Celia stood there, breathless and frozen. Her fingers were trembling at her sides. Her face remained stiff, but her eyes were wide with shock and rising panic.
The room suddenly felt suffocating. The humiliation burned under her skin like fire. She had come to the hotel in secret—taking her father’s place without telling him. She was sure she could persuade Magnus, win him over, and regain Jerry's approval.
Instead…
Everything had backfired.
And now the consequences were about to burn her alive.
Magnus stormed out of the hotel suite, his footsteps sharp and fast against the thick carpet of the corridor. His breathing was heavy, his jaw still clenched so tightly it ached.
Just then, the door to the suite next door clicked open.
Sophia stepped out.
Behind her, Emma followed, already dressed in her long blue gown. The diamonds in her ears shimmered under the corridor lights, catching tiny sparks of white and blue as she adjusted them.
Sophia lifted her hand absently to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear — but then she froze.
Her eyes landed on a familiar broad back disappearing down the corridor.
“Magnus?”
Sophia’s brows slowly knitted together.
Emma stepped beside her, slipping on her second earring while glancing at Sophia’s expression.
“What are you looking at?” Emma asked softly, leaning slightly to peek down the hallway.
Her voice lowered to a whisper.
“Isn’t that… Magnus?”
The figure turned the corner and vanished from sight.
Sophia’s heart gave an uneasy thud as she watched him disappear around the corner.
Just then, Emma suddenly grabbed Sophia’s wrist. Her fingers were tight, almost trembling, as she yanked her back into the room and behind the door.
Sophia stumbled slightly from the force, her heart jolting. She turned to Emma, startled, but Emma didn’t look at her. Instead, she pointed outside with a stiff finger.
“Look.”
Sophia’s gaze followed the direction of Emma’s hand.
Down the corridor, under the soft golden lights of the hotel hallway, Celia was walking out from the exact direction Magnus had come from earlier. Her heels tapped lightly against the marble floor as she hurried after him. Magnus was already ahead, his tall figure cold and distant, and Celia was following behind him, trying to catch up.
For a moment, everything around Sophia felt muted.
The carpeted hallway lights flickered softly overhead, casting long shadows. Celia’s back slowly disappeared at the turn of the corridor.
Emma and Sophia looked at each other, then back at the empty space where Celia had vanished.
Emma turned sharply toward Sophia, her eyes blazing. “What the hell is going on?” she demanded, her voice low but shaking with anger. “What was he doing with another woman at a damn hotel?”
Chapter 7 Humiliation
Sophia’s fingers curled into the fabric of her dress.
