Sophia's face contorted in anger, eyes locked and sharp towards Henry. "You are nothing but a fool, and I will say that to your face over and over again."
She narrowed her eyes, then walked toward the door.
Just before she could push the door open, Henry's voice cut through the air.
"I will take responsibility for all that has happened, not because I'm scared of you nor being wrong, but because you might need my help someday."
Henry was so confident in his words as he spoke, amidst all the threats from Sophia.
He walked toward Sophia, one step at a time, muscles intimidating and attractive, his hands gripping the door handle, preventing her from stepping out.
"Take this." Henry insisted, locking gaze at Sophia.
In his hands, he held a pair of earrings, and when Sophia saw them, she lifted her gaze to Henry. "What will I do with these?"
And Henry replied. "Take them with you, see it's as a gift from me to you."
Sophia raised a brow. "Are you still trying to insult me, paying me off for assaulting me with a pair of earrings?"
Henry gasped, shaking his head before setting it on Sophia.
"It's not about that, and I didn't assault you, I saved your life. Anyways, use these earrings to reach out to me anytime you need my help and I will come to your aid. This is my own way of showing my innocence."
Henry smiled after saying this.
"I don't need any help from you, and what could earrings do anyway? Will it change the fact of you penetrating me you motherfucker," Sophia gritted her teeth.
Henry gasped before speaking.
"Yes, it could. And it looks like you have forgotten how I saved you from dying due to a cardiac attack, right? I might still be of help to you if any of it happened."
Sophia hissed with narrowed eyes, then pushed Henry's hands off the door handle, trying to force her way out.
But just then, Henry grabbed her hands and pinned her against the wall, then forcefully put the earrings in her ears, throwing the one that had been previously there.
Henry then pressed his lips closer to Sophia's ears, its layer brushing the auricle.
"Anytime you are in trouble or need my help, as I had said before, you can press the earrings to reach out to me. So take them, they will be of use to you someday."
Deep down Sophia knew she might need Henry's help someday. A random person couldn't do what he had just done, and above all, Henry was very handsome, and she was secretly drawn to him.
Sophia blushed a bit, her lips tugging to a smile, as she thought inwardly. "He could be right about being of help to me someday, I guess I had no choice but to take the earrings."
After thinking, Sophia let out a deep sigh.
"You should have gone soft on me while wearing me those earrings; now I feel like my ears have been detached from my skull, you dickhead," she frowned.
Henry's lips twisted to a knowing smile as he watched Sophia complaining, but later accepted his offer.
Just after a few seconds, Sophia's phone began ringing. She pulled her wrist out from Henry's grip, then dipped her hands into her pocket and brought out the phone.
And just by seeing the caller, Sophia snapped.
"It's my dad."
She then picked up the call and answered.
"Hello, Papa."
"Where are you, Sophia?" He asked sharply.
Sophia was scared and ashamed to tell her father the exact location she was at the moment.
She couldn't start explaining that she went to the club and ended up getting drunk, and after that, ended up having a straight one-night stand with a man she didn't even know. Which He claimed she had asked for it, and if he didn't give it to her, she might die due to some complications.
The story wasn't going to add up, neither make sense when told to her father. And telling him about it will only make her look foolish and make everything worse. So she decided to come up with a lie.
"Ummm… dad, I went to Uncle Ben's house… b– "
Before Sophia could finish her words, her father's voice cut in.
"You mean you spent the entire night in his mansion?"
"Yes, Papa, I was busy and couldn't get home early due to how dark and unsafe the street seemed to be, so I decided to go to his mansion and spend the night," Sophia explained.
Sophia's dad took a deep breath, and from how things seemed to be, he was very worried.
"Very well, at least you are safe. I want you to get home immediately. There's something urgent I want us to discuss."
"Okay, Papa, I'm coming right away," Sophia replied before ending the call.
"Can you let me go now?" Sophia demanded, sounding more polite.
Henry smiled with a bow as he responded, "Of course, my lady."
And so, Sophia walked out of the hotel room and went home.
Just after Sophia was gone, Henry's phone began ringing.
He went over to his phone on the table, then, just by seeing who was calling, he let out a stressful sigh.
"Rowan, calling. What does he have for me this time?"
Henry then picked up the call and answered.
"Hello, Rowan, what's the early morning call for?"
"Sir, I was just calling to inquire about the location and time of this year's auction."
Rowan is more like a right-hand man to Henry, his private subordinate. Bound to serve him as his superior.
As it turns out, Henry held another identity—GOLDMASTER—a legendary investor, the kingmaker of the business world who had brought countless dying companies back to life. His reputation was unmatched, yet he kept a low profile; very few had ever seen his face.
Every year, he quietly collaborated with the government to host the prestigious "Lunch with GOLDMASTER" charity auction. All proceeds went to charitable causes, but the real draw was the chance to sit across from the man himself. Despite the sky-high bidding price, the event was always flooded with eager participants.
"This year's auction will be held in the grand hall of the Red Raven Hotel," Henry replied.
The Red Raven Hotel is a top five-star hotel, where only the rich could set foot. And because of this, Henry bought the entire building secretly and planned to set all the income from the hotel to the orphanage.
"Sir, and also Abigail, your ex-fiancée, she's getting engaged tomorrow. Please, sir, let me have the pleasure of making sure she and her family pay for what they've done to you," Rowan said.
"No! I hadn't come to Atlanta to disrupt the engagement or whatsoever. My only purpose was to deliver the life-saving medicine to her, as instructed by Mr Jordan."
Henry was not initially residing in Atlanta. The main reason why he had come to Atlanta was to deliver a life-saving medicine to Abigail, which had been given to him by his master, Mr Jordan, an elderly man in his seventies whom he so much respected.
It turns out that Abigail, his ex, was suffering from a chronic disease that was killing her from the inside without her even knowing, and and after a brief discussion with his master, Mr. Jordan.
Jordan urged him to forget about what she had done to him in the past and save her life by delivering the medicine to her.
Unknown to Henry, the day he planned to deliver it was the day Abigail was going to get engaged.
Some months back, Abigail, Henry's ex, cheated on Henry with the man named Alaric, who was currently the one she was getting engaged to.
When Henry found out about it, he approached Abigail with evidence. Abigail admitted all she had done to be true, and she did that without a single shame, and she was proud of it, claiming that Henry was very poor and had nothing to offer except foolishness and empty love.
Upon hearing about the engagement from Rowan, his subo
rdinate, Henry wasn't angry—on the contrary, he felt relieved. He even planned to congratulate Abigail in person when they met.