Chapter 74
The veins on the back of his hand were prominent, and his exposed finger joints looked elegant and beautiful. Her fingertips rested lightly on the back of his hand - their hands together looked like a work of art.
Beautiful.
Sophie was afraid of waking him, so after taking the photo, she withdrew her finger.
Then she tiptoed out of his room, closed the door, went back to her bedroom, adjusted the photo a bit, and posted it on Facebook.
She didn't write anything, just posted the photo.
When Bella sees this photo, she'll probably be too angry to sleep.
Sophie smiled smugly.
Matthew leaned against the headboard, looking at the Facebook post Sophie had shared.
The hand she had held moved slightly, his palm seeming to still retain her warmth.
She came over late at night to do this - probably trying to annoy Bella again.
He didn't know what Bella had posted.
It was Henry who sent Matthew a screenshot and then called him.
"Are they having some kind of secret war?" Henry teased. "Sophie took this photo secretly, right? The fact that you're answering my call means you were awake when Sophie took the photo. You were awake but didn't stop her. You must have feelings for her."
Matthew held his phone, his fingers tapping lightly.
He looked at his own slender ring finger, thinking about the pair of rings Sophie had posted before.
Matthew asked, "Anything else?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to ask - are you still getting that divorce or not?" Henry already knew the answer but wanted to hear Matthew say he wasn't going through with it.
Matthew laid his hand flat on the blanket and swallowed. "Focus on your other business first."
Henry laughed wildly. "I knew it - you can't bear to divorce her."
"If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up." Matthew found his laughter annoying.
Without giving Henry a chance to respond, he put down his phone.
Gently tracing the outline of his ring finger and recalling the sensation of Sophie's finger slipping in, Matthew's eyes grew deep.
The next day, Matthew drove Sophie to work.
Sophie was relatively well-behaved today and didn't say anything.
She felt a little guilty about sneaking into his room last night to photograph him.
"I'll pick you up at noon."
Before she got out of the car, Matthew said.
Sophie was unbuckling her seatbelt. "Taking me to lunch?"
Matthew said, "Yeah."
Sophie smiled. "Okay."
After she got out, Matthew watched Sophie limp into the company entrance before driving away.
When it was almost lunchtime, Sophie was waiting for Matthew.
She was actually a bit worried.
It wasn't like Matthew hadn't stood her up before.
But this time he didn't.
Matthew called her ahead of time. "I'm downstairs waiting for you."
Sophie hung up, grabbed her bag, and went downstairs.
Walking out of the company and seeing Matthew's car there, she wanted to walk faster, but her foot hurt.
"Sophie."
Hearing this voice, Sophie stopped and looked to the side.
Alex was standing not far away, walking toward her.
"What happened to your foot?" Alex looked concerned.
Sophie glanced at the car ahead, then at Alex, a bit surprised. "When did you get here?"
"This morning." Alex stared at her foot. "Does it hurt?"
Sophie shook her head.
At that moment, Matthew, who had been sitting in the car, got out. He walked over with a cold expression, stood next to Sophie, and put his arm around her waist.
Matthew's initiative surprised Sophie too.
Seeing this, Alex's expression instantly changed.
Sophie felt a bit awkward.
She should thank Alex for what happened before.
"Mr. Turner, Sophie ran into some trouble before, and we're grateful for your help." Matthew's palm pressed tightly against Sophie's waist, his voice sexy and strong. "No time like the present - why don't we have a simple meal together?"
Sophie was surprised that Matthew would take the initiative to invite Alex to eat with them.
Since he had already said that much, she nodded too. "Yes, join us."
Alex could tell that Sophie and Matthew's relationship was going well.
Even though he had saved her, she still wouldn't choose him.
"No need." Alex didn't want to embarrass himself. He said, "I'm here on a business trip and just stopped by to see Sophie. I have an appointment with someone later."
Sophie felt guilty toward Alex now.
"In that case, we won't insist." Matthew's invitation had been casual and not sincere anyway. He patted Sophie's waist lightly. "Let's go eat."
Sophie glanced at Alex.
Alex looked at her too.
The hurt in his eyes was undisguised.
Sophie understood.
Sophie said, "When you're free, let's have that meal."
Alex nodded. "Okay."
Watching Matthew drive away with his arm around Sophie, Alex's expression didn't improve.
He had thought she didn't love that man.
The truth was, that was just what he thought.
In the car, Sophie was silent.
Matthew was also expressionless.
"I'll repay the debt we owe him for saving you." Matthew spoke first.
Sophie looked at him. "You'll repay it?"
"Yes."
"How will you repay it?"
Matthew said, "That's not your concern. In any case, you're not allowed to meet him alone."
Sophie thought she had heard wrong.
She looked at Matthew in disbelief. "Why?"
"Don't you know why?" Matthew stared at her too.
The image of her embracing that man at the hotel entrance that day occupied his mind.
If he hadn't gone that day, they probably would have gotten back together.
Sophie understood what he meant.
A surge of anger rose up.
"Matthew, are you afraid I'll do something with him?" Sophie was asking, but she had already decided that's what he was thinking.
Matthew didn't speak.
Sophie took a deep breath. "How many times have you met Bella alone? Have I ever said anything?"
"I haven't met her alone." Matthew emphasized.
"What do you mean by 'alone'? Behind closed doors with just the two of you? I've never been alone with Alex like that either." Sophie just didn't like hearing him use that guarded tone to tell her she couldn't meet Alex.
"So you're planning to meet him alone for a meal."
"He saved me. What's wrong with treating him to a meal?" Sophie didn't see any problem with it.
"I said I'll repay the debt we owe him for saving you."
Sophie said coldly, "No need."
"You think a meal is enough to repay him?" Matthew frowned, his deep eyes full of dark emotions that were hard to read.
"Then what?" Sophie asked him back. "How do you think we should repay him?"
Matthew thought about his purpose for taking her out to eat today and didn't want to argue with her.
He looked out the window, adjusting his emotions.
When he looked at her again, his eyes were calmer.
Matthew said, "We'll talk about this later."
Sophie felt uncomfortable and snorted coldly. "Matthew, we agreed before to live our own lives. You see your Bella, and I've never tried to stop you. I'll see whoever I want, and you shouldn't try to stop me either. Don't try to control me."
Matthew turned on his signal and pulled over to the side.
He turned to face Sophie, looking coldly at her displeased face, and asked her, "So when you said you liked me before, was that true or false?"