Mr. CEO's Substitute Bride-Chapter 996 - 992: Uncle Only Has You in His Heart
In the small makeup room, Sophie Foster nestled in a chair, resting her chin on the back, ready to continue working to earn some extra money.
The door to the makeup room was pushed open from the outside. Someone walked in, and thinking it was a colleague, Sophie didn’t pay any attention, looking spiritlessly in a certain direction.
Nicholas Croft walked up to the chair, and after tapping the back of it, Sophie raised her head. One hand still clung to the chair’s back, and her eyes revealed a delighted surprise as she looked at the man standing in front of her, "Uncle Nick?"
"What’s wrong, cat got your tongue?" Nicholas chuckled, amused by her dazed expression, his hands tucked into the pockets of his slacks, a coat draped over his shoulders as he looked down at her.
Although it had only been a week, the little girl’s face seemed to have thinned slightly.
Sophie stood up from the chair, looking at Nicholas with delight, wanting to throw herself into his arms but then thought better of it and unconsciously stepped back, her hands awkwardly rubbing at her sides. She asked tentatively, "Uncle Nick, why are you here?"
"Did you miss me?" Nicholas didn’t answer but instead asked in return. Sophie stood silently before the dashingly elegant man, her lips pursed as she lowered her gaze, the mascara on her curled lashes effectively concealing her emotions.
"Little one," Nicholas raised a hand to ruffle her hair, "why so quiet now? Aren’t you usually full of spirit? You’ve even managed to hit Phoenix Entertainment’s top producer, making the entertainment headlines,"
Upon hearing Nicholas mention Hannah Hargrave, Sophie retreated a step, causing Nicholas’s hand on her head to miss its mark. Looking at Nicholas coldly, she said, "Uncle Nick, sorry for disrupting your business talk with your friend."
Nicholas raised an eyebrow, since when had the little one become so considerate? Could it be that she had spent the past days reflecting deeply on her own behavior due to his deliberate coldness? He was just about to commend her, but Sophie had already turned away toward the lockers, opened one with a key, pulled out her backpack, and slung it over her shoulders before locking the locker again.
Seeing her carrying that marketplace backpack, Nicholas frowned. It seemed the little one intended to break ties with him thoroughly, not even using the designer backpack he had given her, which she used to adore so much.
"What’s the matter? Don’t want to be Uncle’s girl anymore?" Sophie was stopped by Nicholas, hand caught at the wrist, as she was about to exit the makeup room. His teasing expression looked her tight face over as he asked.
She felt a flutter of hope, but remembering how Uncle Nick hadn’t answered her calls or had ignored her for a week, she felt wronged. She lowered her gaze to cover her excitement and murmured, "It’s because Uncle Nick ignored Lara, since Lara hurt Uncle’s friend..."
"Why not come live at Uncle’s place?"
Looking at that bland little face, Nicholas was somewhat at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
Sophie raised her eyes earnestly at Nicholas, "Though Lara has no parents, she’s not a stray cat and doesn’t want to live under someone else’s roof."
The smile on Nicholas’s lips froze. He never expected the little one, who usually clung to him so shamelessly, to have such a strong sense of self-esteem. He pulled Sophie closer with a firm grip, encircling her in his arms, his handsome face resting atop her head as he sighed, "Silly girl, don’t be so impulsive in the future. You’re the only one in Uncle’s heart." What angered him was not that she had hurt Hannah Hargrave, but her baseless suspicion, which was ultimately a lack of trust in him.
Where Nicholas couldn’t see, Sophie smiled triumphantly.
