"Let me take you home, I don’t have anything going on tonight."
"It’s okay, Edward, I can manage on my own. It’s quite far from here to my place, so there’s no need to trouble you."
She turned to leave, took a few steps, then suddenly remembered something.
She walked up to Edward, stood in front of him, and then gave him a big hug, a hug she mustered up a lot of courage to give.
Edward was a bit stunned, his hands unsure where to go. Sophie’s sudden action indeed startled him—she wouldn’t usually do this.
Sophie stood quietly in his embrace, keenly feeling the comfort of his scent. These days, she had been living in deep pain, immense pain.
After a long while, she finally released him.
"G-Goodbye, Little Sophie." Edward clearly hadn’t recovered; that hug felt nothing like a friendly hug, and he wasn’t prepared for Sophie’s enthusiasm.
She turned with a smile, but the moment she turned, her smile froze on her face.
He stood in a dark corner, from afar, yet she could clearly feel his anger.
Sophie knew the only thing she could do now was walk toward him, but that distance really felt long, so very long.
She couldn’t turn back; Edward was still watching her from behind, she couldn’t let Edward notice anything unusual.
She walked to Asher Land, keeping her head down.
Asher seemed to look down at her from above, a faint, unfathomable yet chilling smile on his lips.
"Do you think you can fool me?"
Sophie didn’t speak again. She felt there was no need to explain to him; no matter how much she said, he wouldn’t believe. Moreover, just a moment ago, hugging Edward, she had indeed felt moved. Edward had always been the one she loved, without a doubt.
"Believe it or not." Sophie’s tone was firm, which undoubtedly was only creating more trouble for herself.
Asher didn’t explode as she imagined; he bypassed her and got into the car. He parked the car beside her, and after hesitating for a moment, Sophie opened the car door.
The atmosphere between the two had reached freezing point. Sophie turned her head to look out the window, watching the passing scenery.
Asher’s gaze was cold as he drove at an alarming speed. Sophie clung tightly to the seatbelt, trying her best to hide any sign of fear in her eyes.
The car finally stopped downstairs, Asher was the first to go upstairs, and Sophie followed.
Sophie turned on the lights in the living room, finding Asher sitting on the sofa. Neither seemed willing to be the first to speak about today’s events.
Eventually, it was Sophie who broke the silence.
"If you have nothing to ask me, I’ll head to my room."
"Ha, you’re really stubborn!" he snorted coldly, standing up. His tall figure approached her; she could feel a shadow looming over her head.
"If you insist on being stubborn, fine, this is the price you have to pay." He tossed a document and a USB drive in front of her.
She recognized the document; it was the contract she had signed under Asher Land’s manipulation. If she left Asher, it would be a breach of contract, and she’d have to pay five million in damages. But what was in that USB drive?
Asher seemed to notice her confusion and plugged the USB drive into the computer.