Mr. Chairman’s Devious Wife by Brey Mitchylle

The Nail in the Coffin

Sofia sank into her personally customized white ornate chair, her attention fixed on the wisps of steam

dancing above the coffee resting on the table before her.

Despite her role as the creative director of a fashion company, Sofia’s office radiated simplicity that

bordered on plainness. The color scheme was stark—black and white, meticulously organized to

maintain a sense of order. It was intentional, reflecting her desire for clarity and focus in her workspace.

However, she was far from her usually focused self at the moment. Her brows furrowed as she

pondered the proposition from Mr. Beaumont. It had been two days since she saw him— two days

since she saw the betrayal.

She closed her eyes, exhaustion was gnawing on her soul. In the past two days, she had mostly spent

her time crying and being miserable. When is the pain going to ease?

A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts. She lifted her gaze and met her secretary, Miss Amores,

with a smiling face. “Is there something?” Sofia asked.

“Mr. Lawrence Lockhart is here with the COO Mr. Oh.”

The mention of her stepfather’s name made her gaze tremble. She was quickly reminded of what

Alexander told her. For a moment, she wondered what she would do when she saw Lawrence again.

“Let them in,” she cleared her throat.

This would be the first time she would see her stepfather since that conversation with Alexander. She

got up, forcing a smile on her face. She cannot falter now.

“Sofia,” a middle-aged man greeted her the moment he walked in. This man was none other than the

man whom Sofia had been calling father. Lawrence Miles— Lockhart.

“Father,” Sofia greeted back. “I thought you were with Mr. Oh?”

“He is currently in Mrs. Phelps’s office.”

Sofia’s eyebrow lifted. Mrs. Phelps was their Production manager. “I hope there is no problem?” Sofia

asked while helping the man out of his coat.

“Of course not… Mr. Oh is currently checking all the production in our subsidiaries for the annual

meeting. I apologize for not telling you in advance.”

“No problem,” Sofia said, though she suspected this was intentional, especially after her conversation

with Alexander.

“Coffee?”

“Please…” her father gave a warm smile as he sat on the plush couch inside Sofia’s office. He eyed the

large painting in front of the couch and smiled. “I am glad that you still like this painting after so many

years…”

This was a painting that Lawrence personally made for Sofia, a gift during her graduation.

“I quite liked it…” Sofia said after asking her secretary to make some coffee for them. Sofia’s earlier

coffee had gotten cold, so she asked for a new one. “Still two sugar and no cream?” she asked.

“Yes…” Lawrence said. “You know me too well.”

Sofia chuckled, sitting on the one-seater by the side of the large couch. “How was the preparation for

the Annual meeting?” she asked.

“It is going well. Everything has been prepared. However… I am not here to talk about such matters.”

Sofia’s gaze lingered on her stepfather’s face. Lawrence Miles wasn’t exceptionally good-looking, but

there was a simple charm in his light gray eyes. Overall, his features looked calming and trustworthy.

His voice was always calm and soft. Now, a part of her wonder if there is any truth about the man’s

personality.

“Please don’t tell me you are not here to encourage me to marry someone…” Sofia chortled while

dramatically rolling her eyes.

“What is wrong with marrying at the age of twenty-six? Your mother and I are old enough. Don’t you

think it is time that you give us some grandchildren?” he asked. This was a conversation they’d had

many times.

“Charlotte is even older than me. If anything, she should be the one getting married first.”

“Charlotte is an actress. She had high ambitions in Hollywood. I have encouraged her to at least find

someone but…” he sighed. “All of it ended up with us fighting. You know your sister very well.”

Sofia chuckled. Did she truly know Charlotte at all? She’d heard this conversation repeatedly in recent

months. On the surface, it sounded like he was encouraging her to marry for the sake of her sick

mother. However, after that conversation with Alexander, she wondered if it was because she was

about to have her shares in the company.

