Chapter 3 Tobias Sticks up for Her

"Mom. We do have a chef at home, you know. Why must you cook dinner yourself? Are you not tired?" A young lady stepped out of the kitchen. Her voice sounded lazy and she continued complaining playfully, "Oh, I'm exhausted! I've only been back home for a few days, but I'm already aching all over." Lo and behold! It was none other than Sophia Larkin, Tobias' younger sister. She wore relatively chic reddish-brown curly hair and draped a posh wrap over her shoulders. In her hand, she held a delicate plate. Initially, she was just gonna place the plate on the table. However, just as she took a few steps, Sophia noticed Cordelia, who merely stood several feet away from her. At once, the smile Sophia wore on her face earlier dissipated. In fact, a hint of disgust even surfaced in her eyes as she looked at Cordelia. But soon after, she quickly gazed past Cordelia and into the living room. Upon seeing Tobias chatting with their father and his group of friends in the living room, she smiled coldly as she knew she had no choice but to hide her emotions well even if she hated Cordelia to the core. Cordelia, on the other hand, was caught off guard. Never once did it cross her mind that she would run into Sophia. What is she doing here? I remembered that this only sister of Tobias had just set off for her vacation trip abroad not long ago. So, how can she be back so soon? As she recalled the hostility Sophia had shown her every time they met before, Cordelia couldn't help but feel a headache. If truth be told, she was also dying to know what conflict Aurelia had with Sophia exactly. She wanted to know what Aurelia had done to make Sophia loathe her so much. While Cordelia was spacing out, Sophia seized the opportunity and swiftly walked toward her with an arrogant and domineering attitude. Cordelia didn't even have time to react. By the time she came to her senses, all she heard was a sharp voice, "Ah!!!" Sophia staggered to her high heels. Cordelia subconsciously reached out to help. However, as if having a mind of its own, the plate in Sophia's hand struck her arms. The crash took Cordelia by surprise, and the piping hot dishes fresh out of the pan splattered all over her clothes, causing her skin to blister in just a few seconds. While the plate fell to the ground with a bang and turned into shards, almost everyone in the living room, including Tobias, turned to look at the two. As for the servants, they were in chaos when they saw what happened. Two of them hurriedly helped Sophia up from the ground. Meanwhile, Cordelia stood aside. Her face had already turned pale as she covered the swollen back of her hand. "Ouch! It hurts! Do you even watch where you're going?! Didn't you see that I was holding something in my hand? Aurelia, you did this on purpose, didn't you?! You don't want me here, right?!" Sophia began pitching into Cordelia after managing to steady herself with the servants' help. Cordelia frowned in pain, and a hint of coldness inadvertently flashed across her eyes. Still, she patiently defended herself, stating, "Sophia, what you said is not true. Clearly, it was you who did it on purpose." "Ha! I did it on purpose?! Are you saying that I intentionally rammed the plate into your arms and dirtied your clothes? Not only that, but I also even purposely fell to the ground for this reason?! Aurelia, you sure are a scheming woman. I can't believe you could come up with such malicious means!" Cordelia was speechless. Distorting the truth has always been Sophia's specialty. In fact, she is so great at it that it dwarfs me. "What happened?" As soon as the bassy, hoarse male voice rang in her ears, Cordelia felt like she was enveloped in shadow. Tobias had walked from the living room to stand behind her without her realizing it, and his presence brought an invisible sense of oppression. "Tobias, look at what she has done! Mom put in a lot of effort to make this dish. And now, Aurelia has ruined it all!" Sophia complained aggrievedly. Upon hearing that, Tobias shifted his chilly gaze from Sophia to Cordelia. The cynical smile on Sophia's lips visibly raised as she took great pleasure in waiting for Tobias to scold Cordelia, whom she deemed shameless. "It's not like that!" Seeing Tobias frown, Cordelia shook her head and explained, "Tobias, that's not what happened. I didn't knock over this plate on purpose. It was your sister. She—" Before she could explain further, Tobias interrupted, "What happened to your hand?" Since he lowered his gaze and trailed along Cordelia's fair and delicate arm, he undoubtedly noticed how she gradually clenched the swollen back of her hand to alleviate the pain. Sophia's face became rigid. Her matte lips stiffened slightly as she stared wide-eyed at the sight in front of her in disbelief. "Huh?" Cordelia was stunned slightly, for she also didn't expect the subject to suddenly change and that Tobias would inquire about her hand injury. Feeling the cold touch of his fingertips, she involuntarily wanted to pull her hand back. However, Tobias slightly tightened his grip and stopped her from doing so. "Does it hurt?" he asked flatly. Cordelia couldn't understand why Tobias only kept a straight face and showed no other emotions, even though his words seemed to carry a hint of concern. "I can manage," Cordelia answered, her voice soft like a gentle breeze. "Um… Mrs. Cole." Tobias swiveled his head and summoned a relatively senior servant. "Take her upstairs and disinfect her wound with medicine." "Yes, sir." Mrs. Cole promptly took the order. Then, with a gentle smile, she said to Cordelia, "Mrs. Larkin, please come with me." "It's fine. It's nothing serious," Cordelia softly refused, especially after meeting the piercing look that exuded out of the corner of his eyes. Feeling defiant toward the outcome, Sophia sneered coldly and argued, "Tobias! Are you kidding me?! I am your sister. But you didn't even bother to check on me when I fell! Instead, you checked on Aurelia?! She is perfectly fine, okay! She just sustains a little burn on her hand. She's a commander's daughter. A minor burn like this is nothing!" "Sophia!" Tobias tilted his head slightly and shouted coldly, his voice carrying the power of anger. The wintry look on his face truly frightened Sophia. "I'm not blind. I can still clearly discern who is right and who is wrong."