Sophia took a frustrated breath.
“I just feel pity for your ex-wife,” she said coldly. “Watching you move from one woman to another like this. You divorced once, and now you already have Isabel as your new girlfriend. And yet you behave like this with me in public?”
Her eyes flashed.
“It must have been terrible for her. Your ex-wife must have suffered a lot… living with someone as flamboyant and shameless as you.”
Magnus’s expression changed instantly. The teasing look vanished, replaced by a hard, straight line.
“You misunderstood,” he said without hesitation. “Isabel is not my girlfriend.”
His voice was firm. Defensive.
“She’s my friend’s sister.”
He straightened slightly, gaze intense.
“And my divorce was because we weren’t good for each oth—”
“I’m not interested in your personal life, Mr. Graves.” Sophia cut him off coldly.
“Stop appearing in front of me. I am not going to agree to your project. It’s tiring to repeat the same thing again and again.”
For a brief second, something dulled in Magnus’s eyes.
When she had called himMagnusearlier, it had stirred something in him. But now — hearingMr. Gravesagain — it felt cold.
The distance in those two words irritated him more than he expected.
A few moments ago, hearing his name from her lips had felt intoxicating.
He wanted to tell her to say his name again. To call him the way she had before.
But he didn’t even understand why it mattered so much.
He stared at her, his gaze steady, and spoke in a calm but serious tone.
“I suggest you stop playing this game, Sylvia. If you keep refusing and pushing me with these constant rejections, I might stop tolerating it. Your little games won’t work on me.”
Sophia let out a sharp, mocking laugh that fluttered out of her mouth.
“Mr. Graves,” she said, her voice icy and dismissive, “you’re not exactly a limited-edition masterpiece that everyone is desperate to own.”
Magnus’s expression shifted, his eyes narrowing, but she continued, unbothered.
“The only thing I need from you is for you to stop being delusional and talking about thegamesI’m supposedly playing to get you. I’m an auctioneer. I know the value of things. And in my eyes… you’re worth no more than a rock on the side of the road I pass every morning.”
The silence that followed felt tight.
Sophia didn’t wait for a response.
She adjusted her grip on the heels she was already holding, the thin straps dangling from her fingers.
Without sparing him another glance, she turned on her heel and began walking away, barefoot, heels in her hand. She didn’t look back once.
Magnus watched her go.
And yet… there was no anger in his gaze. No trace of irritation or wounded pride.
