Sophia slowly, mechanically turned her head toward the woman, her lips barely curling into a semblance of a smile. “Right, right, right… sorry, I-I didn’t keep things under control…”
Her gaze slid over the woman’s messy, panicked face, then down to her soaked collar and damp shirtfront.
A shrill voice chimed in nearby. “Ah… so you’re saying the coffee ruined your painting? Sorry, my assistant got a bit too worked up. If compensation is needed, we can-”
“Compensate again?” the female assistant cut in bitterly. “It’s just some stupid painting, what’s there to compensate-”
Winona’s pupils contracted, ready to explode, but before she could, Sophia had already grabbed the woman by the collar.
Her voice died in her throat.
Without a word, Sophia yanked her forward, then dragged her like a dead weight across the floor toward the wall.
Caught off guard, the woman had no time to resist. Sophia slammed her face against the wall, cheekbone smacking hard against the surface, making her shriek in startled pain.
“A *stupid* painting?” Sophia hissed through gritted teeth, one hand locked in the woman’s hair like it was a paintbrush, grinding her face into the spilled coffee. “Perfect. Your stupid face is just right for wiping it up.”
–
The coarse wall only took a few scrapes to break through her well-maintained skin.
Her screams pierced the air. Several seconds passed before two male assistants reacted, rushing forward to stop Sophia-but Winona handled them easily.
Really handled them.
One was thrown over her shoulder, the other got his arm twisted and took a few punches to the gut. Both hit the ground groaning.
Even the groggy crew members, who had been dozing nearby, hesitated mid-step after witnessing that.
Paul, dumbfounded, finally snapped out of it. He looked from Winona to Sophia, who was still wiping coffee with the woman’s face, and forced an awkwardly urgent tone. “Hey, hey! What are you doing? There’s no need for violence, okay? Let’s all calm down-someone stop her!”
Winona stood with arms crossed, her posture clear: she wasn’t stopping anything.
The other staff hesitated at the edge of the scene, looking uncertain. A few muttered attempts at de-escalation floated forward.
“Manager, don’t be mad… We’ve worked together for a while now, no one wants trouble…”
“Just stop that student, please-what if someone calls the cops?”
“Don’t get fired over this…”
“Yeah, yeah…”
Winona gave a tight-lipped smile devoid of any real humor. “Don’t worry. She won’t kill anyone. She’s just helping this lady clean up the mess *she* made.”
Right on cue, Sophia stopped.
She yanked the woman’s head back, inspected her mural, made sure no coffee remained, then shoved the assistant away without a word.
The woman, dazed and weak, collapsed at Paul’s feet.
Her half-bloody, swollen face startled him so much he jumped back. The male assistants rushed to help her up, but she trembled violently and tried to lunge at Sophia again.
“You bitch! I’m gonna kill you! You ruined my face!”
She didn’t make it-both men held her back just in time.
Sophia finally turned around. She glanced at the screaming woman, then casually picked up her honey water and walked toward her.
With zero hesitation, she raised the cup and tipped it.
*Splash-*
The almost-full cup of warm, sticky honey water poured down over the assistant’s head, sliding through her hair, down her wounded face, and soaking into her clothes.
The woman stood stunned for a moment, then let out another piercing scream.
“Miss…” someone grabbed Sophia’s wrist.
Winona tensed, ready to react-but Sophia calmly flicked her eyes toward her, and she instantly halted.
Sophia lifted her gaze, meeting Paul’s serious expression as he gripped her arm. “Miss, don’t you think this is going too far? First, you attack someone, now this? You’re humiliating my assistant.”
He still held his camera.
Sophia gave it a glance. “You plan to expose me like that?”
“… This is evidence.”
“You were recording before anything even happened.”
“… True. But even if I didn’t have permission before, now I *have* to keep it. This is all proof that *you* assaulted someone.”
Sophia smiled, unbothered.
Paul straightened. “You’re a student at Cedarwood University, right? Late-night job, probably struggling financially. Why throw away your future like this?”
Sophia tapped her fingers against the cup impatiently. Paul went on, “I don’t want to ruin your life. Apologize to my assistant, cover her medical and beauty expenses, and I’ll drop it.”
“Paul!!” the assistant sobbed.
Sophia glanced at her, then tilted her head. “And what about my painting? The coffee’s soaked in. It’s ruined. What about *my* loss?”
“You dare bring that up?!” the assistant screamed.
Paul gave a dry laugh. “Fine. How much is it?”
He rubbed his temple, voice clipped. “I’ll pay.”
“Pay?” Sophia echoed, amused. “You, or her?”
“I’ll pay!” the assistant spat, glaring daggers. “I’ll treat it like charity! But you owe me an apology-and you’re paying for my medical and beauty costs!”
“Sure.” Sophia’s smile deepened. “My paintings start at a million a piece. You didn’t ruin it completely, so I’ll be generous-fifty percent off. Five hundred thousand.”
She looked the woman in the eye.
“Cash or card?”