Warning: This chapter contains a slight mature scene that is not suitable for those under the age of 17. Read at your own risk.

~♡~Sophia's POV~♡~

"Ten thousand five hundred and eighty-three views."

I close my eyes and sigh. This is it. This is the end of my career.

"What the fuck were you thinking?" Angela's voice blares through the phone.

After what happened last night at the club, some jerk posted the video on Instagram and it went viral. As usual, people threw curses at me like I'm a saint in the olden days. I personally don't mind that – I have developed a thick skin over the years – but Angela surely does.

She keeps rambling on and on about how this will affect my career and her agency, yada yada yada. I stop listening after a few seconds and decide to accept my fate. Being a bad girl has its perks, but it also has its consequences.

Normally, I would point the blame and channel my anger to someone else, probably that She-Hulk or that Zac Efron lookalike. I mean, who would've thought a guy that handsome would have a girlfriend that strong? Even so, I don't know why it's getting harder and harder to do so lately. My heart keeps saying I'm the one who's responsible for my actions – a rather bizarre thought, I know.

If I could turn back time, I wouldn't have made out with that Zac Efron lookalike – no matter how handsome he is – and I wouldn't have punched that She-Hulk first. But, I can't. I've regretted a lot of things in my life and this might just be the worst yet. I threw away my career – one that I've built for the past two years – and for what? Some stupid bar fight? Just so I could look tough in front of others?

I let out a long, heavy sigh. Maybe I should turn into someone more like Mac. Be more of a good girl.

My forehead creases in an instant. What the heck? Where does that outrageous thought come from?

"... are you listening?" Angela's voice brings me back to reality.

"Y-yeah, of course, I am, Ange." A whimper comes out of my mouth as I pull myself up to a sitting position on the couch. Pain shoots all over my body – especially my back – because of what that She-Hulk did last night. If it wasn't for Mac, I think I would've ended up in the hospital for real this time.

I have to admit, I'm a little jealous when she told me how a boy helped her help me. Meeting a good guy in a club is rare; it definitely never happens to me before. Most guys just want a quick hook-up and never call me again. Some don't even bother knowing my name! Well, I don't bother knowing theirs either, but still.

I guess it's Mac's hidden charm – one that she doesn't realize – that allows her to meet someone good in a place she least expected it.

I guess it isn't so bad being the good girl, huh?

Angela's sigh grabs my attention. "This is your last chance, Sophia. I mean it," her tone softens.

"I know. It won't happen again. I promise."

"Good," she replies, her tone firm. "Now, about that job tomorrow. Can I still trust you with it?"

Last week, Angela had set me up for a photo session with Alessandro Moretti, a talented, hotshot photographer hired by one of her clients. She said he handpicked me after seeing my works – which is a real honor, to be honest. It's been said that those who are photographed by him will get huge exposure and guaranteed success in the current modeling industry. That's why I can't let this job fly out of my grasp.

"Yes, of course." I nod. "You can count on me."

"Don't disappoint me, okay?"

"I won't."

***

When I get to the set the next day, I'm greeted by a woman in her late-20s. The beautiful woman has her strawberry blonde hair tied up in a casual, messy bun at the back of her head. Strands of hair fall around her full cheeks, shaping her round face nicely. Her nose is rather crooked, but she's beautiful nonetheless. The tall woman is wearing a stylish, denim dress cut right below her chest, her pregnant belly protruding from her thin figure.

What's a pregnant woman doing in a photoshoot?

"Hi! I'm Lacey Patterson," she says with a radiant smile, extending her hand for a handshake. "I'll be your make-up artist today."

"Nice to meet you." I flash a fake smile, still finding it strange how a woman whose baby looks like it could pop out of her body any minute chooses to work. I guess she must've really needed the money, huh? Poor woman.

"Come! I'll introduce you to Alessandro." She gestures me to step inside the house.

Today's photoshoot takes place in a house – or should I say palace – located on the outskirts of town. The renaissance-style palace is built on over 12,000 square feet of land. Accents of cream and gold colors can be seen around the building, from its velvet drapery to its luxurious pieces of furniture. Plush carpets with geometrical patterns are placed on the floor while golden floral ornaments are carved on the ceiling. The majestic and elegant interior of the house makes this house a perfect place for a photoshoot.

