally frightened the women into silence.

Back when Alexander disappeared after his accident, the Dawson family of Doveston thought it wasthe perfect opportunity for them to teach Sophia a lesson. They assumed she had lost her only pillar ofsupport in Jadeborough. After all, no amount of talent could make up for power and connections in thecity.

Alas, they never expected Samuel and Justin to step up and support her. The two even attendedSunshine Group's annual dinner.

Convincing just one of them to attend a business event was already a Herculean task, yet SunshineGroup had successfully gotten both men to show up. The feat warned others against belittling Sophia'sinfluence.

The gossiping women ultimately proved to be more bark than bite. After surreptitiously exchangingglances among themselves, they no longer argued against Megan's words. They were smart enough toknow the repercussions of offending a lady affiliated with both the Cooper and Schild families.

The woman who challenged Megan earlier lowered her head meekly. Her friend, however, offered anapology. "Again, it's just harmless gossip, Ms. Queen. We won't talk about it again. Please don't takethis to heart."

Megan let the women's snarky comments earlier slide. She was not Sophia anyway. In fact, she wouldonly come across as unreasonable if she insisted on nitpicking at their apologies as well.

She remembered Casper's reminder that one's status often dictated the extent to which one couldinvolve themselves in another person's matters.

At the end of the day, she was not the party concerned. It was rather inappropriate for her to defend orattempt to explain Sophia's stance.

Megan cleared her throat and appeared less frosty than before. "Of course, everyone enjoys a littlegossip now and then. Ms. Yarrow is a lovely woman, though. It never hurts to watch your words."

"You're absolutely right, Ms. Queen. We were speaking too recklessly."

Before Megan could say her farewells, someone emerged from the corner of the corridor.

It was none other than the topic of their conversation, Sophia.

She smirked at the group and drawled, "I fully agree with Ms. Queen. Some things are just better leftunsaid, especially in such a public space. You'd never know if you'd run into the subject of your gossipherself."

The women paled immediately upon recognizing her.

Running into Sophia right after dragging her character through the mud was beyond their wildestimaginations.

Megan was also surprised by Sophia's arrival, and she became embarrassed as she recalled herwords earlier.

Her relationship with Sophia was not so close that she was obliged to stand up for Sophia.

Meanwhile, Sophia shot the cowering women another chilling smile before turning her attention toMegan. "Hello, Ms. Queen. It has been a while."

Megan smiled back and replied, "Nice to see you too, Ms. Yarrow."

Sophia's smirk returned as she stared at the gossiping women and asked, "Oh right, the three of youseem to have plenty of interesting insights about Alexander's disappearance. Should I get in touch withthe police on your behalf so you can share new evidence with them?"