Too Late She Already Married Mr. Right (Sophia) novel Chapter 258

Richard was the first to look away, stealing a glance at Lucas.

He asked, "Why's he even here?"

Sophia shook her head and said, "No idea. Maybe he's taking a vacation too."

Richard looked at her again. He asked, "Does this bother you?

Should we move somewhere else?"

He'd finally managed to snag a weekend off and had no choice but to drag Annabelle along as the third wheel.

Now there were two more annoying distractions. He thought,

'When the hell am I supposed to start my quest to win Sophia over?'

Sophia glanced at the tent they'd just finished putting together. It was so much more luxurious than the one they had back in Ginkgo Town.

And besides, her state of mind was nothing like it was before.

Back then, all she could think about was the victims trapped underground. But now, she could finally relax.

Sophia said, "Don't worry about it. He doesn't affect my mood anymore.

Ever since she decided to divorce Lucas, he had completely lost the power to mess with her emotions.

Richard nodded and said, "Alright, whatever you say."

Sophia flashed a playful grin and said, "But if they start to bug you, just say the word—we can totally tell them to scram."

Richard stared at her for a moment, a real smile playing at his lips, clearly entertained by her little remark.

"If it doesn't bother you, then I'm good too," he said softly.

Annabelle watched from the sidelines, thinking, 'Uncle Richard is totally getting reeled in by Sophie at this point.

'Can anyone even understand this?

'I never thought I'd actually see Uncle Richard acting so whipped in my lifetime.'

Richard finished setting up the fishing rod while Sophia had already assembled a simple camp chair and placed it right by the lake.

He strolled over with the rod and plopped down in the chair next to her.

"Want to give it a shot?" Richard asked.

Sophia nodded excitedly. As he handed her the rod, she was totally clueless about casting-she flung it out a few times, and each time it almost turned into a boomerang, coming dangerously close to whacking herself.

Richard's eyes glimmered with a hint of mischief as he said, "Let me show you how it's done."

Sophia felt a flush creeping up her cheeks. When she saw that playful look in Richard's eyes, she put on an adorable pout. She said, "Hey, it's my first time trying this, so you're not allowed to make fun of me!"

Richard's gaze flickered, undeniably amused

"Promise I won't," he whispered, stepping in close behind her and wrapping his hands gently around hers on the fishing rod.

Sophia was surrounded by him, his presence filling every bit of space between them, making her heart thump a little louder.

Her lashes fluttered, and a gentle nervousness made her movements stiffen.

Richard's low, husky voice teased at her ear. He said, "Don't tense up, relax."

Sophia felt his warm breath scatter her thoughts, leaving her flustered as she tried to calm down and let herself lean into his guidance.

Richard glanced down, catching sight of the crown of her head, then patiently walked her through the motions.

With a smooth flick of his wrist, the rod arced upward and the bait zipped out, plopping neatly into the water.

Sophia's eyes went wide. She exclaimed, "Wait, that's all there is to it?"

Richard released her and gazed out over the peaceful lake. He said, "Now we just kick back and wait for a bite."

Sophia stuck the fishing rod into the soft dirt and settled into her chair. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, dappling her face, and her eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Mr. Sterling, let's make this a competition-first one to catch a fish wins!" she challenged.

Richard stepped back, cast his line into the lake, and stuck his rod in the ground, too.

He flopped into his chair, his long legs sprawled out awkwardly, just resting wherever they landed.

"Alright, but let's get one thing straight-if you lose, no crying," he teased.

Sophia felt his words somehow had this weirdly sweet vibe, which made her so flustered she had to look away fast.

"No way! I'm a total rookie here-beginners get protection, you know? You're not allowed to bully us yet," she shot back.

She'd spent plenty of her free time gaming, after all.

Emily bit back her frustration. She said, "Lucas, didn't you use to totally despise her? Is that it? Are you just saying this now to make me feel bad and get under my skin?"

Lucas gave her an exasperated look, seriously fed up with her almost-crying routine. He was really starting to regret saying yes to this trip in the first place.

"Come on, enough with the waterworks! You cry nonstop-all day, every day. Hanging around you is like having a permanent bad luck raincloud over my head," he grumbled.

Lucas was frazzled, tossing another glance at Sophia and Richard, laughing together by the lake—he felt a bitter ache of jealousy gnawing at him.

Emily was caught off guard, stunned into silence.

In the end, she just shrank back and meekly suggested, "How about we go fishing?"

If Sophia weren't here, Lucas would've bailed ages ago.

But with her around, he was dead set on hanging out just to annoy them, stubbornly refusing to leave.

Now that he was already there, he couldn't just sit around sulking-so, grumbling all the while, he grabbed a fishing rod and decided to join the action.

He'd barely finished baiting his hook when Sophia's excited voice rang out from nearby.

"I caught one! It's massive! Mr. Sterling, Annabelle, come check this out!" Sophia shouted, practically bouncing with excitement.

Annabelle was holed up in the tent, busy gaming and absolutely refusing to play third wheel.

But as soon as she heard Sophia's ecstatic yell, she bolted over to the lake just in time to see Sophia wrestling a big fish-at least four or five pounds-up onto the shore.

The fish was flopping around in the grass, desperately trying to wriggle its way back into the water.

Richard reacted instantly-he snatched the fish up and tossed it into the bucket, popping out the hook all before anyone could even blink.

Annabelle crouched down by the bucket, grinning. She said, We

can totally grill this up for dinner tonight!"

Sophia was practically bouncing with excitement. She said, "If we catch a few more, we can have a whole fish feast tonight!"

"Come on, Uncle Richard, don't let Sophie beat you so easily-she's already caught one!" Annabelle cheered

Annabelle hadn't even finished cheering when Richard's rod jerked hard. He waited, letting the fish fight a bit as the rod bounced like crazy-then reeled it in smoothly.

Richard landed a fish that was even bigger than Sophia's catch. He tossed it in the bucket, and the girls started cheering, totally thrilled by the win.

All afternoon, Sophia, Richard, and Annabelle reeled in fish after fish-seven, maybe eight in total-while Lucas and Emily just sat there getting skunked, not even a nibble. Talk about a total rout!