"So, I heard this is your first bridal photo shoot?" Lacey asks.

I turn slightly and glance at the tall woman walking beside me. My brows are drawn together. How did she know that? I thought she's only a make-up artist.

Oh, I know! She must be a fan. With a self-satisfied smirk, I say, "Yeah."

"Well, don't worry," she replies.

Shit. Do I look nervous? I admit I am a little nervous since I've never modeled in wedding gowns before. After all, being a bridal model is slightly different than my usual works. My go-to poses are daring and sexy, but I can't use them in bridal shoots. I mean, who would want a slutty bride, right?

"Alessandro will take good care of you. He's an excellent photographer," she says as we take a turn and enter one of the rooms on the second floor.

Right now, four men are setting up the room for the photo shoot. One of them – Alessandro, I presume – is ordering the others to move the sofa away from the window and replace it with lighting kits.

Lacey calls, "Honey, she's here!"

Honey?

The tall, well-built man turns around and holy shit, he's fucking hot! The man looks like he's in his early 30s. His short-boxed beard accentuates his strong jawline while his curly, dark-brown hair is pulled back in a sexy, masculine man bun behind his head. He has a perfect Greek nose and deep-set, hazel eyes that make me feel like he's staring right into my dark soul.

"Oh, hello!" He walks towards me as if he's a runway model, making my breath hitches. My gaze then trails to his white shirt – specifically, what's underneath it. The shirt is somewhat tight around his broad chest and upper arms, the silhouette of his sculpted abs and strong muscles can be seen from miles away. If I were an inexperienced woman, I would've drooled on the site.

Thank God, I'm not a good girl.

"Thanks, love." He bends a little and brushes a light kiss on Lacey's temple, forming a smile on the woman's face. Lacey is one hell of a lucky girl.

Shifting his gaze to me, he leans forward and offers his hand. "I'm Alessandro. Pleased to meet you."

"Sophia Wilde, pleased to meet you too," I reply with my usual fake smile.

After Alessandro explains the concept of today's photoshoot to me, I follow Lacey to another room to get my hair and make-up done. Apart from me and Lacey, there are five other models and make-up artists in the room. One of them is Chelsea Mills, an up-and-coming high fashion model, sitting on the seat furthest away from the door. Lacey leads me to an empty chair, two seats away from the skinny blonde girl.

As I take my seat on the black chair, I sense a strong aura – one that is filled with jealousy and anger – coming from behind me. I turn around slightly and raise my head.

Whoa. What the heck?

Lacey is now staring at Chelsea, her radiant, cheerful persona is traded with a killing glare. Her smooth, wide forehead wrinkles while her wide lips curve downward into a frown. When she realizes I'm staring at her, Lacey lets out a small gasp.

"Let's start, shall we?" Lacey quickly says with a forced smile.

I return the smile before I shift my gaze to the mirror before me. As she does my make-up, Lacey keeps shifting her gaze back and forth between me and Chelsea, although the latter doesn't even give a single glance at her. Hmm... I wonder what happened between these two.

Minutes passed by and now Chelsea and I are the last two models in the room. Lacey's glare becomes more and more fierce I'm afraid she'll take it out on me and turn me into Pennywise. Oh, God. What have I ever done to deserve this?

That's when I remember something important. There's been a rumor swirling around the modeling industry about how Chelsea gets to where she is today. It is said that she has been playing dirty; which means she's sleeping with influential people – including photographers – to advance her career. After all, a month ago she's practically a nobody and now her face is everywhere. The girl has a talent for sure, but she's not that talented to achieve the level of stardom she has overnight. Could the rumors be true?

But then, does that mean...

Ooh... nasty drama! A wicked smirk came across my face.

In the meantime, Chelsea's make-up artist has finished setting Chelsea's hair in a gorgeous updo. The tall, skinny beauty stands up and walks to the door. To my surprise, Chelsea flashes a wicked smirk as she walks past me – a mockery intended for Lacey.

The loud clang sound of the make-up kit hitting the floor grabs my attention.

"Oh shoot! I'm so sorry!" Lacey says, having a hard time picking her stuff because of her belly.

I roll my eyes. Why me, God? Why me?

"Let me get it." I crouch down and put the make-up kit into Lacey's box one by one.

"Thanks," she replies. That's when I notice her hands are trembling.

