“You big meanie! Don’t touch Ms. Pretty!”
I spread my arms wide, blocking Sophia with my whole body.
Maverick staggered back from the impact, snapped out of the hazy, intimate moment in an
instant.
He stood frozen, the flush draining from his face.
His eyes landed on my furious, protective expression, then drifted, bewildered, to Sophia behind
me, her face tight with anger.
‘Mona, I’m sorry, I…”
His eyes swirled with guilt and confusion, threatening to swallow him whole.
His lips trembled, as if he wanted to explain, but in the end, he just looked away in shame.
He muttered, “I’ll sleep in the study,” and fled down the hall.
His footsteps quickly faded into the distance.
turned around, tilting my head as I looked at the streaks of tears still wet on Sophia’s face.
flashed a triumphant, vacant smile. “The big meanie’s gone. Miss, don’t cry!”
Sophia’s face alternated between pale and livid.
She glared at me, shaking with rage.
But after Maverick’s warning at the engagement party, she didn’t dare lay a finger on me.
Then, suddenly, as if something occurred to her, the resentment in her eyes seemed to pause, replaced by a mix of excitement and terror.
“Ramona.”
She took a half–step closer, her trembling voice edged with certainty. “You’re not really a fool, are you?”
Faced with Sophia’s probing, I kept up my act, playing dumb and clueless.
When I simply smiled and said nothing, Sophia clenched her jaw so hard I could almost hear it.
“Ramona, just wait. Sooner or later, I’ll expose you!”
But after making her threat, she spent several days searching for proof that I was faking it and came up empty–handed.
✩ Fold Up
Instead, Maverick noticed how fixated Sophia was on me and wowing impatient. warned her
again.
“Sophia, drop your little schemes…
“If you dare mess with Mona, I won’t hesitate to tell Grandpa about our arrangement.”
Maybe that near–kiss with Sophia still haunted him, because lately, Maverick had been sleeping in the guest room.
Even when Sophia pleaded with him to “put on a show” for appearances, he ignored her completely, as if he was guarding his chastity for the sake of the fool I was pretending to be.
“Mona, sweetie, could you take this glass of milk to Mav for me?
“Oh, and don’t tell him I sent you, okay?”
