Chapter 126 - 125

After having lunch together, Aiden just lingered around in Sophia's office all day. Conducting his business on his laptop and his phone when it was necessary. The aura around them felt very comfortable, giving off the vibe that they have been doing this for a long time together, working side by side.

When they got home, Aiden dropped by his place to change into more comfortable clothing and came back to her apartment. Watching TV as usual. 

"Hey, so how about dinner? Aren't you getting hungry?" He looked at Sophia and noticed that she had fallen asleep, so he covered her in a blanket he found in the bedroom. She had back-to-back meetings since that morning, and it was understandable that she was probably beat.

Aiden admired her sleeping face, so calm and peaceful. It was funny to him that this same sleeping angel was as fiery as a devil when she was awake, scaring people in her path, making them cower in fear.

He liked that she was beautiful even without the products that her company has been encouraging women to cover their faces with, he was thinking about the makeup women wear to hide all their flaws. 

Her long eyelashes, soft cheeks, and pink, plump lips beckoned for him to touch her. Her lips were a natural shade of pink, and he badly wanted to caress them. Every time he talked to her, those same lips he always thought were covered in lipstick distracted him. 

He ran his thumb over her lower lip as she slept, and she sighed and parted her lips, moving her head a little towards his face. And that was reason enough for him to have a little taste, he touched his lips to hers to give her a little peck, but he became greedy. 

That brief moment their lips touched was not enough for him, he had to have more. In hindsight, he should have stopped that first time while she was still asleep, but the desire to sleep inside him was awakening, and it was getting harder and harder for him to wait. 

Sophia opened her eyes wide when she felt something touch her lips. On instinct, she used her hands to push off her aggressor, not recognizing Aiden right away.

"What are you doing?" she screamed when she realized it was him.

"Shit!" he cursed and held her hands. He did not want things to turn out like this. "Sophia…"

"Get out! Get out of my place," she yelled as she tried to get up, but Aiden wouldn't let her. He had pushed her back into the couch, straddling her while he held her hands high above her head.

"Let me go! You oaf!" She struggled to free herself.

"Shh… I'm sorry I startled you." He kept her still with one hand and the other on her lips.

"I love you. I've fallen in love with you the first moment I set my eyes on you. I know it doesn't make sense, but when has love ever made sense? You captured my attention and then my heart in that short period, and I knew I was lost without you."

Sophia's eyes widened when she heard his confession. "What is he saying?" her heart was thudding in her chest so fast, it seemed like it was all she could hear.

Aiden felt relieved that he told her his feelings even though he wanted his proposal to be a grand and romantic gesture. Knowing her personality, he knew convincing her wasn't going to be an easy feat, so he planned each step carefully. He wanted their relationship to go through the motions of cooking a frog in slowly boiling water, nice and slow so that it won't notice the temperature change, then eventually, the frog won't want to jump out of the pot anymore. 

But now, because of what he did, his chances might have been ruined. To save face, he decided to confess prematurely. But then that was better than Sophia misunderstanding his actions because all his hard work the past few days would have been in vain. 

Since he jumped the gun, he thought he would just make it up to her with a grander gesture later, when she has finally calmed down.

Aiden straightened the frown on her face and smiled, "I don't think you're ignorant to not realize my intentions".

"But..," Sophia stammered as she frowned again.

Of course, she was not ignorant, she knew Aiden was attracted to her, but it never crossed her mind that he could love her. Aiden Cooper was a name the whole country was familiar with, he was the last of the Aristocratic bachelors to be single, and they've been rumored to be a lot of things, but they are very private people, and the ones close to them were the only ones who knew who they really were. 

When Cooper Industries showed interest in the Collins Beauty Industry, she had been very happy. It showed that her company had finally made a name in the market. Getting the attention of one of the top companies in the country meant a big deal. Sophia never expected Aiden himself to attend the meeting since hers was an upcoming company. She had expected one of his assistants to attend, so she really had no impression of him except that she wanted the presentation to go the way she planned. 

The surprise came when she discovered him as her neighbor. He had been quite different from the young heirs from the other different families she knew of. Aiden was polite, charming, and kind, though sometimes he was a little pushy, throwing a tantrum like a child to get what he wanted. But overall, he made her feel at ease, she felt very relaxed around him. He treated her with respect though sometimes she found him looking at her differently, like a man who viewed an attractive woman.

Sophia ignored his longing stares, thinking it was nothing intended for her. And since he never crossed the line, they were going to be good as platonic friends. So it really made her mad when she said him stealing a kiss from her while she was asleep. But his confession stunned her, never in her wildest dream did she expect him to profess his love for her.

"I don't care, I don't love you, and I never will," she said sternly.