Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Sofia groggily opened her eyes, her head throbbing from a night of little. sleep. Sleeping at 3 in the morning was not something she would recommend to anyone.
She held her head. Fortunately, it was the weekend, and she did not have to wake up early for work.
“Eh?” She blinked when she noticed she was gazing at someone’s back- shirtless-naked masculine back. Then the memories of last night flooded her brain.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.
No. She did not engage in anything sexual or cry in his arms again.
Exhaustion had simply led her to sleep, and somehow, he had chosen to share the bed. She shook off the panic as she gingerly untangled herself from his sleeping form, hoping not to disturb him.
Yet, as she made her escape, he stirred and turned to face her. Panic briefly flickered inside her, but it vanished as quickly as it came when she saw that his eyes remained closed.
Carefully slipping out of bed, Sofia thought she had succeeded in her quiet exit. Just as she was about to fully escape, he suddenly grabbed her wrist and effortlessly pulled her back into his arms. A gasp escaped her lips as she found herself back on the bed, her face pressed against his chest.
Almost immediately, his masculine, woody yet somehow sweet smell filled her nose. Her cheeks reddened, her heart racing against her chest:
“Morning...” his voice was a little too husky for someone who just woke up. Hold on... he was awake? “It's noon...” she said without knowing the exact time.
“Hmmm...” his arm tightened around her.
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She fought the urge to ask him why he chose to stay in her bed. She did not want to sound too conservative, too prudish. They were already married after all. However, she was not used to sleeping next to someone -not even to Daniel.
Just as she was about to tell him to let go, she felt his breathing turn calm once again. He was already sleeping! Sofia was speechless!
After making sure that he was indeed sleeping, she slowly made her way out of bed and grabbed her phone from the nightstand before running to the bathroom.
After quickly washing her face to wake herself up, she opened her phone but realized it was dead. So, she quickly plugged it in and went to the kitchen to make something she could eat.
Since she turned nineteen, Sofia has lived on her own. It helped that her grandmother gifted her this flat not too far away from their ancestral house. After she graduated college, she immediately started living in this place full-time and even began to decorate it on her own.
“Have you opened your phone yet?” Alexander’s voice interrupted her stupor. He was wearing her robe that looked too small for his huge frame as he casually walked towards the kitchen.
“It was dead.” “Probably from the calls...”
“Calls?” Sofia asked as she took the eggs from the pan and faced him. She ignored the fact that he already looked at home while eating an apple he had taken from the kitchen island. “What calls?”
Her question immediately received its answer when he slid his phone toward her. She caught it and immediately started reading the most. trending news.
UWIN 465 14:23
[Caroline Locke with Mystery Man] [Caroline Locke’s Lover]
[Singer Caroline Locke’s Secret Boyfriend] [Heiress Caroline Locke's Dating History]
On it were blurry photos of Charlotte and none other than Daniel in a car just last night! Some were photos while they were inside the bar, while some were photos of them walking towards Charlotte’s condo building. All of the photos were carefully taken by someone to avoid showing Sofia on the frame.
As if on cue, her doorbell rang. Sofia’s eyes immediately widened. If she was right, that should be either Charlotte or Daniel! She immediately looked at Alexander and could only utter one word. “Hide.” She looked around the living room that she could see from the kitchen and was immediately relieved when she did not see any of his items behind. “Now?” she added.
She thought she heard him chuckle, but she ignored it as she made her way to the door. Last night, she locked it from the inside, so even if someone knew the password to her security, they would not be able to get
1. in.
“Charry?” Sofia asked when she opened the door. Charlotte was dressed in a large pink hoodie and large eyeglasses that covered most of her face. “What are you-”
“Thank god, you are alright,” Charlotte said. She pushed Sofia and immediately walked inside. “I thought something happened,” she added.
“Why would something happen?” Sofia asked.
“Have you read the news?”
“News?” Sofia feigned ignorance.
“Did you just wake up?” Charlotte walked towards the living room. “Yes. My phone’s dead. Were you trying to call me?”
“Some paparazzi took a photo of me and Daniel last night and posted it just an hour ago. Luckily, they were smart enough to blur his face. My manager is already working with the lawyers to take down that fake news.” Charlotte calmly said.
“Last night...” Of course, Sofia had to act like she could not remember anything. “Did he drive you home?” “Last night, you puked all over me. | asked him to take me home,” Charlotte sat on the couch. “I was in the middle of a photo shoot when | saw the news. | immediately tried to call you, but you didn’t answer. “| think | had too much wine last night.” Sofia calmly to make everything clear to the media-” 1. a. If you need me “There is no need to do that,” Charlotte said. “My team can handle it.”
Sofia nodded without saying a word. In the past, Sofia would immediately try to bury some news about Charlotte. Lawrence refused to involve himself in his daughter's issues, as he did not want anyone to label him as someone who had helped Charlotte gain her film.
Lawrence never wanted his daughter to pursue her career, but he never directly told Charlotte no. Instead, he would casually talk to Sofia about this and, in response, earn her sympathy. Now that Sofia thought about everything, she realized that those were nothing but manipulation tactics. Lawrence would not directly involve himself in Charlotte’s matters because it was Sofia who would do it for him! In the end, everyone, including the board of directors, saw him as a very fair and honest person.
4/5 Sofia snorted inwardly.
“Are you sure?” Sofia had a worried look on her face. “We can just tell them that Daniel is my boyfriend, and | invited the two of you together.”
Technically, that was not a lie.
“Why would you do that? Some fans can be very toxic. The best course of action is to stay silent and let the news vanish on its
own.
Sofia nodded as she walked towards the kitchen. Charlotte sounded like she was concerned about Sofia’s well-being but the truth is far from this. The previous scandals about Charlotte would not just vanish on their own because it was Sofia who used her grandmother’s connection to clean it all
1. up. Sadly, today is going to be very different from the past.
“Tell me if you need help,” Sofia said, her voice soft and gentle. The moment she turned around, the softness on her face vanished.
She could not wait to see how Charlotte and Daniel would resolve this
storm.