Their Queen's Back - Chapter 9: Chapter 9

Skye said, "Yeah, I slapped you. At your age and without an ounce of decency, I can't even be bothered to waste my breath on you."
Wilma turned pale with rage, her eyes rolling back. "Y-you...!"
Skye ignored her and turned to Matthew, her voice icy. "So you're Matthew, right? Did my sister's words last night go in one ear and out the other, or are you just deaf? She broke up with you and called off the engagement, yet here you are still pestering her. What's wrong with you—are you that desperate, or do you have a death wish?"
Matthew's face burned with humiliation as he was slapped in public by a woman. To his utter shock, that woman turned out to be none other than Skye—Sophia's sister!
Matthew sneered, "Fine, call off the engagement then. Sophia, do you really think this young master is so desperate for you?"
"Get lost," Sophia snapped.
Richard sputtered, his face contorted with rage. "You—!"
Linda nudged Richard, who caught on immediately and moved to speak.
But one sharp glare from Skye shut him up at once.
Linda cursed inwardly at his uselessness, then put on a conciliatory smile and said, "Now now, we're all friends here—we're bound to see each other often. There's no need to make things so tense. Why don't we sit down and discuss this properly? Even if these two kids can't be together, we should at least talk things over civilly, don't you think?"
The Quinn parents spun around and stormed out, bristling with anger.
Matthew's eyes were still fixed on Sophia. "Why does she look so stunning tonight?" he wondered.
She used to be so meek and eager to please him, but tonight she was pure, graceful, and dignified.
"I'm still willing to give her another chance," he told himself. "After all, three years of feelings can't just vanish. She couldn't possibly forget me so easily."
"She must still be deeply in love with me," Matthew thought smugly. "This is just her playing hard to get."
Matthew's eyes lingered on Sophia's retreating figure. He said, "Sophia, I can overlook what happened today. I know you're upset because of Lily, but she really did save my life. Both emotionally and logically, I can't just turn my back on her. As for breaking off the engagement, I know you only said that in the heat of the moment. I'll give you some time to reconsider."
Looking at the seemingly gentle man before her, Sophia felt nothing but coldness inside. She almost laughed at herself, thinking, "How laughable—why didn't I see through this hypocrite's true colors sooner?"
Sophia looked Matthew straight in the eye and said firmly, "You've always treated me as just a stand-in. I let it slide because you once helped me, but from now on, we're through. Whether you're my savior or not, it's none of my concern anymore. I'm serious about breaking off the engagement—believe it or not."
A sudden jolt went through Matthew's heart, as if something precious was slipping from his grasp. He reached out desperately but caught only emptiness—something no longer belonged to him.
A rare flicker of panic surfaced in his eyes. He reached out to take her hand, yet he steeled himself, clinging to his conviction.
Matthew said with a condescending smile, "Sophia, we've been together for three years. I know you better than anyone. So I'll give you some time to apologize. Come to our usual spot tomorrow night, and I might just forgive all your mistakes."
Sophia dodged his hand and took two steps back. In a cold, measured tone, she said, "No, Matthew. I'm not playing games. Hear this clearly—it's me, Sophia, rejecting you. Who the hell do you think you are? You're not even worth my effort."
Matthew couldn't keep up the pretense any longer. With everyone watching, Sophia had utterly humiliated him. Clenching his fists in rage, he roared,
"Fine, Sophia! Since you're being so ungrateful, from now on, the Quinns cuts all ties with the Hughes!"
Linda quickly stepped forward and grabbed Matthew's arm. "Matthew, dear, the girl's just speaking in anger—pure anger! Sophia may be disobedient sometimes, but she's been with you for three years. Let's talk this out properly. Richard, do say something to Sophia."
Linda sneered inwardly, thinking, "Good riddance! Sophia will be unwanted for the rest of her life."
Richard wouldn't even dream of intervening—he was certain that if he said even one more word, his eldest daughter Skye would kick him flying across the room again.
Linda tugged at Richard's arm, urging, "Husband, what are you waiting for? You're Sophia's father—her biological father!"
Hearing this, Richard straightened up, thinking, "That's right! I'm their father."
"For Sophia to strike her own father—that's the height of disrespect. And now she even dares to question me?" he thought.
He scolded, "Sophia, stop making a scene. You've been with Matthew for three years. If you break up with him now, what decent man would ever want you?"
Sophia bit her lip hard. "Here we go again. Every time, they act like being with Matthew is some divine blessing I should be thankful for, like I'm just being spoiled if I protest."
"But whenever Matthew hurts me, they just turn a blind eye—as if it never happened."
Skye let out a cold laugh and retorted defiantly, "Who says my sister is unwanted? There are plenty of eligible bachelors in Capital City. Are you suggesting every man in the world except Matthew has dropped dead?"
