Chapter 59: A Fiancée’s Unwanted Dinner [1]

"You’re awfully quiet today," Lorenzo remarked.

Sofia’s fingers tightened around her glass.

"What do you want me to say?"

"Anything. Tell me about your day, for example."

"Nothing interesting happened."

"Really?"

Sofia looked at him.

"And?"

"And I was wondering how you did."

"Why would you care?"

"Because you’re my fiancée."

The answer came so naturally that Sofia almost laughed.

Almost.

Instead, she stared at him with cold eyes.

"You seem to have forgotten something."

"Oh?"

"I never agreed to this engagement."

Lorenzo’s smile faded slightly.

Only slightly.

"You’re bringing that up again?"

"Should I stop?"

He regarded her for a few seconds before letting out a quiet sigh.

"Sofia, we’re in a restaurant. Can we have a pleasant conversation without arguing?"

"Then you should have invited someone else."

"Someone else?"

"Someone who actually wants to spend time with you."

Lorenzo tapped his fingers against the table.

For a brief moment, his expression became unreadable.

Then he smiled again.

"But I don’t want to spend time with someone else."

Sofia felt a chill run down her spine.

There it was again.

That suffocating possessiveness he disguised as affection.

To Lorenzo, her refusal was merely an inconvenience. Something to be overcome with enough patience, pressure, or manipulation.

He never seemed to consider that she might genuinely want nothing to do with him.

Sofia lowered her gaze.

Stay calm.

She couldn’t afford to provoke him carelessly.

Not yet.

She was still too weak to fight him, let alone Aldric Riina. Every day she spent at Golden Dawn Academy was another opportunity to grow stronger, and she couldn’t throw that opportunity away because of her hatred.

She needed to endure.

For now.

"So," Lorenzo said, breaking the silence, "I’ll ask again, how was your first day?"

Sofia hesitated before answering.

"Fine."

"That’s all?"

"What else do you want me to say?"

"Did you meet anyone interesting? Make any friends?"

"Why are you interrogating me?"

"I’m making conversation."

"Then find another topic."

Lorenzo laughed softly.

"You really haven’t changed."

Sofia’s eyes narrowed.

’Neither have you.’

She wanted to say it aloud.

She wanted to tell him that he was still the same selfish bastard who believed he could dictate every aspect of her life.

But she swallowed the words.

Instead, she picked up the menu and began examining it.

"If you’re going to make me sit here, at least let me order something."

"Of course. Order whatever you want."

Sofia glanced at the prices.

Then she looked at him.

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"Even the most expensive dish?"

"Naturally."

"Good."

She closed the menu and placed it on the table.

"I want the entire restaurant’s menu."

Lorenzo blinked.

For the first time since their meeting, his expression genuinely faltered.

Then he burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! Sofia, I didn’t know you had such a greedy side!"

She didn’t respond.

She hadn’t been joking.

If he wanted to waste her time, she might as well make him pay for it.

Besides, she had no intention of pretending to be a well-behaved fiancée for his sake.

Lorenzo eventually calmed down and called the waiter over.

"Bring us the best dishes on the menu. Everything she wants."

The waiter looked between them.

"Everything, sir?"

"Everything."

"Understood."

After the waiter left, Lorenzo rested his chin on his hand and studied Sofia.

"You know, I think white suits you."

Sofia froze.

Her fingers instinctively rose toward her hair.

The white strands fell over her shoulders, catching the warm light of the restaurant.

Her hair had changed after the trial that she faced when she acquired Sun God’s Legacy.

In fact she liked it that her hair colour changed.

Her black hair had always been associated with the life she had lived under her family’s control, a life in which everyone seemed to have already decided what she should become.

"Did I ask for your opinion?"

"No, but I’m giving it anyway."

"Then keep it to yourself."

Lorenzo’s gaze lingered on her hair.

For a fleeting moment, his fingers twitched again.

He wanted to reach across the table and run his fingers through those white strands. He wanted to tell her that black suited her better, that she should change it back, and that he could arrange everything before the evening ended.

The urge was strong enough to irritate him.

But he restrained himself.

He had learned something during his week of successor training.

Sometimes, the most effective way to obtain something was to wait.

Forcing Sofia to change her hair would only create another argument. If he could persuade her to do it willingly, the result would be far more satisfying.

Of course, he had a rather distorted understanding of what willingly meant.

"So, have you decided what you want to do after graduation?" he asked.

Sofia stared at him.

"Become stronger."

"That’s a good goal."

"I know."

"Any particular reason?"

"Do I need one?"

"No. I’m just curious."

Sofia fell silent.

She couldn’t tell him the truth.

She couldn’t tell him that she wanted enough strength to escape his control, that she intended to sever every chain binding her to the Riina family, or that she dreamed of standing before him one day without fear.

Most importantly, she couldn’t tell him that she wanted to kill him.

And his father.

Those thoughts were the only things keeping her moving forward.

"I want to become strong enough to decide my own future," she finally said.

Lorenzo studied her face.

For a moment, something about her expression caught his attention.

It wasn’t anger.

Nor was it the cold indifference she had shown him since they entered the restaurant.

There was something else beneath it.

Determination.

A quiet, stubborn determination that he hadn’t seen in her before.

His smile softened.

"Then become stronger."

Sofia looked at him suspiciously.

"What?"

"Become stronger," he repeated. "If that’s what you want, work toward it."

She couldn’t understand him.

Was this another trick?

Was he trying to make her lower her guard?

Or did he genuinely not care what she wanted, provided she remained within his reach?