Chapter 7 Crossing Boundaries #3
The moment he saw her trying to get up, he rushed toward her.
“What are you doing?” he asked sharply.
Before she could answer, he crossed the room in two quick steps, scooped her up into his arms again, and carried her back to the bed.
He gently placed her down.
“The doctor said you need to rest,” he said firmly.
His tone was stern, but the worry in his eyes was clear.
“You have food poisoning. You can’t just get up and walk around.”
Sophia remained seated on the bed, staring at Magnus for a moment before her gaze slowly drifted away from him.
Her eyes moved slowly around the room.
And then she froze.
It was the bedroom she had lived in with Magnus two years ago. The place felt painfully familiar. Nothing had changed.
The color of the walls was exactly the same as she remembered. The furniture stood in the same places. Even the small decorations on the shelves were untouched, as if time had simply stopped here.
Not a single thing had been moved.
A wave of nostalgia washed over her so suddenly that it almost stole the breath from her lungs.
For a moment, her chest tightened.
Memories she had tried so hard to bury rose quietly to the surface.
Her eyes stung.
Tears threatened to gather, but she quickly turned her face away, blinking them back before they could fall. Taking a slow breath, she forced herself to calm down before turning back toward him.
Magnus was watching her quietly.
Sophia looked at him for a moment before sliding her legs off the bed.
“I need to leave,” she said softly. “Thank you for helping me when I was sick, but I think I’m fine now.”
She slid toward the edge of the bed and started to stand.
But before she could fully rise—
Magnus moved.
He stepped forward and placed one knee on the bed, blocking her path. One hand went behind the headboard beside her head as he leaned closer, trapping her between his arm and the bed.
His face lowered toward hers.
Sophia stiffened.
Magnus stared directly into her eyes. A dark flash crossed his gaze as frustration finally surfaced.
“Can you stop fighting me all the time?” he growled. “I’m trying to take care of you, and all you do is push me away.”
“I don’t need you to care about me,” Sophia snapped instantly. “You should care about your girlfriend, not me, Mr. Graves.”
Magnus fell silent.
Anger flickered across his face before a dangerous expression slowly formed.
“Why do you keep bringing that up?” he asked, his voice low.
A teasing edge slowly appeared on his face as if he had suddenly caught onto something.
“Are you jealous?”
He studied her face closely.
Sophia let out a short, disbelieving laugh.
“Are you really that self-centered?” she shot back sharply. “Why would I be jealous of anything you do in your life? What does it have to do with me?”
Her eyes hardened as she continued.
“The only thing I want from you is to leave me alone. You and I don’t have any relationship. It’s inappropriate for you to keep approaching me like this.”
She paused before adding coldly,
“Especially when you’re always showing up everywhere with another woman by your side.”
Magnus’s expression darkened.
“If you’re not jealous, then why are you always so cold and harsh toward me?” he demanded.
He stared at her intensely.
His anger grew more visible as he continued looking at her.
“Do you really hate me,” he asked slowly, “or is there another reason?”
He studied her eyes carefully.
Then suddenly, something flickered across his expression.
A thought.
“Have we met before?” he asked quietly. “Did I do something to you? Is that why you hate me?”
His voice lowered.
“What is it? Tell me.”
Sophia’s face turned pale for a brief second before she quickly forced herself to regain control.
“What are you even talking about?” she snapped quickly. “What is wrong with you?”
Her voice rose slightly.
“Is it really so hard for you to accept that a woman simply doesn’t want anything to do with you? My words aren’t that difficult to understand, are they?”
She crossed her arms tightly.
“It’s very simple. I refuse to have anything to do with you. Yet you keep trying to invent reasons that don’t exist to make it look like I have some hidden motive.”
But her voice faltered slightly near the end.
Her eyes drifted away from his.
Magnus noticed immediately.
Before she could turn further, he reached out and grabbed her chin gently but firmly, turning her face back toward him.
Their eyes locked.
His voice dropped to a low, dangerous whisper.
“Say it again.”
His gaze searched hers intensely.
“Look into my eyes and say it again.”
Sophia pressed her lips tightly together. Frustration flashed across her face as she grabbed the hand that was holding her chin and forcefully pushed it away.
Then she slid off the bed and stood up.
Without hesitating, she stepped closer to him, closing the distance between them. Her eyes blazed with anger as she looked straight into his face.
“I don’t need a reason,” she snapped harshly. “I just don’t like you.”
Magnus didn’t move.
Sophia lifted her hand and jabbed a finger against his chest.
“I don’t think you have good morals,” she continued, her voice sharp with fury. “You’re not someone I want to be associated with.”
Her finger pressed harder into his chest as she glared at him.
