Free Web NovelChapter 130: Chapter 130: I Like Sophie
It looked as if it had been made by something sharp. The scar was nearly twenty centimeters long, running horizontally from the left side of her waist, across her spine, to the right side.
Ethan Austin froze for a moment.
’Just looking at it hurts. I can’t imagine how she got a scar like that.’
Anne finished cleaning the kitchen and walked out. The moment she entered the living room, she saw Ethan Austin sitting on the edge of the sofa, his hands holding the hem of Nina Halloway’s shirt. It was lifted, and her brother was staring, mesmerized, at the slender waist exposed to the air.
"Ethan!"
Hearing her voice, Ethan snapped back to his senses and immediately pulled Nina Halloway’s shirt down, smoothing it out.
"What do you think you’re doing?" Anne stared at him in astonishment, not daring to speak loudly. She could only scold him in a hushed voice, afraid of waking Nina Halloway.
"That’s our boss. Don’t you dare try anything funny, and don’t even think about getting any inappropriate ideas."
Anne used to think of her boss as just another wealthy, famous star who was all beauty and no brains, but ever since she learned that Nina Halloway was a young lady of the Blackwood Family, she had developed an inexplicable sense of reverence for her.
’Her status speaks for itself. She’s a high-society lady, not someone an ordinary person can have designs on.’
Ethan Austin grunted in acknowledgment. "I wasn’t trying anything. The boss asked me to give her a massage."
"You call that a massage?"
"..."
"Don’t take advantage of her. Just do your job."
Anne walked over, pushed her brother away from the sofa, picked up the blanket draped over the back of the sofa, and shook it open. She then gently covered Nina Halloway with it.
Ethan Austin scratched his head awkwardly. "I wasn’t taking advantage of her."
"The boss just went through a breakup. What you were doing is called... it’s called taking advantage of someone when they’re vulnerable."
Ethan Austin rolled his eyes, exasperated. "What nonsense are you talking about? I didn’t even do anything."
’Nina Halloway was the one who asked for a massage. I was just following orders.’
"Keep your voice down. Don’t wake up the boss."
Anne marched up to him, jumped, and grabbed his ear. She dragged him forcefully out to the balcony, slid the door shut, and scolded, "Get those little ideas out of your head. Stop dreaming impossible dreams. Outside of work, you should find a nice girl, fall in love, and settle down."
Ethan Austin nearly exploded with anger. "I already told you, it’s nothing like that!"
"Then tell me, have you even tried to find a girlfriend?"
"I just graduated! Why would I be looking for a girlfriend?!"
"I heard there’s someone you like. When are you going to bring her home for me to meet?"
"Who told you that?"
"Your friends from the boxing gym."
"Don’t listen to them."
"So, do you like someone or not?"
Ethan Austin fell silent. He remembered how Alaric Blackwood had knocked him out with a single punch. He’d been out cold on the floor for half an hour. Sophie Shaw had been there to see it, and he’d never felt so humiliated.
Seeing him deflate and his whole demeanor crumble, Anne asked, puzzled, "What’s wrong? Does the girl you like not like you back?"
"She’s married."
Anne’s eyes went wide. She felt as if she’d been struck by lightning.
’My brother is in love with a married woman?’
"There are plenty of fish in the sea. You don’t have to be hung up on..."
"I like Sophie," Ethan Austin interrupted, cutting off his sister’s attempt to comfort him.
He had summoned all his courage to finally say it.
BOOM—
A bomb went off in Anne’s mind.
It was as if five bolts of lightning had struck her at once, frying her to a crisp.
Her vision nearly went black, and she almost fainted on the spot.
She grabbed onto a lounge chair on the balcony for support, taking deep breaths as she slowly sank into it.
"Who did you just say you like?"
She stared at Ethan Austin in disbelief.
"Sophie. I’ve always really liked her."
Ethan Austin’s expression was serious. "Can’t I like her? Aren’t she and Alaric Blackwood in a contract marriage? How long is the term? When are they getting divorced?"
Anne couldn’t answer her brother’s questions.
She had no idea how long Sophie Shaw and Alaric Blackwood’s marriage contract was for. All she knew was that Sophie seemed much happier after getting married. She smiled more, and Alaric was taking such good care of her that she was practically glowing.
’If someone told me they were a real newlywed couple, I’d believe it.’
"Ethan, you’re scaring me."
’I never imagined my own brother would fall for my best friend.’
’That little brat, he sure knows how to hide his feelings deep down.’
"I’ve liked her for a long time. The year I turned eighteen, I was going to confess to Sophie, but she started dating Damian Morgan. Then, after they broke up, just when I thought I finally had a chance, she married Alaric Blackwood..."
The girl he liked had suddenly become a married woman, leaving him no time to even process it.
A mask of anguish appeared on Ethan Austin’s face. As he spoke of the feelings he had buried for years, the corners of his eyes turned red, and tears began to well up.
"Sophie was always right there, but we kept missing our chance. I don’t know if it’s fate that we’re not meant to be, or if I’m just unlucky."
Seeing her brother’s eyes redden, Anne couldn’t bring herself to be too harsh. She adopted a soothing tone instead. "Regardless, Sophie Shaw is married now. You shouldn’t disturb her life. Let me introduce you to someone. Those young women from the film set were quite nice. One of them is a Kingsport local, very pretty, a production assistant."
"I like Sophie."
Ethan Austin repeated.
Anne pretended not to hear him, latching onto what she wanted to. "So you like older women, is that it? Fine, I’ll help you look. If all else fails, we can even hire a Matchmaker..."
"Sis, are you even listening to me?"
"I am, I heard you."
"I said, I like Sophie."
Anne fell silent.
The brother and sister stood at a stalemate on the balcony for a long time. Finally, Ethan Austin sighed, slid open the glass door, and returned to the living room.
They didn’t exchange a single word for the rest of the day, each stubbornly going about their own business until evening.
Anne went into the kitchen to prepare dinner while Ethan Austin sat on the sofa in the living room, occasionally tucking Nina Halloway’s blanket in around her.
BEEP—
A phone notification chimed, accompanied by a buzz.
Nina Halloway stirred, rubbing her bleary eyes. Still half-asleep, she fumbled for her phone on the coffee table.
A new social media notification popped up. Someone she had on special alert had just posted an update.
She tapped it open, and her heart clenched.
Jaden had just posted a new update: a photo of him and Stella Yarrow together.
They had officially gone public with their relationship.
Nina Halloway’s nose tingled with the urge to cry. She flipped her phone face-down on the coffee table and pulled the blanket up over her head...
At dinner, Nina Halloway’s eyes were red and puffy. She had no appetite, despite the delicious spread on the table.
Anne could see she wasn’t herself and asked cautiously, "Nina, is the food not to your liking?"
"No, that’s not it."
"Then please, try to eat a little more."
Nina Halloway put down her chopsticks, pushed her bowl away, and listlessly rested her head on the table.
"Anne, come out with me tonight."
"Go out where?"
"That place you mentioned. The one with the really hot male models."
Anne gasped. "You’re serious?" fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
’She’d never actually hired a male model before. She had the desire, but not the guts. Besides, they were expensive.’
She had only been to that club a few times for reunions with old classmates. They were the ones who had hired male models—all gorgeous men with huge pecs and chiseled abs.
She had only mentioned it in passing to Nina Halloway once and never thought she would actually remember.
"Call and book a private room. I want ten male models."
Nina Halloway said listlessly, without even lifting her head.
