Sophia stood up and walked toward Magnus.
Magnus also rose to his feet, and the two of them stood facing each other.
“Mr. Graves,” Sophia asked, confused, “what is going on? What are you doing?”
Magnus slipped his hands into his pockets. “You liked this diamond, didn’t you?” he said casually. “So I’m gifting it to you.”
Then he gestured slightly toward the tray.
“So I’m gifting it to you.”
A faint smile touched his lips.
“I hope it makes you happy.”
“I don’t need you to make me happy,” Sophia answered at once.
Her expression settled into a frown as she looked directly at Magnus.
“What makes you think I would want anything from you? Not to mention a one-hundred-million-dollar diamond.”
Her voice hardened slightly.
“I do not need any gift from you.”
The proud and satisfied expression on Magnus’s face faded instantly. The faint smile disappeared as he stared at her in silence.
“I’m giving it to you to thank you,” he said after a moment. “For helping me with my auctions. It’s not a big deal, so please just accept the gift.”
Sophia still didn’t look pleased.
“Mr. Graves,” she said firmly, “I already received payment from you for hosting those auctions. I do not need any gift from you. I did my job, and I got paid for it. That’s all.”
Magnus frowned.
“You’re making a big deal out of nothing,” he replied. “I’m just giving you a gift. Don’t you love this diamond? You helped me when I had an emergency.”
He gestured toward the diamond tray.
“So I’m giving you this as a gift. We’re friends. There’s no reason for you not to accept it.”
“I already told you that we are not friends, Mr. Graves,” Sophia cut him off immediately. “It was my job. I did my work, and our relationship ended right there. We are not friends.”
Her gaze hardened slightly.
“So please don’t do things that might give people the wrong impression about our professional relationship.”
Magnus’s expression changed instantly.
The calmness and patience on his face vanished.
He stared at her for a long moment, his jaw tightening.
“We are not friends?” he repeated slowly.
His eyes burned with a challenging intensity, as if daring her to repeat the words.
But Sophia didn’t hesitate.
