The next morning:
At the break of the dawn, Sophie went to the garage and stood in between her collection of the all her cars and pulled out the keys of a Porsche Boxster from her jeans' pockets and clicked. The door of the silvery Porsche opened to reveal the beautiful interior of the car. She sat down on the leather seats and started the car. Her loose hair fell on her back, she did not tie it today like any other day.
She was wearing a black bodycon dress with shoulders covered in black lace. Her black glares were resting on the passenger seat since the day was not yet that bright. She was driving at a moderate speed, and the wind was gently caressing her face while her hair fluttered behind her. Seeing her nobody could have thought that this was the same girl who was suffering from heartbreak the previous night. She was again transformed into that aloof ruthless queen. The sunlight was illuminating her fair face. She looked like a devil in her black clothes.
After a long ride, she entered the headquarters and saw all the old men gathered there.
"What happened, old men?"
They gave pointed looks at her instead of answering her question.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?"
When she did not receive any answer from them, she headed towards her own room. She picked a book from one of the shelves and sat down in a rattan chair was placed under a peach blossom tree in the backyard. She was concentrated on her book, and she would occasionally pinch the space between her eyebrows or twirl the locks of her hair using her index finger. She was holding the pencil in between her teeth, and would occasionally put it down to take a sip from the cup of tea provided by one of the maids.
The old men were standing at the back for a long time, but Sophie paid no heed to them, so, they could only sigh and silently return to their own rooms. They made sure to send her breakfast and lunch there, so that she did not starve herself.
During nightfall, Sophie finally got up from her seat and stretched her limbs.
"Ow! This is painful, my backside hurts from sitting in this chair for so long. Ow ow!!", she muttered to herself.
"Huh? The old men are not here to pester me anymore, how is that possible?", she was still muttering to herself but it soon reached the ears of Grandpa Tan.
"You punk! We did not want to disturb you while you were studying, and you actually dare to complain because we did not pester you!!!", Grandpa Tan had three black lines on his forehead upon hearing her shameless words.
They tried to lighten the atmosphere.
"Little girl, tell us what exactly happened?"
"Where is Robert?"
"Has this got something to do with that punk?", Grandpa Bill slammed his hand hard onto the antique wooden table.
"Don't slam your hand too hard old man! My table won't be able to resist your strength.", she rolled her eyes.
"You!!"
"As for your other question, you will get to know the answer in a while. Patience is a great virtue, you know?"
She angered the old men to death, but who told her to be their favourite granddaughter? They could do nothing to her.
She instructed a maid to call Robert and then closed her eyes and leaned back on to her chair while rubbing her temples lightly. In about five minutes, Robert arrived and sat down in the only empty chair meant for him.
"Did you all call for me?", Robert eyed the old men.
"No", they answered together.
"But the maid informed me that you called!", he said.
"I called for you, they didn't."
"Oh, so you called me!", he heaved a sigh of relief but upon hearing the next question he had a faint premonition in his heart.
"Do you remember our challenge?"
"Yes, I do."
"I won, and I want to ask you only one question, which you have to answer honestly. Will you be able to do so?"
Robert felt the premonition grow in his heart. "Okay, I promise to answer your question truthfully."
"What is your relationship with Ms. Lily Johnson?" There was a cool edge to Sophie's voice, especially when she mentioned Lily. A strange silence followed her question. The old men were now looking at him with rapt attention.
After a long while, he gathered all his courage to answer, "Lily is my fiancee."
"Okay. You may leave. We have some work to do here. Grandfathers, follow me to my room. J, escort Mr. Atkins outside.", Sophie's words grew colder.
The old men were confused, but upon seeing her like this, they did not dare to make a single sound. At the same time, C came in to join them.
"Oh, Robert, you're leaving so early."
"Huh?", Robert was still in a daze as he couldn't fathom the reason behind her words. Even C was confused,, but he wisely made his move and led Robert outside.