Filed to story: The Billionaire Trying Hard to Win Her Heart Novel (Sophie & Tristan) >>
“Don’t you dare lay a finger on me! Mark my words. I’ve been in prison numerous times. If you dare to even touch me, I’ll—”
Sophie struck at him before he could finish his words. She grabbed his wrist, exerting a great force discreetly. It was as though she only touched his hand for a second.
Nevertheless, Clifford broke out in cold sweat due to the excruciating pain in his wrist. He could not even twist it.
“What have you done to me?” His voice quivered in fear. My goodness! What a terrifying young lady!
“Don’t worry. It’s only one of your hands. However, you might not be able to jerk off anymore by using this hand,” Sophie responded indifferently.
Inwardly, Mark gasped. Am I hearing things? How’s it possible for those words to escape such a young lady’s lips?
At the same time, Sunny lamented inwardly, Oh my! What happened to our innocent young lady?
Meanwhile, Tristan was bereft of speech.
The young men could only talk themselves into getting used to Sophie’s boldness. Ah! We should have known that she’s no ordinary young lady!
“You!” Clifford could not utter any words to retort.
“Hmm? Are you doubting my words again? Spit it out now. Who’s the mastermind manipulating you in the dark?” Sophie raised her voice and whipped out a voice recorder.
“I…” Clifford did not dare to tell her anything, fearing that he would be in trouble by infuriating his manipulator.
“Oh? Do you not want your other hand too? Just a heads-up for you to be mentally prepared. Your wrist will never be able to recover again!” Sophie was confident in her skill.
Meanwhile, Clifford did not dare to doubt her words at all.
“Missy, I had no choice but to get the mission accomplished as I was paid. Please let go of me. I promise I won’t appear alongside The Wheelers again, no matter where they are. Is that not enough?” He tried to speak up for himself. They are all as petrifying as ferocious beasts. I can’t take the risk of getting on their nerves!
“Since you’re reluctant to spit it out, I have no choice but to use another method.” Sophie sounded nonchalant as usual, but her words were horrifying indeed.
“Missy! I’ll tell you the truth now, okay?” He tried to appease her. Why am I so unlucky? I carried out the mission for only fifty thousand. Why did I come across such a vicious young lady?
“It’s Clayton Zales. According to him, Mark Wheeler and his band members have not been cooperative lately. Hence, he wanted to teach them a lesson.” Clifford could not refrain from opening his mouth.
“I’ve told you everything I know, so can you let go of me now? But please don’t let Clayton know I’m the one who told you this. If not, he won’t let me off the hook. Don’t ever step on his toes either. Don’t you know how scary that man is?” Clifford babbled.
The moment Clayton’s name was mentioned, even a notorious man like Clifford felt a shiver go down his spine.
“Okay, I got it.” Sophie pressed a button on the voice recorder and tossed it to Mark.
Next, she turned to ask the young man who had been silent so far. “Sunny, what do you think we should do to him? It’s all right. I can make the arrangement if you don’t wish to get your hands dirty, so feel free to speak your mind!”
Clifford’s face turned ashen as he pleaded, “Mr. Sunny, please let go of me! I won’t dare to do that again! I swear it!”
Wearing a look of sheer grimness, Sunny sneered, “Clifford Larson, have you forgotten your revolting words in the restroom? Didn’t you plan to force yourself on me? How about now? Pfft! Have you chickened out?”
All along, he had been keeping mum about it so as not to put the others in hot water. Now that Clifford had revealed the truth, he did not think he needed to keep anything from the others anymore.
In an instant, there was a drastic change in the countenance of all the members of The Wheelers. A hint of ferocity flickered in Sophie’s eyes.
“Mr. Sunny, please let me off! I was only pulling your leg at that time. Please let go of me!” Horror- stricken, Clifford wet his pants.
“How dare you!” Mark moved forward to grasp his wrist and bent it backward harshly.
“Argh!” Clifford let out a blood-curdling yowl in pain.
At the same time, the other members of The Wheelers drew closer to surround him at once. They had always doted on Sunny like their own younger brother. Knowing that Clifford had such designs on him, they blew a fuse.
Consequently, Clifford was beaten to a pulp in scarcely a few minutes.
Sophie only stepped forward after the members of The Wheelers vented their anger. By then, Clifford was trembling all over as he stammered, “I-I…”
Never had he expected he would be in such a pathetic state one day.
“Stand up!” Sophie stated authoritatively.
Clifford struggled to his feet, but she kicked him hard in the stomach. The next second, he fell to his knees clumsily.
“Sophie, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Stop that, okay? It’s not worth getting your hands dirty because of him.” Sunny chuckled. Seeing how united everyone was, he was extremely touched. It was as though they were back to the days when they were still striving for their future in Horington.
“Okay.” Sophie stopped. “Anyway, he’s merely a tool manipulated by Clayton, and everything is not over yet.”
She snorted inwardly. Clayton should be the one paying the price for striking at Mark relentlessly!
“Sophie, Clayton is no ordinary man, and this is solely The Wheelers’ problem. Please don’t interfere,” Mark advised her. He could not help but worry about the young lady, who was not even nineteen years old. She has a bright future ahead of her. I mustn’t let her seek the heinous man out for payback, putting herself in a precarious situation!
Sophie furrowed her brows, feeling displeased. She tried to convince him patiently. “Mark, I’m part of The Wheelers too. No doubt, I didn’t debut in the entertainment industry together with you guys and even left for so long. However, I’m always with you all. In other words, everything about The Wheelers is related to me too. I can’t let any of you suffer!”
Didn’t I make the choice at that time so I could be mighty enough to shield everyone around me against any harm? If I can’t even protect them, what’s the point of me striving hard to get through those moments in that hell-like training camp back then?
“Soph!” Sophie’s words had touched Sunny. “You’ll always be a member of The Wheelers. But we want to celebrate our achievements with you, not drag you into trouble.”
People often took offense to Mark’s words and behavior. But isn’t this the characteristic of a rock band’s members?
All rock band members had strong personalities, and they would not do anything against their will.
Mark shook his head. “Soph, I know you’re doing this for us, but I hope you can stay away from this mess.”
He was worried something bad might happen to Sophie.
Sophie was unhappy to hear that. What do they take me for? On the one hand, they said I’ll always be a member of The Wheelers, but on the other hand, they want me to stay out of their affairs!
Tristan, who had been observing them, finally voiced his thought. “Why should we be afraid of Clayton?” Does he think I, Tristan Lombard, am scared of an insignificant man like Clayton? What a joke!
“You—” Mark was surprised that the man, who had all this while been quiet, made that remark.
“Since you can’t work with Clayton anymore, why don’t you terminate your contract with him? There’s no point continuing this partnership.”
More importantly, Clayton’s company would be in deep waters soon anyway. Tristan thought they should get off the sinking ship.
“What? Terminate our contract with Clayton?” I don’t think he’ll let us off so easily! Based on the contract, they would still need to work with Clayton for another year. There’s no way he will release us!
“I’ll take care of it.”
Tristan would not turn a blind eye to Sophie’s problem. To Tristan, getting Clayton to agree to the contract termination was not a difficult task.
“You’ll take care of it?” Mark could not believe what he heard. This man does look capable, but can he take Clayton on?
“Yes, you should leave this to Mr. Tristan since he’s willing to help!” Sophie would have been able to solve the problem, but since Tristan had offered his help, she thought she might as well reveal his identity.
“Mr. Tristan?”