Max left Natalie's room and arrived in front of Sophie's.
The door was unlocked. So, with a push, he opened it and entered the room.
Immediately, in the dim moon-light coming from the window, he saw her sitting on her sofa, hugging her knees as she stared out of the window with a bleak look in her eyes.
Seeing her expression, Max's heart skipped a beat.
Because he had done it himself several times in the last two days, he could tell she was contemplating suicide to end the torture of thirst and hunger.
While Sophie was gentle and a little introverted like him, unlike him, she wasn't a shut-in and didn't find it bothersome to mingle with others. Also, unlike him, she was a strong willed girl. Once she decided on something, she wouldn't hesitate to pursue it.
This was why when he saw her expression, he became uneasy and immediately called out, "Sophie!" before rushing over to her side.
Putting down the half full cup of water and a slice of bread on the table, he bent down over her, put a hand under her knees and the other behind her shoulders and lifted her in princess carry before taking her to the bed.
As he did so, Sophie's eyes flickered slightly and the bleakness receded a bit, but then her expression fell and she began closing her eyes.
Max immediately had a bad feeling. Hurriedly laying her onto the bed, he shook her shoulders, "Hey, Seph! Look at me."
Thankfully, Sophie did.
Immediately, he reached over and picked up the cup of water and bread.
"See, I brought you water and something to eat. I can bring more in the future, so there is no need to worry about going hungry and thirsty again." He said, trying to ignite the spark of life in her again, give her hope.
Sophie looked at the cup of water and slice of bread in his hands, her eyes lighting up slightly.
Then, in a weak, hoarse voice that was filled with uncertainty and hope, she said, "I-Is that true?"
"Yes. It is." Max nodded.
Sophie stared between bread and water and him for a few moments. She didn't want to suffer and just end things, however, just like any other living being, she also… longed for life.
Since Max had assured her that she wouldn't be hungry and thirsty again, despite knowing surviving would be difficult in this lawless, apocalyptic world, she wanted to live.
So, she stretched her hand toward the cup of water.
Seeing this, Max let out a sigh of relief in his heart. He then sat beside her, helped her sit up and began to help her drink and eat.
Sophie was two years older than but she looked barely any older than Natalie. Her skin was soft and fair and unlike Natalie who was still in her growing phase, she had matured into a sexy woman with all the curves in the right places.
The only unfortunate thing was that she liked to dress in loose pajamas which hid most of her delicious curves, those tempting D-Cup breasts and her tight, meaty round ass.
Only when she went to hang out and dressed properly or when she was going to run or doing yoga in those body-hugging clothes would he see some of her beauty.
Her eyes, just like Natalie's, were beautiful ocean blue but she had long black, mid-waist length, hair. Her lips were ripe and fuller compared to Natalie's. They were a soft pink in color and looked extremely soft. Whenever he saw her, he would feel the urge to kiss and bite them.
…
Ten minutes later, Max finished feeding her and after a while gave her another half cup of water to drink.
After drinking and eating, some color had returned to Sophie's face and her eyes were becoming alive once again.
Seeing him produce another half cup of water, she looked around but didn't see any jug from which he might have refilled it from. Curious, she opened her mouth to ask but then hesitated. In the end, she chose not to ask and just looked at him in silence.
"What is it, Seph?" Max calmly asked, meeting her gaze before deliberately looking at her lips with desire.
Sophie noticed but didn't say anything about it and responded, "Did you go out for the water and bread?"
"What do you think?" Max asked in lieu of answering—he wasn't going to tell anyone about the system.
Sophie bit her lower lip and emotionally said, "I… don't know what to say. I can't thank you enough."
Max nodded, accepting her gratitude. He then shifted closer to her and lowered his hand that was around her shoulders, supporting her, down to her waist and said in a deep voice,
"Since father is no longer here to provide for us, I'll become the provider. I just wonder, will you accept my new role as the man of the house?"
As a businessman, his father, Albert, usually travelled across the country and even abroad. So, he was rarely home.
A few hours before everything went down, Emily had talked to him on the phone and he had told her that he was going to the United States for a meeting.
Counting the time, it wasn't difficult to guess that he was still on the flight when nukes were launched and all the communication and power was cut off. So, his father most likely was no more.
Even if he had somehow survived, who knew how long it would take for him to return or whether he could return at all. While they wished for him to be safe, none were hopeful.
Sophie looked at his hand resting on her waist and then at him. Max met her gaze.
After a moment, Sophie lowered her head and was silent for a while.
Max didn't rush her, calmly waiting for her to think it through.
In reality, however, there wasn't much to think because neither she nor Emily or Natalie were capable of keeping themselves fed in these chaotic times. So, unless they no longer wanted to live, they had no choice but to rely on him.
A minute later, Sophie nodded, "Mm. I… accept."
Max nodded and asked, "Then, you'll listen to and obey me, won't you?"
"Mm. I will." She nodded again.
"Very good." Max smiled in satisfaction.
"Rest well. I'll come back in the morning." Saying this, he stood up and walked out of the room with a huge boner.
He really wanted to push her down and have his way with her as mentioned earlier, all three ladies of his family were incredibly attractive to him.
However, the system hadn't given him the option to prematurely add her to his harem, so he couldn't use his newly acquired ability to help her digest the Nutritious Bread faster and recover.
Since she would need some time to recover and he also needed to go check up on his sexy step-mother too, he controlled himself. Besides, he had sweet Natalie waiting for him, so he wasn't in a rush to fuck her.
Clink! Clink!
Just as he came downstairs and was about to head toward the master bedroom, he heard faint sounds from outside and his pupils constricted because he recognised this sound.
Someone… was cutting off their fencing wire.