Chapter 5

Home. This word fell from Benjamin's lips with an unquestionable authority, as if they weren't strangers who'd married just that morning, but longtime partners.

Sophia's heart skipped a beat, her fingers unconsciously tightening around the glass.

Home? She'd just escaped from that so-called home, but where was this "home" he spoke of? The property mentioned in that document?

A server quickly brought over a cup of warm milk, steam rising from the white porcelain in wispy curls, dispelling some of the chill left by the whiskey.

Benjamin watched her without rushing, simply waiting in silence, his deep eyes becoming even more inscrutable in the dim lighting.

Feeling uncomfortable under his gaze, Sophia lifted the cup and took small sips of the milk. The warm liquid sliding down her throat somehow soothed her restless emotions.

"Do you come here alone often?" Benjamin finally broke the silence, a barely detectable hint of teasing in his voice. "Doesn't the Taylor family welcome you?"

Sophia's movements paused as she looked up at him.

Was he mocking her for being thrown out?

She pressed her lips together, her voice slightly muffled. "No, I'm fine. I just came out for some air."

"Is that so?" Benjamin leaned back against his chair, posture relaxed, but his gaze piercingly perceptive. "I'd say you're more like a provoked kitten, running around with nowhere to hide."

Sophia's cheeks warmed as he hit too close to home, making her feel both embarrassed and indignant.

But facing those eyes that seemed to see through everything, she couldn't form any rebuttal.

She could only lower her gaze, focusing on Benjamin's hands folded on the table.

His fingers were long and elegant, with prominent knuckles, a Patek Philippe watch adorning his wrist—understated yet luxurious.

Following his wrist upward, she traced the crisp white shirt cuff, then further up to his defined jawline and thin, sensual lips.

His entire presence radiated mature masculine charm—powerful, dangerous, yet fatally attractive.

Sophia found herself staring, and that cool sandalwood scent drifted to her nose again, growing clearer, gradually overlapping with that blurry night from her memories.

Her heartbeat began to accelerate uncontrollably.

Why did Benjamin feel so familiar?

"What are you looking at?" Benjamin's low voice pulled her back to reality.

"Nothing... nothing." Sophia hastily averted her gaze, raising the milk cup to hide her composure.

Benjamin's lips seemed to curve in a faint smile, so quick it might have been an illusion.

He reached into his suit jacket and withdrew a deep purple velvet box similar to the previous bracelet packaging, placing it gently on the table and pushing it toward her.

Sophia's breath caught as she stared at the box, not immediately reaching for it.

"This is..."

"Open it and see." Benjamin's tone brooked no refusal.

Sophia hesitantly extended her hand, her fingertips touching the cool velvet before lifting the lid.

A matching necklace lay quietly on the black satin, the same premium amethyst cut into delicate petals that refracted deep, mesmerizing light in the bar's dim atmosphere. It was infinitely more beautiful than that crude imitation around Alice's neck.

"I can't..." She wanted to say she couldn't accept it—it was too valuable.

"I told you, I'll handle the wedding arrangements." Benjamin interrupted, his tone calm yet domineering. "Including what jewelry my wife should wear."

He paused, his gaze falling on her bare neck, then added, "I don't like my things being insulted by cheap imitations."

He actually knew about Daniel's habit of appeasing her with a cheap necklace.

Sophia's heart lurched. What else did he know?

Benjamin seemed to read her thoughts as he rose from his seat, walking around the table to her side. His tall figure immediately cast a shadow over her, bringing an overwhelming sense of pressure.

"I'll help you put it on." He gave her no chance to refuse, directly taking the necklace from the box.

The cool chain touching her skin made Sophia instinctively shrink her neck.

Benjamin's fingers were warm and dry, inadvertently brushing against the nape of her neck, sending tiny shivers through her.

She nervously held her breath.

Benjamin's distinctive sandalwood scent now enveloped her completely at such proximity.

The familiar sensation crashed over her, nearly drowning her.

Just as Sophia lost herself in the moment, she heard Benjamin speak softly near her ear, his voice husky with a hint of barely perceptible amusement.

"There's a tiny birthmark here, shaped like a petal."

Sophia's mind completely exploded.

She spun around abruptly, staring at him with wide, terrified eyes, grabbing his wrist as her voice trembled. "How... how could you know that?"

This birthmark was hidden and uniquely shaped. Apart from her deceased mother, she'd nearly forgotten it herself. Daniel, despite five years together, had never discovered it!

How could a man she'd only met twice know this secret!

Unless he was that man from two years ago!

Seeing her pale, panicked face and those eyes filled with shock and fear, a glint of amusement flashed through Benjamin's eyes. He didn't pull away his hand but instead gripped her cold fingers in return, pulling her to her feet.

"So surprised?" He looked down at her, his expression returning to its usual calm composure, as if that intimate moment had been her imagination.

"Who are you really?" Sophia's body trembled slightly from the enormous shock.

Benjamin gently touched her cheek with his free hand, his thumb wiping away the tears forming at the corners of her eyes, the gesture carrying a soothing quality.

"Don't be afraid." He spoke slowly, his voice low and certain. "To ensure the success of the arranged marriage, before meeting you, the Taylor family provided a detailed file about you."

He paused, looking at her with deep eyes, explaining word by word, "That file was very thorough, including all your information, physical characteristics, even some unknown little habits. For family alliance marriages like ours, this is standard procedure."

Standard procedure? Sophia was stunned. She'd never imagined that in John's eyes, she truly was nothing more than a priced commodity with a detailed instruction manual.

This explanation sounded both absurd and coldly logical, yet perfectly aligned with John's way of doing things.

The suspicion in her heart seemed forcibly suppressed by this cruel reasoning.

Yes, he was Benjamin, the head of the Williams family. What couldn't he find out if he wanted to? Perhaps she really was overthinking.

But how to explain that persistent sense of familiarity and that identical scent from that night in her memory?

Seeing her expression ease slightly, Benjamin released her hand and stepped back, re-establishing the safe distance befitting his position of authority.

"You've finished the milk," he glanced at the empty cup on the table, his tone returning to its commanding brevity. "Let's go home."