Villain MMORPG: Almighty Devil Emperor and His Seven Demonic Wives - Chapter 1568

Chapter 1568: Smudged Lipstick [Part 2]
Villain Ch 1568. Smudged Lipstick [Part 2]

Larissa was standing near the front, adjusting the strap of her sports bra and grabbing her water bottle with a calmness that was far too composed for someone whose lipstick had absolutely been compromised by another human’s mouth.

Perfect.

Let’s immortalize that.

Sophia turned and raised her voice, casual and bright. “Hey! Should we do a group photo before we all scatter?”

A few of the girls perked up. “Oh yeah! Cute idea!”

“Totally, we haven’t done one in weeks.”

Sophia smiled wider, stepping forward. “Larissa, come on. You’re our coach—front and center.”

Larissa paused, gave a brief nod, and walked over. “Sure.”

And there it was again. That tiny, flicker of tension in her mouth. The smudge wasn’t obvious anymore—she’d probably tried to wipe it off during class breaks—but if she knew where to look, it was still there. Just a touch off-center. Barely there. But it existed.

Sophia pulled her phone out and handed it to one of the other girls. “Do a few shots, please!”

Larissa stood in the center, hands on hips, that usual cool expression fixed on her face. Sophia positioned herself just beside her, smiling wide like she hadn’t been plotting a petty photoshoot since plank holds.

-Click.

-Click.

-Click.

The phone returned. Sophia thanked her with sugary sweetness, then stepped aside as people began grabbing bags and chatting again.

And that’s when she struck.

Still smiling, she looked at Larissa and said, just loud enough to cut through the buzz, “By the way… what happened with your lipstick?”

A few heads turned—not everyone, but enough.

Larissa looked at her. Calm. Composed. Queen of don’t-start-with-me energy.

“I was in a hurry this morning,” she said evenly, taking a sip of her water.

Sophia tilted her head. “Mmhmm. But it looks more like a someone kissed me against a wall kind of smudge.”

A ripple of laughter from the corner. Someone whispered, “Oop—” like it was a gossip news comment section come to life.

Larissa didn’t blink. “Then I guess it’s my reward.”

Sophia’s eyes narrowed just a breath. “Reward, huh?”

Larissa didn’t clarify. She simply knelt, started folding her towel, and ignored the bait like it was beneath her.

And for a second… Sophia faltered.

But only a second.

Then Lila wandered over, gym bag slung over her shoulder. “Hey, girl. You were a bit late today, weren’t you?”

Sophia turned to her, recovering fast. “I was not. Not more than the coach, anyway.”

Lila blinked, smirking. “She wasn’t that late. You still should come early—get your favorite spot by the mirror. It was gone in like, five minutes.”

Another girl chimed in as she joined them, rolling her shoulders and stretching her calves casually. “Honestly? I thought I was early, but Allen was already here. Like, weirdly early.”

Sophia’s breath caught—but she kept her face carefully blank. “Allen?”

Lila nodded, face already slipping into that soft, romantic daze she always got when his name came up. “Yeah. He was in the weights area earlier this morning. Just… there. By himself. Focused. Like he was in one of those slow-mo workout ads or something.”

“Oh my god, yes,” the other girl added, a flush on her face. “He had that clean-but-tousled thing going on, hair a little messy but in that expensive way? And his shirt was—ugh. You know when the fabric clings in all the right places but doesn’t even try to? That.”

“Not even ‘bad boy billionaire,'” Lila sighed. “He looked soft. Happy. Like a little golden retriever with murder in his eyes.”

Sophia blinked hard. “But his bike wasn’t outside this morning. I checked.”

Lila shrugged, shifting her bag. “Yeah, well, the gym got new equipment delivered today. Huge drop. There was this loading truck right in front of the entrance when I came in. Totally blocking the whole drive. I bet he parked in the back lot. Or maybe he walked here?”

“Do you think he lives close by?” the other girl asked, eyes wide like she was trying to plot the address on the Maps app in her head.

“I don’t know…” another girl hummed. “He’s kind of a mystery. You’d think a guy like that would want everyone to know where he lives, but nope. He’s all quiet and cold like usual. But, like—cute cold today. Like you could maybe pet him and not lose a finger.”

“I tried talking to him this morning,” Lila added with a giggle. “I was doing dumbbell curls near him, and I was like, ‘Hey, can you spot me real quick?’ Just to start a convo, right?”

Sophia’s eyes sharpened. “And?”

“He smiled. Barely. Then refused. And just… turned back to his set like I was background noise.”

Another girl laughed. “That’s him. Like, respectfully rude. I kind of love it.”

“Same,” the girl sighed. “But he was alone for a while. I saw him standing near the benches with his water bottle, just checking his watch or something. Then that friend of his showed up—you know, the weird one?”

“Gerry?” Lila said.

“Yeah. That one. He looked shocked when he found Allen was here before him. But after that, they seemed cool. They went to the bench press together.”

Sophia gripped her towel harder than she meant to. So Allen had been here. Early. Alone. Then Gerry came. And then Larissa showed up, late and kiss-smudged.

It wasn’t hard to piece together the timeline.

Her chest felt tight. But her smile stayed.

“Well,” Sophia said, slipping her gym bag over her shoulder, “that explains a lot.”

Lila tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing,” she said lightly. “I just mean… if Allen looked that good today, I definitely need to make it earlier next time.”

The girls giggled, nodding.

“Yeah,” the other added. “Before someone else gets him.”

Sophia gave a short, breathy laugh. “Someone already did.”

And with that, she turned toward the lockers, her mind whirring like a machine spun too tight.

‘I’ll get him back.’

She didn’t say it. She didn’t need to.