As soon as Chelsea leaves the room, Lacey sobs a little. It becomes clear that my previous hunch is correct. It also explains a lot, from the reason why she keeps working and why she knows so much about me. The poor woman must be wary about hot models like me getting close to her boyfriend.

At that time, I don't know why, but I feel truly sorry for her. I've snatched many girls' boyfriends during my run as a bad girl, but never once have I thought of the consequences for the girls. I always think that if the guy is easily seduced, then I'm doing the girl a favor by seducing him.

But... am I wrong?

"Hey, are you okay?" I ask, sympathy fills my voice. I grab the empty chair next to me and drag it near her. "Here. Sit down for a sec, will ya?"

She does as I told and says, "Thanks." Still sobbing, she continues "I'm sorry. I... This is so unprofessional of me, I'm really sorry."

"Hey, hey, it's okay." As I take my seat, I try to comfort her by giving a smile. Then, to my own surprise, I say, "I know you don't know me, but you can talk to me if you want. I won't tell a soul, I promise."

Okay. What the fuck is wrong with me? Yesterday, I gave a truly awesome – as in, not evil and completely the opposite to my initial purpose of ruining her – advice to Mac. Now, I'm comforting a total stranger?

Her lips are pursed together before forming a sad smile. "Promise you won't?"

"I promise." Seriously, whatever ghost possessing me right now needs to stop playing and get the fuck out of my body.

She gives a heavy sigh. "Alessandro has been cheating on me with Chelsea for over a month now. He doesn't know I know it, but he's been doing that with other models ever since I could remember. I've always turned a blind eye about it, but... Chelsea, she's different." She lowers her gaze, sadness flickers on her blue eyes.

A wave of anger unexpectedly fills my mind. So, to sum it up, he's a serial cheater who doesn't stop even when his girlfriend is pregnant with his baby?

Ugh! This guy is the lowest of the lowest!

"Different how?"

"She's been tormenting me ever since she first modeled for Alessandro. Once, she even sent a picture of them in bed together to me," her voice trails away as she sobs again. "I confronted her for it, asking her why she did it, but she laughed instead. She said she did it just for fun."

"That..." Sounds like something I would've done. "Is awful! Why didn't you just leave him?"

"I've been with him ever since high school, way before he became the Alessandro Moretti. I suppose I... I just don't know what I'll do without him. And now with the baby coming, I..." She shakes her head heavily and sighs.

I flash a comforting smile. "Well, I'm sure you'll do just fine. Us, girls, we are stronger than we think."

"Thanks," she replies softly. "You're a good person, Sophia."

Her words make my breath hitches as I stare at her in shock. Me? A good person? I have no idea why but my lips slowly form a genuine smile.

I guess being a good girl is not so bad, huh?

***

The photo session goes as smooth as it can be. Lacey turns out to be an awesome make-up artist and as much as I hate to say it, Alessandro is really one of the best photographers I've ever worked with. After everyone finishes cleaning up, the crew agrees to go to a nearby bar to have some drinks. Alessandro promises to pay for all our tabs tonight, making me say yes in a heartbeat. Who can resist free drinks, right?

Since Chelsea is not joining us tonight – that arrogant bitch thinks she's too heavenly to hang out with us mere mortals – Lacey feels it's safe enough to go home early and get some rests.

Before she does so, Lacey and I trade our phone numbers – which, by the way, I still can't believe I actually make a new friend by being a good person.

I guess being good really isn't so bad.

The night goes by very fast and the next thing I know, the clock has struck twelve and I'm half-drunk. Almost all the crew have already gone home, leaving me and Alessandro alone in the bar.

"... and she went down with a loud boom!" I roar out a laugh and Alessandro does the same.

With his gaze fixated on me, he says, "I can't believe you fought a female giant–"

"A She-Hulk," I correct him.

He nods and smirks. "A She-Hulk, and won!"

"Yeah, I'm tougher than I look." I flash a proud, victorious grin before drinking the shot of beer in one gulp.

"That is so awesome. I wish I was there to see it with my own eyes," he continues, still staring at me.

Finding it a little strange, I shift my gaze to him. "What? Is there something on my teeth?" In my drunken state, I show my teeth, asking him to observe them. That's when I see the pure lust in his deep, hazel eyes.

