"Aiden! Aiden! You better get in here!" she screamed in anger. He got to his room in a few seconds, thinking that something bad happened to Sophia.

"What's the matter? Are you okay?" He inspected her face and body, checking for any wounds.

"Stop that!" she swiped at his hands, "Why is my picture up on your wall?" she grumbled.

"Oh, that? You are the one I love, so obviously, I wanted to have your pictures around me," he said nonchalantly.

"This is inappropriate, take that picture down now," she commanded.

"Can't you see how beautiful you looked that day?" he dodged her instruction.

"Was that the first time you started liking me?" she asked.

"I liked you when I first met you, but that day in the sunflower fields, I fell in love," he smiled.

"What? How can you fall in love just like that? You don't even know me," she scoffed.

Aiden chuckled, tipping her chin up to meet his eyes, "I don't know how it happens for other people, but for me, this is how it is."

Sophia was lost, the sincerity of his intentions was very evident in his eyes.

He hooked one arm around her waist to pull her closer. "You know what I do to fall asleep at night? I think about how it would feel to have you next to me."

"Let me go!" she said, trying to free herself.

He laughed and tightened his arms around her, "I imagine doing things to you that would make you squeal." He nuzzled her neck to prove his point.

"You pervert! Unhand me! This is so improper!" but she couldn't get out of his steely grip.

"What's wrong? You are my woman," he replied.

"I am not your woman," she tried to wriggle free, but he just got more stimulated.

"Very soon you will be Mrs. Aiden Cooper," he nuzzled her neck again, "Hmm… you smell so good."

Sophia held onto his shoulders, trying to push him away, but all she managed to do was crumple his shirt.

"It's so difficult to stay away from you..," he trailed more kisses down her neck.

"Sunshine, having you near me is testing my self-control," he was that space between her shoulder, and she was putty in his hands. When he reached the valley of her breasts, Sophia couldn't help but let out a moan, "Ahhh…"

"Trust me when I say I will never fail you, just believe in me," he said as he kissed her cheek. The moan he got from her, and the flush on her face made him want to take her lips and just ravage her, but nuzzling her neck was enough for now. He would have more of her later.

Her eyes were glazed over, and she was breathing heavily. She could not believe a few kisses from Aiden were going to heighten all her sensations. He fixed her hair and top to give her time to recuperate, but even that gesture made her shiver, the touch of his fingers was electrifying.

After a few more seconds Sophia came back to reality. She pushed Aiden away and declared she wanted to go home. And as soon as he loosened his hold on Sophia, she ran to her apartment without looking back.

Aiden smirked, he knew not that she was not made of ice underneath all that facade. The seed has been planted, and all he needed to do was wait for her feelings to grow.

-=-

The following days, Sophia pretended as nothing happened, so he made sure not to push the issue.

The week had come and gone, and Aiden had been trying to convince her to go out to dinner with him, somewhere fancy they would both enjoy, he said. After all the nagging, she agreed.

She was already complaining about the drive to the restaurant, "This place is too far from our house. Couldn't you find somewhere nearby to have dinner?" she asked.

"Well, this restaurant is having their anniversary, and I wanted to try their mega feast," he replied.

They went straight to the VIP section and waited to get seated when Sophia heard a voice behind her.

"Sister!" The voice called out. It's the one and only voice she would never forget, not even in her sleep because she riddled her nightmares all the time.

"Harper, what do you want?" she asked coldly.

"Why are you here?" Harper confronted Sophia like she had no business eating at a fine dining restaurant.

"For shopping," Sophia replied.

"Huh?" Harper was dumbfounded. There were no shops in the building, so what was Sophia talking about?

Aiden got shoved behind Harper and tried to control his snicker.

"This is a restaurant, so obviously I came here to eat," Sophia bit back.

"I was just trying to be nice. The mega feast is a couple's meal, and Gavin brought me here to surprise me. Sadly, you came alone," Harper tried to appear concerned.

Gavin did not plan any surprise for her, Harper had begged him over and over again to come and have the mega feast only because her friends had already bragged about it. And since he was a sucker for whatever Harper wanted, he went on with her plans. When Harper saw Sophia, she had planned to mock her and show her that Gavin was all over her, doing all the things they never did when they were together.

Gavin arrived just before she gave her reply.

"Sophia!" he said with elation in his voice, happy to see her, "I didn't know you'd be here."

"Gavin, sister is alone, I feel sorry for her, maybe we could have her at our table," Harper feigned innocence.

"Who told you she was alone?" Aiden interjected and stood beside Sophia, placing his hand on her lower back to show his support. Nobody was going to get away insulting Sophia while he was alive.

Gavin and Harper both had their mouths wide open when they saw who tried to defend Sophia. All those years after their break-up, Gavin thought Sophia was still carrying a torch for him, which was why she never got romantically involved with anyone else.

"Mr. Aiden Cooper?" Gavin asked when he finally recognized him.

"Yes, that's me," Aiden replied, not bothering to ask who these worthless people were. They seemed to upset Sophia, and he was going to pay them back.

Harper looked at Gavin, questioning who Aiden was. "He is one of the Aristocratic heirs," he explained. Harper's mouth formed a silent O when she heard who Sophia was dating.