Too Late She Already Married Mr. Right (Sophia) novel Chapter 280

Richard turned his head and stared moodily out the window. Why can't l ever say the right thing?' he muttered to himself.

On the way here, all he could think about was making sure Sophia was safe. He'd been worried Helen might lose control and hurt her.

Seeing Sophia safe at last, he could finally breathe easy. But just a few words from her made him so mad that he couldn't help snapping back without thinking.

Suddenly, Richard spotted a pharmacy ahead and shouted, "Stop the car!"

The driver quickly pulled over. Richard jumped out, hurrying back towards the pharmacy.

The three in the car just stared at each other, completely bewildered

Harley watched Richard walk away, scratching his head. 'When did

Mr. Sterling start losing his cool like this?' he wondered.

"And he just left Ms. Evans in the car. What must she be thinking?' Harley thought, a bit helplessly.

Harley turned to look at Sophia, who had shifted in her seat and was gazing outside through the rear windshield.

He said, "Ms. Evans, we were just at the airport to pick someone up. As soon as Mr. Sterling got your call, he had your phone located and rushed over, worried sick about you."

Sophia tightened her grip. "Did he really just get back today?"

"Yeah, Ms. Evans," Harley said, quick to play up Richard's misery.

"Didn't you see those eye bags? He was supposed to be out of town for a whole week, but came running back after just two days.

"I heard from our overseas team that he barely slept, just kept working nonstop so he could get things settled and race home to see you.

"Seriously, Ms. Evans," Harley added, "cut Mr. Sterling some slack-he's practically gone crazy worrying about you."

Sophia felt a tightness in her chest. "I guess I've really been kind of thoughtless," she admitted

Harley quickly waved his hands. "Don't blame yourself. Just be a little nicer to Mr. Sterling now, and he'd probably give his life for you.

"Honestly, you have no idea," Harley sighed. "It's like a miracle, really. Before you, Mr. Sterling had never even been in a relationship- seriously, he's totally clueless about the whole dating thing."

Sophia felt her heart clench. She bit down on her lip and murmured, "I... I'm not worthy."

"Ms. Evans, you really shouldn't put yourself down like that," Harley said quickly. "You're already better than most girls I know. If someone as incredible and independent as you aren't good enough for Mr. Sterling, then honestly, I can't imagine who could be."

Harley could still see a hint of self-doubt in her eyes, and he

honestly couldn't understand where it came from.

"Of course, it's those rich girls from the big-name families.

'They outshine me in every way-family background, education, you name it, she added silently.

Back then, Sophia had naively believed that as long as you worked hard and proved yourself, you'd be good enough. But after marrying into the Westwood residence, she realized that for these ultra-wealthy families, all they really cared about in a woman was her pedigree.

Noticing that Sophia seemed tangled up in her own thoughts, Harley got a little flustered. "Ms. Evans, you're really something special to all of us, right, Jason?"

The driver was usually so quiet you'd be lucky to get two words out of him.

But even he couldn't help piping up this time. "That's right, Ms.

Evans-guys like Mr. Sterling don't come around often. If you've got him, you'd better hold onto him and don't let any other woman get close."

"Totally!" Harley agreed.

Sophia couldn't help but laugh and shake her head-these guys were just too much.

Just then, Richard came back, carrying a small bag from the pharmacy.

He pulled open the car door, got in, and told the driver to drive

honestly couldn't understand where it came from.

"Of course, it's those rich girls from the big-name families.

'They outshine me in every way-family background, education, you name it, she added silently.

Back then, Sophia had naively believed that as long as you worked hard and proved yourself, you'd be good enough. But after marrying into the Westwood residence, she realized that for these ultra-wealthy families, all they really cared about in a woman was her pedigree.

Noticing that Sophia seemed tangled up in her own thoughts, Harley got a little flustered. "Ms. Evans, you're really something special to all of us, right, Jason?"

The driver was usually so quiet you'd be lucky to get two words out of him.

But even he couldn't help piping up this time. "That's right, Ms.

Evans-guys like Mr. Sterling don't come around often. If you've got him, you'd better hold onto him and don't let any other woman get close."

"Totally!" Harley agreed.

Sophia couldn't help but laugh and shake her head-these guys were just too much.

"Seriously, Mr. Sterling, don't brush this off-take Ms. Evans for a shot, no joke!" Jason said, his face etched with worry.

Richard just gave a lazy smile. "She's exaggerating. It's not that bad. If it really was serious, l'd have already dragged her off for a shot."

Seeing Jason still looking anxious, Harley walked over and quickly explained the situation to him.

Jason breathed out, shaking his head. "You guys gotta give me the full story next time-I totally got the wrong idea! It's blazing out here, Ms. Evans. Get inside and enjoy the AC."

Inside the villa, with its 24/7 climate control, was pure comfort-a total escape from the oven-like heat outside.

Sophia sank into the couch, looking a little tired, while Richard went to wash his hands. When he came back, he opened the plastic pharmacy bag and took out some ointment.

He sat down close beside Sophia, squeezed a little ointment onto his fingertip, and carefully started applying it to her neck.

"It might sting a bit, so just bear with me," Richard murmured gently.

Sophia tilted her head back just a little, and the curve of her neck looked especially long and strikingly beautiful.

Richard couldn't take his eyes off that elegant stretch of her neck, and in spite of himself, memories of that night in the tent flashed across his mind.

Even in the low light, he'd been able to read every emotion on her face. Just like now, her neck was arched, long and beautiful- she'd looked so helpless in that moment, softly whimpering as she begged him for mercy.

As the memory flashed through Richard's mind, he swallowed hard. A rush of heat shot through him, and he almost lost control-he had to mentally yell 'get a grip' just to reel himself back in.

Richard forced his breathing to stay shallow, fighting to keep his cool as his fingertips traced the bloody scratches on Sophia's neck.

It wasn't just the sting of the ointment-Sophia felt a spark, like electricity, race across her skin wherever Richard touched her.

She looked up at Richard from beneath her lashes.

Richard raised his eyes to meet her gaze.

Right now, in the bright living room, it was just the two of them.

Their eyes intertwined, twining around each other like vines— close, lingering, impossible to break away.

Richard's shirt hung open at the collar, the top two buttons undone, showing off a hint of collarbone. His nose was high and handsome, and those brooding, dark eyes were impossible to read

He radiated a cool, grown-up energy, his eyes locked onto Sophia— steady, burning, not letting her go for a second,

Everything he'd been bottling up was right on the edge, threatening to spill out-he was losing control.