Chapter 40
“Yeah, I’m heading back now, Sophia whispered, “Gotta hang up.”
And then she hung up the phone.
Brandon slowly put down his phone only when the busy signal “beep beep” hit his ears, glancing at the screen.
The phone had already gone back to the lock screen.
He unlocked it and, on the call log page, that dialed number was still just a string of digits.
That string of digits had been saved in Brandon’s contacts for eight years.
A number he jotted down in his youth, during the time he reconnected with Sophia, he almost never dialed it, even though he knew it by heart without having to save it
Brandon couldn’t tell why he never called in those years. He often thought of Sophia, remembered how she stood. quietly at the podium, introducing herself with her unique soft voice, “Hi everyone, I’m Sophia.” Every time he thought of her, he couldn’t help but fish out the number, but he never actually dialed it.
He couldn’t quite pinpoint his feelings during those years Every time his finger hovered over the call button, memories of the graduation party when the teacher regretfully informed everyone that Sophia couldn’t make it, wishing everyone fun, would flood him with a sense of loss and anger. That year, Sophia had left without a word.
On the other hand, after that loss and anger, there was the complex feeling that Sophia was not Yolanda.
Under the mix of anger and complex disappointment, every time he faced the number, he never followed through with the call.
Brandon even thought that Sophia must have changed her number by then.
It turned out she kept it all along.
He knew her number like the back of his hand, but as for his own number which hadn’t changed in eight years, Sophia didn’t seem to recall it
Thinking back to her polite “Hello, who’s this? on the phone just now, Brandon’s eyes dimmed again.
If he remembered correctly, this wasn’t the first time she had responded with “Hello, who’s this? She genuinely didn’t know who was on the other end of the line.
Sophia’s figure appeared at the turn of the stairwell in the teaching building, quietly looking around.
There were quite a few cars parked in front of the building, and she couldn’t spot Brandon’s car right away.
Brandon, seated in the driver’s seat, remained still, just watching her search.
Sophia glanced around but didn’t notice Brandon’s car, and as she turned to head in a different direction, Brandon suddenly honked the horn.
Sophia followed the sound and saw Brandon inside the car. She walked over to him.
“Sorry, I didn’t see your car just now.” Sophia apologized with a warm voice as she got into the car, her politeness tinged with distance.
Brandon faintly remembered that Sophia had always been like this. During their school days, upon their reunion, and even during the two years they were married, she never seemed overly affectionate or clingy. It was as if she was always polite to a fault.
For the first time, Brandon realized that he actually didn’t like this kind of politeness.
in fact, he even despised it.
He couldn’t help but glance at her
Sophie perplexed by his stare, asked, “What’s up?
sta indifferent as Brandon turned the steering wheel emonthly nullion cu
Chapter 40
Sophia was used to his aloofness and sat up straighter, her gaze shifted to the road ahead, and she stayed quiet.
Brandon took a quick look at her. Her beautiful profile bathed in the evening sun, a wisp of hair curled by the wind created a delicate arc beside her cheek, looking serene yet tender.
“Are you adjusting okay at school?” Brandon asked.
Sophia glanced at him, surprised. She remembered Brandon wasn’t one for small talk, but she nodded gently, “Yeah, it’s alright”
“Did you have a lot of classes today?
“Not really. Sophia didn’t want to outright say she just didn’t want to go back, “Today the school had a recruitment presentation by Dempsey Architects. It looked pretty good, so I checked it out.”
Brandon turned to look at her. “Are you thinking of looking for a job?”
