Chapter 54: Chosen In Public

"It matters," Stan said quietly.

Because it did. Three point two million dollars at a six-times multiplier was nineteen point two million in returns. That wasn’t a necklace, it was a small fortune waiting to be unlocked. And no promotional exhibit policy was going to stand between him and that number.

Sophie watched his expression, the calm determination, the absolute refusal to back down, and felt her chest tighten with something she couldn’t quite name.

’He won’t give up. Even when I tell him to stop, he won’t give up. For me.’

"You can’t buy it because it’s not for sale," Felix pressed, savoring every syllable. "Just admit you can’t afford it and we can all move on with our, various businesses"

At this point, Sophie who has been silently enduring everything couldn’t take it anymore

"Are you sick in the head?!" Sophie’s voice cracked across the atrium like a whip. "How hard is it for you to let Stan be?!"

Felix flinched.

Every head in the vicinity turned. Sophie Youngs, composed, elegant, famously unflappable Sophie Youngs, was looking at Felix Lawn with an expression of such open, undisguised contempt that several bystanders actually took a step backward.

"Stan hasn’t said a single unkind word to you all day. Not one. He’s been patient with you. He’s been tolerant. He’s ignored your insults, your condescension, and your pathetic little games, not because he can’t respond, but because he doesn’t think you’re worth the energy." Her voice was steady but razor-edged. "And instead of taking the hint, you just keep pushing. You keep mocking him. You keep trying to humiliate him in front of me. Do you have any idea how repulsive that is?"

Felix opened his mouth. Nothing came out.

"Stan Harrison has been nothing but good to me," Sophie continued, her voice dropping lower, more dangerous. "Better than anyone I’ve ever met. Better than you could manage in a hundred lifetimes. And those rumors you keep bringing up, the forum post, the lies about Sarah, I’m actually starting to suspect you had something to do with that."

The color drained from Felix’s face.

"You, you think I,"

"Your timing is awfully convenient, Felix. The post goes up overnight, and you show up the very next morning with your Ferrari and your concern?" Sophie’s eyes narrowed. "Whether you wrote it or not, I don’t care anymore. I trust what I’ve seen with my own eyes over anything the internet has to say. And what I’ve seen, all day, is a good man being harassed by a small one."

She turned back to Stan, took his arm, and said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear:

"Even if everything they wrote about him were true, which it isn’t, I would still choose him over you."

The silence that followed was so complete that the ambient music from the floor below was audible.

Felix Lawn stood in the center of the luxury atrium, surrounded by red velvet ropes and watching eyes, and felt something inside him quietly collapse.

Sophie’s fierce defense had caught Stan completely off guard.

He’d seen her support him before, small gestures, quiet signals, the subtle body language of a woman choosing sides without making a scene. But this was different. This was Sophie Youngs standing in the middle of a luxury atrium, in front of a crowd of strangers, openly eviscerating a wealthy suitor to defend a man she’d known for less than a week.

The vigor of it surprised him. The sincerity of it surprised him more.

Felix Lawn’s face had gone the color of old ash. His grand plan, the carefully orchestrated campaign to humiliate Stan Harrison and reclaim Sophie’s attention, had detonated spectacularly in his own hands. Every trap he’d set had caught the wrong person. Every insult he’d thrown had bounced off Stan and embedded itself in Felix’s own reputation.

But instead of reading the room, instead of absorbing the catastrophic failure of his approach and retreating with whatever scraps of dignity remained, Felix did what men like Felix always do. He doubled down.

His eyes locked onto Stan with the particular bitterness of a man who needs someone to blame for his own humiliation.

This is Stan Harrison’s fault. All of it. If Stan didn’t exist, Sophie would never have treated me like this.

"You’re so capable?" Felix’s voice came out rough, stripped of its earlier polish. "Then buy the necklace. Right now. In front of everyone."

He jabbed a finger at the display case.

"If you can’t buy it, don’t ever bring Sophie shopping again. It’s embarrassing for everyone involved."

He knew, he knew, that the necklace wasn’t for sale. It was a display piece. A promotional exhibit. Untouchable. He was betting everything on this one final card: the physical impossibility of the purchase. Stan could posture all he wanted, but he couldn’t buy something that wasn’t available to be bought.

Sophie’s glare could have cut glass. She had never in her life been this repulsed by another human being. The sheer persistence of Felix’s malice was almost impressive in its stupidity, like watching a man walk into the same wall over and over, each time more confused about why it hurt.

Stan met Felix’s eyes with an expression of absolute calm.

"Open your eyes," he said quietly. "Watch carefully. I’m about to show you exactly how I buy this necklace."

"By all means." Felix spread his arms wide, settling into his spectator’s pose with exaggerated relish. "I’ll wait."

Stan pulled out his phone, scrolled to the business card he’d saved earlier that morning, and dialed.

The general manager picked up on the second ring.

"There’s a necklace on display on the fourth floor," Stan said, his voice unhurried. "It’s listed as a promotional exhibit. I’d like to buy it."

"If you want it, sir, of course you can have it. I’ll send someone up to handle the transaction immediately."

The call lasted twelve seconds. Stan pocketed his phone when he was done.

"Still playing pretend?" Felix scoffed, loud enough for the surrounding crowd to hear. "Who was that, your imaginary assistant? Making phone calls to look important, is that really the best you’ve got?"

The words had barely left his mouth when a woman in a crisp black uniform appeared at the far end of the atrium, walking toward them with quick, purposeful strides.

Felix’s expression froze.

The uniformed woman stopped in front of Stan, inclined her head respectfully, and said: "Sir Harrison, welcome. We were informed that you’ve taken an interest in the display necklace."