Chapter 6 Opportunities #3
“Motherfucker!” he muttered under his breath, his jaw tightening.
His face darkened. He immediately pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and began wiping his fingers with rough, aggressive strokes, as though trying to scrub something filthy off his skin. The rough sound of fabric against skin filled the tense silence.
Celia’s smile froze.
Her chest tightened when she saw the pure disgust in his expression, the way his brows furrowed, the way his lips twisted like her touch had contaminated him.
He finished wiping his hand and threw the handkerchief onto the table with a sharp flick of his wrist. The cloth landed with a dull thud.
His eyes lifted to meet hers.
They were burning.
“I told you I have no interest in you.” His voice was low at first — dangerous. “I never had any fucking interest in being with you. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
The words exploded out of him. His voice echoed against the walls, heavy with fury and revulsion.
Celia’s fingers trembled at her sides. She flinched but forced herself to steady.
“Magnus… did you forget how you used to be with me in college?” she said, her voice slightly trembling despite her effort to sound calm. “We were such good friends. You obviously had a crush on me.”
Magnus stared at her as if she had just said something insane.
“Are you out of your fucking mind?” Magnus snapped.
His brows drew together sharply. His eyes were cold, cutting. He took a step toward her, towering over her.
“The only thing I had for you in college was fucking acquaintance. Not even friends. And that was also only because you were friends with one of my friends.”
His voice dropped lower, colder.
“And the moment I saw what kind of character you had, I dumped you. Did you forget that? I stopped talking to you because you disgusted me.”
Each word hit like a slap.
“And you still disgust me.”
He stepped closer, towering over her.
“Who the hell told you I had a crush on you?”
Celia’s face went pale. The confidence she had walked in with completely shattered. Her lips parted, but no words came out. Her chest rose and fell too quickly, like she was struggling to breathe.
But Magnus wasn’t done.
“Stop your drama,” he said harshly. “I’m not going to fall for your antics, Celia.”
His eyes were merciless.
“And tell your father this — since he let go of this opportunity, there will never be another one. Our business relationship is over.”
With a sudden burst of anger, he kicked the table in front of him.
The loud bang thundered through the room. The table screeched against the floor. The echo lingered in the heavy air.
Then, without another glance at her, he turned sharply and stormed out.
The door slammed shut behind him.
Silence swallowed the suite.
Celia stood there, breathless and frozen. Her fingers were trembling at her sides. Her face remained stiff, but her eyes were wide with shock and rising panic.
The room suddenly felt suffocating. The humiliation burned under her skin like fire. She had come to the hotel in secret—taking her father’s place without telling him. She was sure she could persuade Magnus, win him over, and regain Jerry's approval.
Instead…
Everything had backfired.
And now the consequences were about to burn her alive.
Magnus stormed out of the hotel suite, his footsteps sharp and fast against the thick carpet of the corridor. His breathing was heavy, his jaw still clenched so tightly it ached.
Just then, the door to the suite next door clicked open.
Sophia stepped out.
Behind her, Emma followed, already dressed in her long blue gown. The diamonds in her ears shimmered under the corridor lights, catching tiny sparks of white and blue as she adjusted them.
Sophia lifted her hand absently to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear — but then she froze.
Her eyes landed on a familiar broad back disappearing down the corridor.
“Magnus?”
Sophia’s brows slowly knitted together.
Emma stepped beside her, slipping on her second earring while glancing at Sophia’s expression.
“What are you looking at?” Emma asked softly, leaning slightly to peek down the hallway.
Her voice lowered to a whisper.
“Isn’t that… Magnus?”
The figure turned the corner and vanished from sight.
Sophia’s heart gave an uneasy thud as she watched him disappear around the corner.
Just then, Emma suddenly grabbed Sophia’s wrist. Her fingers were tight, almost trembling, as she yanked her back into the room and behind the door.
Sophia stumbled slightly from the force, her heart jolting. She turned to Emma, startled, but Emma didn’t look at her. Instead, she pointed outside with a stiff finger.
“Look.”
Sophia’s gaze followed the direction of Emma’s hand.
Down the corridor, under the soft golden lights of the hotel hallway, Celia was walking out from the exact direction Magnus had come from earlier.
Her heels tapped lightly against the marble floor as she hurried after him.
Magnus was already ahead, his tall figure cold and distant, and Celia was following behind him, trying to catch up.
For a moment, everything around Sophia felt muted.
The carpeted hallway lights flickered softly overhead, casting long shadows. Celia’s back slowly disappeared at the turn of the corridor.
Emma and Sophia looked at each other, then back at the empty space where Celia had vanished.
Emma turned sharply toward Sophia, her eyes blazing. “What the hell is going on?” she demanded, her voice low but shaking with anger. “What was he doing with another woman at a damn hotel?”