Hope Crawls Through Ruins by Kain Rwan Vale 89

Chapter 89 

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Sophia thought to herself, ‘Briana or Vivian? Please, neither of them can hold a candle to me. Is there anything they have that I don’t?‘ 

“What if?” Briana blinked playfully. “Come on.” 

Cornered by Briana, Sophia could only grit her teeth and spit out a barely audible. “Mr. Carter,” she called. 

Briana gave a satisfied nod. 

Shepard responded with a simple reply. 

Sophia’s expression grew even gloomier. 

Briana couldn’t help but give Shepard a surprised glance. 

‘He’s actually playing along. He really knows how to get under her skin,‘ she thought. 

“Satisfied?” Shepard’s voice was low. “Did that make you feel better?” 

Briana let out a soft snort. “It’s alright.” 

‘So he actually knows Sophia, and I can’t stand each other. 

‘Is Shepard being intentional, or is he just indifferent?‘ she wondered. 

If he really cared, he wouldn’t have ever truly paid attention to Briana after they got married. 

But if he didn’t care, he actually remembers some things about her. 

Wrenley watched the two of them interact. She couldn’t catch what they were saying, but they really seemed to be getting along well. 

She felt a little more at ease. 

She turned to Shepard and asked, “Your grandmother’s been in the hospital. Has she been feeling any better lately? I was planning to visit, but with all this rain and wind, my legs have been aching. It’s hard for me to get around.” 

“She’s got a professional medical team looking after her, so there’s nothing serious,” Shepard replied. “You don’t need to worry. I’ll let her know you were concerned.” 

“Ok.” Wrenley nodded again and again. “As long as your grandmother is healthy and you and Briana are getting along, I won’t have anything left to worry about.” 

After a pause, Wrenley suddenly remembered something. “Oh, I almost forgot that there’s still Sophia’s marriage to think about. Now that she’s back home, she’s busy with work. 

“But she should also pay attention to her personal life. Edward, Shepard, if you know any promising young men, let Sophia 

meet them.” 

Edward replied, “I’m keeping an eye out.” 

Of course, he was taking his daughter’s marriage seriously. 

But after looking around at everyone, nobody seemed quite right. It turned out that Shepard was just the perfect fit. 

Edward was already plotting. If Shepard and Briana ever split up, maybe Sophia could go head–to–head with Vivian, 

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outshine her, and become Mrs. Carter herself. 

Besides, he could tell at a glance that Sophia had feelings for Shepard. 

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But now, Shepard and Briana had suddenly started acting all lovey–dovey. Edward couldn’t tell if they were just faking it for the crowd or if they’d really patched things up. 

Edward figured it was mostly for show. 

‘I’ll just keep an eye on them for now,‘ he thought. 

The butler hurried over and gently reminded them, “Everyone, lunch is ready. Please head to the dining room.” 

“Alright,” Wrenley replied. 

Wrenley led the way, leaning on her cane as she headed toward the dining room. 

Sophia walked beside her, supporting her. “Grandma, take your time.” 

Edward and Diana followed behind. 

Everyone else was already ahead, so Charles slowed his pace, waiting for Briana to catch up. 

“What’s going on with you and Shepard?” he asked, tilting to the side. “Last night you two were ready to tear each other apart, and today you’re playing the perfect couple.” 

“None of your business,” Briana replied. 

“If I don’t meddle, who will?” Charles said. “I’m your brother.” 

Briana made a face. “Just chalk it up to Shepard acting weird.” 

“Honestly, I think you two are both nuts,” Charles teased. 

Briana just rolled her eyes, at a loss for words. 

Shepard strolled ahead, one hand in his pocket, keeping about a yard in front of Briana. 

He had zero interest in their sibling gossip. 

But he glanced at Charles. “Just watch yourself with that business of yours.” 

It was clearly a warning. 

But Charles wasn’t having it. “Shepard can’t stand to see me doing well, huh? My business is booming, deals are rolling in. Does that bother you? You won’t help me, but you can’t stand Henry helping me either?” 

“Is Henry the only one helping you?” Shepard asked. 

“Eric’s helped a bit, too.” Charles emphasized, “But it has nothing to do with Carter Group. It’s all thanks to Eric’s personal 

connections.” 

Shepard just said, “Nothing in life comes for free.” 

Charles was about to snap back, but Briana tugged his sleeve. “Bro, for once, I actually think Shepard makes sense.” 

“Sense? Please. He’s just pissed I’m not orbiting around him anymore, not depending on him. Now he’s acting all cryptic, pretending he’s some kind of mastermind. Whatever,” Charles scoffed. 

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In the dining room, dish after dish was brought out, filling the table with a feast. 

Wrenley was clearly the happiest one at the family dinner. 

She even had a couple of drinks and ended up a little tipsy. In the end, two servants had to help her back to her room to rest. 

As soon as Wrenley left, the meal was basically over. 

Briana immediately put down her fork and stood up. 

Seeing this, Diana frowned in disapproval. “Is this how you were raised? No manners at all. You-” 

“I taught her,” Shepard cut Diana off. “Got a problem with that, Diana?” 

Diana’s mouth hung open, but she didn’t dare say another word. 

With Shepard himself standing up for Briana, there was no way she’d dare say another word. 

Shepard stood up too, took Briana’s hand, and said, “Let’s go.” 

Charles kept his head down, slurped down the rest of his noodles in record time, then wiped his mouth and said, “Uncle Edward, you brought Sophia back for a reason. 

“Briana and I both know exactly what you’re up to. Now it’s all about who’s got the skills. Honestly, I’m betting on us to win this one.” 

With that, Charles strutted out, looking all high and mighty. 

That left Edward, Diana, and Sophia sitting there, their faces as dark as thunder. 

Sophia was the first to lose her cool. She flung her fork onto the table. 

“This family dinner was supposed to be all about welcoming me home, and now it’s just Briana’s chance to outshine me and rub it in my face. 

“Dad, even you have to tiptoe around Mr. Carter now. Didn’t you say he was going to divorce Briana, that she’d be dumped and cast aside?” Sophia snapped. 

“It’s true, they were supposed to get divorced. Briana told me herself, and I even went to Mr. Carter to double–check,” Edward insisted. 

“But you just saw how they were acting,” Sophia shot back. 

Edward replied, “Don’t just go by what you see. People can fake it for a while, but nobody can keep up the act forever. Instead of wasting your energy competing with Briana, you should focus on outshining Vivian.” 

“Me? Compete with Vivian?” Sophia blurted out, disbelief in her voice. 

“That’s right. You need to go up against Vivian for Mr. Carter, and at the same time, fight Briana for Lane Group. It’s about your career, your pride, and showing everyone what you’re made of,” Edward urged. “Sophia, you’ve got a lot riding on this.” 

“Lane Group has always been ours. Why should Briana have anything to do with it?” Sophia sneered. 

“She’s thinking about taking control back,” Edward said, his tone serious. “Don’t underestimate her. She’s a lot sharper than her brother.” 

Diana nodded. “Exactly. That gallery Briana started is really taking off. It’s gaining a reputation fast, and soon she’ll have 

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branches all over the country and turn it into a household name.” 

“A gallery, huh?” Sophia snorted, full of disdain. “Fine, then I’ll make sure her gallery goes under.” 

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