Chapter 2 #3
Her eyes flashed as she snapped again.
“That Magnus Graves is such a bastard.”
Sophia’s head lifted slightly in alarm.
Emma continued, her words spilling out in pure frustration.
“He doesn’t even know how to cherish something valuable. Even if someone handed him gold on a silver plate, he’d probably use it to beg for scraps instead of realizing how precious it is.”
She scoffed loudly.
“Look at him. Running after women as if he can’t live without a woman for one damn minute. He annoys me so much! Such a goddamn fool.”
She turned back toward Sophia.
Her voice rose with irritation.
“I seriously can’t believe you actually married him.”
Her voice softened slightly, but her frustration was still obvious.
“Men would line up for someone as beautiful and talented as Sophia King,” she continued with a scoff. “But that damn Magnus Graves completely ruined it. What a foolish man.”
“What did you say?”
A deep voice suddenly came from behind them.
Both Sophia and Emma jumped in shock and spun around at the same time.
Standing a few steps behind them was Magnus.
His tall figure filled the doorway. His expression was calm, but his eyes were sharp as they rested on both of them.
He slowly stepped closer.
Emma’s eyes widened in panic. She forced out an awkward laugh and quickly tried to cover it up.
“It—it’s nothing,” she said nervously. “We were just talking about someone stupid.”
Magnus stopped in front of them. His eyes narrowed slightly.
“Someone stupid?” he repeated calmly. His eyes narrowed slightly. “Like me?”
Sophia felt like a deer caught in headlights. Her mind went completely blank.
Magnus’s voice remained calm, but there was a dangerous edge beneath it.
“I heard what you said.”
His gaze moved between the two of them before settling on Sophia.
Emma immediately tried to explain.
“It’s not like that,” she said quickly. “We were just talking about a random man.”
But even as she said it, she knew it sounded unconvincing.
Magnus’s expression didn’t change at all.
Sophia felt her heartbeat jump. Her face flushed with embarrassment, and for a moment she looked slightly panicked. But she quickly forced herself to stay calm.
Shifting her posture, she spoke in a casual voice, gesturing toward Emma.
“This is my friend,” she said quickly, gesturing toward Emma. “She was just talking about herself. Her name is Sophia.”
She gave a small, awkward smile.
“You must have misunderstood that we’re talking about you. It’s really nothing.”
Before Magnus could say anything, Sophia immediately grabbed Emma’s hand.
“We’re actually getting late,” she added hurriedly. “So we’ll take our leave first.”
She nodded politely.
“It was a great auction, Mr. Graves. Thank you.”
Without waiting for a reply, Sophia pulled Emma along and quickly walked past him.
Their footsteps echoed down the hallway as they hurried away from the auction hall.
Neither of them slowed down until they were completely out of the building.
Within moments, they disappeared from sight.
Behind them, Magnus stood where he was.
His hands slowly slid into the pockets of his pants.
For a moment, the place fell silent.
Then a faint smirk slowly appeared on his face.
He let out a quiet scoff, his eyes narrowing slightly as the name rolled through his mind.
“Sophia King…”
His gaze darkened.
For a moment, something flickered across his expression. “So that woman is my ex-wife?”
He let out a scoff of disbelief.
***
Sophia had just woken up and was sitting at the table eating breakfast when her phone suddenly started ringing.
Sunlight streamed through the window, casting a warm glow over the table.
Sophia reached for the phone and glanced at the screen. Emma’s name was flashing. Her brows furrowed immediately.
Emma never called this early.
A strange feeling crept into her chest as she picked up the call
“Hello?”
Emma’s voice came through the phone instantly.
“Sophia, where are you?”
Sophia frowned slightly.
“At home,” she replied, slightly confused. “What’s going on?”
On the other end of the call, Emma sounded anxious.
“I don’t know what’s happening,” she said quickly. “But there’s trouble.”
Sophia straightened in her chair.
“What kind of trouble?”
Emma took a shaky breath.
“Several deals we had for hosting auctions at Century Hall have been canceled.”
Sophia’s brows knit together.
Emma continued, her voice tense.
“It all happened overnight. Yesterday everything was perfectly fine. There were no problems at all. But this morning I suddenly got several calls and texts saying the deals were canceled.”
Her voice lowered with worry.
“It wouldn’t be such a big issue if it was just one or two deals… but Sophia, it’s not.”
She sounded close to losing control.
“Almost a dozen contracts have been canceled.”
Sophia froze.
Emma continued speaking rapidly.
“That’s the real problem. If this spreads, our company’s shares are going to crash.”
Sophia’s expression slowly grew serious. Emma exhaled shakily.
“And because everything happened so suddenly overnight…”
Her voice dropped to a nervous whisper.
“I can’t think of any other reason except… what happened yesterday.”