"You—!" Richard choked out, his face flushing crimson, but he could find no retort and had to clamp his mouth shut.
Linda smiled and said, "Skye, that's not really fair, is it? You know the saying—it's better to break ten temples than to break up a marriage. We're all just thinking of what's best for Sophia."
Richard chimed in, "Yeah, exactly."
Matthew smirked, a self-satisfied glint in his eyes as he stared down at Sophia in silence.
He spoke slowly: "Sophia, I'll let today's incident slide. If you learn to behave, I might still condescend to marry you."
Sophia clung tightly to Skye's arm, pressing close to her sister as she spat in Matthew's direction.
Skye sneered, her eyes filled with utter contempt as she fixed her gaze on Matthew.
"Can't the Quinns even afford a mirror, or are you just blind to your own reflection? Don't you know what kind of trash you are? And yet you have the audacity to stand here, talking down to us, claiming you'd marry my sister. Maybe take a good look at yourself first—are you even in her league?"
After being repeatedly humiliated and even slapped by Skye, Matthew's anger finally boiled over.
He exploded, "You! So what if you're Sophia's sister? You think I'm scared of you? Not a chance!"
Skye commanded coldly, "Throw him out."
At her order, the bodyguards waiting by the door strode in and dragged Matthew away.
As he struggled, the young master shouted, "Unhand me! Do you even know who I am? How dare you treat me this way! You're dead meat, you bastards! Let me go, now!"
With Matthew dragged out, quiet finally returned.
Richard watched as Matthew's figure disappeared, then turned to Skye with harsh reproach. "Skye, just look at what you've done! Can't you stand to see the Hughes prosper? You know perfectly well the marriage between the Quinn and Hughes families was a business alliance through marriage, yet you dared to ruin it! You ungrateful wretch—barely back and already making a scene. Skye, what exactly are you up to?"
With Linda's encouragement, Richard's confidence surged. He was the head of the Hughes, the rightful heir to Hughes Corporation.
And now, freshly returned, Skye had the nerve to talk back to him? How dare she defy me like this!
Skye's gaze swept past Linda's guilty face and landed on Richard.
"Father dearest, it seems you've found your voice after ten years—what progress. But have you forgotten that I am the rightful heir to Hughes Corporation? Or have all these years of throwing your weight around made you forget your own place?"
"You—!" Richard choked out, his face flushing with rage.
Richard was at a loss for words—Skye was indeed the sole rightful heir to Hughes Corporation.
Even her sisters, like Sophia, held no shares, while Richard himself retained just one percent.
Linda nervously twisted the hem of her dress and said to Skye, "I know you're the rightful heir, Skye, but you should think about your father too. For the past ten years while you were gone, he single-handedly kept Hughes Corporation running smoothly. Now you come back and try to take over the company from him—what kind of daughter does that make you?"
Skye glanced at her coldly. "What's your last name?"
Linda froze, caught off guard by the question, but still began to introduce herself. "I'm Colins—"
"We are Hughes," Skye cut her off sharply.
Linda was momentarily stunned, only snapping back to reality when she heard the quiet snickers around her.
Clenching her empty fists in anger, she fumed inwardly, "That bitch Skye! How dare she mock me like this in front of everyone."
She was absolutely livid.
Richard was about to speak up for Linda, but before he could utter a word, Skye's next words sent a chill down his spine.
“I distinctly remember saying that no one was to touch anything of my mother's.”
Linda shuddered at her words, a chill running down her spine.
This was the edict Skye had decreed after Margaret's death: no one was to touch a single thing in her mother's room—not the dresses, not the jewelry, nothing.
To her horror, she now saw another woman adorned with her mother's necklace and clothes.
Skye had never felt such fury before. That was her mother—memories of everything they'd been through together flooded her mind, making her eyes well up with tears.
Richard averted his gaze guiltily. Seeing how intimidating Skye was, Linda clung to Richard's arm and, in an artificially sweet voice, cooed, "Darling, I didn't mean it, I really didn't! I just wanted Sophia to see me as her mother and accept my presence. I know ever since I joined this family, the girls have distanced themselves from you. They've always opposed me and picked on me—I can tolerate all of that. But you're their biological father. I can't let them be unfilial to you."
Richard was deeply moved by Linda's heartfelt words. Once again, he felt that only she truly cared for him and always put him first.
He turned to Linda and said tenderly, "Linda dear, I understand the difficult position you're in." Then, looking at Skye, he added, "Skye, Linda didn't mean any harm. Besides, your mother has been gone for years—those clothes are just gathering dust. If Linda likes wearing them, why not let her? After all, we're family, aren't we?"
Sophia snapped, her voice shaking with rage. "Who says we're family?! My mother is gone—what gives that woman the right to wear my mom's clothes? And this was my mother's house!"
Richard glared at her angrily. "You wretched girl, shut your mouth!"