Her fingers slowly curled around the edge of the table.
She had never expected Sophia to have connections with other powerful men—let alone someone like Elias, whose wealth and influence rivaled Magnus’s. Realizing that a man of his status seemed so close to Sophia made the bitterness in her chest even harder to swallow.
Her lips pressed together.
For a brief moment, she struggled to find the right words. Then she finally forced a tight smile onto her face and turned toward Sophia.
“I can’t believe Sylvia never mentioned having such a talented and wealthy boyfriend,” Isabel said lightly, though the edge in her voice was obvious. “I would think having a boyfriend like that would be something worth bragging about.”
She tilted her head slightly, pretending to sound curious.
“I wonder why she never thought it was worth mentioning.”
Sophia slowly turned her face toward her.
Her expression remained calm. Unbothered.
“Why would I tell you about my personal life, Isabel?”
Her gaze met Isabel’s directly.
“I don’t think we are friends.”
She paused briefly before continuing.
“I don’t even know your full name. So how can you expect to know about my personal life when we’re not close enough to share such things?”
The calmness in her voice only made the words sting more.
Isabel’s smile froze.
For a moment, her face fell.
She had tried to embarrass Sophia, but the response only made the situation worse for her.
Still, Isabel quickly forced another smile onto her face, though the corners of her lips looked slightly strained.
“Well,” she said, letting out a soft laugh, “I thought we were already friends. After all, we’ve attended so many auctions together since you’ve been hosting them.”
She leaned back in her seat slightly.
“We’ve seen each other so many times. I thought that meant we were already familiar enough to be considered friends.”
Sophia didn’t smile.
Her expression remained composed.
“We met at auctions because of work,” she replied calmly. “That doesn’t make us friends.”
She crossed one leg over the other, her posture relaxed.
“I don’t form friendships easily. For me, friendship requires understanding, trust… and some kind of connection.”
Her eyes briefly flicked toward Magnus before returning to Isabel.
“And I don’t think you and Mr. Graves are people I feel that kind of connection with.”
The words hit harder than she probably intended.
