"Sophia, you two know each other?"
Lucas couldn’t hide the surprise in his voice when he realized the person Sophia insisted on eting... was Ryan. He had no idea about the deals between them.
"We’ve t twice. He’s with the Wright family," Sophia replied casually.
Lucas nodded slowly, processing. "Ryan, what’s going on?"
"The Wrights are planning sothing big."
"Big?" Lucas raised a brow.
"Yeah. They’ve been hanging around here for a while, but recently they’ve started plotting sothing. They didn’t tell directly—of course not. Nathan knows, though. I only picked up bits and pieces, so I figured I’d warn you two. Stay sharp."
Lucas didn’t seem impressed. "The Wright family? What big move could they possibly pull?"
"That’s exactly the problem," Ryan replied, voice low. "We don’t know. Which ans you need to be careful. And honestly, their movents feel... different this ti. Subtle. They might actually be up to sothing serious."
"They’re not in City Y—they ca to City A and settled in. That alone screams bad intentions," Lucas scoffed. "But I don’t believe they have what it takes to take on."
"Open confrontation is easy to handle," Ryan reminded him quietly. "It’s the hidden strikes you won’t see coming."
"He’s right," Sophia agreed. "Out in the open, they can’t touch you. But if they go low, ambush you, trap you? That’s another story entirely."
She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. If they had any brains, the Wrights would find allies.
And if they did... perfect. She already knew how to crush them.
In City A, there were only a handful of families bold—or stupid—enough to work with the Wrights.
And Hilton Group towered above them all.
"Anyway," Ryan continued, "warning you about them was the first reason I called you here. The second is... Harper."
Sophia arched a brow. So he finally planned to spill.
She’d wondered how long he wanted to hide that.
"Oh? Harper," she humd. "Funny. I’m curious—how exactly did you two et? Don’t tell it was just that one encounter at the office."
Ryan’s lips twitched. "That wasn’t our first eting."
"...What?"
"Our first eting was the night Lucas dragged you away. After you left, I ran into her."
Sophia’s mory snapped back and she slowly turned her gaze on him.
"So that’s your excuse for flirting with my best friend behind my back?"
Her tone was ice.
Ryan threw his hands up in surrender.
"She thought the sa thing you do."
"And what was that, exactly?" Sophia challenged.
"She said I have no money, no power, and no influence."
Sophia nodded seriously. "Accurate."
Ryan sighed. "She also said she already has you. Money, power, beauty, status. So she’d rather cling to you than look at ."
Sophia blinked, then laughed. "She really said that?"
"Word for word. Then she told she’d rather worship you than date ."
He slumped back, defeated.
"I tried pursuing her anyway. Her response? She said she likes you more."
Of course she did. Harper didn’t want marriage—she wanted freedom, good food, fun, and chaos. And with William spoiling her and Sophia protecting her, her little life was basically cheat-mode.
"You’re not here just to ask about her, are you?" Sophia narrowed her eyes, unimpressed.
"I didn’t exactly ask your permission, no," Ryan admitted, scratching the back of his neck. "But I know too little about her. So..."
Sophia didn’t waste ti. She pulled out her phone.
Seconds later, Ryan’s phone vibrated.
"There. Everything she likes—and everything she absolutely hates."
"Thank you." Ryan’s smile brightened way too much, like he hadn’t co to warn them at all—just to collect Harper-info like a love-struck idiot.
By the ti they finally parted ways deep into the night, Lucas carried Sophia upstairs.
"Wash up. Bed."
"I don’t wanna mooove..." she mumbled, eyes half-shut, collapsing into him like a sleepy kitten.
"No. You still have makeup on."
"Don’ care... you do it..." she mumbled, rolling deeper into the blankets.
Lucas let out a low resigned sigh and went to grab her skincare stuff.
Cotton pads? Found.
Now... what liquid?
Hmm. Water. Water is... hydrating.
He soaked the pad under the faucet and began scrubbing her cheek.
After a while, Sophia winced. "Ow—Lucas, are you scrubbing pork skin?!"
He froze. Cleared his throat like he did nothing wrong. "Hold on."
He stord into the bathroom and stared at fifteen bottles—pink bottles, blue bottles, mysterious lotions—no idea what any of them were.
His eyes landed on... soap.
Yes. Soap cleans everything.
He lathered the cotton pad thick with soap foam and returned like a soldier ready for battle.
Sophia, seconds from sleep, suddenly caught the sll.
Her eyes snapped open.
"What. Are. You. Doing?"
"Removing your makeup."
"...Why do I sll bar soap?!"
Lucas stiffened. "You don’t use soap for this?"
Sophia bolted upright like she’d been electrocuted, shoved him away, and shrieked, "AAAAAH!"
She stord to the sink and scrubbed her face like she was exorcising demons. When she returned, still fuming, she glared.
"You know how bears die?"
"...What?"
"From being stupid."
She pointed a finger at him. "Unbelievable. You’ve never heard of makeup remover? Cleansing oil?"
"I don’t wear makeup," he said calmly. "And on the rare occasions I need it, soone else handles it for ."
"First ti experience," he added shalessly. "Now I know."
When he ca back showered and fresh, Sophia was wearing a sheet mask.
He pointed. "Do I get one?"
"...Fine. Sit."
He knelt obediently. She applied the mask to his face like a disappointed kindergarten teacher.
"Don’t smile," she warned seriously.
Ten seconds later—Lucas cracked.
He poked the mask on her cheek.
She slapped his hand. "Still. Head forward. Stop being cute. You’re too old for that."
He tilted his head anyway, smirking.
Then, without warning, he leaned in and pecked her lips.
Sophia froze. "You—!"
"I think you’re awake now," he murmured, voice low and wicked. "Should we move on to sothing... more aningful?"
Sophia spun to flee.
He scooped her up instantly.
"I HAVE A MASK ON!"
"That’s okay. You can do another one tomorrow."
"I object!"
"Objection denied."
They fell onto the bed and Sophia shoved at his shoulders.
"Wait! Lucas!"
"What now?"
"Look at yourself. Go. Look in a mirror. You look like a desperate wolf in heat."
Lucas’s eyes darkened, hunger flaring hotter.
"Sophia... you’re not getting a single minute of sleep tonight."
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