Chapter 2
Responsibility? Responsibility for what? Did he get the script wrong? Shouldn't he be the one taking responsibility? No, wait, I drugged him. That actually might make it my responsibility.
My mind was a mess. With his face so close, my heart pounded wildly, and I could not tell if it was from fear or something else.
"I don't have any money," I blurted out after a long pause.
If he expected compensation, he might as well just sell me.
Edward seemed amused by my answer, a low vibration rumbling in his chest.
"I don't want money." He leaned in until the tip of his nose was almost touching mine, his breath hot as it mingled with mine. "I want you."
What?
Did the drug mess with his brain? Shouldn't a normal person have me thrown out and dumped in a ditch?
I stared at him, completely stunned.
This was not how the story was supposed to go. In the book, Edward despised women who threw themselves at him. Afterward, he had the original Sophia taken care of by his bodyguards, clean and efficient.
"Mr. Foster, you must be joking," I said with an awkward laugh, trying to push him away. "I know I was wrong. I won't ever do this again. Please be generous and just let me go."
"Let you go?" he repeated, the smile in his eyes deepening, though it turned colder. "Sophia, do you really think a woman who dared to drug me can be let off so easily?"
His fingers brushed my cheek, the touch gentle but impossible to refuse.
"From today on, you're moving in with me."
It was not a suggestion. It was a statement.
I froze completely.
Live with him? What kind of revenge was this? Was he planning to keep me close and torment me slowly?
"That wouldn't be convenient," I said, stammering as I tried to refuse. "I still have school, and I," A sharp ringtone cut me off.
It was my phone.
Edward straightened up and, with surprising consideration, picked it up from my bag on the floor. He glanced at the caller ID, then handed it to me.
Two words flashed on the screen: Julian Warren.
My thesis advisor.
My heart tightened as I quickly answered. "Hello, Mr. Warren."
"Sophia, about your exchange program application. The school has given preliminary approval, but since Foster Group is the sponsor, they still need to conduct the final review.
Get your materials ready. I'll take you to the Foster Group headquarters this afternoon to meet the person in charge."
My heart skipped a beat, and I instinctively looked at Edward.
He was leaning against the headboard, relaxed in posture, but his gaze was as sharp as a hawk's, as if he had already seen through everything.
My palm grew damp around the phone.
Studying abroad was my only way out of this storyline. As long as I made it to the end and secured the spot, I could leave far behind and escape Sophia's doomed fate.
But now, my only way out was in the hands of the most dangerous man of all.
After I hung up, I met Edward's half-smiling gaze and felt like a mouse being toyed with by a cat.
"Want to go abroad?" he asked.
I nodded stiffly.
"Fine," he said slowly, each word landing like a small hammer against my chest. "Move in with me, and I'll personally 'guide' you. I'll make sure you get the spot.
"Of course," he added, his tone shifting as his smile took on a deeper meaning, "you can refuse. You can think about the consequences yourself."