Her swollen eyes moved back and forth between Sophia and Magnus.
Fear swallowed her whole.
With a choked sob, she dropped to her knees. Her palms scraped against the ground as she crawled forward, her hair falling messily over her face.
“Mr. Graves…” she cried, her voice breaking apart. “I just had a crush on you. I didn’t know better. I’m sorry! Can you forgive me? I swear this is the last time. Please let me go.”
Tears poured down her cheeks, dripping onto the floor.
“Mr. Graves… I only liked you. I didn’t know better,” she sobbed again, moving closer, desperate. “Please forgive me. This is my last mistake, I promise. Please let me go. I won’t ask for anything. I’ll just stay by your side. I really like you… please…”
Her shoulders trembled violently.
Yet even while begging, she lifted her wet lashes and tried to look at him in a soft, tempting way, forcing what she probably thought was her most pitiful, lovable expression.
Magnus felt disgust twist in his chest.
His jaw tightened.
He turned his face away as if even one more second of looking at her would stain his eyes.
His gaze turned icy as it landed on Violet.
The warmth in his eyes vanished, replaced by something terrifyingly cold. Then he shifted his attention to Timothy and jerked his chin toward her.
“Make sure she doesn’t come out until she’s at least eighty,” Magnus said, each word dropping without mercy. “I never want to feel this disgusted again.”
“What?!” Violet’s scream tore out of her throat.
Her body lurched forward as if the ground had disappeared beneath her feet, fingers clawing against the floor, panic exploding across her swollen face.
But Magnus didn’t spare her another glance.
He turned his back on her completely.
Sophia remained secured in his arms, held tightly against his chest as he strode away from the chaos of the party. His grip never loosened, his arm firm around her waist, as if he was afraid someone might rush forward and snatch her from him.
Timothy watched his boss leave.
Seeing how tightly he held Sophia, as if afraid someone might steal her away, brought a small, smug smile to Timothy’s lips.
A small, knowing smile slowly tugged at Timothy’s lips.
Under his breath, he muttered, “Mr. Graves keeps saying he doesn’t like Mrs. Graves, but he hasn’t once asked me to take her from him to get treated.”
His eyes followed them all the way to the exit.
“He hasn’t let her go even once since she touched him. If it were anyone else, he wouldn’t even bother. He’d walk away and leave me to handle everything.”
Timothy let out a quiet huff of amusement.
“But when it comes to her…”
He shook his head lightly.
“He watches every breath she takes. And yet he still says he doesn’t like her.”
Chapter 3 Needy Woman
