As Sofia climbed the stairs, she heard Carl talking to another guy. The guy looked younger than Carl and had medium brown hair. The guy had covered his face with his hands and Carl was talking softly to him. She couldn't hear much but it looked like the matter was pretty serious.

Sofia sat on the stairs right outside the door and tried to wait patiently for Carl. Her eyelids felt heavy and sleep got the better of her. She dozed off right there not caring about her dress or her surroundings.

"Let's go, Luca. I need you to meet someone." Carl said as he draped an arm around Luca's shoulder and stepped outside the room.

"Holy Crap! Who is this?" Luca said as he registered a figure outside his door on the steps.

"Oh God! What have I done? How did she reach here? I was supposed to take care of her. Josie was supposed to be with her." Carl said as he sat beside Sofia and eased her head onto his shoulder.

"Hey Luca, do you mind if I use your room for a while?" Carl asked as he helped Sofia into the room. Carl put Sofia on the bed and took off her shoes.

"Luca, get me a glass of water for her," Carl said brushing away Sofia's hair away from her eyes. Carl was feeling guilty because he had not wished this to happen. He wanted to take her mind off the things going on in her life. He just wanted to spend time with her because he could not get her off his mind since he had first laid his eyes upon her. His train of thoughts was interrupted when Luca returned with a glass of water.

"Care to explain this girl's presence in my room?" Luca asked observing Carl. He had never seen Carl so careful towards anyone. He had a different glimmer in his eyes when he looked at this girl who was here in his room at the moment.

"She is Sofia, my pretend girlfriend," Carl said and Luca looked at him shocked with his mouth slightly agape.

"I just met her a while ago. She stole my breath away the first time my eyes landed on her innocent beauty. I like her, Luca. I can't help but fall for her beauty. She's so easy to love." Carl said looking at Sofia with a smile.

" Why would you make her your pretend girlfriend? She doesn't look like the type who'd fall for you. But you, my brother, have fallen hard for this girl. I can't wrap my head around the fact that out of everyone you of all people have fallen in love." Luca said as he patted Carl's back.

"It's not like I've fallen in love with her. I just like her." Carl said with a blush.

"Don't tell anyone that she's not my real girlfriend." Carl pleaded as he nudged Sofia's shoulder lightly to wake her up.

"Hey Sofia, wake up!" Sofia stirred a little but went to sleep again. Carl huffed and went into the washroom. He brought a little water in a tooth glass and sprinkled a little cold water on her face.

"Ughh... who is this?" Sofia said as he rubbed her eyes. She opened her eyes slowly to see she was in a bedroom but it was not hers. Carl stood with a small glass in his hand ready to splash some more water on her face. Behind him was the guy with the brown hair looking at both of them with a big smile. Little did he know, everything was about to go downhill in a few moments.

"Carl, is this the way to wake up someone from their sleep?" Sofia asked as she stood up and crossed her arms angrily.

"No my dear Sofia, there are other ways to wake up people as well. For example, I could kiss your lips just like it happens in the Disney movies you must have watched in your childhood." Carl said as he grinned at her. She looked so cute with her hair a little disheveled and her eyes a little wide upon hearing his reply. He just wanted to kiss her but he stopped himself as he didn't want to scare the poor girl away.

"You're so..... ugh," Sofia said as she smacked his arm and Carl stepped back a little.

"Where do you think you're going? I'm not done with you yet! Come back here, Carl!" Sofia said as she followed Carl around the room. Luca looked at both of them and shook his head in dismay.

"Calm down you kids! Time's up!" Luca said as he blocked Carl's way to escape out the door. Carl turned around and Sofia collided with his chest.

"Oww! What have you got in here? steel?" Sofia said smacking his chest as Carl looked down at her. Carl placed a kiss on her forehead and placed her arm around her. Sofia wriggled out of his hold.

"Way to go, brother. You've disturbed a sleeping lion or rather a lioness in this case her." Luca said lowly.

"You, what are you muttering under your breath?" Sofia said as she pointed towards Luca.

"Just nothing. I'm sorry. Hi. I'm Luca." He said as he came and hugged her. Sofia stilled as Luca hugged her.

"Welcome to the family. You're so pretty." He said as he released her and scratched the back of his neck shyly.

"Thank you Luca and I'm sorry for my rude behavior but I don't like anyone waking me up like this from my sleep. But somebody here just did that and that upset me." She said as she gave a sharp look who looked at her with a stupid grin.

"I had to do it since somebody fell asleep on the stairs and was not willing to wake up when I tried to wake them up nicely. I had no choice but to do this." Carl replied with a shrug.

"Here, drink it up, it will help you to stay awake," Carl said as he handed her a glass of chilled water.

"What is it?" Sofia asked him as she eyed the glass of water up and down like a suspiciously.

"Relax, now sit and drink. It's just chilled water. Nothing else." Carl said as he held her by her shoulders and sat her on the bed. Luca was looking at these two in front of them. It was the first time he was watching his carefree friend taking care of someone. He just did not want his friend's heartbroken.

"What time is it?" Sofia asked as handed Carl the empty glass and looked around the room. It was a room with dim lights and off white walls. The wall behind the bed was patterned with grey designs while the rest of the walls were plain. The furniture in the room was very minimal and screamed masculinity.

"It's ten. Let's leave. I don't want you falling asleep on me again." Carl said as he took Sofia's hand and stood her up.

"Let's go say bye to everyone and leave," Carl said as they climbed the stairs with Luca trailing behind them.

By now, the area was empty and everything was getting cleaned up by the staff. Josie sat with Daniel on the sofas scrolling through her mobile phone. Daniel sat there smoking a cigarette. Daniel crushed his cigarette in the ashtray as soon as he saw them. Josie looked up for a moment but went back to whatever she was doing.

