Before she could finish, Magnus took Sophia’s hand and pulled her away without looking back.
They didn’t stay at the Graves mansion much longer after that.
Once they returned home, Magnus went straight to his study to finish his work. Sophia, finally relaxed, changed her clothes and curled up on the couch with a cup of coffee, folding her legs beneath herself as she resumed the horror movie she had left unfinished earlier.
Just a while later, her phone rang.
She glanced at the screen, tempted to ignore it—but when she saw Emma’s name, she immediately picked up.
“How did it go?” Emma asked breathlessly.
Sophia frowned. “Why are you huffing like that?”
“I’m at the gym. Running,” Emma replied between heavy breaths. “Now hurry—tell me. What did you see? How’s your mother-in-law? Did you meet Magnus’s brothers as well?”
“Jesus, Emma. At least ask your questions one by one,” Sophia muttered, taking another sip of coffee as she leaned back into the couch.
She didn’t realize that another presence had entered the room behind her.
Magnus walked out of the study when he heard her voice. He crossed the living room quietly, his footsteps muted against the floor. As he drew closer to the back of the couch, Sophia remained completely unaware of him.
She tucked the phone between her shoulder and cheek and reached out with her free hand to lower the volume of the TV.
“I don’t have that much patience,” Emma snickered from the other end. “Come on, spill! Are you back home now, or are you still at your family’s house?”
Sophia frowned.
“It’s not my family’s house,” she muttered. “He’s not my family. Did you forget?”
Magnus’s lips thinned into a hard line. His brows furrowed, anger flashing unmistakably in his eyes the moment those words left her mouth.
Sophia let out a heavy breath and continued, “I’ll tell you everything when we meet tomorrow.”
Without warning, Magnus stepped closer, reached over the back of the couch, and snatched the phone out of her hand, ending the call immediately.
Sophia gasped, spinning around with her mouth already open to snap at whoever had startled her—only to freeze when she looked up and found Magnus standing right in front of her.
His gaze flickered from the phone in his hand back to her face. The look in his eyes was chilling.
“Aren’t you and I married? Aren’t youmy wife?!” he asked coldly. “Didn’t we get a legal marriage certificate?”
His voice dropped lower.
“Then how exactly are we not family?”
Sophia stared at him, stunned. Her brows knitted together slowly.
‘Why does he keep calling me his wife?’ she thought. ‘Didn’t we agree we’re only in a contract marriage?’
She closed her eyes briefly and let out a quiet sigh. Then she stood up, walked to the table, picked up the necklace set Camila had given her, and held it out to him.
“It’s not good for me to keep this,” she said quietly. “Your mom prepared it for your real wife. Please keep it safe.”
Magnus’s jaw clenched instantly.
The displeasure in his eyes darkened into something sharper—more dangerous.
“Do you really have to see everything in black and white?” he snapped. “Do you really need to draw such a hard line between us?”
