“No—stop! What are you doing?” Celia shouted, panic rising. “I told you there’s no space—don’t touch that!”
“I found it!” the man yelled triumphantly.
People rushed closer.
“There are still plenty of slots,” another said sharply. “You can add more people. Why are you lying?”
The man shoved the mouse aside, clicked rapidly, then turned around with a grin. “Done. I gave access to everyone. Check your emails—you should’ve received the file already.”
The group erupted in celebration.
Celia’s blood ran cold.
“No—what the hell are you doing?!” she screamed. “You can’t do that! I told you—there’s no space!”
But they ignored her.
The call ended abruptly.
Celia stood there, shaking with rage and humiliation.
‘When I was friends with Magnus,everyone respected me so much,’she thought bitterly. ‘No one dared talk to me like this.’
Her chest heaved as anger burned through her.
Huffing sharply, she shoved her phone into her purse and stormed off.
***
Magnus’s house lay in complete silence.
The night had fully settled, darkness swallowing everything around it. Not a single light was on.
Outside, Sophia sat alone on the swing, a cigarette between her fingers. The faint orange glow flared and dimmed with each slow drag she took.
The image from earlier refused to leave her mind—Celia clinging to Magnus’s arm, the two of them together in that private room. The more she replayed it, the darker her expression became, her grip tightening unconsciously around the cigarette.
‘It seems… he still hasn’t let go of his ex-girlfriend.’ Her lips pressed into a thin line. ‘They were together for so long. Maybe… he’s still in love with her.’
Lost in her thoughts, Sophia didn’t notice when headlights swept across the yard and a car came to a stop in front of the house.
Magnus sat behind the wheel, staring at the dark house. His fingers tightened around the steering wheel, knuckles whitening. The anger he’d carried all night hadn’t faded—it burned just as fiercely in his eyes.
“It’s this late, and she still hasn’t come home?” he growled. “What could she possibly be talking about with that bastard for it to last all night?”
His fist slammed into the steering wheel with a dullthud.
His gaze dropped to the document lying on the passenger seat—the deed to the swimming court, already transferred into Sophia’s name.
His jaw clenched.
He grabbed the document, fingers crushing the paper as fury overtook him. With a sharp motion, he ripped it apart, tearing it into shreds and tossing them aside carelessly.
He threw open the car door, stepped out, and slammed it shut behind him. His strides were long and furious as he crossed the front yard, heading straight for the house.
Just then, something at the corner of his vision made him stop.
His steps slowed. His head turned instinctively.
