Earlier, before entering the party, Sofia didn't know exactly what to expect. But what she was greeted with didn't actually surprise her.

It was absolute poshness.

The backyard of the Wilder house was transformed into a set of a fancy horror movie. Cobwebs and bats hung above as she walked through a gate. Two hunky men dressed up as ogres stood at both sides of the gate, greeting and checking everyone with metal detector.

She recognized they were the security guards of the Wilder house. Many times in the past she had seen them guarding the gates of this house wearing stiff postures of peril, but by the very little conversations she had had with them she knew that was just the professional hard shell over benevolent hearts.

As the ogres grinned robotically at Sofia just as they were at everyone that entered, she noticed their teeth were painted as if they had drunk blood and chewed on guts just a moment ago. That was undoubtedly Katherine and Lolo's idea. Sofia felt sorry for these poor ogres.

"How does it taste like?" she asked, eyeing their teeth and pointing at her own white ones.

"Let's just say," one of them said in a low voice, he talked in a very weird way like there were a handful of unpleasant things stuffed inside his mouth. "We're refraining ourselves from licking it, ma'am."

The other ogre looked over his shoulder, Sofia guessed he was wary if Katherine and Lolo heard.

The prominent atrocity of the wealthy ones. They can force people beneath their so called class into doing anything without even really forcing them. People cower before wealth and the power that it brings.

"Rinse your mouths," Giving the poor ogres a sympathetic smile Sofia said in a hushed tone.

The ogres looked avid at her advice but shifted uncomfortably.

Sofia smiled more encouragingly at them. "Don't worry about your employers. I'm positive that after the party starts they will hardly come to the gates, and that too just to check the intactness of the blood and guts on your teeth. And even if they do—" Sofia paused before saying with confidence, "Tell them I made you guys remove it."

Similar looks of gratefulness passed the ogres' eyes, and with a parting nod Sofia finally walked into the party.

A little but strong motivation was just what was needed. Is that not how a cowering crowd stands up against their oppressor?

Lolo stood conversing, or probably arguing, with a woman over something that seemed quite crucial. As the woman turned a little, Sofia saw a kid in her arms in an angel's costume looking every bit like an angel, flailing its little fists excitedly around.

Sofia moved her palms down the front of her own black, ankle length dress. Straightening the cone shaped witch hat on top of her head that had shifted a bit downwards because of walking fast, she approached Lolo and the woman with the kid, a boy kid—she guessed by his get-up.

"Sofia! Oh my God," Lolo shrieked, clapping her hands. Even her nails were manicured as that of a witch's. It seemed she had freshly dug someone's body parts out. "You look splendid as a witch, not as splendid as me... but still."

A snort came from the woman standing beside Lolo.

"Thanks, Lolo," Sofia smiled. "It's true, you look like a true witch, no one can compete you here."

Clearly, the sarcasm wasn't noted by the person to whom it was delivered. Lolo looked pleased, beaming at the supposed compliment.

However, the woman beside Lolo snorted again. Sofia realized she was covering her laughter.

"True, indeed," the woman said and then shifted the kid in her arms who was gaping at Sofia now.

Entranced by the innocence of the child, Sofia leaned in to caress his chubby cheek with her thumb, a little tongue poked out of his mouth to lick at her thumb instantly.

Sofia chuckled. "What an absolute angel. What's your name?"

"That's my Ryan boy," the mother replied. "And by your words I believe you consent to his angel costume in this party?"

That seemed more like a confident statement than a question.

"Ah," Sofia confusedly smiled. "Yes, this little charmer is sparkling with his angel looks."

"But that doesn't go with the theme!" Lolo had an angry scowl on her face as she stomped her heels. "Women are supposed to be witches in my party and any child tagging along— little devil with a pointed tail on their little bum and horns on top of their head, not in any way angel wings on their back!"