What–

The next thing I know, he wraps his arms around me and pulls me close. His soft, perfect lips crash into mine and his beard grazes the smooth skin around my mouth, sending chills all over my body. I moan a little as his tongue licks my lips, asking permission to enter my mouth, which I'm giving to him willingly. Our tongues continue to dance together while I run my hand over his broad, rock-hard chest.

Sophia, stop it! The warning comes out of nowhere, causing me to pull myself from the kiss.

What the fuck?

"Shit, Sophia, you're a fucking tease," he mutters under his breath, thinking I did it on purpose. His mouth continues to leave trails of kisses down my jawline. Then, his tongue brushes my neck, licking and sucking on that sweet spot that causes me to close my eyes and let out a moan. Damn, this guy is good!

Just when I'm starting to enjoy what he's doing to me, that annoying voice inside my head returns. No, Sophia, think about Lacey! She's fucking pregnant, for Heaven's sake!

I freeze at that exact moment and gulp. Since when do I care about anyone's girlfriend? I mean, she's a complete stranger I literally just met this morning. Why should I care?

I close my eyes and shake the thoughts away. I must've been hanging out with Mac too much. Seriously, she's such a bad influence on me.

I decide to focus on the man who's left hand is traveling down my back and onto my butt. The sudden squeeze he gives to one of my cheeks causes a groan to escape my lips. Then, his other hand slips under my blouse, touching my sensitive skin in a way that makes my nipples erect. As if he knows it, his hand travels up and rests on my breast, giving it a slight flick that makes me swear loudly, "Fuck!"

I can sense his smirk as he smashes his lips back to mine and continues ravishing my mouth. Suddenly, Lacey's words echo in my head, "You're a good girl, Sophia."

Those words leave me frozen in a split second. The image of her expression, the tears that fell on her cheeks, and the sound of her sobbing slowly begin to fill my mind. Before I know it, I break our kiss and push him away.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"We... we can't do this."

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Now hold on, Sophia. A super hot guy is about to – hopefully – fuck your brains out and you said what?

"Why not?"

I stare at him wide-eyed. I thought he was just drunk, but clearly I was wrong. "You have a pregnant girlfriend, remember?"

To my annoyance, he snickers. "Lacey? Well, she's not here now, isn't she?"

True, yet something still feels... wrong. I can't do that to her, not after what happened this morning. "Yeah, but–"

"Come on. Don't tell me the bad girl suddenly grows a conscience."

I jerk my head back and narrow my eyes. "What is that supposed to mean?"

His thin lips curve up into a lopsided grin. "Don't play dumb." He leans forward and whispers to my ear, "Do this right and you'll be famous overnight."

"What?" I shriek, pushing him away with all my might as anger burst within me. "Who do you think I am? Some sort of a hooker?"

True, I've messed around with boys a lot for fun, but never once have I ever sleep with anyone to gain certain advantages for myself, moreover advance my career. At least I still have that much integrity in me.

"Don't be such a hypocrite, Sophia! I've seen your posts, all the videos you've been tagged at, I've heard all the wild things you've done. Do you think I chose you over hundreds of other models because of your talent?"

My brows are drawn together in an instant. "Wha–"

He scoffs. "I chose you not only because you're fucking hot, but because you're also a renowned whore!"

His sudden, thunderous laugh reminds me of the same kind of mocking laughter people gave me three years ago. Within seconds, everything around me becomes a blur and his laugh turns into a loud echo in my ears. My mind transports me back to high school – to that fateful day.

I feel like I'm walking down that cursed hallway again and people are staring at me – laughing with their degrading eyes – like I'm some kind of a walking disease. Rage surges in my blood and I grit my teeth. The pain, the anger, the disappointment, everything comes rushing back like a broken record in the back of my mind; including the part where Mike Roberts – that stupid jock – pulled my ponytail and caused me to fall backwards to the ground. My eyes go dark as my jaw clenches.

"You're a slut, Sophia!" Alessandro's voice snaps me back from my trance. "Stop acting like you're such a saint!"

The next thing I know, my fist has landed on the jerk's perfect face.

Author's Note:

Hey~! Sophia's back! What do you think of her return?

Let me know your thoughts in the comment below! :)

Fun fact, this is actually the first time I ever write a kiss scene, I hope it turns out well lol xD

Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter and don't forget to vote if you do! See ya on the next one! :)