Chapter 53

"I should go with you." Sophia clutched her phone, her knuckles turning white. "Those online haters are getting out of control."

Vivian's carefree laughter crackled through the phone. "Relax, my dad's sending over a bodyguard. Ex-special forces. Could take down eight guys barehanded."

Sophia exhaled in relief. "Call me immediately if anything happens."

"Yeah, yeah. Stop worrying."

The call ended just as a cold voice cut through the air behind her. "Standing up your friend?"

She whirled around. Ethan Roscente leaned against his car door, spinning his keys around one long finger. Sunlight carved shadows across his sharp features, deepening the intensity of his gaze.

Sophia's pulse jumped. Was he... behind this?

She dismissed the thought instantly. A man like Ethan, with his sky-high arrogance, wouldn't stoop to such petty tactics.

"Get in." He yanked open the passenger door.

Sophia stood her ground. "I already ordered a ride."

Ethan's eyes narrowed, the air around him turning glacial. "Rejecting me?" A smirk twisted his lips. "Perfect timing. I was about to toss out that junk you left at my place."

"What junk?" Her throat tightened.

"That cracked jade pendant." His nose wrinkled in distaste. "Ugly eyesore."

Sophia's pupils dilated. Her mother's only keepsake—a fractured pixiu pendant. In her rushed departure from Bayview Residences, she'd forgotten it in the jewelry box.

"Give it back." Her voice trembled.

Ethan flicked open his lighter with practiced indifference. "I don't keep trash in my home."

"I'll send a courier to retrieve it now."

"No strangers in my penthouse."

Sophia gritted her teeth. "I'll come by tomorrow at noon."

"Denied." His tone brooked no argument. "That hideous thing pollutes the air by existing."

She snapped. "Ethan Roscente, how are you still alive?"

Suddenly he was in her space, the crisp scent of pine enveloping her. He bent close, his breath warm against her ear. "Because the person who could kill me..." His lips brushed her earlobe. "...hasn't been born yet."

Sophia stumbled back, her spine hitting a tree trunk. Ethan straightened effortlessly and jerked the car door open. "Get in, or say goodbye to your precious pendant forever."

Her fists clenched, nails biting into her palms. This man always knew which strings to pull.

In the end, Sophia slid into the black Maybach. As the door thudded shut, she missed the fleeting curve of Ethan's lips.