Chapter 47
Sofia Bliss
I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard.
He had actually said it.
Admitted it.
He was using it to blackmail me.
“You…” I hissed, my breath catching in my throat. “You don’t have a single ounce of shame, do you?”
He didn’t answer.
Just stood there.
Staring at me with that goddamn look I couldn’t read.
He really thought he could control me, didn’t he?
Like I was his possession?
His toy?
"You son of a bitch," I spit, my whole body tingled.
I was so angry, I thought I would pass out, fall hard right there on the ground.
My heart was beating in a strange way, stumbling as if I could not keep up with all that mess happening inside me.
My vision blacked out for a second.
And I felt it.
Like pressure in my chest.
Like something inside me was ready to burst through — to tear me open and break free.
“You…” I tried to speak, but my voice cracked, a growl slipping out instead.
“You’re the worst kind of person.
A filthy manipulator. Trash. You think you can control me? You think you can just play with my life like this?!”
I stepped closer.
Our breaths collided in the air between us.
"You’re going to pay." I continued, feeling my throat scrape, as if a roar was stuck inside.
"You will pay for all this."
He didn’t flinch. Not an inch.
Just looked at me — hard. Intense. Like he was dissecting me.
His gray eyes locked onto mine, digging deep like he was searching for something hidden behind my fury.
And then…
He smiled.
That infuriating half-smile.
Satisfied.
“Yes,” he said, low and rough.
“If it means keeping you away from that place… away from any other man…”
He leaned in, eyes lit up like a beast on the edge.
“Then I’ll be the worst kind of man.”
I lost the air, and it seemed that I had forgotten how to breathe.
Something inside me started screaming.
A heat rose from my spine, spreading on the back, shoulders, arms, all over my body. It was as if every cell was in combustion. As if my body could no longer fit itself, as if something inside of me could no longer fit in there.
It was... unbearable.
I grabbed my chest, thinking I was having a heart attack.
But it wasn’t that.
It was something else.
Something is trying to escape.
My hands trembled.
My nails dug into my palms.
And just as I opened my mouth to unleash hell on him...
He moved.
Adrian grabbed the back of my neck, hard.
Pulled me in, rough and fast, and kissed me.
It was like lightning.
I froze.
My first instinct was to fight.
To pull away.
To shove him off me.
But...
Some part of me —
Some wild, feral part I hadn’t met before —
Went silent.
That strange thing inside me — the heat, the force. It stopped.
As if the kiss had tamed me.
Like he was the only one who could silence the monster waking inside me.
For a second, just a second, I gave in.
My lips parted.
My body softened.
And that’s when reality hit me like a fist.
What the hell was I doing?
I remembered the bar.
My father.
That damned phone call.
I remembered why I was here.
I let out a muffled scream, shoved him hard, and—SMACK!
I slapped him hard and dry in the face.
All the rage I had poured into that one hit.
“Don’t ever—” I panted, heart still pounding. “Don’t you fucking touch me again without my goddamn permission. Got it?!”
He didn’t flinch.
Just stared.
His cheek reddened from the slap.
His breathing is uneven.
But his eyes? Still locked on mine.
Unblinking. Unapologetic.
“So... all I need is your permission,” he said low, with that goddamn smirk.
Like he was playing with me.
I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood.
No. No way. He wasn’t serious.
He couldn’t be this audacious.
My thoughts were still spinning.
That kiss...
The way he grabbed me...
The bastard thought he could just barge into my life, manipulate my aunt, mess with my dad, my body, my freedom... everything.
I looked at him again.
That posture.
Sitting on his leather chair like a fucking king, watching me like he’d already won.
My heart cried out for me to go ahead and throw something in his face, or push him, throw him through that damn panoramic window, so he would just blow up and disappear from my life.
I wanted to break everything.
But deep down, I knew... it wouldn’t change a thing.
He was a lost cause.
Adrian Valehart wasn’t going to stop.
He wasn’t going to change.
And if I kept letting him get to me like this...
I was the one who’d lose it.
I’d be the one torn apart. From the inside out.
"Breathe, Sofia. Breathe. If you cave now, he wins."
I turned away.
Walked to the door.
Trying not to shatter the only damn shoes I had with the force of every furious step.
The anger still burned in my veins, but...
There was something different now.
After that kiss.
That fucking kiss.
I could still feel the taste of him in my mouth.
Still feel the heat of his hand on my neck.
Since when did I start remembering details like that?
I grabbed the doorknob.
Ready to leave.
Ready to walk away from that hell.
Then I heard his voice.
“You start tomorrow. Seven a.m. Don’t be late.”
I froze.
One second. Just one breathless second.
I nearly rolled my eyes so hard they could’ve popped out of my skull.
Slowly, I turned to face him.
From across the room.
That bastard.
He said it like he 'owned me'.
Like he’d just hired a personal toy to play with.
I smiled.
Slow and cold.
Oh... is that how you want to play?
Fine.
You wanna play games, Adrian Valehart?
Let’s play.
I yanked the door open.
And slammed it even harder.
You have no fucking idea what you’ve just unleashed, Adrian.
I stepped into the elevator and leaned against the mirrored wall.
Stared at my reflection.
The lips still red because of the kiss.. Eyes shimmering with something wild.
His smell seemed to have stuck on me.
And it was driving me crazy. I just didn’t know how.
I pressed the button for the ground floor.
And there, alone in that cold metal box descending floor by floor, I took a deep breath...
And let my smile shift.
Yes...
I was going to make him pay.
If he thought he could keep me here like some obedient little bird in a cage, he was dead wrong.
He wanted me to work under him?
Fine.
I’d play along.
But I’d break every single one of his rules.
I was going to toy with his heart until I shattered every last piece of his pride.
He liked me, didn’t he?
At least a little?
Good.
I was going to make him fall.
Make him lose control.
I’d walk through those halls in high heels, looking like the sweetest, dirtiest fantasy he never saw coming...
And when he was on the floor, begging for me—
I’d crush his fucking heart under my heel.
“Get ready, Valehart...” I whispered to myself as I stepped out of the building.
“You’re going to regret ever messing with me.”