[He knew?!]
In the end, after telling Sophie that Arthur knew that Eugene was the man who slept with the alpha six years ago, she felt that the phone call was not adequate. That was how they ended up having an afternoon tea at a hotel the next day, while Nanny took the children to the hotel's kids club.
"So, you took him home and...what?" Sophie gripped her teacup, eyes twitching as if she was holding back from widening them. Her shoulder tensed up from an effort to not lean forward as if interrogating Eugene. "What happened?"
Hmm...how much should he divulge?
Eugene finished his scone while thinking it through. Knowing Sophie, however, he knew her romance-adled mind would get overly excited once she knew Arthur spent a whole night sniffing him and hugging him to sleep.
Yeah...better not tell her.
"I slept on his couch," Eugene replied briefly, nonchalantly, while taking a madeleine from the tiered tray.
Hmm...Arthur's madeleine suited his palate more. This white chocolate glaze was much too sweet for Eugene.
"...that's all?" Sophie stared at her friend dumbfoundedly.
When Allen told her that he had seen Eugene drag Arthur away in front of their house, Sophie nearly ran out to check on them. Out of curiosity, yes, but also because he was worried about them fighting. Allen held her back, however, saying that he was afraid their presence would only hinder any needed development.
Pretty reasonable.
Sophie agreed to do nothing and wait for their driver's report, gasping when she found out Eugene had rejected the driver's offer to take him home.
The cautious Eugene? The '90% alphas had the tendency to prey on omega' believer Eugene? Willingly going to a drunk alpha's home and staying behind instead of leaving?
Who is this Eugene?
Sophie had been flabbergasted. Even Allen did not calculate this progression. He had thought Eugene and Arthur would talk it out at that park and in the car, but the driver told them that they were both silent during the journey.
Well, they did know Arthur had no violent cell in his body, and it was Eugene who was known to throw hands often during their younger days--so, they weren't worried about Eugene's safety. Perhaps, Eugene knew that, too, so he had no qualm about entering Arthur's place.
Still!
This was Eugene 'I don't want to have anything to do with him' Kim. Wasn't he actively avoiding Arthur so the alpha wouldn't find out about their past meeting and Hannah?
Thus, when Eugene told Sophie that Arthur had found out, she knew she had to hear it from the man himself! And yet...
And yet!
Just sleeping on the couch?
Eugene looked at his friend with an unimpressed gaze. "What do you expect to happen?"
Sophie pursed her lips. "I mean..."
You once slept together, so maybe--Sophie couldn't help but speculate. If it wasn't that...what, then? Why would Eugene choose to spend the night there instead of going home? The Eugene that Sophie knew would rather take the last train or hail a taxi than spend the night at a stranger's home.
Motel was another case, but only if they were having sex. That being said, Eugene hadn't been sexually active since he found out he was pregnant.
So, was it so wrong for Sophie to think that something happened between the two that night? No, right?!
"Clear your mind, you mother of one," Eugene flicked the space between Sophie's brows. He could tell what kind of speculation ran around her head. "Just because we slept together once in the past doesn't mean we'll do it again."
Sophie narrowed her eyes dubiously, making Eugene roll his eyes in response.
"It was just a...night of dalliance between two horny boys," he shrugged.
Sophie arched her brow and curled her lips mischievously. "Like Ian and Jude?"
"Those two weren't drunk like us," Eugene clicked his tongue. "And speaking of that, he was even drunker that night. It wouldn't be right on my part if we do anything, don't you think?"
In the past, both of them were drunk, and Arthur properly gave Eugene an invitation, so it was a fair game.
"That's true," Sophie reluctantly agreed. "But also, I don't think Arthur would mind much."
"I would," Eugene replied sharply.
"I know, I know~"
Sophie smiled sweetly while sighing inwardly. This friend of hers was truly an immovable mountain once he decided on something. Including drawing boundaries.
"I don't see him in that way," Eugene shook his head, sipping on a warm, floral tea to soothe himself. "He's just...another alpha."
"But he's Hannah's--"
"He's just another alpha if he doesn't know," Eugene cut her off.
Sophie blinked and belatedly realized that 'he found out' did not mean Arthur had found out the whole truth.
