He turned his serious gaze toward her, his cold eyes narrowing slightly. “What do you think?”
“…”
It sounded like a pretty good deal.
But should she accept?
Sophia mulled it over during the ride. When they were about to part ways, Livinus grabbed her arm, leaning close to whisper in her ear, “Think about my offer. If you say yes, you get a CEO cooking for you every day. It’s a win-win.”
Then, without waiting for her response, he leaned down and kissed her.
The kiss came out of nowhere, leaving Sophia momentarily dazed. She quickly responded, gently pushing her tongue forward, inviting him to deepen the kiss.
This action surprised Livinus briefly before his desire took over. He cupped her face as if trying to absorb her soul, pulling her so close it felt like he wanted to merge with her.
His hand slid to her waist, lifting her shirt slightly to stroke her smooth skin.
Sophia shivered at the familiar touch, instantly reminded of that night.
That night, he had taken her with the same domineering intensity, leaving no room for resistance.
This man never hid his desires for her, nor his relentless longing.
While he was always composed in public, he was unapologetically unrestrained around her.
Sophia knew this man desperately wanted her.
It was a woman’s intuition.
Livinus reclined her seat, gently pressing her down. Only when he leaned over did Sophia realize he was serious.
In the enclosed car, their rapid breathing filled the space, and Sophia shuddered. “Stop! Not here…”
“Relax. The windows are tinted; no one can see inside.”
“But the windshield… they’ll see!”
Livinus froze. At that moment, someone walked past the car, forcing him to exhale heavily in frustration, his face dark with annoyance.
Sophia straightened her clothes, surprised at how quickly they had both lost control over just a kiss.
She had no doubt that if she hadn’t stopped him, Livinus would’ve taken her right there.
He sat back in his seat, scowling silently.
“Shall we go upstairs?” she asked.
“Wait.”
“What for?”
“Give me a moment,” he said through gritted teeth.
Sophia glanced between his legs and immediately understood. Smirking, she offered, “Need a tissue?”
“…” Livinus’s expression turned stormy. “Should I say thank you?”
—
His words gave Sophia a strange feeling, almost like he was issuing a final ultimatum.
The way they had lost control earlier left her with an unsettling sense of impending trouble.
She wasn’t even sure when her opinion of him had started to change.
Or perhaps she had never disliked him at all?
As she pondered, her phone rang. It was Chloe, who sounded excited.
“Sophia, we can start pre-orders for the beauty cream!”
“Pre-orders?”
Sophia checked the time. The beauty cream had been in production for a while, but the final product wasn’t ready yet. They were still a few months away from an official launch. With one to two million already invested in this product, everyone wanted it to hit the market as soon as possible. However, rushing without full preparation was risky.
She had always wanted the beauty cream to be their flagship product and firmly believed it would be a turning point in makeup history.
She was confident it would revolutionize the beauty industry.
Precisely because of its potential, she preferred to take her time to prepare thoroughly.
“Pre-orders will only be for demonstration purposes during live streams. Customers won’t receive the actual product for a few months, and we’ll make sure to disclose this clearly on the sales page and during live streams,” Chloe explained.
Sophia, unfamiliar with online sales strategies, found the idea intriguing but unusual. From a consumer perspective, waiting several months for a pre-order seemed unreasonable.
Fans in the live stream were immediately intrigued and flooded the chat with messages.
— “Wow, her left side looks so smooth!”
— “Wait, is this real? The difference is huge!”
— “Her skin tone is so even now! It’s glowing on the left side.”
— “No way, her pores look smaller too? How is that possible without primer?”
Sophia smiled calmly, her voice steady and soothing as she continued. “As you can see, the left side of her face, where we applied the beauty cream, has an even tone, and the redness from acne scars is completely concealed. The cream also helps to fill in pores, giving her skin a smoother texture. There’s no cakiness or dryness, even without any prior hydration steps.”
