Shortly after Alexander went upstairs, Sophia had already prepared two mugs of water.
She sipped from one and handed him the other.
Alexander reached out to take the mug from her and finished it in one go. Then, he walked toward the couch, loosening his tie as he called out to her, “Sophia, come over here.”
However, she didn’t intend to do that. “I’m going upstairs to change.”
She had dressed more formally that day for her meeting with Jaron. After Alexander had hugged her earlier, she didn’t feel comfortable in this outfit anymore.
He did not follow her and sat on the couch, watching her as she made her way upstairs.
Alexander was the only one left in the living room now. As he sat on the couch, he stared at the mug that Sophia had left behind. With a twitch of his brow, he pulled out his phone and called Felix.
Felix was just feeling torn on whether he should be a wet blanket by calling Alexander to subtly remind him to take care of the giant pile of documents that needed his signature. Thus, he didn’t expect Alexander to contact him first.
When he saw the caller ID, Felix nearly shed tears from how moved he was.
I’m so touched. You can be kind after all, Mr. Xenos!
“Hello, Mr. Xenos?”
“Is the mug already in production?”
The expectant Felix didn’t expect the first thing Alexander would ask about was the mug.
He cleared his throat and replied, “I’ve already contacted the relevant personnel regarding that. But the earliest you’ll be able to receive it is the day after tomorrow.”
Alexander frowned slightly. “Try to hurry it up. I’m willing to pay any amount.”
“Okay… I understand, Mr. Xenos… Um, Mr. Xenos, this afternoon—”
Without waiting for him to finish, Alexander said, “That’ll be all. Bye.”
Felix stared at the words “Call Ended” on his phone, feeling like he was about to go crazy.
Sophia changed into something more casual and came back downstairs to see Alexander just getting off the phone. “Was that from Mr. Lane?” she asked with raised brows.
“No.”
Alexander turned toward her and lied through his teeth.
Sophia stared at him for a moment. “Aren’t you sleepy?”
She lifted her hand and pointed to the guest room. “You should be familiar with that room now.”
He’s already slept in there twice.
She didn’t know when, but Alexander’s shirt’s first two buttons had been unbuttoned. when he leaned back against the couch, the collar opened up and revealed his collarbones.
Sophia swept her gaze over him and looked away, her face growing hot. “Would you like some fruits?”
He hummed in response.
Alexander watched as she went into the kitchen, and she very quickly reappeared with a plate of fresh-cut apples and strawberries.
All of which were not his favorites.
Sophia set the plate in front of him, saw how he was looking at her, and let out a giggle. “Oh, I forgot you don’t like strawberries and apples.”
When she laughed, the corners of her eyes would be lifted ever so slightly. The smug look in her eyes reminded him of a cat who had successfully nabbed a piece of fish.
Alexander loved seeing her smile like that. It was completely different from the frosty way she used to look at him.
Noticing his silence, Sophia thought that he was upset. “Tsk! Would you look at that, Alexander? You’re so petty! You get upset over the smallest things.”
As she said that last sentence, she used her thumb and index finger to indicate how small she meant before shoving her hand in his face.
Alexander grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms. “You’re right. I get upset over the smallest of things.”
Seeing that she wanted to run away, he tightened his grip on her. “Who was that man?”
“A client.”
He scoffed, “He’s a pretty handsome guy.”
Sophia stuffed a strawberry in her mouth and said, “He’s quite all right.”
Right after she spoke, Alexander piped up with an unrelated question, “Is that strawberry sweet?”
“It is. Alex—”
His kiss had taken her by surprise. As soon as she swallowed the strawberry and answered his question, he quickly pressed his lips to hers and began his assault.
Surrounded by his refreshing scent, Sophia felt like she was floating yet sinking at the same time.
The kiss was deep and intense, making her feel a little breathless. As her breathing grew heavier, Alexander’s arm tightened around her waist.
He felt like he couldn’t get close enough and even wished he could envelop her body with his own.
Alexander had never expected that he would love someone this much.
He longed for her when he couldn’t be with her and was the same even now that he had her.
Alexander’s eyes were darker than usual when they broke away from each other. With as much control as he could muster, he lowered his head and gazed at Sophia, who was blushing fiercely from the kiss. The jealousy he had been feeling finally dissipated.
Alexander embraced her tightly before leaning back against the seat languidly. He let out a deep chuckle and said, “It is sweet.”
Sophia leaned against his chest, his laughter and his words the only thing she was able to hear.
She lowered her gaze, and a smile broke out on her face.
The sunlight from the afternoon sun peeked through the window and illuminated the peacefully silent living room.
After composing herself, she raised her head and looked at Alexander. “It’s one o’clock. Why don’t you go take a nap in the guest room?”
Now that she was looking at him up close, she could see that his under-eyes were rather dark.
Alexander was telling the truth when he said he didn’t sleep well last night.
Sophia agreeing to be in a relationship with him was like a dream come true. To be honest, he wasn’t sure if this was real or not, and he feared that if he slept, everything would turn out to be just a dream.
He spent the entire night on the bed thinking about Sophia’s smirk before she climbed into the car.
He recalled the beautiful fairies that were in the storybooks Eloise used to read to him when he was a child. If fairies existed in this world, they would definitely be like Sophia.
While he was lost in his thoughts, Sophia removed herself from his arms and stood up.
Alexander looked up at her. “What about you?”
“I don’t need to go to the office in the afternoon.”
He cocked an eyebrow and said, “You sure have a lot of free time for an assistant.”
“Yeah. It’s a part-time job anyway.” Sophia wasn’t planning on hiding it from him and decided to tell him since he had asked.
“Part-time?”
“Can’t I do that?”
Sophia glanced at her phone. “It’s five minutes past one now.”
Alexander stared at her for a few seconds before heading to the guest room.
Sophia gazed at his retreating figure. After he disappeared into the guest room, she lifted her hand and pressed her palm to her face.
Didn’t he use to behave as if everyone owed him a living? Why is he so sweet with his words now?
“Sophia.”
His husky voice rang out from the guest room. Sophia collected her thoughts and went over. She stood at the door and saw him sitting on the edge of the bed. “Is there something you need, Mr. Xenos?”
“I don’t have any pajamas, so I can’t go to sleep.”
Sophia raised her brows. “Is a bathrobe okay?”
“No.” He lifted a hand and gestured to her. “Come over here.”
“What’s wrong?”
As she was aware of his habit of pulling her into his arms, Sophia remained where she was.
“Come here, Sophia.”
He called out to her again, an exasperated yet fond look in his eyes.
Sophia squirmed under his gaze and relented. “Don’t hug me again.”
She had never experienced it before, but she knew what would happen when a man and a woman were alone in a room together.
Alexander’s eyelashes trembled slightly. “You’re overthinking it.”
As he spoke, he turned to the side and pulled out a box from the bedside table.
Sophia recognized it and couldn’t help but freeze when she saw it.
When she regained her senses, Alexander had already taken out the bracelet.
He unbuttoned her sleeve and fastened the bracelet around her wrist. “It’s lovely.”
He paused and looked up at her. “I’m talking about your hand, Sophia.”
She lowered her eyes and gazed at the bracelet on her left wrist. “Thank you.”
“Can you express your gratitude through your actions?”
Sophia lifted her head to look at him. “Huh?”
“I’ll be able to fall asleep with you in my arms.”
“Jeez! In your dreams, Alexander!”
