THE BILLIONAIRE STILL WANTS HER!
Chapter 160: Well, she is married to Arthur...

Chapter 160: Well, she is married to Arthur...

After a brief pause, she stood up from her seat, her movements a little tentative as she reached out and shook his hand.

His touch was warm, firm, and despite the awkwardness of the moment, she couldn’t help but feel a flicker of reassurance.

Just as she was beginning to settle into the exchange, Jude’s voice broke through, interrupting the moment. His tone was practical and no-nonsense, a sharp reminder of the urgency that had brought them all here.

"I think we need to discuss the situation. Time is not on our side if we’re going to resolve this," Jude said, his eyes scanning both Sophia and Tryson. The reminder hit her like a splash of cold water.

Sophia’s hand jerked away from Tryson’s, her mind snapping back into focus as Jude’s words grounded her.

She quickly turned her head towards him, nodding in agreement. There was no more room for small talk.

With that, they all settled into their seats, the air thick with the weight of the conversation that was about to unfold.

"Sophia, what you said you wanted to tell me in the car... I think we all need to hear it now," Jude said, his voice steady but tinged with urgency.

He tried his best to keep the atmosphere neutral, not wanting to add to the tension already hanging in the air.

Sophia sensed the weight of the moment. She nodded, a silent agreement that she understood the gravity of the situation. Taking a deep breath, she began, her voice careful, though the words she was about to say seemed to carry a weight far heavier than she anticipated.

"Well, the thing is... Angel is now married to Arthur," Sophia began, her voice laced with hesitation as she braced herself for the inevitable reaction, she couldn’t help but fiddle on her fingers as she went on.

The tension in the room thickened instantly, an unspoken weight pressing down on everyone present.

"Married?" Tryson was the first to react, his disbelief spilling out in a sharp exclamation.

His brows furrowed deeply, his eyes darting between Sophia and Jude as if searching for some kind of clarification.

Sophia simply nodded, her expression unreadable.

"What is going on here? Why would she suddenly get married? This makes no sense," Jude interjected, his tone edged with both confusion and suspicion.

He exchanged a glance with Tryson, their unspoken questions mirroring each other.

Sophia, sensing the growing tension, exhaled softly. She had initially planned to reveal everything later, but now, seeing their reactions, she knew that waiting any longer would only worsen the confusion.

"Yes," she confirmed, her voice steady, though there was a trace of unease beneath it. "Angel informed me that Arthur told her the only way she could legally file a case against you... was if she married him."

Tryson’s expression darkened, his muscles tensing as he processed the revelation. "Wait, Angel—filing a case against me? What for? Why would she suddenly want to take legal action against me?" he demanded, his voice rising slightly.

Sophia’s gaze didn’t waver. "Tryson, Arthur told her everything—every single thing about your involvement in her life. You, her so-called father, Alex, and even Arthur himself. He laid it all out for her—the choices you made, the things you kept hidden, the role you played in shaping her life."

Tryson took a step back as if the weight of her words physically struck him. His jaw tightened. "But that’s not the full truth!" he snapped, his voice laced with frustration. "Yes, some of what he said might hold some truth, but—"

Sophia didn’t let him finish. She cut him off with a firm look, knowing that any argument he tried to make now wouldn’t change the fact that Angel had already made her choice.

"Yes, I know a great deal about Arthur," Sophia said softly, her voice carrying a note of certainty. "He has a way of manipulating Angel, bending situations to his advantage. She didn’t make her choices because she wanted to—she did them because, in that moment, she felt it was necessary. She wasn’t even aware of the full extent of Arthur’s involvement at the time, which is why she helped me when she did. She was the one who encouraged me to reach out to you, to inform you about what was really going on. She believed you would find a way to handle the situation."

Tryson let out a slow breath, rubbing his temples as he absorbed Sophia’s words. "And what about Angel? How is she coping with all of this?" he asked, his voice carrying a hint of concern.

"She’s alright, Tryson," Sophia reassured him. "I really need you to believe that. As overwhelming as everything seems right now, I want you to trust Angel. She told me herself that she can handle things, even with Arthur constantly around."

Jude, who had been listening intently, finally spoke up. "What exactly is she planning to do?" he asked, his tone edged with curiosity.

Sophia sighed before answering. "She’s planning to move back into her own house. At least, that’s what she told me she intends to do."

Tryson’s brows knitted together as he leaned forward slightly. "And how can you be so sure that Arthur will just... agree to that?" he interjected, his voice laced with doubt.

Sophia didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she simply shook her head slowly, her expression shadowed with uncertainty, as if she, too, wasn’t entirely convinced.

"I’m not entirely sure," Sophia admitted, though her voice carried a quiet confidence. "But I do know one thing—Angel isn’t the type to sit back and do nothing. She’s going to take action." She believed in Angel’s resilience, and at that moment, that belief was the only thing keeping her steady.

All Tryson could do was hope—hope that somehow, someway, Angel would remain safe, no matter what happened next.

Jude, who had been silent for a moment, finally spoke up, his voice edged with caution. "Right now, the fact that you’re even here... I’m sure Arthur must have already figured it out. He’s probably looking for you."

Sophia let out a small, almost dismissive breath. "I really don’t care at this point," she said, shaking her head. Then, without hesitation, she added, "Besides, we just got divorced." The words left her mouth without warning, exposing a truth she hadn’t yet fully processed herself.

Tryson’s eyes widened slightly. "Wait—you got divorced from Arthur?" he asked, his tone a mixture of shock and curiosity.

Sophia nodded, her expression unreadable. "It was the only thing I could think of," she admitted. "And, honestly, Angel was the one who suggested it. Given the circumstances, she believed it was the best course of action."

Tryson, however, didn’t seem convinced. His mind was already working through the implications. "But don’t you realize what that means?" he said, leaning forward. "That could have been our advantage. With the marriage, the court might have a harder time digging into the case involving Angel. If they had found out that Arthur was still legally married to you, we could have used that against him, turned it into a way to pin him down."

Sophia pressed her lips together, considering his words. She hadn’t thought about it that way. Had she made the right decision? Or had she just unknowingly removed a key piece from the game they were all trapped in?

"Could it be possible that Angel actually wants this matter to move forward?" Jude voiced his thoughts aloud, his brows furrowing as the question lingered between them.

At that moment, something clicked in Tryson’s mind. The pieces of the puzzle were shifting, and he could sense—more than ever—that there was something deeper going on.

Angel had been convinced by Arthur to sign those complaint papers, that much was clear. But from what he had heard from Sophia, there was another layer to it. Could it be that Angel wasn’t just following Arthur’s lead? Could she be angry, not just about the situation, but about something more?

"Jude," Tryson said, turning his sharp gaze toward him, "what if Angel actually wants this to happen?"

Jude hesitated. "But you need to trust Angel right now—" he started, trying to reason with his friend.

"Yes, Tryson," Sophia chimed in, nodding in agreement. "I don’t believe Angel would go through with this just out of her own free will."

Tryson exhaled slowly, shaking his head. "No, you both misunderstand me," he said, his voice measured and calm. "I know she’s filing the case against me. I know she’s aware of the truth. But despite that, she still wants this case to reach court. And what’s more, it’s a private court session. Doesn’t that seem deliberate to you?"

He let the thought settle for a moment before continuing. "Think about it—she doesn’t want the public involved. That means she has something she wants to say, something she can only bring up in a closed setting. This isn’t just about a legal case anymore. Angel is playing her own strategy here."

Jude and Sophia exchanged uneasy glances. Tryson’s words made sense, but if Angel had a hidden motive, what could it possibly be?