Chapter 119: Am I Your Pet?

"No, you can't."

Benjamin's face held a gentle smile, but his dark eyes were ice-cold. His tone in rejecting her was strategized and nonchalant.

Sophia pursed her lips.

She had nothing to say to him.

Watching Sophia's icy demeanor, Benjamin knew she was deliberately ignoring him again.

Benjamin glanced at Laura, giving her a signal.

Catching on immediately, Laura moved Benjamin's dishes from across the table to beside Sophia.

Picking up a fork and spoon, Benjamin delicately removed the bones from the fish and placed the flesh on her plate.

"If you want lessons from a foreign painter, I can find someone for you. There's no need to go abroad. If you face troubles in Pinecrest, at least I can protect you. But if you're overseas, I can't."

Sophia frowned and pushed away the fish he had served her. She didn't want to hear him talk or accept his gestures of care.

"I'm going abroad to learn painting, not to cause trouble. Nobody will bully me, and I don't need your protection."

Benjamin's face turned gloomy, his aura cold and forbidding.

He thought he had humbled himself enough to win her favor.

He had skipped over an important business lunch to cook for her and tried his best to engage her in conversation amounted to his efforts.

Yes, he had deceived her, but he had apologized and promised to make it up to her.

When would her cold treatment stop?

Laura sensed the tension and quickly motioned for the other maids to leave the dining room. She shut the door behind her to give Sophia and Benjamin some space to talk.

Benjamin adjusted his collar. He felt as if something was stuck in his throat, making him uncomfortable.

"Sophia, can we not move past this?"

The clatter of Sophia's fork hitting the table echoed loudly as she slammed it down.

Turning to face Benjamin with fiery eyes, she expressed her frustration, "I had already let go and didn't want to dwell on the past. But now you keep dragging me back and treating me as a caged bird here at Oakleaf Estates! When you didn't care about me, you wouldn't even look at me! Now that you care, you treat me as if I'm your pet!"

With those words, Sophia couldn't control her emotions and her eyes welled up.

"Benjamin, what do you even consider me as?"

Whether it was before or now, he always only thought of himself.

He did as he pleased without considering her feelings or respecting her.

Why should she keep tolerating him?

Benjamin's brows furrowed. His fists clenched on the table. His handsome face softened, and the coldness was replaced by confusion and panic.

"I wasn't trying to cage you..."

Alright, he did fear she might run away, hence he indeed arranged for people to guard the villa under the pretense of protection and had Laura report her movements to him.

But he didn't see her as a pet or a bird in a cage.

He merely hoped she would give him another chance, hoping she wouldn't think of divorce or leaving.

Sophia scoffed coldly and pointed at the men in black suits standing in the garden visible from the dining room.

"Then what are they for?"

"They are just bodyguards," Benjamin explained patiently. "They won't stop you if you want to go out..."

Sophia crossed her arms, not believing his excuses.

Angered to the point of losing her appetite, she stood up from the dining chair, intending to leave.

Benjamin quickly got up, grabbing her wrist to stop her. "Where are you going now?"

He glanced at the almost untouched food on the dining table.

"You haven't finished your meal. Want to starve yourself again?"

Sophia frowned and glanced back at the steak on the table.

Gurgle...

Her stomach embarrassingly grumbled loud enough to remind her that she was hungry.

The steak smelled so good.

Benjamin bit his lip to suppress a smile.

He let go of her wrist and gently pushed her back to her chair.

"Come on. Let's eat. You like the food this new chef makes, right? Don't disappoint him."

He was really annoying!

Sophia picked up her fork and resumed eating.

She didn't want to starve because of that jerk again.

As she ate, Sophia pondered.

Today's argument wasn't all bad. At least Benjamin no longer had an excuse to confine her.

If she could leave Oakleaf Estates, she might find an opportunity to escape.

If all else failed, she would find a way to divorce Benjamin.