Chapter 69 His Intentions Toward Sophia Are Clear
Sophia's eyes couldn't hide her shock. Michael was so close that his crisp, clean scent surrounded her, his warm breath making her heart race and her mind go momentarily blank.
Perhaps they'd known each other too long, living together for over a decade, that she hadn't realized Michael had become so captivating. He'd shed his boyish awkwardness and now carried an almost hypnotic allure.
"Well, being able to try doesn't mean I have to try." Sophia unnaturally averted her gaze, the blush on her cheeks hidden in the dim car interior.
Her shy expression reflected in Michael's eyes, his thin lips curving into a satisfied smile. "You said I could try, so that means I can pursue you?"
Sophia's face grew even redder, with a hint of flustered irritation. "Michael!"
"I'm here."
His voice carried laughter, as if he thoroughly enjoyed watching her get all flustered and defensive.
It proved that in her eyes, he wasn't just a close friend and confidant.
"I'm not talking to you anymore." Sophia pulled her hand from the young man's palm, putting on an act of being upset.
"You're ignoring me again?"
"That's what you get for teasing me!"
"I wasn't teasing you."
Michael reached out to wrap his arm around the girl's waist, pulling her into his embrace. Looking down into those bright eyes, he said, "Sophia, I've been waiting for you to come of age. After today, you'll be eighteen, so I'm going to start pursuing you."
His intentions toward Sophia were crystal clear, and he'd long known about her feelings for him, too.
But dating wasn't as simple as just stating intentions—sometimes the process was more important than the outcome.
There needed to be a courtship process for her to feel the relationship changing, a proper confession to clarify his thoughts, and when seeking results, she needed to have the right to choose.
No matter how intimately they got along as close friends, a romantic relationship was fundamentally different. She deserved adequate time to consider it.
Feeling respected, Sophia's lips curved with barely concealed joy. "I'll see how you do."
...
The Maybach stopped in front of Amelia's mansion.
The moment they walked through the door, confetti cannons exploded, covering Sophia in colorful streamers.
"Happy birthday!"
Amelia and the others jumped out from the side, each looking even more excited than Sophia herself.
Sophia laughed helplessly, brushing streamers off her clothes. "Thank you."
Michael thoughtfully picked off the streamers stuck in her long hair. "You guys really know how to throw a surprise."
This two-story mansion sat on over 2,000 square feet and was usually vacant, with only occasional cleaning staff. Without servants around, the group could completely let loose.
Amelia brought out her prized champagne, vigorously shaking the bottle up and down. When she popped the cork, white foam sprayed everywhere, drenching Sophia.
"Woohoo! Celebrating Sophia's coming of age!"
Sophia laughed brilliantly while dodging Amelia's physical assault.
"That's going too far!" Sophia spotted Wayne wheeling over a cake and quickly ran over to grab some frosting for retaliation against Amelia.
Then she discovered this wasn't really a cake at all—the three-tiered "cake" was entirely made of whipped cream.
"Have some cake!" Sophia smeared the cream in her hand across Michael's lips.
Michael grabbed a handful of cream to strike back, smearing it on Sophia's cheek.
"Wayne, let me give you a facial!" Amelia pinned Wayne to the sofa, using both hands to smooth white cream evenly across his face.
Wayne looked utterly helpless, but when Amelia wasn't paying attention, he grabbed a glob of cream with his right hand and plastered it in her short hair, styling it like hair gel to create a little spike on top of her head.
After messing with Amelia, she and Sophia exchanged glances, their eyes falling with mischievous intent on Tom, who had been elegantly staying out of the fray.
No one was getting through tonight unscathed!
The cream-smearing turned into snowball fights, and chaos erupted.
The group went wild, chasing each other around the mansion with cream covering their hands, faces, and clothes, the air filled with sweet, creamy fragrance.
Just as the atmosphere reached its peak, the doorbell rang.
Everyone froze, looking at each other.
They hadn't invited anyone else tonight—who would be visiting at this late hour?
"I'll get it."
Puzzled, Amelia walked quickly to the front door. When she opened it and saw an older man in a tailcoat—clearly dressed as a butler—standing there, she was even more confused.
"Who are you?"
"Ms. Martinez, I'm Roy, butler to the Smith family. I'm here for Sophia."
Amelia frowned. What good could come from the Smith family sending someone?
Hearing Roy's words, Sophia came out and recognized that it was indeed Roy. "What do you need?"
Roy respectfully held out two gift boxes. "Sophia, these are coming-of-age gifts from Mr. John Smith and Mr. Andrew Smith. They insisted I deliver them to you personally."
Sophia accepted them, saying flatly, "Thank you for the trouble."
After Roy left, Sophia and Amelia closed the door and returned to the living room.
The others gathered around, curious about what John and Andrew might have sent Sophia.
"This box is huge! Sophia, can I open it?" Amelia could barely contain her curiosity.
"Go ahead." Sophia didn't think those two lunatics could have sent her anything good. "Maybe there's some dead animal inside."
After all, the greeting card attached to this box was in John's handwriting, and given his twisted personality, with such a large box, she suspected it might contain the corpse of that Border Collie.
Amelia, who had been about to lift the lid, suddenly froze. "Uh, now that you mention it, I'm afraid to open it."
"I'll do it." Wayne pulled Amelia aside and bravely lifted the lid.
Unexpectedly, inside was an exquisitely crafted sports car model.
A Bugatti Chiron in stunning red and black, with flowing body lines like a beauty's slender waist.
"Why would John send you a model? If he had any guts, he'd buy you a real one..." She picked up the model, but when she saw the car keys underneath, her words died in her throat.
He actually did send a car?
"Oh my god, this car costs nearly three hundred grand! Since when is John so generous?" Amelia pulled out the car keys and handed them to Sophia.
Sophia smiled slightly, twirling the keys in her hand before tucking them back into the box. "If he's willing to give it, I'm certainly willing to take it."
Nobody argues with money.
Amelia set down the model and rubbed her hands together. "Now I'm really curious about what Andrew sent!"
She unwrapped Andrew's gift box and opened the lid to find seven or eight property deeds—several mansions, several penthouses, plus two office buildings under Andrew's name. Some were in Emerald City, others in cities with pleasant climates and scenery. All had Sophia's name as the owner.
"Holy crap! Is Andrew planning to retire? This is incredibly generous!"
These properties combined were worth at least fifty million dollars!
Amelia was dumbfounded. She'd always thought John and Andrew had a love-hate relationship with Sophia, and figured their coming-of-age gifts would be something meant to intimidate her. Who could have predicted they'd give away genuine assets?
One sent a car, the other sent houses. Those who knew might understand it was Sophia's eighteenth birthday, but those who didn't might think she was getting married!