"From which angle my Ryan looks like a little devil to you?!" Ryan's now livid mother bellowed, fiercely pointing at her baby boy. "He's my little angel and he'll always be, don't you dare say the otherwise, Lolo."

Lolo's lower lip trembled, eyes grew glossy. Giving the fiery mother one last angry glare, she stomped off, Sofia guessed to find her mother in-law, Katherine, and complain her heart out.

Shaking head with an amused smile, Sofia turned her attention to Ryan's mother who grumbled incoherently but then was slowly bubbling out a laugh. She introduced herself as Mabel Winters, wife to a billionaire businessman. Wilders' law firm had been advocating her husband's legal matters since a long while now.

Sofia instantly liked the woman, and of course, also baby Ryan—the ever charming angel boy.

Mabel seemed like a nice woman with a fiery side, and by the looks of it, she was also not a fan of Katherine and Lolo. There was an eccentric streak in Mabel to rebel against the rules and society norms that fascinated Sofia.

"So, you're The Sofia Hayden who eloped with the city's newest lawyer sensation?" Mabel's face lit up with excitement. "Oh, the tale of your thrilling, romantic elopement was on all the tabloids and before that were the articles of your intimate embraces in front of the hotel. I whacked my husband up the head reading all about it. He's such a bore, you know. When we were getting married I suggested him that we run away and surprise our families, but no, he just had to go and charm my family the antique way..."

Sofia was flabbergasted by the speed Mabel spoke in, without giving her a chance to give a reply or deny about anything.

Mabel genuinely looked impressed at Sofia's fate with marriage and that made Sofia look at the tragedy that had befallen on her in a completely different shade. While the entire society till this day belittled her reputation, wagging their tongues at the speed of a typhoon, Mabel here made it seem like an adventure instead which everyone should be jealous about.

Undoubtedly, Sofia could see that Mabel and she had the potential of being best friends in the future.

It didn't take long for Ryan to be transferred into Sofia's arms. Mabel stretched her arms in the most unladylike fashion in the middle of a posh tea party where wives, fiancées, girlfriends and sisters of the cities influential families pranced around—that too in designer witch dresses.

Sofia bounced Ryan in her arms as the little boy baby-talked eagerly. Smiling fondly down at the boy she wiped the saliva dripping down his chin.

Mabel awed.

Sofia looked up to see the admiration in her eyes.

"Someday you are going to be a lovely mother, Sofia," Mabel declared with a huge grin. "By the good looks of you and your husband, you two are seriously going to produce some very beautiful children in the future."

Sofia blinked. Her heart did a somersault at the image Mabel's words had brought.

She was just getting used to loving her tall monster from undercover, and here, Mabel had made matters worse by injecting into her brain the thoughts of having children with him.

By the way, how would their children look like? Would they have her hair and his eyes? Or, her nose and his height?

In her mind, she could almost visualize three kids with parts of him and parts of her—laughing and screaming and running around Max and her.

"Sofia, dear."

Katherine had sneaked up on her, or was it Sofia—way too lost in her world of fantasies that she didn't notice at all.

Sofia sighed.

At this rate, she realized, she was baring herself way too far. If hurt was to come, she was making herself rather exposed to receive it.

In a black gown with the matching black lip color despite looking every bit a boastful coven leader, Katherine seemed to be in her best behavior. She was just way too much smiles and sweetness to be suspicious enough to Sofia.

Ryan began grumbling unhappily then. Sofia tried pacifying him by cooing, talking, patting and even by dancing a little discreetly too, but to no avail.

"You probably need to have a sniff of his bum, see if he has pooped," Mabel said.

Raising her brows in amusement and then chuckling a bit, Sofia did as suggested.

"Ew," Lolo turned up out of the blue, looking disgusted as Sofia nodded in positive after lowering Ryan from nose level. The kid was soon given back to Mabel's waiting hands.

The women laughed at Lolo who was still cringing. Katherine hissed mulling over the day when Lolo would have her own child.