"...you still haven't told him about that?!" Sophie hissed, eyes almost bulging out of her sockets. She would have stood up and screamed if she had not remembered that they were in a respectable tea saloon.
Infuriatingly, Eugene only replied tersely. "No."
Sophie parted her lips as if she wanted to protest, but Eugene had already added in a stern voice.
"And I'm never going to tell him."
It sounded like a warning, so Sophie just nodded obediently while lamenting inside, biting into a chocolate pie ganache to cheer herself up.
As for Eugene, he took a piece of profiterole from a pile arranged into a cone. Looking at the cluster of pastries that got smeared by the chocolate sauce poured from the top, Eugene suddenly thought of something.
The way Arthur found out about him, clearly, was caused by the association they had through mutual acquaintances. If they were only simple coworkers, things wouldn't have escalated this far. Arthur wouldn't find him in that playground, and they wouldn't talk much to each other, just like the early days in the office.
Just like those choux pastries on the bottom; once plain, but with time, the chocolate sauce dripped down from another choux above it.
In that case, Arthur might find Hannah someday because she kept having playdates with Toby, who was the child of Sophie and Allen, who was also Arthur's friend. Their meeting at that mall was also because Arthur recognized Sophie, wasn't it?
If he wanted to keep Hannah's existence completely a secret from Arthur, maybe they should stop hanging around with--
At that moment, as if her sixth sense was activated, Sophie turned toward Eugene and spoke sharply. "I don't mind keeping it a secret, but..." she pointed at the man, wagging her finger. "If you stop Hannah from seeing Toby and me just for that, I'm going to be really, really angry."
Phew--what a sharp instinct. "I know," Eugene smiled wryly. "Don't worry about that."
"Hmph!" Sophie replied dubiously.
Well, the result couldn't be said to be satisfying. Sophie didn't like to keep secrets from her friends, and she wanted her small circle of friends to get along with each other! That was why she was happy when she heard Arthur had found out the truth, glad that she didn't have to monitor what she could and couldn't say anymore.
Only to find out that it wasn't the whole truth! And she had to keep the biggest secret, still!
Haa...Sophie wanted to melt into that caramel pudding on the table out of frustration.
But--but! It was a development regardless!
Yes, she should not despair. Just like Allen said, fate seemed to steer their course to cross each other, so all she needed to do was wait.
Hmm...indeed. A sweet romance should have some bitterness in it, just like that caramel pudding!
While Sophie was drowning in her own romantic philosophy, Eugene was also in deep thought.
Indeed, it wasn't fair for Hannah not to interact with her bassinet friend outside of school. Besides, Eugene only had Sophie to hang around with now, since he hadn't been contacting his old friends for so long.
If he couldn't disassociate himself from Sophie, the only choice was to disassociate himself from Arthur. Well, this one made more sense anyway. With the start of filming, there was no need for them to frequently meet each other. The only time they would meet should be when Eugene was scheduled to visit the filming site.
Right. If he had to visit the location anyway, wouldn't it be better to just do it quickly and fill his visitation quota early so he wouldn't have to go at all afterward? In that case, he wouldn't have to see Arthur for months--or even all the way until post-production.
By that point, perhaps Arthur would have gone to blind dates again and found someone who actually liked him back and wasn't shackled with a child.
Yeah. That sounded like a plan.
Eugene nodded in satisfaction, naturally looking as if he were acknowledging the patissier's incredible skill. In reality, he was thinking about an exit strategy. Something that would allow him to phase out of communication with Arthur as naturally as possible.
And there was no better excuse than work.
"Soph..."
Sophie looked up from her mini pavlova. "Hmm?"
"Do you know any gigs? Something a bit long-term," Eugene asked. "I just finished a project from the publisher, and the filming will start soon, so I have nothing to do."
"You have to rest and play with me, then!" Sophie pursed her lips, pretending to whine.
But she knew that Eugene usually got anxious if he didn't have any work, because it meant he wouldn't have any income. She couldn't possibly tell her friend to just lounge around and wait for the publisher to give him new project.
"Hmm...maybe I have something," she tapped her lips to ponder, recalling that one of her college friends had just opened a new branch office in this country. Transition period usually meant a lot of translation was needed, right? Sophie nodded. "I'll ask around and tell you the result next week."
Eugene genuinely perked up in excitement. Next week? Such perfect timing!