Sophia frowned.
Emma hesitated before saying it.
“Could this be happening because we offended Magnus yesterday? When I spoke badly about him?”
Sophia’s grip tightened around the phone.
“I mean… I was the one bad-mouthing him,” Emma admitted. “Could it be that he got offended and did all this?”
“I tried to reach him,” Emma continued, her voice lowering with frustration. “I tried calling the office. I even asked his secretary to connect me to him, but every single time they refused. They kept giving me excuses… stupid excuses.”
She let out a shaky breath.
“I don’t know what to do anymore. I just wanted to talk to him and sort this out. But they won’t even let me speak to him.”
Her voice softened, almost helpless now.
“What should I do?”
Sophia froze.
The fork in her hand slipped from her fingers and clattered against the plate with a sharp sound.
Emma had barely finished speaking when Sophia pushed her chair back and stood up immediately.
“Emma, don’t worry,” she said firmly, her voice calm but urgent. “Just stay home. I’m coming to get you. We’ll go talk to him and sort this out. Okay?”
Within minutes, Sophia had thrown on a set of clothes and rushed out of the house.
She drove straight to pick Emma up.
Emma was already waiting outside when the car pulled over. Her arms were folded tightly across her chest, her expression anxious and pale. The moment she slid into the passenger seat, Sophia could see the tension written all over her face.
Soon, the towering building of Magnus’s company came into view.
Sophia pulled the car into the parking area, and the two women stepped out, walking quickly toward the grand glass entrance.
But just as they approached the doors, two security guards stepped forward and blocked their path.
“Your ID card or appointment letter, please,” one of the guards said in a professional tone as his eyes settled on Sophia.
Sophia straightened slightly.
“I work for Mr. Graves,” she explained. “My name is Sylvia.”
The guard gave a polite nod but didn’t move aside.
“I understand, Miss Sylvia,” he said respectfully. “However, you still need an appointment to enter the building. Mr. Graves doesn’t allow walk-ins.”
He gestured slightly toward the reception desk.
“Do you have an appointment letter or an entry slip?”
Sophia’s shoulders stiffened.
For a moment she glanced at Emma, then back at the guards, clearly trying to think of a way inside.
Just then, the glass doors behind the guards slid open. Brent stepped out of the building.
The moment Sophia saw him, her eyes lit up.
“Brent?”
She called out his name quickly, relief flashing across her face as she lifted her hand to catch his attention.
Brent turned toward the voice. The moment he saw them, he walked over with a friendly smile.
“Miss Sylvia, what are you doing here?” he asked lightly. “We don’t have an auction scheduled today.”
“No, I know,” Sophia said quickly, releasing a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
She stepped closer, lowering her voice slightly.
“Actually… I wanted to meet Mr. Graves. Is he in the office? Would it be possible for me to speak with him?”
Brent’s expression shifted slightly.
“Mr. Graves isn’t at the office today,” he replied. He slipped one hand into his pocket as he continued. “He had to attend something important. I’m not exactly sure where he is right now.”
Sophia’s shoulders dropped.
Beside her, Emma’s face instantly fell, disappointment and worry spreading across her expression.
“I see…” Sophia murmured softly. “Thank you anyway.”
She gave Brent a small smile before turning away.
The two women walked slowly back toward the parking lot. The building behind them felt even more imposing now.
When they reached the car, Emma finally spoke, her voice tight with anxiety.
“What should we do now?” Emma asked, her face tight with worry.
She dragged a hand through her hair, pacing restlessly beside the car.
“This situation is just getting worse and worse.”
Her voice rose with frustration as she turned to Sophia, clearly baffled.
“And seriously, how the hell did he even end up standing behind us yesterday without making a sound? It’s not like we were shouting. We were barely speaking at a normal volume.”
She shook her head in disbelief.
“It was like he appeared out of thin air. We didn’t even hear him coming. Not a single sound. It scared the hell out of me.”
She exhaled sharply, folding her arms across her chest.
“And seriously… how can someone get offended over something so small?”
Sophia watched her quietly.
“Don’t worry,” she said gently. “Everything will be alright.”
She leaned back slightly against the car, folding her arms as she fell into thought.
“Let me think for a moment.”
Sophia went silent.
A few seconds later, something clicked in her mind.
She straightened immediately, opened her bag, and pulled out her phone. Her fingers moved quickly across the screen as she scrolled through her contacts
Emma leaned closer.
“Who are you calling?”
Sophia didn’t answer immediately. Her finger stopped on a name.
Camila.
Sophia hesitated for the briefest moment before pressing the call button.
The call rang.
To her surprise, it connected after only a few seconds.
“Hello?” a warm voice answered from the other side.
“Mrs. Graves,” Sophia said politely. “How are you doing?”