Chapter 4: Lend Me a Hundred Dollars!

Seeing a bunch of fists flying his way, John just gave a little twist to his waist, swung that messed-up car wheel, and aimed right for their knees.

The bodyguards had no clue John knew kickboxing. In a flash, they were all on the ground, no defense, nothing.

Still playing the victim, John yelled, "Hey, why you guys hitting people?"

Emily spotted John, rolled her eyes, and said, "Have some self-respect!"

Sophia glanced at Emily, then at John, her eyebrows knitting together.

"Alright, get your boss to the hospital, and make sure he doesn't end up with any permanent damage!"

The bodyguards, who were getting their butts kicked, stopped immediately when they heard Sophia.

The guy with glasses turned white at the mention of "permanent damage." The hurt area was crucial for his future fun times; if anything went wrong, he'd be out of luck.

The more he thought about it, the more freaked out he got. Forgetting any gentlemanly act, he yelled in panic, "Yes, yes, yes, get me to the hospital now. I feel seriously hurt."

Seeing this, the bodyguards quickly lifted their boss into the car and sped off to the nearest hospital.

John turned and flashed a grin at Sophia, showing off his neat little white teeth.

"Honey!"

Sophia was caught off guard when John suddenly called her "Honey."

Then, she snapped, "What are you yelling for?"

John replied earnestly, "I'm not just yelling. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm John Williams!"

"You're John?" Emily and Ava exclaimed almost at the same time.

John nodded enthusiastically and said, "Yep!"

After hearing John's words, Emily, Ava, and Sophia were all confused.

Sophia's clear, bright eyes locked onto John's and asked, "How can you prove you're John?"

John was ready for this.

"I've got your photo, given to me by James!"

As he spoke, John pulled out a slightly crumpled photo.

"Honey, look, you were so cute as a kid, with those little dimples when you smiled..."

Hearing John call her "Honey," Sophia felt a headache coming on.

She rubbed her forehead and snapped, "Shut up, I'm not your Honey!"

"Honey, you still don't believe me, huh? How about this, you can call James!"

As he spoke, John pulled out his satellite phone, ready to dial James's number.

Seeing a crowd gathering around, Sophia quickly waved her hand and said, "I believe you're John, but this isn't the place to talk. Come upstairs with me!"

Seeing that Sophia believed him, John grinned and cheerfully replied, "Alright!"

Just then, the bike repair shop owner came running over, "Hey, don't leave yet. The bike repair was $200, and you only gave me $100. You still owe me $100!"

John dug through his pockets a few times, then flashed a grin at Sophia, "Honey, can you spot me $100?"

Sophia and Ava were stunned by John's shameless request, while Emily just kept rolling her eyes, clearly unimpressed.

Sophia shot back coldly, "I don't have cash, only a card!"

John then turned his puppy-dog eyes to Ava, the ice queen.

Ava just ignored him, looking off in another direction.

With no other options, John turned to Emily, "Emily, since I helped you get your wallet back, can you lend me $100?"

Emily rolled her eyes dramatically, pulled out a $100 bill from her wallet, and handed it over.

"Emily, you're the best!" John said with a cheeky grin as he took the money.

Sophia's place was a swanky duplex apartment, two floors, right next to her company.

Once inside, Sophia slipped into some comfy slippers and said to Emily and Ava, "Emily, Ava, I've had your rooms cleaned. Check if anything's missing, and I'll get it sorted."

Then she turned to John, "You, come with me!"

John looked around the bright, tidy apartment, feeling a bit out of place. He'd been roughing it in the desert for years and wasn't used to such a nice setup.

"Okay, sure!"

Sophia opened a door and let John in.

John thought it was Sophia's room and got a bit excited. First time in a girl's room and all that.

But when he stepped in, he was shocked.

Two massive bookshelves took up half the space, crammed with books that made his eyes hurt.

Damn, it's a study!

Seeing Emily follow them in, Sophia frowned and asked, "Emily, why are you coming in?"

Emily playfully stuck out her tongue, "Sophia, this guy's a perv. You and him alone in a room could spell trouble. I'm here to keep an eye on him!"

John was a bit miffed.

Damn, like having you two in here wouldn't cause trouble?

Sophia smiled, gently patted Emily's head, and said, "It's okay. He's one of Dad's men. If we don't trust him, we should at least trust Dad, right?"

"You go take a shower first. I have some things to discuss with him."

Emily, though a bit headstrong, wasn't unreasonable. She nodded, "Okay, Sophia, I'll go take a shower then!"

After sending Emily off, Sophia looked John up and down and bluntly asked, "Do you want to be my husband?"

"Of course I do!"

John didn't expect Sophia to be so direct. For a moment, he was at a loss for words.