"Alright guys, we're leaving. My girlfriend's tired. I need to get her home as we both have work tomorrow." He said as he put his warm hand on the small part of Sofia's back.

"This is the shortest you've stayed to date. But I'll let it slide since we have your pretty little girl here. But you owe us a night bro." Daniel said as he stood up and gave Carl a bro hug. Luca followed suit. Josie pecked his cheek and hugged him tightly.

"Although we didn't get much time to talk but it was nice to see you here. Hope to see you here more often." Daniel said as he gave a smile to Sofia.

"I hope so too. It was nice to meet you all too." Sofia said with a bright smile.

"Thank you for being my pretend girlfriend tonight, Sofia. It means a lot to me." Carl said holding her soft hands in his large warm ones as they stopped in front of Sofia's house.

"You're always welcome, Carl. You're a wonderful friend. Good night." She said with a smile.

"Good night, Sofia," Carl said as he placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles and put her hands on her lap. Sofia climbed out of his car and trudged up the short stairs to the main door. She turned around and waved at him. carl waved back and drove away when Mrs. Clarke opened the door for Sofia.

On his way back home, Carl kept thinking about Sofia as he drove. Sofia went to her room and changed back into her pajamas after removing her makeup. She thought about the evening and Carl's offer to live him in Switzerland. It would not be a bad idea after all. He was a nice guy but she would have to postpone her departure. Just moving out of the house would do for now. Carl's loving gestures gave her an idea that Carl might not just think of her as a friend. But she would have to see for herself. 

The next morning, Sofia did her morning routine as usual and went to work with Mark instead of her father. Jeremy and Bella had gone to a charity gala the night before so they had no idea where Sofia had done in their absence. 

"Mrs. Clarke, ask Sofia to be ready in ten minutes. We're leaving for office." Jeremy said as he sat down for breakfast.

"Sofia has already left for the office, Mr. Taylor." Mrs. Clarke replied.

"She has, already?" Jeremy asked surprised. Before he could say anything, the house phone rang loudly.

"I'll take that." Mrs. Clarke said as she walked over to the phone. 

"Mrs. Taylor, it's Mrs. Harris's call for you." Mrs. Clarke informed Bella. 

"Hello, good morning Marianne. How are you?" Bella greeted her. 

"I wished it was a good morning. It's not good at all. Do you have any idea what Sofia did last night?" Marianne replied. 

"No. What happened? What did she do? I have no idea. Why don't you come over and we'll discuss whatever happened?" Bella offered. 

"Mrs. Clarke, please prepare a table of snacks. Mrs. Harris is coming over. Jeremy, you come with me." Bella said as she started typing on her phone again. 

"Sofia has done something. Marianne didn't sound too happy about it. I hope it's not what I'm thinking it is." Bella said as she paced around in the lobby. Jeremy's phone rang and he went to take it in the library. 

"Sir, Ms. Taylor is changing everything in here. The office you wanted to be prepared for her. She has asked the workers to move the things into your office." Kate told Jeremy.

"Let her do whatever she wants. I'll talk to her when I'll come and tell Jimmy to clear my schedule for the day." He told her. 

After making another important call, Jeremy went out to find Marianne greeting Bella. He went ahead to greet her. 

"Now let's have a seat and you can tell me all about it," Bella said as she ushered Marianne to the living room. Jeremy sat beside her. Marianne looked crossed. 

"Bella, Jeremy, we've been friends for as long as I can remember. Sofia has always been dear to me. I never thought she'd break my trust like that. She broke off the engagement. I knew you both had no idea about it. That is why I came all the way here to talk. Calvin was so angry when he heard about it but I stopped him from reacting." Marianne said looking at them.

"Marianne, I apologize for her behavior. I really do. Trust me, her actions deeply sadden me. I'll talk to her." Bella said as she comforted Marianne. 

"No actually, Sofia did right. We should have never consented to this relationship. I knew she'd call off this engagement but I didn't know she'd do it so soon. The sooner the better. Least damage done. I apologize to you. I support Sofia. I support my daughter just like you do your son. Tell me, Marianne, would you have supported Calvin if it was the other way round?" Jeremy asked as he looked straight at Marianne ignoring Bella. 

"Yes, without hesitation. He's my son. His happiness is my priority." Marianne answered.

"Exactly! My daughter is not ready for this wedding or any relationship right now. She needs to experience a lot of things. She's not prepared to handle an important responsibility as a marriage." Jeremy said in a firm tone. Bella looked at him with so much anger. He had not expected her to support him at all. 

 "Then I think there's nothing left to talk about," Marianne said as she got up. 

"We'll always be friends as we have been for all these years. Nothing should alter the bond that we have. It's best for both the families, trust me, Marianne." Jeremy said as Marianne picked up her purse and left quietly.

 "What have you done, Jeremy? Instead of talking to Sofia, you supported her decision and ruined everything!" Bella shouted at Jeremy as he collected his car keys and was about to step out the door.

"Don't shout! She's my daughter as well. I can decide for myself who I want to support. You do not need to impose your will on me. I'm your husband not your slave." Jeremy said as he turned around and stalked slowly towards a fuming Bella. Bella was afraid. 

"Don't make me announce your betrayal to the whole world. If you try to force Sofia, the whole media will know how the famous fashion designer and socialite Bella Taylor cheated on her husband with his business associate. Now you wouldn't want that to happen with your company's annual ball coming up, would you? Jeremy whispered as he held her by her upper arm tightly. Belle shook her head in denial. Jeremy shook her and stormed out of the house angrily.