The Million-Dollar Heart

Leo was in the middle of a heated conversation, his fingers gripping the woman's chin to turn her face towards him, oblivious to the scrutinizing glances from the crowd around them. His suspicious gaze softened momentarily when he caught sight of Sophie's hauntingly persistent presence, only to recoil as if jolted by electricity.

He quickly let go of her hand, shaking it in the air as if he had touched something filthy. Sophie, teetering in her high heels and with her arm restrained by him, was already unsteady. His sudden release sent her tumbling towards the ground! The hard marble tiles of the mall floor slammed against her chest, bringing tears to her eyes and eliciting sympathy from the onlooking gentlemen.

"Hey man, even if you're fighting with your girlfriend, that's no way to treat her. That's just cold!"

Leo, feeling like a cornered cat, jumped back and retorted, "Who the hell said she's my girlfriend?! I can deal with a lot, but don't you put words in my mouth! I've got nothing to do with this lady!" "How can you say that?"

With the help of some girls, Sophie stood up, clutching her chest, a picture of wounded innocence. "My father hoped our families could unite through marriage. You're supposed to be my fiancé. Even if you don't like me, you can't just disown me like that. Where does that leave my family's honor?"

Ah, the old arranged marriage spiel. That cleared it up for everyone.

"You're way out of line, buddy! Good looks but a heart of stone, huh?"

One of the girls couldn't stand it any longer and spoke up for Sophie. "Even if yours is an arranged marriage and you don't like her, you can't be this harsh. If you're so against it, why don't you confront your families about breaking off the engagement?"

"Engagement? What engagement?"

Leo was on the verge of losing it. "My dad never agreed to any of this in the first place. Engagement, my foot. Stop trying to elevate yourself at my expense. I wish I'd never come shopping today!"

Saying so, he grabbed Tom and made to leave. But Sophie wasn't about to let him off so easily. She had finally caught up with Leo and hoped to use him to get closer to Percival. Letting him go now would mean losing who knows how many chances in the future.

Without thinking, she grabbed Leo's arm. "Leo, please don't do this. I... I know you don't like me. But I really like you. If I've caused you any trouble, I'm sorry. Please, don't ignore me."

to her usually more assertive

throwing herself at you.

age, finding someone who genuinely

scanning the crowd with a frosty gaze, said, "Mind your own business. I don't need anyone's devotion. If you're so eager for love, go find it elsewhere, but leave me

him to this point was a testament to her tenacity. Tom, observing from a corner, smirked at something on his phone just as Sophie shot him a look. Caught off guard,

are you rejecting

you out of your

Tom: "???"

Abernathy family, she was nothing like her more respectable peers. The crowd was in shock. Was she implying...? "Just because he's always

itching

yet you still shamelessly chase after my boyfriend?

that would surely set the gossip mills ablaze, a vibrant voice cut through the crowd, accompanied by the click-clack of high heels. A woman

blush creeping up her

on this guy! How's he got all

Sophie's delicate

upper hand in both looks and aura. This

Martinez family, radiated an

sophistication, her demediated

alone

women faced off,

"This miss,