The silence in the office was beginning to disconcert Bianca and Cecily. They sat on the couch uneasily, still unable to believe that was the first thing Sophia had to say after that long pause.
While Sophie browsed through her phone quietly, Cecily had already turned pale. Unlike Cecily, Bianca looked more composed, although she was initially a little taken aback. She had been through worse and could deal with a sticky situation like that. "Ms. Yarrow, I heard Cecily argued with you over a bag last night. You must have been so upset because of her, but rest assured she had no ill intention. She just liked that bag too much. As her mother, I would like to apologize on her behalf for her unthoughtful words and behavior. She is still young and doesn't know what she should and shouldn't say. We want to make it up to you. If you really like that bag, we don't mind letting you have it. I know my daughter is at fault here, so we came here in person to apologize to you. Just let us know if there is anything we can do to make it up to you. Our family will do everything within our capacity for you."
Despite Bianca's proposal, Sophia was fully aware that it was just lip service since there was nothing the Young family could offer her.
The truth was Sophia had wanted to forgive Cecily since that was her first offense, but she had changed her mind when Cecily began spreading rumors about her and Samuel. Sophia was no saint to let Cecily walk all over her.
Looks like she didn't heed my warning yesterday.
"You may not be familiar with how I do things, Mrs. Young. I am not a woman of patience, so let me recap what your daughter said about me yesterday: I wonder if she's responsible for what happened to Alexander when he went to Doveston with her. After all, he seemed fine before their journey," Sophia repeated Cecily's words verbatim. Given her photographic memory, she narrated every word exactly and could even retell the story in Cecily's original tone. Having laid all the cards on the table, she smiled and glanced at Cecily. "Tell me, Ms. Young. Did I misquote you?"
Bianca was horrified when she heard the whole story. She had thought that Cecily had spread some frivolous gossip about Sophia, but upon learning the harsh truth, she glanced at Sophia and turned to slap Cecily. "How dare you say that? You went out of line!"
Cecily, already frightened by the mess she caused, broke down in tears when her mother slapped her, but Bianca did not stop.
She kept berating her daughter and slapping her while Sophia sat there, watching quietly as if she enjoyed the entertainment.
Suddenly, a knock came on the door, and Yvonne entered with some coffee.
"Mrs. Young," Sophia finally interrupted, "I warned Cecily yesterday afternoon to stop her idle talk. She promised not to do it again, but she forgot all about it that night itself. I think there's no ridding her of this habit."
Here, Sophia looked at her secretary and asked, "Ms. Leighton, what do you think is a good way to make her stop this bad habit?"
Yvonne looked Sophia in the eyes and suggested apathetically, "I think you should just cut her tongue so she never talks again. That's how she can completely wean herself off the habit."
Bianca turned pale as a sheet when she heard Yvonne. Beside her, Cecily was quivering in fear as she inched closer to her mother subconsciously.
"M-Ms. Yarrow, this is against the law."
"You're right, Mrs. Young. This is against the law," Sophia said with a smile and turned to Yvonne again.
"Ms. Leighton, I'm a law-abiding citizen. How could you suggest that I do something like that?"
Yvonne pursed her lips and replied, "I'm sorry, Ms. Yarrow."
"It's okay. I forgive you. Just don't do it again." Sophia then got up. "It's time I get back to work. See them off, Ms. Leighton."
"Ms. Yarrow—"
Before the desperate Bianca could finish her sentence, Yvonne said, "Mrs. Young, Ms. Young, Ms. Yarrow is busy. I hope you all understand."
Petrified by Sophia's threat to cut off her tongue, Cecily pulled her mother's sleeve and urged, "Let's go, Mom."
Seeing how terrified her dear daughter was, Bianca decided to leave, although she was still unsure if Sophia had forgiven Cecily.
Before the two reached the door, Sophia's voice suddenly rang out from behind.
"Hold on, Mrs. Young," Sophia called out as she walked to the reception area and lifted the untouched package. "I'm not a fan of bags. Besides, I don't like taking things that don't belong to me."
Having read between the lines, Bianca wanted to say something, but Yvonne beat her to it. "Mrs. Young, have a good day."
When Bianca saw Sophia smiling faintly at her standing some distance away, she knew Sophia would not put Cecily's wrongdoing behind her that easily. However, she could not tell what Sophia's next step would be.
Silence resumed in the office after Bianca and Cecily left. Back at the table, Sophia grabbed a ball pen and doodled away as she thought hard.
When Yvonne finally returned after sending off Bianca and Cecily, she asked, "Ms. Yarrow, is there anything I can do for you?"
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