Sophia...

Sophia noticed that her young master - Aiden had been staring at her for quite some time and it made her self aware. 

She knew for a fact that she wasn't that beautiful and if anyone would be considered to enter the young master's eyes, she believed it would be Aria, something he had once told her.

Sophia's thoughts traced back to when she had tried to seduce him but failed woefully. One night he had come back drunk from an outing with his friends. She had been the only maid awake so she tended to him. 

While tending to him, he mistook her for one of his ladies in the club and their lips met and when he realized that, he pushed her away so badly that she believed her waist broke.

Sophia hand met with her waist as she remembered the fateful night and she winced lightly, subconsciously. She would tell herself that she remembered the day clearly.

Since then, those memories had been etched in her brain that she would never for once think that the young master thought of her otherwise. 

But then, Aiden seemed to still be looking at her until the mistress of the house called his attention and then he managed to tear off his eyes from her.

Sophia's eyes widened as she heard what Aiden was discussing with his mother, especially with her involved.

"The maids are going to the store, right?" Aiden asked as he looked from Sophia to his mom.

Julianna nodded and said, "Yes, though just one."

Then she looked towards Sophia and asked, "You are the only one going grocery shopping, right? Or do you plan to take someone along?"

Sophia was caught off guard with her question but quickly composed herself. "Yes ma, I'm the only one."

"But I don't mind using a hand." 

"That's nice," Aiden butted into their conversation before they said something else, "I'll take you there to help carry the loads."

"It's not necessary, young master," Sophia said hastily. 

"Okay, it's good to help, then." Juliana smiled knowingly at her son, but Aiden seemed to ignore Sophia's protest. 

"I'll be waiting for you in the car," he said, getting up and heading outside. 

.

"Thank you for wanting to take me to the mall." Sophia thanked him and took a seat in the front seat, noting that Aiden had gestured for her to sit there instead of in the back.

As they settled in, Aiden broke the silence, asking, "How are you doing?" 

He had noticed Sophia's stiffness and wondered how his predecessor had treated the maids, given her evident discomfort.

Instead of keeping it all to himself, he voiced out when she didn't answer his first question. "Are you alright? Have I mistreated you before?"

Sophia just looked at him surprised. It was like he caught her thinking bad about him. The expressions on her face told it all and Aiden just laughed to soften the situation.

"It's okay. I'm not the former Aiden, I'm a new one. You can tell me of my former bad actions and I'll solve it. I want to maintain a cool relationship with everyone and.."

He hadn't finished speaking when she interrupted him, seemingly assured by his words. She began to pour out her heart.

"You..." She hesitated for a moment, and instead of looking at her, Aiden focused on the road, offering words of encouragement.

"You pushed me onto the floor after kissing me. You made me feel like a worthless, disposable thing."

Aiden's response was genuine, "I did that..." He was truly unaware of what she was referring to, as he had no memories of Sophia from his predecessor. 

However, he was eager to complete his task and uncover the mysteries of the world, so he humored her. 

'Maybe she's lying,' he thought, but a brief glance in her direction revealed the truth in her eyes. Her pain and sincerity were evident, and her next words confirmed it.

"I know that you won't even remember such a lowly being like me, but then, why do you even ask such a thing from me when you don't even count me as someone worth holding in your memories?" She said with tears almost coming from her eyes.

Due to his heightened sense of hearing, he managed to catch her muffled words.

"I told myself that I won't cry, why then am I crying?" She muttered after pouring her heart out to him.

Those were the questions she asked herself after repeatedly trying to clean her eyes but to no avail.

'Well…I particularly have never been in much close contact with females so I don't know how to behave but a little bit of the memories I inherited managed to let me know a little towards flirting,' he thought as he contemplated on what to say next.

"I'm sorry if I offended you but you will also notice that I'm not my usual self. I have changed and that's why I'm asking for what I did so that I can ask you to forgive you."

"I've forgiven you.." She uttered, putting her face sideways.

Without wasting much effort, Aiden turned to the side and parked by the road. He turned his face away from the road and stared at her. He diverted her attention to him by tapping her hand a little bit.

"I…" Sophia wanted to say something but the next course of Aiden's action shut her off. He captured her lips with his, closing her off.

As Aiden drove, he accessed the memories related to Sophia, revealing the harmful actions of his predecessor. 

Despite his limited experience with women, he recognized the wrongdoing and its impact on her. He saw how his predecessor's behavior had damaged her self-esteem, making her question her worth. Aiden understood that his past self had hurt her deeply, eroding her confidence.

"I just kissed you again," he said, his lips still close to hers. "Now, push me away like I did to you." 

Aiden's words held a mix of regret and empathy. Although he lacked personal experience, he had inherited flirting skills and a charm ability from his system, which he was still exploring.