Chapter 6
At the hospital, Marcus had called in the country’s top medical team just to treat Sophie’s scraped elbow.[]
“Does it still hurt? Don’t worry, I made those men pay for what they did. I promise you, nothing like this will ever happen again!“[]
Sophie’s eyes were red, but she was still giving him the silent treatment.[]
Only after the red marks completely faded, revealing her snow–white skin, did Marcus finally let her go.
In the private VIP room with no one else around, Marcus got down on one knee to apologize to Sophie.[]
“I’m sorry, Sophie. This is all my fault. I should have been there to protect you every second. How about this–I’ll have the staff prepare a room right now. Let’s move in together today, okay?“[]
At the word “together,” Sophie finally looked at his face.
Her gaze was clear but tinged with helpless embarrassment, like a pure white rabbit lost in a thorn bush.[]
Marcus’s heart clenched at that look.
This strange flutter was more addictive than a blade cutting through flesh.
He loved watching every ripple of emotion she felt because of him.[]
After making sure Sophie was comforted, Marcus immediately called the butler, his tone returning to its usual ice–cold delivery:[]
“Get Victoria Sterling and all her stuff out of the main house. Dump it all at that empty place in the west suburbs.”
“Sir, Mrs. Sterling… she hasn’t been back since she left last night. I thought she… was with you.“[]
The butler’s voice sounded hesitant.
Marcus’s heart suddenly dropped.[]
Last night… in his rage, he’d apparently let those men assault her.
But that flicker of unease was instantly suppressed.[]
He needed to maintain absolute coldness to deal with the unfamiliar warmth Sophie brought–warmth that threatened to burn him alive.[]
“Then clear out her stuff immediately. Everything she’s touched–throw it out, replace it all. Tonight, the estate gets a new lady of the house.” His order was absolute.
After hanging up, his finger hovered over the button to call his bodyguard, then moved away.
“She brought it on herself,” he told himself. “Worst case, I’ll just give her more money in the divorce.“[]
He completely erased Victoria Sterling’s shadow from his mind.[]
He lifted Sophie in his arms, carrying her with an almost reverent feeling back to the bedroom he’d once shared with Victoria.[]
Every trace of Victoria had been completely erased–even that enormous wedding photo he’d never bothered to look at was gone.[]
The air was filled with a new, cold emptiness.[]
Yet when Sophie looked around this luxurious prison like a startled deer, her pure eyes taking it all in, Marcus felt an inexplicable hollowness pass through him.
“This.. is your home?” Sophie carefully traced the words in his palm, her eyes full of innocent confusion and a barely detectable fear that fed his dark possessiveness perfectly.[]
He wrapped his arm around Sophie’s impossibly slender waist and announced to the servants standing at attention, his voice ringing with authority:
“From today on, she’s the lady of this house. Her preferences are the only rules that matter.“]
“Yes, sir.”
The butler looked like he wanted to say something but was frozen in place by Marcus’s ice–cold stare.]
Marcus’s world began revolving around Sophie.[]
For the first time ever, he cut back on his visits to the torture chambers and underground casinos, moving most of his business back to the estate.
One look from Sophie and he’d take her out, using money to create every innocent joy her heart desired.[]
He announced her as his “fiancée” to the world, openly paving the way for Sophie and her family from the projects.[]
The cold–blooded demon who once skinned traitors alive was playing the role of a lovesick fool for the first time.
Until two months later, when Black Industries was hosting an elite charity gala on the Bund.[]
Only then did Marcus suddenly remember me–the shadow who used to perfectly navigate all his dirty deals and fake social functions.
The phone only gave him cold, mechanical words: “The number you have dialed is not in service…“]
Marcus’s expression instantly darkened like a storm cloud.
“Perfect, Victoria. Playing hide and seek with me.”
He immediately ordered his bodyguards to grab her from the west suburb villa.
The report came back: the villa had been empty for a long time, covered in dust–Victoria had never set foot there.[]
“Impossible!” Marcus smashed the wine glass in his hand, shards flying everywhere.[]
“Who tipped her off?! The butler or Mrs. Williams?!“]
The commotion woke Sophie from her afternoon nap.
She came downstairs in a silk nightgown, barefoot, like a soft cloud drifting down, worriedly tracing words in his palm:[]
“What’s wrong?”
Looking into Sophie’s untainted eyes, Marcus felt intense irritation rising in his chest for the first time.
Victoria was his carefully honed weapon, a viper who could navigate the bloody swamp with ease.]
No matter how pure and beautiful Sophie was, she couldn’t untangle those deeply rooted, blood–stained webs of interests in a short time.[] “Company business.” He stiffly avoided Sophie’s touch and, for the first time, left her behind to personally search for Victoria.[]
But even after turning the city upside down, he found nothing.
