Nicholas was the boss, so naturally, he had the final say.
“But Mr. Nicholas, Tristan...” Alex muttered, his voice still tinged with worry.
Oh, dear. It won't be long before that man finds his way here. We may not have a problem dealing with him in Anglandur, but we're currently in Jetroina... Who knows what will happen?
“Alex, am I inferior to Tristan in your eyes? Is that why you're so afraid of me going up against him?” Nicholas asked coldly.
There's no way Tristan and I can ever coexist. Only when either of us dies can the other be at ease! Otherwise, our fight will go on with no end in sight!
“That's not what I meant, Mr. Nicholas! I'm just worried about you,” Alex hastily explained. Besides, how could he dare think so lowly so his boss?
“Have someone pick up Arius and Barney,” Nicholas ordered. “Since we can't afford to delay any longer with the operation on Sophie's leg, I want you to bring them here immediately.”
In any case, I'd feel better with those two around. I know Sophie would never forgive me if something really happened to her legs, and that's just too painful for me to bear.
Meanwhile, Arius and Barney had been waiting at the designated location for quite some time, yet no one was there to pick them up.
“Could Nicholas have changed his mind?” Barney asked amid the uncertainty. Not only were they in the dark about the situation, but they also had no control over it.
“I don't know, either. Let's hope he doesn't go back on his word,” Arius replied. After all, Nicholas was in control, so what other choice did they have?
“Sophie Tanner is just a crazy, problematic woman!” Barney fumed. “How the hell did she get involved with a lunatic like Nicholas?”
“Sophie isn't to blame for this. Nicholas was the one who kept pestering her shamelessly. Why else has this dragged on for so long?”
As much as Barney knew Sophie was not in the wrong, he couldn't help but shoot his mentee a teasing smirk.
“Wow. You sure care a lot about Sophie, huh? You won't even let me badmouth her. Haha!”
Oh, well. There's no point fretting about our situation, anyway. All we can do is wait.
“Of course. Sophie is closer to me than a biological sister,” Arius retorted. In fact, she's the dearest person to me, and I won't let anyone criticize her!
“Tsk, tsk. Thank goodness you don't have a sister. Otherwise, she'd be so jealous and angry!” Just as the two men continued to chat, a taxi suddenly pulled up in front of them.
“Get in!” Alex yelled from the front passenger seat.
Since it wasn't Arius' first time dealing with Alex, he quickly recognized the latter and chuckled. “My, my, Alex. Must you always look so cold and grumpy? We haven't offended you, have we?”
Upon hearing that, Alex was rendered speechless.
Truth be told, I don't like Arius at all! He has this gift of pissing me off every time we meet... Why does a person like him even exist in this world? It's so infuriating!
The next second, Arius opened the taxi door for Barney and promptly climbed in after him.
“Hey, Alex, is the Sable family falling apart? Why would you pick up distinguished guests like us in a lousy taxi? That's just rude,” Arius grumbled.
People of our status deserve to be chauffeured around in a sports car!
“Shut up, Arius! Otherwise, heaven knows what I'd do to you!”
“What's the matter? Are you threatening me? I'll have you know that not even your boss would dare intimidate me! Listen up, Alex Sable. You'd better watch your mouth, or I'll refuse to go with you!” Arius warned.
“Stop the car!”
After the driver had done as instructed, Alex glared at Arius.
“Get out of the car now if you don't want to go! I've always hated Sophie Tanner, anyway. It might not be a bad thing if she becomes crippled now! Perhaps then Mr. Nicholas will finally get over her!”
In response, Arius huffed and gave a dismissive wave.
Argh! This d*mned jerk!
“Forget it. I'll make the trip for the sake of your life! Sophie's the most charming lady in the world, and if anything were to happen to her, I doubt your boss would spare you.”
“In that case, I implore you to keep your mouth shut. I don't want to hear another word from you,” Alex said smugly. Oh, gosh. How has Arius even managed to survive till now? I'm sure there are scores of people who want to kill him!
Since Alex had to check if they were being followed, he got their driver to drive around in circles until another taxi with the same license plate appeared.
Before long, several more taxis had shown up, each with an identical number plate.
Tristan, who was watching the surveillance, furrowed his brows.
Is Nicholas that afraid of us? I can't believe he'd go to this extent to shake us off!
Upon seeing the change in Tristan's expression, Felix, too, fell silent. Oh, sh*t. Mr. Tristan must be furious that those people escaped from under our noses. I'd better watch what I say. In any case, Nicholas sure has wised up this time.
“What should we do now, Mr. Tristan?”
“Keep searching. We must find her even if we have to turn over every stone in the world!”
Felix nodded.
Of course, he understood Tristan's sentiments. If Sophie were to disappear without a trace, the latter would undoubtedly wallow in self-blame. Therefore, he had to do everything he could to track her down.
Meanwhile, Alex had successfully taken Arius to Barney to their current accommodation.
Upon seeing Nicholas, Arius took a deep breath.
Ugh. This guy's a complete maniac! Then again, what choice do I have? No one knows what stunt he'll pull next, so I'll have to be extra cautious around him.
“You'd better not give our location away, Arius. Otherwise, I'll kill you.”
Arius couldn't help but roll his eyes.
“Nicholas Sable, are you out of your mind? Do you know the kind of danger that Sophie's in now? Why would you still bring her to a place like this? She might die anytime, for goodness' sake!”
Even though it was an exaggeration on Arius' part, Nicholas' expression quickly slid into a frown.
“Shut up. She won't die.”
“Ha. Do you think she won't die just because you said so? Come on... Are you the doctor, or am I? Where is she?”
“Let me warn you again, Arius. You'd better not try to pull any tricks with me. I have zero patience with you. Understand?”
With that, Nicholas promptly led the two men to Sophie's room.
The latter was initially lying gloomily in bed, but as soon as she saw Arius and Barney, her face lit up.
“You don't have to worry anymore, Sophie. Now that Arius and Barney are here, you'll be up and about in no time,” Nicholas reassured lovingly.
Sophie, however, was incredibly frustrated at being the target of Nicholas's affection.
Oh, my gosh... What on earth does Nicholas like about me? I've never treated him kindly, so why is he still so obsessed with me?
“You can take your leave now, Nicholas! She doesn't want to see you,” Arius said without skipping a beat. Deep down, he was only too happy to see Nicholas in such an embarrassing and awkward position.
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