CHAPTER 33: ALL THE MEMORIES RETURNED

"...Morning?"

Her tongue felt robbed—clumsy and stuttering.

"Looks like you don’t remember what happened last night?"

Sophia was a complete mess.

What happened last night?

What the hell happened?!

She stared at the ceiling as flashes of the previous evening skittered through her mind.

Holy—she’d fallen for that guy’s trick.

She thought Lucas had saved her, then... everything went black.

"Mr. Hilton! We’re adults—let’s just call last night a mistake."

She forced calm into her voice, pretending it was no big deal.

"Oh? A mistake? I saved you—don’t you owe me something? If I hadn’t come to your rescue, where do you think you’d be right now? Sophia—wearing the title of my fiancée—and you go out to a bar dressed like that? Am I supposed to say you’re carefree, or that you’re trying to humiliate me?"

Sophia’s brain felt like porridge. The scene in front of her seemed oddly familiar.

That night six years ago—wheelchair... the man...

Her eyes snapped wide. She swallowed.

She remembered.

No way that’s just a coincidence...

She turned stiffly and stared at his faultless face. "Mr. Hilton—your legs are not disabled?"

"What do you think?"

"Have we met before?"

Ha—women.

So she remembered him now.

"You slept with me for a night, stole all my cash, left me a worthless scrap of paper, and took my six kids. Sophia, you’ve got quite the memory."

It really was him.

Panic surged. Sophia scrambled to get away and tumbled under the bed.

She forced herself up. The man on the bed wore practically nothing.

Her cheeks flamed. She yanked the blanket over his face and barreled into the bathroom.

Oh my God.

She must be dreaming—this has to be a dream!

Sophia pinched her arm hard, nearly in tears.

She wanted to slap herself.

What kind of nonsense had she been pulled into?

Truly walking into the lion’s den.

Half an hour passed and no one came out of the bathroom. Lucas raised an eyebrow and, patient, knocked on the door.

"How much longer?"

At that moment, Sophia burst out wrapped in a towel.

"Don’t even think about running—you can’t get away."

Sophia froze, then the door clicked shut. She was screwed.

She pulled out her phone, about to call Harper, then thought better of it—knowing Harper’s personality... no, that wouldn’t do.

She dialed Alex instead. "Alex, please bring me a full change of clothes. Thanks."

"Where’s the boss?"

"He says he doesn’t need any." Sophia curled inward and whispered.

Suddenly—

"Bold move."

She shivered. As she stood, Lucas snatched her phone and answered.

"You’ve got twenty minutes. And bring the wheelchair up."

He hung up, and Alex on the other end sounded helpless.

Sophia forced a stupid smile. "Looks like your clothes still fit, so—"

"Aren’t we overdue for a serious talk?" he said.

"There’s nothing to talk about, Mr. Hilton. About the wedding—I think we can put that on hold."

Lucas suddenly wrapped an arm around her waist and hoisted her up, teasing, "Put it on hold? Dream on."

"Mr. Hilton, I swear I didn’t realize it was you six years ago. I was wrong. Let me make it up—one million, is that enough?"

His gaze chilled further.

"Two million?"

He stayed silent, face stony.

"Final offer—six million."

"Sophia, looks like you’ve got money to burn. Listen: the wedding in three days—whether you want it or not, it happens. If you try to run, I’ll drag you back and lock you up. And you stole my six kids—this isn’t over. We’ll settle that score properly."

Children were her red line — touch them and you’d crossed the one boundary she would never forgive. The pleading look in Sophia’s eyes vanished in an instant.

She shoved him hard.

"Lucas, if you so much as lay a hand on my kids, I will make you regret it with everything I’ve got!"

"Our agreement is only for three months. Scared already, Sophia?"

Lucas and she were in a fake marriage — just a three-month arrangement.

The air in the room thickened. They stared at each other, neither willing to back down.

Knock, knock, knock—

Alex waited outside. Sophia opened the door, took the clothes without a word, and shut it again.

Two minutes later she came out, silent.

Alex blinked and stepped inside.

"Boss?"

"Watch her. If she tries to run, bring her back."

"Yes, sir."

Nobody knew when Miss Morgan and the boss would actually become a real couple.

...

Sophia sat in the car, her thoughts a tangle. She never expected Lucas to be the same man from six years ago. She was certain now — he’d found the kids before and taken them away.

The wedding was only days away; refusing wasn’t an option.

How could she, usually so sharp, be so stupid this once? How would she explain all this to Harper and the six kids?

Back at the villa, she pushed the door open. Seven heads shot up from the living room.

"Sophia, where were you? You spent the whole night with Lucas?"

"Mommy, we were so worried—are you okay?"

Harper had waited in the living room all night; the six kids had stayed up with her.

"I’m fine."

Sophia sat down. Harper, eagle-eyed, noticed marks on her neck and pointed, shouting, "What’s that on your neck? Don’t tell me it’s mosquito bites—I won’t buy that!"

Seven pairs of eyes fixed on her, waiting for an explanation.

"It... it was a bug bite."

Could she lie her way out of this?

"Sophia, can we play nice or what? Tell the truth and things go easier. Resist and we’ll be strict!"

"Mommy, tell us! Did Lucas do something bad to you?"

She couldn’t bluff her way through it.

"Harper, come here. I need to tell you something."

She pulled Harper aside. Before Harper could speak, Sophia hurried on, "Something almost happened last night that shouldn’t have. But I kept my cool and got away. I didn’t want to scare the kids, so I stayed out overnight and just came back."

"Do you think I’m three years old? Don’t lie to me—none of these six kids believe you!"

Harper didn’t buy it. Sophia had changed clothes into something still upscale-casual—definitely suspicious.

"Harper, I’m serious: don’t get involved with Lucas. He’s too calculating."

"The wedding’s in three days. Do you expect me to change that?"

Regret was useless now. At the very least, Harper couldn’t find out the whole truth—otherwise she might tear the Hilton Group’s house down.

"Harper, I know my limits. I ran into Ryan last night; no surprise, he’ll come looking for me. I’ve got important things to handle today — keep an eye on Ethan for me."

"Keep an eye on Ethan? Didn’t you say you wouldn’t even bother with him?"

Sophia raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I won’t stoop to him, but some debts can’t go unpaid."