Soon afterwards Mabel left with Ryan to the indoors where she could change him.

"So, how's that husband of yours faring these days?" Katherine queried in a casual tone. "I hope he's taking good care of you, is he?"

They had strolled over to the long tables which had numerous fancy dishes of food lining up on them.

While Lolo was absentmindedly filling her mouth with a pie, Katherine picked up two cups that had crimson jelly type thing crammed up in them, it looked a lot like dried up blood. She offered one to Sofia.

Sofia was dubious about whatever was the half liquid-half jelly thing, but for politeness's sake, she sipped a little. The taste was confusing if not bad.

"He's turning out to be quite a protective bear I must say," Sofia wiped the side of her mouth with the back of her hand in fear that she would look like a blood sucker with the red drink smearing across her mouth by any chance.

Katherine clucked her tongue eyeing the other dishes—eyeball tarts, cookies with guts topping, realistic heart shaped cupcakes with droplets of blood dripping down and many other horrific ones that could give anyone nightmares regarding food for the next month to come.

Sofia was so going to go home hungry tonight.

Katherine nodded at Sofia's reply, a sharp glint passed her eyes then. "That's very good. It's good to know you two have found marital bliss at last. So when are you guys going for that impending honeymoon?"

Now which tapestry was Katherine attempting to weave here, Sofia wondered. Half of her words seemed like taunts while the rest—a prelude of graver stuff.

"I mean," Katherine floundered with a grin. "It's true that work is important but both of you take it way too seriously. Especially Max." Katherine shook her head as if in great disappointment. "I heard from Robert that he'd been to London for a few days recently. Robert had been so worried, Sofia, he was saying that Max should have stayed back with his new wife and perhaps planned to take you to somewhere far to spend some quality time together, away from all the stress you two have gone through."

So this was the main objective. His impromptu departure apparently still remained a crucial point. And to think they still didn't know how he'd avoided her like the plague during those days.

Like how the prenuptial agreement blunder had been cleared in such an unexpected and peculiar manner, Sofia had hoped that against all odds something—or better—someone would clear this remaining blunder as well. She would like to be assured that Max was not going to repeat the history of giving her the cold shoulder again. She didn't like the hurt that came with it and especially when she was still so much in darkness about his motives.

"If you know Max well," Sofia started in a calm tone. "Then you must know how much he takes his work seriously. The law firm his father has built with years of hard work, sweat and blood, it means so much to him. He would never jeopardize what his father has trusted him with." Sofia discarded the glass of blood on the table. "Besides, I'm a full time working woman myself, so I understand that he can get exceedingly busy with his own career sometimes."

"Or it could be entirely something else that is keeping him so utterly busy in real," Katherine indicated meaningfully.

Alarm bells began ringing in Sofia's mind suddenly, seeing the way this conversation was persistently stretching towards an unknown but surely heinous direction.

Katherine turned her face to gesture at someone across the yard.

Following her gaze, Sofia found it was Genevieve Mevil.

Sofia frowned.

How odd that Genevieve Mevil was in the party as well!

Sofia was amazed at how different the woman looked, a total contrary to the depressed person she had helped out as she threw up, vulnerable and looking so broken that day at the road-side.

Genevieve Mevil, clad in an elegant lace black dress, was amongst a group of ladies, throwing her head back in a loud laughter as one of the ladies said something funny.

The saddest of people have the most impeccable masks on their faces, behind which dwell layers and layers of tears, wounds and scars.

Katherine put a hand on Sofia's stiff shoulder, her eyes gazing meaningfully at Genevieve Mevil's sparkling face of happiness. "A man cannot be kept if he's not bound by love. I pity those women who still try endlessly swimming against the tide."

Sofia got what Katherine was insinuating by putting Genevieve as an example.

