A faint citrusy sweetness blended with the rich aroma of tea lingered around Sophia Sullivan's nose.
Like a forest after the rain.
Fresh and vibrant with life.
Yet beneath that freshness hid a barely detectable trace of blood.
Sophia's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Her gaze swept over the young man before her.
Ryan Lawrence lounged casually, showing no signs of injury.
"You've worked hard these days."
Her voice remained steady as she leaned back slightly.
Creating distance between them.
The fleeting intimacy between them vanished instantly.
Ryan's smile didn't waver.
He was accustomed to Sophia's aloofness.
And well aware that breaching her defenses wouldn't be easy.
"Working for you is never hard, sis."
"But this place is too crowded."
"I'll hand it over when we're somewhere safer."
"Fine."
Sophia agreed, but her eyes lingered on a faint dark stain near his cuff.
"...Are you hurt?"
For once, Ryan froze.
All these years, no one had ever asked—not even when he returned to the Lawrence family covered in wounds.
He'd learned to hide every trace of pain.
Yet Sophia always saw through him.
"Just a scratch. Had to deal with some disobedient rats."
His lips curved deeper.
Her casual concern was a rare warmth to him.
If only those two intrusive gazes weren't ruining the moment.
Especially Ethan Sullivan's.
The killing intent in those eyes was almost tangible.
But Ryan didn't care.
Right now, he was the one sitting beside Sophia.
He leaned closer, voice dropping to a whisper.
"Sis, they're remnants from Sicily—the ones who slipped through last time."
"The Mafia?" Sophia's eyes sharpened. "So we're being targeted."
From an outsider's perspective, their hushed conversation looked intimate.
Olivia Laurent watched from a distance, her mind reeling.
Who was Ryan Lawrence?
The untouchable young master of A-City.
Wild, unruly, feared by all.
Yet here he was, gazing at a woman with no background—with such gentleness.
Ethan's aura grew colder by the second.
His knuckles whitened from clenching too hard, the phone screen cracking faintly under his grip.
An unfamiliar frustration churned in his chest.
Watching Sophia smile at another man.
His only thought was to tear that reckless boy apart.
He'd already planned every step with chilling precision.
...But he couldn't.
Sophia would hate him.
The realization plunged his heart into icy depths.
Suffocating.
Never had he been so entangled in conflicting emotions.
For once, he felt powerless.
"Do you have plans with him?"
Ethan's voice was frostbitten.
Finally breaking the tense silence.
Sophia looked up, meeting his bottomless gaze.
Before she could respond, Ryan shifted to block Ethan's view completely.
"Interesting question, Mr. Sullivan."
Ryan toyed with a petal between his fingers, tone deliberately casual.
"It's personal time. Who my sis meets shouldn't concern you."
The implication was clear—Ethan was overstepping.
"I was speaking to Ms. Sullivan."
Ethan's voice remained calm, but storms raged beneath.
Their gazes clashed midair.
A silent battle of lethal intensity.