Chapter 103
“She’s in Skyrim City, Sophia said, gripping her cell phone, not daring to hang up, yet not answering either, just letting it ring.
Brandon glanced at her. “Why don’t you pick up?”
Sophia lifted her hand and touched her left cheek that had just been slapped. “Don’t want her to see it and worry.”
Brandon took a look at her left cheek. It wasn’t as swollen as before, but given Sophia’s fair and radiant skin, you could still make out the outline of the palm print. It was clear that Laura didn’t hold back with that slap.
Sophia had no clue what was going on in Brandon’s mind. Her heart, slightly tense, tightened further as she saw the darkness cloud his eyes, and she subconsciously gripped her phone harder.
“She and I have always been close. If she knew about my mom.”
She tried to explain further, but Brandon cut her off. “Get in the car.”
Sophia nodded slightly, not challenging him this time.
Brandon walked around the car hood to get in, buckled up, released the handbrake, and drove away without dwelling on the topic. Susan didn’t call again.
Brandon brought her back to his place, but not to the matrimonial home where Sophia had lived for two years. It was his current residence.
Sophia had never been here before. She looked out in surprise as the car entered the neighborhood. Seeming to understand what she was thinking, Brandon said in a calm voice. “I’m living here now.”
Sophia, puzzled, frowned. “Why not stay at the other place?”
The other house clearly had a better location and layout.
“Sold it.”
His voice was very flat.
Sophia didn’t know what to say and simply replied with a soft “Oh.”
But somehow, that “Oh” seemed to rub Brandon the wrong way. Sophia could distinctly feel his gaze turn colder.
She looked at him, confused.
Brandon didn’t look back at her, just drove calmly, his sharp profile set against the night lights looking tense and cold.
Sophia didn’t dare to make another peep, feeling guilty and a bit self-conscious, her hands fidgeting in her lap.
From their unexpected encounter tonight, this version of Brandon felt unfamiliar and intimidating, leaving her at a loss. All the initiative she used to have around him turned into passivity.
The car soon stopped in the underground garage.
Brandon got out, took her suitcase from the trunk, and said, “Let’s go.”
Sophia had no choice but to follow.
Brandon lived in a high-rise. The place wasn’t particularly big, just a simple three-bedroom, two-living room setup, but it still boasted a typical riverside view. Below the living room balcony was the winding river, shining brightly, with neon lights twinkling from the tall buildings along the riverbank.
The entryway was spacious, equipped with a treadmill, chest expander, and other fitness equipment, all part of Brandon’s routine. He had his regular hour of exercise every morning.
There were two bedrooms left, and another room had been turned into a study.
Brandon pushed Sophia’s suitcase into the guest bedroom.
“You can stay here for the night,” he said, pressing a switch on the wall, and the room lit up instantly.
Sophia nodded gently. “Yeah.”
But she didn’t enter, just hesitated and glanced at Brandon, waiting until his expression wasn’t as stern before she spoke softly. “Is it really okay for me to stay?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Brandon turned to look at her. “Got a boyfriend?”
Sophia shook her head lightly. “No.”
“Married?”
Still, she shook her head.
“I don’t have a girlfriend, and I’m not married either. Unmarried man, unmarried woman, not stepping on anyone’s toes, so what’s
the problem?”
Sophia didn’t know what to say.
Brandon had already turned to light up the bathroom next door. “You should wash up and get some sleep. The guest room doesn’t have its own bathroom, so make do with the shared one.”
Sophia nodded gently. “Yeah.”
Brandon glanced at the reddish mark on her left cheek, went to the kitchen, fetched some ice cubes, wrapped them in a towel,
and handed them to her. “Put this on for a bit.”
“Okay.” Her voice was still very soft as she took the ice pack. “Thank you.”
Brandon didn’t respond, just left her with a “Rest early after you’re done” and went into the neighboring study.
Sophia watched the door to the study close, exhaled softly, and closed the bedroom door. She sat down on the sofa beside the bed, one hand holding the ice pack to her face, the other grabbing her phone to text Susan back.
[I just ran into Brandon.]
[??] Susan immediately replied with two question marks.
[Bumped into him at the hospital. He seemed pretty pissed.]
Susan sent an emoji implying [Good luck with that.]
Sophia shook her head with a smile at the emoji. She couldn’t exactly wish herself good luck. She was already walking on thin ice. Having seen this side of Brandon, she realized how good Brandon used to be.
She closed the chat and opened Facebook, scanning casually until her gaze froze at Laura’s post.
Laura had posted a video of Haley waking up, captioned with just a toothy smile emoji, clearly ecstatic.
Haley, though weak in the video, seemed to be in good spirits and even flashed a “yea” sign at the camera, smiling.
Sophia couldn’t help but smile too, her anxiety easing.
After nearly twenty hours with barely any sleep, compounded by jet lag, as soon as she relaxed, sleepiness washed over her.
Sophia dozed off on the sofa, sleeping deeply for three hours, but she woke up in the middle of the night feeling sticky and somewhat disoriented, instinctively grabbing sleepwear and a towel from her suitcase before heading to the bathroom.
It was only halfway through her shower that Sophia fully woke up, remembering she was at the Crawley family’s.
That realization made her embarrassed.
Summer sleepwear was cool-she had just grabbed a light silk camisole without thinking. If she ran into Brandon dressed like that.
Sophia glanced down at her clingy pajamas and subconsciously covered her chest with her hands. She hesitated and peeked towards the door, psyching herself up by thinking it’s so late, there’s no way she’d be that unlucky, right? Tentatively, she cracked the bathroom door open, not expecting that at the same moment, the door to the study would swing open and there was Brandon, coming out just in time to catch a glimpse of Sophia emerging from the bathroom.
Their eyes met.
Sophia didn’t know what to say.