Sofia took a deep breath. Removing her eyes from Genevieve, she turned to give Katherine a leveled look. "Every tale is different. It's rather foolish to judge what each different person goes through under the same light. What a boon it would be to mankind, don't you think, if the over-smart critics of the society could keep their unwanted indications to themselves only." All traces of smugness left Katherine's face, her left brow ticked. "Or better, shove them up where it will match the stink."

Lolo choked on a mouthful of pie in the background.

Sofia spun around on her heels and stalked off, leaving Katherine behind to gather her ever fakely sweet poise. She had to give it to the woman, it was amazing how she could recover so inhumanly fast.

She saw Mabel out at the back steps of the house, talking animatedly with someone else now.

Strolling aimlessly among bustling people, Sofia smiled seeing baby Ryan sound asleep on Mabel's shoulder with his mouth agape. The little kid looked like a bundle of adorableness.

A commotion broke out.

Sofia whipped her gaze to find it was from the group where Genevieve Mevil was. A waiter had accidentally stumbled upon Genevieve, splashing her with the cold water he was carrying on a tray. The waiter was apologizing profusely. Genevieve, however, had her hand pressed to the side of her face now. With what it seemed—condoning words to the waiter, she excused herself and on hurried steps stormed away from the crowd.

Genevieve looked frightened and embarrassed.

On her own accord, out of worry for the woman and a little bit because of intuition, Sofia couldn't help but follow.

Inside the house Sofia arrived in time to locate Genevieve, who stood at the center of the living room looking around with a puzzled expression.

"The washroom downstairs is after a right turn from here, next to the kitchen."

The suddenness of a voice behind her had Genevieve jump a little, instinctively she spun around to look at the source of that voice.

Sofia gasped in shock the moment Genevieve's face came to view.

The indoors was empty with all the women partying outside and the men still at office. It was clear that Genevieve hadn't expected anyone to creep up on her. But apparently, Sofia had.

Genevieve raised a hand fast to cover the side of her face but Sofia had already seen it—a fading bruise, purple and black decorating her cheek down to the jaw line.

The horror of violence, of abuse. Of a sick mind.

"Thanks," Genevieve mumbled looking away.

Sofia caught the hint of disgrace in her eyes before she had turned away and walked off.

The small balcony across the kitchen overlooked a pool at the side of the house, the backyard where the party was being held couldn't be seen from here. This seemed exactly the place Sofia could find a small minute of respite away from everyone.

Resting her elbows on the railing Sofia gazed out at the pool.

The stiff water in the pool looked quite unnatural and cold, as the extravagant light of the party had crawled up to fall on it overpowering the moonlight.

Sofia felt Genevieve's presence beside her. There was a small exhale of breath, sweet perfume, rustling of cloth. Sofia didn't look up.

"Katherine's parties are always lavish."

Sofia shrugged lightly. "I wouldn't know. This is the first time I'm invited in one, courtesy to the new addition after my name."

From the corner of eye Sofia saw Genevieve smile a little at that.

An awkward silence fell before Sofia could not hold it back anymore. "Why are you doing this?" she asked, letting out a bit of the outrage she was feeling inside. "How can you let him continue doing this to you?"

Sofia gripped the railing tightly, her nails trying to bite into the metal as she recalled the incident that had haunted her through nightmares for so long. Her ordeal given by the same man who was responsible for the bruise, and that bruise was now well hidden by layers of make up on the face of the woman standing right next to her.

"And while doing so you're probably encouraging him to carry on with his vile deeds on other women as well." Sofia snapped her face to the side, to see Genevieve had turned unbelievably rigid. "Remember Debbie?" Sofia asked.

Genevieve's troubled eyes snapped up at the name.

Sofia nodded. "Yes, the same girl who worked at your house before. Are you aware of what disgusting offer your husband had approached her with?"

Genevieve looked down, her eyes closed in degradation.

Of course, she knew.

"Do you know that the man is still harassing her, threatening her job even!" Through gritted teeth Sofia said.

A tear rolled down Genevieve's squeezed closed eyes.