Chapter 8. Let Me Show You

“Angelica, listen to me. Sophie promised me she wouldn’t meet your husband again. She even spends all her time at the office or with me. So why would you want to get back at her?” Cassidy half-lied because he didn’t know; it just slipped out, as if he wanted to protect Sophie no matter what.

Angelica could clearly tell that her pawn was not being disloyal. He was unwilling to accept her cornering Sophie.

Hearing that, Sophie clenched her jaw. She swallowed hard, bitterness crashing over her as reality sank in. The woman who was Collin’s wife—Sophie’s ex-boyfriend—had indeed been targeting her. Even though Cassidy defended her, Sophie didn’t see it as a good thing.

“You believe her? She’s a liar, Cass!” Catlin snapped, her emotions rising. Cassidy still frowned in confusion when he suddenly heard a faint creak, like a door opening.

Sophie’s eyes widened instantly. She hadn’t fully closed the door when she came in, so it shifted slightly, even though there was no wind or anyone else around.

I have to get out of here! Sophie said to herself.

“There’s no way she’s lying, Cat. She—” Cassidy stopped mid-sentence as he heard what sounded like the door closing. He immediately moved, walking slowly away from where he had been talking earlier.

“Wait a second, I’ll call you back.”

“Cass!”

Cassidy ended the call right away to check. There was no one in his study. He glanced around, even reaching for the doorknob before opening it. His brow furrowed. He was sure he had heard the door open and close, as if someone had come in. He even stepped outside to check, but there was no one there.

“Doesn’t seem like it was the wind,” Cassidy muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, Sophie quickly sat down at the dining table and shot a sharp look at the maid who was serving the food.

“If my husband asks, tell him I’m just setting the table,” Sophie instructed. She took one of the dishes and moved it onto another plate. She acted as if she had already been preparing for dinner and had no idea her husband had been in his office. The maid was stunned and confused.

Sure enough, Cassidy returned not long after and froze when he saw Sophie cutting her food on her plate before turning to him with a smile.

“Honey, I’m sorry—I just started setting the table,” Sophie said, greeting him warmly. Cassidy let out a stiff chuckle and nodded.

“It’s okay.”

“Come on. We should eat. You haven’t eaten yet, right?” Sophie urged, inviting him to sit down.

“It’s alright, sweetpea. Why don’t you go ahead? I need to finish some work—”

Sophie immediately stood up, took hold of Cassidy’s arm, and pulled him toward the dining table. Of course, she didn’t want him to call Angelica again and talk to her, even if he had already promised. She wanted to mess with that woman instead.

“You can do it later. If you keep delaying meals, you’ll get sick.”

“I just have a little left to finish, babe—”

“You can keep me company while I eat, right?” Sophie cut in, smiling sweetly with a teasing glance.

For some reason, Cassidy was momentarily stunned by her face. It looked different. She seemed radiant, yet more alluring. He smiled and nodded. He thought it wouldn’t hurt to delay calling Angelica for a while and accompany Sophie for dinner.

Like a good wife, Sophie picked out some dishes for Cassidy and placed them on his plate. Without suspecting anything about her kindness, Cassidy finally enjoyed his dinner with a smile.

“Oh, by the way, did you come to my study earlier?” Cassidy asked casually. Sophie, who had been drinking water, slowly pulled her lips away from the rim of the glass and shook her head with an innocent expression.

“Why do you ask?” Sophie responded, as if she knew nothing. Cassidy took a deep breath, then smiled and shook his head.

“It’s nothing. I was asking. It sounded like someone opened the door earlier.”

Sophie pouted, putting on a sulky expression.

“Are you suspecting me?” she said, sounding slightly upset.

“No. I was asking.”

“But that’s how it sounded,” Sophie muttered, glancing at him before turning her face away. Cassidy sighed, then reached for Sophie’s hand and held it.

“I’m sorry, maybe it was just the wind,” Cassidy said apologetically.

“Why do you forbid me from going into your study, babe?” Sophie asked again, as if probing for information.

“It’s not that no one’s allowed. But I have work that involves confidential documents,” Cassidy replied gently, implying a restriction. Sophie still pouted, as if dissatisfied with his answer.

“But there’s no way I’d leak your documents. What for? We work in completely different fields,” Sophie said, still sounding slightly sarcastic.

“Do you want to go into my study?” Cassidy asked in return, his gaze fixed on his wife, who still looked slightly playful and teasing. Sophie smiled and shook her head.

“If you don’t allow it, I won’t go in there, babe.”

Cassidy fell silent, his smile lingering as he looked at her. Meanwhile, Sophie finished the little food left on her plate and drank her water. When she saw Cassidy continuing his meal, which was almost finished, she suddenly had an idea. She took two pieces of chicken and placed them on his plate.

“It’s okay, sweetpea. I’m already full—”

“Come on, babe. You need to eat more. You barely ate anything,” Sophie said with a smile. Cassidy was about to refuse, but Sophie had already added two spoonfuls of salad beside the chicken.

“Ah, that’s—”

“You work until midnight, babe. I see you staying up late all the time. If you don’t eat enough, you’ll run out of energy quickly, right?” Sophie went on, as if justifying why he should eat more. In reality, she didn’t want Cassidy to go back to his study and continue talking with Angelica. She refused to let him get more entangled with that woman.

“But this is a lot, darling,” Cassidy complained awkwardly.

“It’s not. If you don’t eat it, it’ll go to waste,” Sophie reasoned. Cassidy smiled and continued eating. Meanwhile, Sophie stopped eating but stayed to accompany him, making sure he wouldn’t go back to the study.

Cassidy felt that his wife’s attitude had changed lately. She had always been kind and rarely complained. Even though he had married her under pressure because of Angelica’s persuasion, he hadn’t expected that Sophie wasn’t a bad woman, as Angelica had described.

After dinner, Cassidy was about to get up, but Sophie’s hand wrapped around his arm. With a teasing smile, she leaned closer to him.

“Babe, come upstairs with me. There’s something I want to show you,” Sophie said softly, her tone slightly drawn out. A shiver ran down Cassidy’s spine at the subtle sensation that accompanied her words. He smiled and nodded, following Sophie.

Cassidy didn’t realize how late it had gotten, nor that he had left his phone in his study for quite some time. He had even forgotten to call Angelica back.