Chapter 12 Want James to Be Your Side Piece?
The holidays flew by in a blink, and it was time for schools to reopen.
Ray dropped Lucas off at elementary school.
Silver Fir Academy, where Sophia attended, was an elite private school located just a mile from James's Oakwood High School, so the two set off together.
Just as Sophia was considering whether to call a cab, James wheeled out a fairly new mountain bike from the small storage room beneath their apartment building.
A passenger seat had been added to the back, clearly wrapped with thick, soft cushioning in recent days, without a speck of dust on it.
"Bike ride?" Sophia raised an eyebrow slightly, her gaze lingering on the cushion for a moment, seeming somewhat hesitant.
"Yeah, the bus would be stuffy." James straddled the bike and gave Sophia a gentle smile, though he couldn't hide his nervous fear that she might find it beneath her. "I'm a pretty good rider."
Sophia had always been skilled at social interactions and graciously nodded. "Then I'll trouble you."
She sat sideways on the back seat, clutching her lambskin backpack in one arm, perfect for keeping her short skirt in place. Her other hand rested lightly near James's waist, maintaining a distance that was neither impolite nor overly intimate.
The bicycle wove through tree-shaded streets, the breeze brushing against their faces, actually quite pleasant.
Silver Fir Academy's gilded gates came into view, with seven or eight luxury cars parked outside. Students in custom-tailored blazers emerged from the vehicles in small groups.
James braked to a stop, and Sophia hopped down gracefully, only to be tackled by someone throwing their arms around her.
"Sophia!"
Sophia swayed slightly from the enthusiastic embrace. The person hugged her tightly while their eyes remained fixed on James beside her.
"Oh my God, Sophia, he's gorgeous!"
Sophia clicked her tongue lightly. "Control yourself, he's my brother."
"Your brother?" Amelia paused, then realized this must be the Johnson family's eldest son. She quickly straightened up, looking unexpectedly well-behaved. "Hi, I'm Amelia, Sophia's classmate and also Sophia's personal bodyguard!"
Sophia tilted her head in confusion. "Since when did you add bodyguard to your résumé?"
Amelia Martinez leaned close to Sophia's ear and whispered, "Michael's orders, he's worried people might bully you now that your status has changed."
Then she straightened up again, hooking her arm around Sophia's shoulders and grinning at James. "James, don't worry about Sophia at school. I'm a taekwondo black belt, so nobody will dare mess with her!"
James looked at the spirited girl with her pixie-cut hair and broke into a warm smile. "Good, thank you for looking after Sophia."
When he smiled, Amelia felt like Cupid had shot an arrow straight through her heart.
Seeing Amelia about to go full fangirl mode again, Sophia quickly waved her hands. "James, you should head to school now, don't be late."
"Alright, I'm off. I'll come pick you up after school tonight."
Watching James's dashing figure as he rode away, Amelia remained starstruck.
"Sophia, does James have a girlfriend? Would you mind if I became his girlfriend?"
He was so handsome, rivaling any A-list celebrity. At least in Emerald City, aside from Michael, she'd never seen anyone that good-looking.
Gentle as jade, so much better than those two jerks from the Smith family.
Sophia sighed helplessly. "Don't forget you're engaged. Want to make him your side piece?"
Amelia's heart ached, Amelia wailed, Amelia cursed this cruel world.
"Stop the dramatics, let's go." Sophia walked ahead toward the classroom, with Amelia hurrying to catch up.
"By the way, did that winery of yours go under yet?" Sophia asked.
Everyone knew about Amelia's entrepreneurial ventures—nine times out of ten, they closed within a month.
At the end of last semester, Amelia had started a winery.
Calculating the timeline, it should have folded by now, right?
Amelia made an indignant sound. "Rude! My winery is doing great! If I could go bankrupt after connecting with Celestial Peak Hotel, I'd have to be incredibly stupid!"
They reached the classroom while chatting. The moment they entered, the previously lively classroom fell silent, with everyone staring at Sophia in stunned expressions.
After half a second, it erupted into chaos again.
"Well, well, the fake heiress is back! I thought you'd dropped out!"
"So that's why the banquet ended so abruptly—Ms. Smith was getting the boot."
"Word on the street is the real heiress is transferring to our class. I can't wait to see what kind of person could push out Ms. Smith!"
The class burst into laughter as they teased Sophia, though they'd never cared about her surname—they were simply captivated by her personal charisma.
Whether she was Ms. Smith or Ms. Johnson didn't matter when addressing Sophia.
She belonged only to herself.
"Sophia's pretty badass, though. I heard when you left, you just carried a backpack, didn't even pack clothes."
"Are you kidding? You think Sophia would want any of the Smith family's trash?"
"Sophia, we'll still need you to look out for us!"
Sophia played along with the banter, waving her hand. "Of course."
Wayne Cooper, lounging casually in his seat, scooted his chair closer when he saw Sophia. "Sophia, there's an alumni event today. Want to join the fun?"
Sophia couldn't help but laugh, shoving her backpack into her desk drawer. "I'm not an alumna. What fun would I join?"
"Bruce is back," Wayne stated this matter-of-factly. He wasn't particularly close to Bruce, but Sophia and Bruce Howard were tight.
"Then he should come find me." Sophia raised her eyebrows proudly, making everyone laugh.
The group was chattering and laughing loudly when their homeroom teacher entered without anyone noticing.
"What's got you all so worked up? You're the loudest class on the entire floor!"
The teacher's classic opening line made everyone purse their lips and obediently return to their seats.
"You're seniors now. I need you all to give it your absolute best and study hard to get good scores on your graduation assessments! Understood?"
"Understood..." came the lackluster response scattered throughout the classroom.
"Alright then, let me introduce you to a new student."
At these words, everyone turned their gazes toward Sophia.
The real heiress had arrived—time for the fake to step aside?