Chapter 53
Sophia was all thumbs as she wiped her eyes and steadied her emotions before looking up toward the doorway and calling out, “Coming!”
She got up to open the door.
“Dinner time,” Brandon announced, his gaze pausing ever so slightly when he caught sight of the redness in her eyes. He looked at her more intently.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice softening, his arm lifting in tandem as the back of his long fingers gently touched the damp corner of Sophia’s eye.
Sophia involuntarily shuddered at the touch and took a small step back.
“I’m fine,” she said softly, her warm voice tinged with a hint of nasality, “Just got carried away with a TV drama.”
Brandon gave her a look. He remembered that she wasn’t into binging series. She was a movie buff, watching all sorts from domestic to international, from drama to mystery to art films, but she seldom indulged in rom-coms.
Documentaries were her jam too, especially those about culture and history. She’d occasionally dip into TV shows, but only the ones with solid plots, like workplace dramas or thrillers. Not many could hit her right in the feels.
His eyes flicked to her phone resting on the table. He didn’t call her out on it, just raised his hand to wipe away the tear from her eye. “Let’s eat first,” he suggested quietly.
Sophia nodded gently, “Mm.”
During the meal, Brandon could tell Sophia was down in the dumps.
Her appetite was already weak due to the early stages of pregnancy, and with her mind on other things, she barely managed a few bites before feeling nauseated.
Sophia couldn’t force herself, and the more she tried to eat, the more revulsion she felt.
Finally, she had to put down her utensils and looked at Brandon, “I’m full. You can keep eating.”
He glanced at her nearly untouched bowl but didn’t push her, just nodded gently, “Alright.”
He quickly finished the food in his bowl, put down his utensils, and started cleaning up.
Sophia remembered he had hardly eaten and looked at him in surprise, “Aren’t you going to eat more?”
“No worries, I had a meal with a client earlier,” Brandon swiftly tidied up the dishes into the dishwasher, washed his hands, and glanced out the now-dark window before turning to Sophia in the living room.
“Feel like a walk?”
Sophia was taken aback, “Aren’t you busy?”
The phrase “feel like a walk” coming from Brandon seemed odd to her. Back when they were still married, they’d each retreat to their own rooms after dinner, each with their own study and work. So their post-dinner time was usually spent apart, each to their own, and walks were a rarity, almost nonexistent.
Brandon was the kind of guy who wished he could split time in two. He already had a fixed schedule for his workouts, and a stroll was, to him, a waste of time.
He never spent time on walks, so the sudden suggestion was puzzling to Sophia.
But he was already approaching her, “No need.”
His response was as straightforward and crisp as ever, and as he spoke, he came to stand in front of her, glanced outside into the night, and repeated, “Feel like a walk?”
Sophia hesitated, then nodded, “Sure,”
The two of them strolled around the hotel’s/ground level.
Not far from there was a bustling square connected to the Lakeside Park. At this hour, it was lively.
The locals loved to come here for a walk. The elderly with grandchildren, students from nearby schools, mostly young couples, which made the quiet night lively and tinged with a touch of unfamiliar human warmth.
Sophia, like Brandon, wasn’t one for post-dinner walks, always busy in her study after eating, so she rarely got to experience this kind of atmosphere.
She thought this was the first time she and Brandon had gone for a walk after dinner. Everything was fresh to her gaze, and the heaviness in her heart dispersed a bit with this novelty.
Brandon kept an eye on Sophia’s expressions, standing by her side, his peripheral vision catching the rollerblading teens in the square.
ready to shield Sophia if they came too close.
“Do you usually come out here?” he asked, watching her calmly observe the surroundings and deftly shielding her from the bustling
crowd.
“Nope. I’m not much of a shopper,” Sophia replied softly, turning to look at him, “You probably haven’t been here much either, right?”
Brandon nodded lightly, “Been pretty busy lately.”
Sophia nodded too, not continuing the conversation.
Brandon didn’t say more either, just walked aimlessly by her side.
Sophia found this feeling strange. She and Brandon had been married for two years, shared plenty of intimate moments, and indulged without restraint. But once lust was no longer in control and rationality returned, they seemed like strangers who had just met, lacking common topics and close contact, even hand-holding was rare.
Sophia wasn’t sure if it was her issue or Brandon’s. She couldn’t be carefree around him.
She didn’t know if this restraint was exclusive to Brandon or applied to all men.
Before Brandon, she had never been in a relationship, and after him, she hadn’t had the chance to start something new. She couldn’t compare and determine if the problem lay with her or with Brandon. Yet watching the carefree, laughing couples walking by hand in hand, Sophia felt envious.
She and Brandon had never been so free and careless, not even during their marriage, and now that they were back to being friends, it was even less likely for them to be like other couples.
Brandon noticed where her gaze settled and also looked at the playful, laughing couples, then back to Sophia.
He saw envy and a kind of self-consolatory acceptance in her eyes.
Brandon, busy with work, never paid attention to what strangers were doing, especially young couples. He thought their flirty teasing and arguments were just the affectations of naive youth.
He had never experienced that phase himself.
Growing up, his life was all about bulking up and powering through. Whether it was hitting the books or grinding away at work, he was all in, laser-focused on the grind. Hardly ever did he let his mind wander off into other territories. Even when he crossed paths with Sophia during his senior year of high school, he was only concerned with the nuts and bolts of her academic life. He’d fret over whether she was fitting in fine, keeping up with her studies, and given her innocent look, whether she might be getting picked on or not.
He’d get all worked up if she was running late, or feel uneasy if she called in sick. He’d even pull the old ‘just passing by’ trick near her place to check if she was around, without ever really mulling over the feelings driving these acts of care.
After graduation, when they lost touch, Brandon got caught up in the rat race of juggling studies and work. Thoughts of Sophia would occasionally pop into his head, only to be quickly overshadowed by the memory of her ghosting him. That longing morphed into a simmering resentment, which piled up bit by bit, until it became a full-blown ‘I don’t ever want to see her again’ kind of huff. That is, until that reunion at the class get-together.
That party was actually quite the fluke.
Every year since high school graduation, there was always some kind of class reunion planned.
Brandon knew Sophia was a no-show kinda gal, and he didn’t bother either.
The one from two years back was a freak occurrence.
He just happened to be at that restaurant sealing a deal with a client. As he was heading out, he stumbled upon his old classmates gathering for the feast. They roped him into saying hi, and amidst the sea of faces that had shed their youthful green, he spotted Sophia. Just like back in the day, she was the picture of calm and understatement, perched quietly in a corner, watching everyone’s antics without chiming in.
That time, he stayed. He took a seat next to her vacant spot.
He could sense her restraint.
Though they sat side by side, they barely exchanged words.
She wasn’t much of a talker, and neither was he.
