Con

CHAPTER 114

Julia’s POV

Standing in the pizza parlor with Elijah, Sophia, and Adrian felt surreal. The warmth of the place clashed with the tension in the air. Adrian’s smile was confident, almost too masterful, as he looked at me after I insisted we had never met before.

“Maybe we all need some ice cream for dessert,” Adrian said, his eyes glinting with something unspoken. “To cool down and relax after dinner.”

I blinked, bewildered, as Adrian continued, “Why don’t you and Elijah join us? It’ll be fun.”

Sophia glanced at him with uncertainty, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she pressed her lips together, the expression almost imperceptible unless you were looking closely.

I took a breath, determined not to appear flustered. “Sure,” I answered, forcing a smile. I wanted to prove my innocence, to show I wasn’t afraid of anything. Besides, I was confident Adrian would never recognize me as the person who had hurt Sophia on the beach.

To my surprise, Elijah nodded. “Sounds good,” he said, and followed Adrian and Sophia to a table. His agreement felt off, like he had another motive. I knew that he was suspicious of Adrian and just wanted to protect Sophia. The thought greatly annoyed me.

It’s always about Sophia. He already believes I’m Sabrina, but he’s still hanging on to her. I hate it.

We settled at a table, and soon enough, bowls of delicious ice cream were in front of us. The small talk began, punctuated by Elijah and Adrian’s veiled sarcasm and dirty looks.

“So, Elijah,” Adrian said, his tone almost too casual, “how’s work been treating you?”

I could tell that he had something up his sleeve. But what?! Why did he invite us to join them when he knew that Elijah was thinking he’s behind the attack on Sophia?

“Busy as ever,” Elijah replied, not missing a beat. “Keeps me out of trouble, unlike some people.”

Adrian smirked. “Well, sometimes, what you refer to as trouble can be a blessing in disguise, like meeting a special someone.”

He was mocking Elijah, talking about meeting Sophia. And naturally, it irked Elijah. I saw him balling his fists, and I felt a sense of excitement stirring within me. It would surely make Sophia mad at him if he punches Adrian!

Sophia stirred her ice cream, visibly uncomfortable with the exchange. “Julia, do you like the ice cream flavor that you chose?” she asked, attempting to divert the conversation.

“It’s great,” I said, nodding. “Bubblegum ice cream is my favorite. Reminds me of childhood. What about you, Sophia?”

She gave a tight smile. “I got pistachio. It’s good.”

Adrian leaned back, his eyes never leaving Elijah. “Oh, you guys can go ahead, okay? I just realized Sophia and I still have a lot to talk about.”

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+15 BONUS

Sophia stiffened, her eyes questioning Adrian.

Elijah looked furious, but I grabbed his hand and prepared to leave, since I saw that his ice cream was almost finished. There was no more reason to stay longer there. I’ll drag him back to the hotel if I have

1. to.

“I’ll be back in the hotel in a few minutes,” Sophia informed us. It was a sort of assurance for Elijah.” We’re staying here and not going anywhere else.”

“It’s none of our business, anyway,” I said. “Right, Elijah?”

He simply let out a grunt and eventually stood up.

“See you around,” Adrian said, grinning mockingly.

It was the last day of our New York trip. The design conference was all done, and Trevis was already buzzing with excitement about how we’d bring the new learnings back to the team at Urban Next Design Studio. But for now, Sophia and I were at the mall, indulging in some last–minute shopping.

Sophia had been unusually quiet most of the time. I knew she was still mulling over the confrontation between Elijah and Adrian the other night. She hadn’t gone to meet Adrian again the following day, which had disappointed me. A part of me wanted to manipulate the situation, to nudge them closer together, maybe even get them drunk or drugged and secretly take photos of their intimate moments. Anything to make Elijah hate Sophia, to make things easier for me.

We wandered into a boutique, and I watched Sophia half–heartedly browse through a rack of dresses. Her mind was clearly elsewhere.

“Sophia, are you okay?” I asked, trying to sound genuinely concerned.

She looked up, startled. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just…thinking.”

I nodded, pretending to be deep in thought as well. “About Elijah and Adrian?”

Sophia sighed and put the dress she was holding back on the rack. “Yes. I just can’t get iut of my head. What happened that night…it was so intense… But anyway, Adrian’s back on tour so at least no more trouble for now.”

“Wow, you must really care about him to have recommended him to Kayla at Raven Media!” exclaimed.

“Oh, it’s nothing like that,” she replied. “I just think he’s really talented and it would be a waste not to share it with the world.”

Tfelt disappointed. She didn’t seem to be interested in him romantically. But maybe with a little push… I could feel my head spinning with fresh ideas on how I could push them together, use this to my advantage.

As we continued shopping, there was something else hovering in my mind – an idea that I came up with last night.

“I need to go to the restroom before we head back to the hotel,” I told Sophia. I started to move away, but then pretended to have forgotten something. “Oh, wait! Do you have a hairbrush I could borrow

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+15 BONUS

maybe?” I was certain she had one in her bag.

“Ahh… Yeah,” Sophia replied, taking her brush out of her bag and handing it to me.

Inside the restroom, I examined the brush in my hand, a mischievous glint in my eyes. My heart beat with eagerness. It was clean, but there were a few strands, almost unnoticeable, left that matched Sophia’s hair color. I took several and placed them in a resealable plastic container that I had in my purse. Perfect!