Changing Only For Her - Season 2 Episode 8

Winter was truly and adamantly indignant about this state of affairs, but there was little she could do about it under the circumstances.

Old Mr. Lombard, though, would never be able to accept Sophie for her background, especially when Sophie herself is consistently dogged by a bad rep.

“Whatever the case, steer clear of Sophie, or even I would not be able to protect you.”

Though the Quigley family was considered among the four major families, there was still a considerable gap in the influence they wielded when compared to the Lombard family.

Under Tristan’s leadership, the Lombard family had already left the other three families lagging far behind, making Tristan someone not to be trifled with in the here and now.

“Okay. Got it. I won’t try to mess with her.” So long as I’m not the one moving against her directly, nobody can hold me responsible if someone else decided to do otherwise, could they?

She was certainly nobody’s fool.

Winter had always thought herself to be exceptional, and not once had she considered herself to be Sophie’s lesser.

Tristan opened the door for Sophie to get inside the car.

“To the Wisteria Apartments?” That’s going to make me late for school, wouldn’t it?

“Yeah!”

They only just got in the car when a call came in from Bailey. Sophie took one glance but still choose to pick up.

“Why aren’t you in school today? Are you not feeling well?” Bailey asked in concern. He had grown accustomed to paying attention to Sophie’s every move without even realizing it himself.

“No. I took the day off because I had some stuff to see to. What’s up?”

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“Nothing, really. I just wanted to ask if you’d be coming into the lab after class.” He was missing her a little despite only not seeing her for one afternoon.

“Nah. I don’t think I’ll be headed there today.” Sophie considered that she might not be able to squeeze in the time after her visit to the Wings of Light.

“Do you have anything else for me?”

“No. That’s it.”

The dead tone on the phone left Bailey a little despondent.

Nevertheless, he still turned around and made his way to the medical laboratory, for it was only there that he would be able to avoid thinking about her.

“Who was that?”

As the volume on Sophie’s phone was turned up pretty high, Tristan was able to hear the male voice coming from the other end.

“Just a schoolmate.”

“A guy?” Tristan’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel. She really is too attractive.

“Yeah. Our physics teacher is sending us for competition together, so we’ve been doing experiments together quite often,” said Sophie in a casual manner as she did not think too much of that call from Bailey.

“Is he interested in you?” Tristan had not realized how much his words reeked of envy.

Sophie’s brows perked up.

“I wouldn’t know that.” Sophie was never one to place too much attention on people who were not important to her.

That yielded no response from the flabbergasted Tristan, who thought he might be contending with one rival too many.

The car arrived at Wisteria Apartments, but Tristan did not see her upstairs as he had other matters that needed his attention.

After getting in, Sophie changed out of her uniform into a black hoodie and a pair of light blue jeans before grabbing a ride down to Wings of Light.

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Wings of Light was situated along the most bustling street in Jipsdale. Real estate was at a premium here, but Wings of Light itself occupied a standalone building consisting of eight floors. Though shabby on the exterior, stepping inside would reveal that there was more to it than meets the eye.

Having not been around for some time, she was refused entry by the elderly gentleman guarding the entrance because he did not recognize her.

“Have you lost your way, lass? Go on and turn around. This place is for employees only!”

“Actually, I’m looking for Neveah, sir.” Wings of Light did not have as many staff on board in its infancy, and it was only after Butterfly took the reins that they started to hire more support personnel. That

woman was never one to mistreat herself. The people she often brought on board, though, tend to be much more advanced in age, giving the place an appearance of a shelter for elderly folk from the outside. In spite of that, none of them were ordinary in any regard.

“Ms. Sekelsky, eh? Hang on. Let me make a call.” The gentleman then phoned Butterfly.

From his description, Butterfly was able to infer that it was Sophie because very few could boast of the latter’s bewitching looks.

Butterfly came down personally to receive her. With the other members kept occupied these past few days, only she remained stationed in Wings of Light.

“Finally. Hadn’t you promised me before? Took you a really long time to get here, it did,” Butterfly could not help but gripe. “Come on then, let’s head on up!”

An eight-story building would not usually come with an elevator, so Butterfly had one specially retrofitted when she first bought the place. She took Sophie up to the eighth floor where the interiors were rather impressively done.

“I’ve reserved an office for you! Would you like to go check it out and see whether it is to your liking?” Butterfly then ushered her toward the furthermost office.

That got Sophie’s eyebrow raised. She had been pretty much hands-off since handing the keys to Wings of Light over to Butterfly, and had not expected the latter to have an office renovated for her.

Pushing past the door, Butterfly led Sophie inside a space with a rather indie vibe before she turned to the latter in anticipation.

“So, how do you find it? Do you like it? If you do, would you mind dropping in more often whenever you are free? It could get a little lonely being here by myself sometimes!”

“It’s all right, I guess!” It was not hard to tell that Butterfly had invested quite a bit into fixing up the place, but she still preferred to answer to the beckoning of freedom. “Isn’t Wings of Light doing very well at the moment? I think you’re well suited to run things here, so why don’t you just continue on?”

Butterfly was rendered speechless.

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Plonking herself down on the swivel chair, Sophie then pressed a switch to activate it.

Less than ten seconds afterward, the computer had fully booted up.

The speed of the computer’s operations was very much to Sophie’s satisfaction.

“Oh, Phantom! Wings of Light is your baby. Don’t you have any feelings toward it at all?”

“None whatsoever.” Sophie was extremely indifferent.

That got Butterfly reeling once more.

Well, fine! Why am I even trying to talk emotions with Phantom? This girl is nothing if not heartless.

From her pocket, Sophie fished out a piece of gum which she unwrapped before she popped it into her own mouth. Then with a tug of the chair, she brought herself in front of the computer.

While her fingers danced over the keyboards, strings of code blazed across the screen, one line after the other.

Even if she matched Butterfly for pace, one could not help but behold the manner of her operations; it was clear that there was a stark difference between them.

It was just that effortless for some people to crush the competition, and Sophie was exactly of that sort.

“Relax. My firewalls are solid! No one will be able to get past them.” Sophie was supremely confident about her own skills. “I could still bolster them if you don’t feel secure, though.”

As it was already past eight in the evening when she left Wings of Light, Sophie decided to pass on attending the self-study session.

Pulling the hood over her head, Sophie plugged in her earphones and walked along the street. She did not get too far before she discovered someone on her tail.

Her lips curled up into a smirk. These people just won’t quit.

At that moment, her phone started to ring. Sophie hit the button to put the call through.

“Where are you?” Tristan sounded rather anxious.

“Outside. Why?”

“Send me your location. I’m coming over to pick you up right away.” Knowing that those people were after Sophie, there was no way he could sit idle.

“It’s cool. I can handle them myself.” Sophie then thought about hanging up. It’s been a while since I got to stretch my limbs, so I might as well give myself a good workout today.

“Sophie.” There was a hint of anger to Tristan’s tone.

“What?” Why would I want to bother him with something I can resolve on my own?