Her voice softened slightly, but her frustration was still obvious.
“Men would line up for someone as beautiful and talented as Sophia King,” she continued with a scoff. “But that damn Magnus Graves completely ruined it. What a foolish man.”
“What did you say?”
A deep voice suddenly came from behind them.
Both Sophia and Emma jumped in shock and spun around at the same time.
Standing a few steps behind them was Magnus.
His tall figure filled the doorway. His expression was calm, but his eyes were sharp as they rested on both of them.
He slowly stepped closer.
Emma’s eyes widened in panic. She forced out an awkward laugh and quickly tried to cover it up.
“It—it’s nothing,” she said nervously. “We were just talking about someone stupid.”
Magnus stopped in front of them. His eyes narrowed slightly.
“Someone stupid?” he repeated calmly. His eyes narrowed slightly. “Like me?”
Sophia felt like a deer caught in headlights. Her mind went completely blank.
Magnus’s voice remained calm, but there was a dangerous edge beneath it.
“I heard what you said.”
His gaze moved between the two of them before settling on Sophia.
Emma immediately tried to explain.
“It’s not like that,” she said quickly. “We were just talking about a random man.”
But even as she said it, she knew it sounded unconvincing.
Magnus’s expression didn’t change at all.
Sophia felt her heartbeat jump. Her face flushed with embarrassment, and for a moment she looked slightly panicked. But she quickly forced herself to stay calm.
Shifting her posture, she spoke in a casual voice, gesturing toward Emma.
“This is my friend,” she said quickly, gesturing toward Emma. “She was just talking about herself. Her name is Sophia.”
She gave a small, awkward smile.
“You must have misunderstood that we’re talking about you. It’s really nothing.”
Before Magnus could say anything, Sophia immediately grabbed Emma’s hand.
“We’re actually getting late,” she added hurriedly. “So we’ll take our leave first.”
She nodded politely.
“It was a great auction, Mr. Graves. Thank you.”
Without waiting for a reply, Sophia pulled Emma along and quickly walked past him.
