Being Pursued By Ex-husband

Chapter 445

At Claudius' remark, Sophia dipped her head and chuckled softly. Whirling around, she went into the walk-in closet and changed before emerging again.

She still wore a maxi dress this time, but it was much more elegant and casual compared to the one Katherine wanted her to wear together that night.

The light apricot floral chiffon dress paired with a dark blue denim jacket on the outside gave her a casual sense of being on vacation.

She had no makeup on, merely lipstick.

The maple red lipstick complemented her dress perfectly. Despite the lack of makeup, her complexion had improved considerably.

Claudius had just hung up the phone when he was greeted by the sight of Sophia walking out the instant he lifted his eyes.

His ebony eyes flickered, and he complimented her generously, "You're absolutely gorgeous."

A smile bloomed on Sophia's face. "Thank you."

Snagging her phone, she left the room with Claudius.

Claudius stayed on the top floor, while Sophia was only two floors below his room. The elevator remained empty until it reached the restaurant on the third floor, and a few people entered.

As Sophia was tall and slender with fair skin and Aplothian features, those who stepped into the elevator reflexively took a second look at her.

Epeans with chiseled features, bright hair, and blue eyes appeared exceedingly romantic and alluring when they stared someone in the eye.

The Epean who entered the elevator was very much open, staring at Sophia as soon as he stepped in.

If it were any other women, they would have long since been hypnotized.

However, Sophia merely smiled faintly before lifting a hand to tuck the scattered hair by her cheek to the back of her ear. Then, she turned and looked away.

Probably because of her unresponsiveness, the Epean man retracted his gaze and conversed with his friends in Ustranasion.

Listening in, Sophia and Claudius gathered that the men were talking about a seductive blonde girl they had met last night.

The conversation was somewhat scandalous. On instinct, Sophia stole a peek at Claudius, only to notice that the man was also looking at her.

Mortified, Sophia withdrew her gaze and pinned her eyes on the elevator floor display.

Fortunately, the elevator arrived at the second sub-basement shortly. It was a little past eight at night, and a crowd had only started thronging the casino.

It was a huge place, and Sophia only managed to explore less than a third of it last night.

No sooner had they entered the casino than Claudius' bodyguard handed them a basket of chips. "Mr. Claudius, Ms. Yarrow."

Sophia swept a gaze over the chips that were worth over a million in Anglandurn currency in the basket. She could not help arching a brow. "How many shares does Mdm. Lenoir own here?"

"Fifteen percent," Claudius replied while taking the basket.

Thereafter, he asked, "What would you like to play?"

Sophia scanned around the place. She played baccarat last night and even won a tidy sum, but she merely left her chips on the table to chase after Claudius.

Recalling that matter, Sophia snorted softly. "Can I get back the money I won last night?"

Claudius said nothing, merely shooting an indifferent look at Joe at the side. Joe was bewildered for a moment, but he swiftly understood the man's meaning. "Of course. I'll go and get it for you right away."

"Thank you."

Well, it was at least eight hundred thousand, enough to buy Katherine two handbags.

Sophia wavered for a moment before answering Claudius' question earlier. "Blackjack?"

"Sure."

Blackjack, also known as Twenty-One, originated from Ferropene. It was not a difficult game, merely requiring the total value of the cards in its players' hands to be below twenty-one. A player was allowed to stop asking for cards midgame. When all the players had done so, the dealer would flip over the hole card and continue drawing cards until the hand total exceeded seventeen points. If the dealer went beyond twenty-one points, it meant that he lost, and the players would win double their bets. Otherwise, it would be a comparison of values whereby the person with the highest value would win. If the values drew even, it would be considered a tie, and the players would get their bets back.

Sophia had played the game once for the sake of acquiring a company in the past.

Both Sophia and Claudius were Aplothians with outstanding auras and extraordinary looks. The moment they took their seats, they snagged everyone's attention.

There was a high-low card counting strategy in blackjack. It involved adding a point to each card with values of two, three, four, five, and six, adding none to cards with values of seven, eight, and nine, and subtracting a point to cards with values of ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. All the points were to be totaled. The larger the figure, the fewer cards of lower values had appeared previously, and the more beneficial it was to players as there was a high possibility for the dealer obtaining a card with a high value and exceeding twenty-one points. Conversely, if the sum was a negative number, few cards of high denominations had appeared previously, and the stakes were on the dealer's side.

