Sophia's fingers trembled, nearly dropping the pear-shaped vase in her hands.

At last, she understood why Ethan had insisted she conceal her marital status.

Vincent Grandelle was Isabella's grandfather.

The revelation struck her as bitterly ironic.

Isabella's face turned ashen.

Her knuckles whitened around her purse strap, manicured nails digging into the leather.

"Grandfather!" she shrieked. "How could you take her as your apprentice?"

Vincent stroked his beard with deliberate calm. "Do I require your permission to choose my pupils?"

Isabella's entire body shook with rage.

"She stole my fiancé!"

A cold laugh escaped Sophia's lips.

"The marriage certificate from City Hall isn't exactly forgeable, Ms. Valentine."

Vincent's gaze flickered between the two women.

The air in the room congealed.

Sophia's palms grew damp.

She refused to lose.

Especially not to Isabella.

Suddenly, Vincent rose.

Isabella's eyes lit up. "You're sending her away?"

Instead, the elderly man beckoned to Sophia. "Come, my apprentice."

That single word—"apprentice"—made Sophia's eyes burn.

Isabella lunged forward with a scream. "Grandfather!"

Vincent brushed her aside. "The apprenticeship ceremony is complete. This isn't child's play."

Clutching the vase, Sophia followed her master.

Behind them, ceramic shattered.

Theodore Valentine's roar echoed through the hall. "My money tree!"

Back in Vincent's Porcelain, silence stretched between them.

Sophia drew a steadying breath. "Master, perhaps I should—"

"Stay." The old man cut her off. "Vincent Grandelle does not revoke his decisions."

Night fell.

After hearing the story, Ethan's lips curved. "I anticipated this."

Sophia shot him a reproachful look.

He ruffled her hair. "That hundred-thousand tuition shouldn't go to waste."

"But she—"

"I'm here." Three words, spoken with absolute certainty.

Warmth flooded Sophia's chest.

Without warning, she pushed him onto the sofa.

Caught off guard, Ethan found himself captured by her unpracticed kiss.

"Witch," he growled, flipping their positions.

That night, Sophia learned the consequences of reckless words.