Nathan stormed back to the Reed family's villa, his entire being radiating anger. "Nathan, my son, weren't you going to work? Why are you back? Nathan, Nathan! Why aren't you speaking?" Carol followed him to the stairs, but Nathan didn't even turn his head. He went straight into the study. Bang— The door slammed shut, scaring Carol back. "Who are you mad at…" Carol muttered to herself as she returned to the living room, sighing heavily. She glanced at the pizza boxes on the table and sighed again. She used to complain that Emily hadn't gone to college and couldn't help Nathan in his career. But now Sophia was like a princess. She did no housework and didn't care about Nathan. The atmosphere at home had become increasingly tense. Carol had been harboring anger for some time. She had been served by Emily before, but now she had to clean up and do maid work because Sophia's stepfather had returned and Sophia had become more demanding! Carol gritted her teeth and began cleaning up the leftover pizza. At that moment, Sophia walked in wearing high heels. Carol quickly called out, "Don't come in yet! I just mopped the floor; don't get it dirty!" Sophia rolled her eyes, "There are already footprints on it. It's dirty anyway." Sophia walked straight into the living room. The freshly cleaned floor instantly had a trail of footprints again. Carol, hands on her hips, fumed, "Sophia, you're pregnant, so I didn't want to say this. But as a daughter-in-law, shouldn't you respect me? I'm your mother-in-law, not your free maid!" Sophia, already irritated, became even more so upon hearing Carol's words, "I've told you to hire a maid. If you won't spend the money, that's not my problem." "Hiring a maid costs money! Are you paying the maid's salary?" Carol retorted angrily, "Everything you enjoy is bought by my son! You should treat me better." Here we go again.Sophia was beyond annoyed. She looked at the footprints on the floor and asked suspiciously, "Nathan is back?" Carol huffed, "Yes, he just got back. He's in a bad mood, didn't say a word, and went into the study. Sophia, did you two argue again?" Sophia's eyes avoided Carol's, "…No…" "You'd better control your temper," Carol muttered, "And how many times have I told you? For the baby's sake, no high heels, no makeup. Makeup is full of chemicals. What if it affects the baby? And those high heels, what if you fall?" "This is none of your business." Sophia didn't want to argue with her anymore, "I'm going to check on Nathan." With that, she went upstairs. After removing her makeup and changing into slippers in the bedroom, Sophia mustered the courage to knock on the study door, "Nathan? Are you in there?" "What do you want?" Nathan's voice was muffled. "I want to talk to you. Can we?" Sophia asked. Nathan sneered, "If you're here to explain that phone call, forget it. Sophia, I didn't expect you to be such a good actress, fooling even me." Sophia didn't argue further. Grace had told her that continuing to clash with Nathan would only do her harm. Arguing with a man is useless; the most important thing is to change his perception of you. And the quickest way for a man to develop affection is to make him feel pity for a woman. Sophia's voice carried a hint of pain as she sighed, "There's nothing to explain. I lost control of my emotions. It's my fault." Nathan said nothing. "Nathan, I know you think I'm a bad woman. I have nothing to say. I only want you to be happy. You went to see Emily, which means she is the most important person to you, right?" "Enough, Sophia, this act is tiresome. Once was enough, the second time it's just boring." "This isn't an act. I've thought it through. I'm here to tell you that we should break up before our wedding." Nathan was stunned, "…What did you say?""Can you open the door first? Your mother is downstairs; I'm afraid she'll hear and get worried." This move was effective. Seconds later, the study door opened. Nathan, still angry, scrutinized her, "My mom is downstairs?" "Yes, she's in the living room." Nathan glanced downstairs and saw Carol doing housework. He opened the door wider, "Come in." Sophia successfully entered the study. Her eyes instinctively went to Nathan's computer screen, but Nathan was quicker; he closed the laptop. Sophia smiled, "You were looking at Emily's pictures, right?" Nathan didn't deny it. "You really love her, using her photo as your screensaver. The photos from Lucas's concert were beautiful." Nathan was impatient, "Get to the point. We both know this won't work. I hope you understand that. I didn't clarify before because your father had just joined my company. I didn't want to affect my business. But let's be clear now. Your father has been a great help, but now that the shopping mall project has failed, it doesn't matter whether he stays with my company or not. Let's break up now." Sophia frowned in surprise, "Why did the project fail? Didn't I warn you about their plans? What happened?" "I fell into their trap," Nathan said through gritted teeth, "Emily is heartless. I still had a chance to salvage the project, but Emily and that masked man blocked every path! She's truly a treacherous woman."