A deck of cards contained fifty-two cards in total. Sophia and Claudius had incredible memories, and they both had a rough idea of the situation after a hand had been dealt.

Sophia was exceedingly bold in playing cards. While her hole card was of a high value, and she could

easily go over twenty-one points if she were to continue drawing cards, she could still do so without any change in expression.

Just after two rounds, she won a mint.

They played a few rounds and won almost every single one. Therefore, it was no surprise that someone had his sights on them.

When a round of blackjack drew to an end, a tall and slender girl with blond hair and blue eyes came over and asked, "Hello, sir, miss. The gentleman over there would like to play a few rounds with you both. Do you mind?"

Following the girl's gaze, Sophia discovered that the man was Aplothian.

She withdrew her gaze and turned to look at Claudius. "Mr. Lenoir?"

"Whatever you decide is fine with me."

Sophia studied the Aplothian man once more. She dipped her head slightly before looking up and replying smilingly in Ustranasion, "Okay."

Claudius placed his chips in her small basket. Sophia threw him a sidelong glance before following the girl ahead with a chuckle.

"Hello, Ms. Yarrow."

The Aplothian man called out Sophia's name right away. Sophia scrutinized the middle-aged man in

front of her, but she had no recollection of him. "Sorry, but you are?"

"Silas Cadogan."

While Sophia had never met Silas before, she was all too familiar with that name. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Cadogan."

If my memory serves, the chairman of the company that competed with Odyssey for the project in February this year was named Silas Cadogan. Ah, our meeting today is more or less an unfortunate coincidence!

Silas was already in his sixties, but he kept in shape, so he looked like a man in his early fifties. It was rumored that he abandoned the education field to venture into business. Wearing a pair of thin-rimmed glasses, he regarded Sophia with a smile, appearing all elegant. "I didn't expect to bump into you here, Ms. Yarrow."

Pausing momentarily, he shifted his gaze to Claudius beside Sophia. "And of course, Mr. Xenos."

Despite the perpetual smile on the man's face, Sophia could tell at a single glance that he was up to no good.

Alexander had been missing for half a year, and everyone in Chanaea was convinced that he must have long since died. Yet, Silas was addressing Claudius as "Mr. Xenos" right off the bat, sounding even more confident than Sophia did when she first laid eyes on the man. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

Hmm, something is fishy about this.

Claudius cast Silas a cold look. "Indeed, it's very much a coincidence."

Lifting a hand, Silas nudged his glasses, the smile in his eyes intensifying. "I noticed that you were both having fun and took the liberty to intrude for a bit. It so happens that I also love playing blackjack. Why don't the three of us play a few rounds?"

At that, Sophia chuckled. "Sure."

"In that case, follow me, please."

By then, the girl from earlier had returned. She led the way ahead.

Sophia and Claudius walked behind Silas. Sophia stared at the latter's back, the smile on her face dimming a shade.

Turning her head, she fixed her eyes on Claudius. Her lips moved imperceptibly as she warned the man soundlessly that Silas must be plotting something nefarious.

Just when she had done so, she sensed a sudden squeeze on the hand by her side.

For a rare moment, she was stunned, for that was something Alexander used to do.

While she was distracted, Claudius lowered his head and whispered into her ear, "Don't be afraid."

Blinking, Sophia suppressed the emotions surging forth within her.

In truth, she was not afraid, merely unsure about Silas' motive.

In no time, the three of them arrived at a private room.

The private room was much quieter than the gambling tables outside. Sophia placed the small basket in her hand on the table. Meanwhile, Silas lifted a hand and dismissed the girl with a wave. After the girl had left the private room, a croupier walked in.

"I previously heard that some accident had befallen you, Mr. Xenos. Even the internet was abuzz about your demise. From the look of things now, all that was likely just baseless rumors."

Picking up a chip, Sophia held it between her index and thumb fingers, tapping it against the table without saying anything.

Beside her, Claudius commented, "You're quite a busybody, Mr. Cadogan."

Following that, Silas chortled. "Well, I enjoy the entertainment segment occasionally."

The croupier asked whether they would like to begin the game. Silas glanced at Sophia before turning his gaze to Claudius. "Small bets are fun, but huge bets lead to ruination, Mr. Xenos, Ms. Yarrow. Let's just have some fun."

As he said that, he tossed his chip out.

Despite proposing a small bet, he flung out a chip worth a hundred thousand right off the bat.

Tsk-tsk, a small bet, huh?