She only smiled in response, using the disguise of

drinking her coffee to hide her expression. Her mother, Eunice Lockhart, had been in a medical facility

for two years now. The thought worsened her mood.

“Never mind… you are young and brilliant. I am certain that it would not take Daniel too long to

propose. When the time comes… you should accept it. Settle down and give us grandchildren. In this

way, I could leave this world in peace.”

“…” Sofia did not know how to react. In the past, she would have comforted him immediately, telling

him that he was only in his fifties, young and able. However, after everything, she couldn’t seem to

come up with a way to deal with this dramatic situation.

“Ah, this is why I told you not to overwork yourself,” Sofia said. “Let the others do their work or you can

simply wait for my next birthday. Once I have the voting rights and the right to work in the main office, I

will be there to lessen your burden.”

As expected, a glimmer of an unknown emotion flashed in Lawrence’s eyes. It vanished before Sofia

could recognize what it was. Seeing this, she lowered her head, her expression sinking.

“Ah, look at that, it seems that Mr. Oh just finished with his business.” Her stepfather got up. She

immediately got up and once again helped him with his coat.

“You should visit your mother in the hospital,” Lawrence said, his tone solemn. “The doctors said there

have been some improvements lately.”

“They said that two months ago…” Sofia answered before letting out a sigh. “I will visit Mom today.”

Seeing her mood turn sour, Lawrence smiled then he gave her a hug before leaving her office.

Almost immediately, her expression changed when Lawrence left. She immediately ran towards her

laptop and turned it on. Earlier, she managed to slip a small voice recorder on the lapel of Lawrence’s

coat. It was something that Alexander generously provided to help her make up her mind—something

that she found rather abominable yet quite useful.

He thought it would be quite useful and it seems that he was right.

Sadly, the recorder would not last that long. It was small and did not have the capability to charge itself.

Apparently, Beaumont Empire was working on creating a better version of this recorder.

Sofia could only sigh as she started listening to Lawrence’s conversation with Mr. Oh as the two

descended in the elevator.

“How was it?” Lawrence asked. At this time, the two were already in the car.

“Everything has been prepared… I have acquired some sketches.” Mr. Oh said. One could easily hear

the chuckle that followed his words. “And her?” he asked.

“Still clueless…” Lawrence responded. “Daniel already agreed to propose to her on her birthday.

Convincing her not to sign any prenup should be easy for him. When the time comes…” Lawrence did

not continue his words, but Sofia heard a clinking sound on the other side.

Were they toasting to their future success?

Sofia’s lips trembled inwardly. The sadness that she felt earlier seemed to vanish. What replaced it was

pure rage and hatred.

“You should call Doctor Mulach and tell him to increase the dosage,” Lawrence’s voice echoed inside

Sofia’s head like a bell tolling over and over again. “She cannot wake up now.”

“Understood…” Mr. Oh answered. Once again, Sofia heard a chuckle.

Unable to continue listening to their conversation, Sofia got up and stared at the view from the floor-to-

ceiling windows of her office. Doctor Mulach is currently the head doctor in charge of her mother’s well-

being. Since Eunice lost consciousness two years ago, Doctor Mulach had been the one in charge of

her treatment.

Sofia had trusted him as he was a well-known doctor both abroad and in the US. Who would have

thought that he was harming her very own mother instead of healing her?

Who would have thought that Sofia would be so stupid to believe everyone around her?

She clenched her jaw, her gaze narrowed at the cars that she could see from where she was standing.

Her heart raced against her chest as she forced herself to calm down. Closing her eyes, Sofia was not

able to stop a single tear from falling into her cheeks.

Indeed. Being betrayed by the people that she trusted the most was worse than being stabbed by an

enemy.

A chuckle escaped her lips as she took her phone and dialed a number.

“What took you so long?” Mr. Beaumont’s deep and sexy voice answered just after a ring. Sofia closed

her eyes, she then bit her lower lip. Then she said. “Let’s get married.”

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