“But if you really need a reason—if you still need a reason,” she said through clenched teeth, “then I’ll tell you the goddamn reason.”
She stepped even closer, stabbing her finger against his chest again.
“The reason is that you destroyed my friend’s business for your girlfriend!”
Magnus frowned.
Sophia didn’t stop.
“You lied to me and said my friend offended you,” she continued angrily, her finger pushing painfully against his chest. “But the truth is that you were just trying to please your little girlfriend to make her happy!”
Magnus didn’t push her hand away.
Instead, he stared at her with confusion.
“How do you know about this?” he asked, confusion and agitation creeping into his voice. “Did Sophia tell you?”
His voice turned more agitated near the end, his jaw tightening with frustration.
Sophia was startled for a brief second.
Then she quickly remembered that he had mistaken Emma for his ex-wife. Now he clearly thought that Sophia had been badmouthing him to her.
Sophia’s expression turned cold.
“It’s none of your business who told me,” she said in a deadly calm voice.
Her eyes hardened.
“Isn’t it the truth? That’s all that matters.”
Magnus let out a deep, frustrated breath. His chest rose and fell as he tried to control the irritation building inside him.
Sophia’s finger was still pressing accusingly against his chest.
With a sudden movement, Magnus lifted his hand and wrapped his fingers around her wrist, pulling her hand down from his chest. But he didn’t let go. His fingers stayed around her hand, holding it firmly in his.
When he spoke again, his voice was noticeably lower, as if he was forcing himself to stay calm.
“That’s not the case,” he said, staring at her. “I did that because when you met—”
“I don’t want to hear it anymore.”
Sophia cut him off sharply.
Before he could react, she yanked her hand out of his grip with a rough pull. Taking a step back, she crossed her arms tightly over her chest, putting distance between them.
Her eyes locked onto his, cold and firm.
“I just need you to stay the hell away from me in the future. We only have a professional relationship—nothing more.”
Her chin lifted slightly as she continued,
“So please don’t cross your boundaries and make things worse.”
Magnus stared at her, disbelief flashing across his face, his jaw tightening.
“Will you at least listen to me for once?” he said, his voice sharp and controlled, though the strain in it was obvious. “You keep talking and won’t even give me a chance to say a goddamn word!”
Sophia spun around on her heel before he could say anything else.
She walked back to the bed, sat down heavily, and then leaned back against the pillows.
Closing her eyes, she turned her face away from him.
“Get out.”
Magnus took a step toward her.
“But—”
“I told you to get out,” she repeated, not even opening her eyes.
She turned further away from him as if she couldn’t even stand to see his face.
Magnus’s jaw clenched tightly. Frustration flashed across his face.
“You are such a spoiled brat!” he snapped.
He turned away from her and stormed out of the room, the door slamming shut behind him.
***
The Empire Group auction hall buzzed with people.
Soft murmurs and whispers filled the air as guests moved around the luxurious venue. It was the third day of the auction for the project Sophia was managing.
Sophia stood confidently on the stage, hosting the auction as the bids continued to rise.
Magnus sat in the first row of the audience, his gaze fixed on her from the moment she had stepped onto the stage.
Under the bright lights, Sophia looked completely composed.
A bright, professional smile rested on her lips as she addressed the crowd. She was wearing a light blue mini dress that hugged her figure and ended at mid-thigh. The fabric shimmered softly under the lights, decorated with tiny sparkling stones and delicate floral patterns spread across the dress.
Her long hair fell freely down her back in loose waves.
Silver heels clicked lightly against the stage as she moved from one side to the other, gracefully presenting each item to the audience.
Every pair of eyes in the hall was on her.
But Magnus wasn’t looking at the auction items.
He was only watching her.
His gaze followed every step she took across the stage.
Every smile.
Every movement.
Even as the auction continued and people around him talked quietly among themselves, his gaze remained fixed on her.
Isabel sat beside him.
She noticed it.
Again and again, she glanced at Magnus from the corner of her eye. Every time she looked, his eyes were still fixed on Sophia. He didn’t even blink much, as if afraid he might miss something.
There was even a faint smile on his face when he watched her speak.
Isabel’s fingers slowly curled into fists on her lap.
When the auction finally ended and Sophia stepped down from the stage, Magnus still didn’t move. He remained seated, watching her as she walked away.
Isabel’s heart burned with jealousy.
Her eyes darkened as she looked at him.
The way he stared at Sophia—as if she were the only woman in the room—made her anger grow with every passing second.
For a brief moment, she glared at him openly.
Then she quickly took a breath and forced the anger down. Her expression changed instantly, smoothing into a pleasant smile.
Reaching over, she grabbed Magnus’s arm and shook it lightly.
“Magnus?” she called softly.