"You want to be together? Auntie will absolutely never agree!" Lara walked up to the two of them, looking at Ned with grief. "You know very well that your love will never turn out the way you hope. The gap in your statuses is too great; you two are simply not suitable for each other!"
She took a deep breath. "By doing this now—being so good to her, protecting her like this—you're misleading her into thinking that one day you'll marry her and stay with her forever. But in the end? It will all come to nothing. All you're doing is hurting Sophie! Hurting me!"
Ned glared at Lara. His gaze was as cold as ice, so frigid that she couldn't help but tremble...
"Finished?" He stared at Lara's tear-streaked face and asked indifferently.
Lara sobbed, unable to respond.
Then Ned lowered his head and said gently to Sophie, "Let's go."
He took her hand and left the restaurant as if nothing had happened.
Sophie couldn't even turn back to look at Lara's expression. Like a robot, she let Ned lead her away.
In her mind, frame by frame, all she could see were Lara's tears and her cries: It will all come to nothing...
"Not to your taste? I chose Japanese A5 Wagyu—it's flown in fresh every day. I don't think you've tried it before. I've been wanting to bring you here for ages," Ned said attentively.
He had brought her to a private VIP room at the top-floor restaurant of C&C. Even after the steak was served, Sophie hadn't said a single word. She was completely unresponsive.
"I can't eat," she murmured, staring at the exquisite steak.
"Why? Because of what Lara just said?" He sneered. "Her words mean nothing. Don't let her nonsense ruin our evening." Then he lowered his head and began cutting his steak, completely unconcerned.
Sophie opened her mouth, then closed it again. She knew Lara was right. And he wasn't wrong either.
"What's with that face? Don't lose your appetite just because of a few stupid sentences. Didn't you promise me you'd have the courage to face anything?"
He simply put down his knife and fork, reached over, and took her hand. "What garbage is your brain churning through now?" he asked.
"I'm not thinking anything."
"Speak clearly. I don't want to hear you brushing me off." His face turned cold.
"You're really too selfish," she looked at him and said calmly. "You're making two women who love you both heartbroken, both miserable at the same time."
Ned broke into a wide grin. "So, are you heartbroken?"
She didn't answer.
"Then you're admitting you love me?" His eyes darkened as he smiled secretly. "Finally, I know just how much you love me."
Sophie suddenly felt as if her innermost thoughts had been exposed. She quickly pulled her hand out of his grasp.
"What, don't want to admit you love me anymore?" He chuckled lowly, then picked up his knife and fork again, casually resuming cutting his steak as if nothing had happened. "You just said you love me. Message received. I'm thrilled!"
"What on earth are you talking about? When did I ever say that?" Sophie was getting frustrated and flustered. "Which one is the real you—the one sitting here right now with that smirking, playful face, or the old you who never smiled and always wore that ice-cold expression?"
"Hahaha—" The private room echoed with Ned's bright, unrestrained laughter. "You're finally interested in me!"
"Do you even understand what I'm saying?" Sophie was completely baffled; his train of thought jumped all over the place. "What's actually going on in your head? Is the 'you' talking to me right now the same person as the old you?"
He grinned widely. "So desperate to understand me? Then date me properly. Let me spoil you. Don't overthink things, cover your ears, ignore whatever anyone else says—just trust me, that's all. I'm not that complicated, at least not when I'm with you…"
He leaned forward and lightly pecked Sophie's lips. "I want to kiss you—really kiss you, deeply—my Sophie!"
"After work, wait for me. I'm taking you somewhere, a place where you'll get to know the real me, completely."
"Where?" Sophie asked blankly.
He pulled out a cigar, lit it, and started puffing slowly, savoring the smoke. He leaned back in his chair, one hand resting casually on the back of the chair beside him, his posture relaxed and unrestrained.
This was the second time he had smoked in front of Sophie. In the small private room, the smoke rose in thick curls, choking her until she felt like coughing.
"You just have to follow me. I'll show you what aristocratic life is really like on the other side," he said with a roguish grin. "And while we're at it, you'll get to meet the other half of Ned."
His eyes gradually deepened, sharp and predatory, like a beast stalking through the jungle.
At six o'clock sharp, Sophie finished her work with unusual efficiency and then sat idly at her desk, waiting for Ned's signal. But today he seemed genuinely "busy." It wasn't until ten o'clock that he finally texted her: "You can get off work now."
The moment she received the code phrase, Sophie grabbed her bag, slipped out of the office ahead of everyone else, and headed straight to the underground parking garage.
She waited there for about ten minutes before Ned finally strolled over. Without a word, he naturally slipped an arm around her waist and leaned in close, murmuring teasingly into her ear, "How naughty—coming down here all by yourself instead of waiting for me?"
Caught off guard by the sudden intimacy, Sophie squirmed free and hurried to the car. Only after Ned unlocked it and she jumped inside did she finally feel safe.
"It's so late already. Are we still going?" she asked once the car started moving.
"Mm. The New York night is only just beginning," Ned replied lightly, eyes fixed on the road ahead.
Outside the window, the sky was pitch black. The dazzling lights of the city streaked past in a blur as the car sped along. The two of them sat in silence, immersed in the river of flowing neon, until the car finally pulled up smoothly in front of a famously exclusive private club that everyone in the city knew about.
"Why did you bring me here?" Sophie asked uneasily.
"What's wrong? Is this place weird?"
Sophie nodded, shrinking nervously into the passenger seat, too scared to get out.
"To you it might be weird, but to me, this is routine. I can't go a single day without coming here," Ned said. He got out, walked around the front of the car, pulled her out, and headed straight through the club's entrance. After handing the keys to the valet, he made a beeline for the elevators.
"This is a nightclub. It's probably not a good idea for me to go in, right? Can I just… not go upstairs?" Sophie asked anxiously, practically being dragged along, a little terrified.
The lighting in the hallway was dim. When the elevator doors opened, they stepped into a corridor lined with private VIP suites on both sides. Sophie stuck close behind Ned. Every now and then, one or two young men lounged outside the doors, chatting. When they saw her, their eyes raked over her from head to toe with blatantly sleazy stares that made her skin crawl and her whole body tense with discomfort.