Chapter 88
Brandon knew Sophia hadn’t actually dropped out of school.
A few days after he returned to his home country, Sophia had Susan relay a simple “thank you” to him. Threatening to quit school was just her way of pushing him into a corner, risking her own future.
She was willing to bet on it, but Brandon wasn’t about to roll the dice with her.
Although he was peeved that Sophia had applied to college behind his back, excluding him from her future plans, Brandon was well aware of her brilliance and knew that further education was her dream.
She had already given up an opportunity once for their child, and this time, Brandon couldn’t gamble with her future.
He didn’t want to be the executioner of her lifelong regrets.
Sophia’s decisiveness and efficiency in handling things were leagues beyond his own.
Her future was her rock, her anchor that she clung to for security, and yet, to force him to back off, she chose to let it all go without a second thought.
The ease with which she had once given up on her child and her future was a testament to how resolute she was in letting go of their marriage.
Brandon’s eyes grew colder as he stared at the calendar
For the past two years, he hadn’t pried into her life. Work had consumed him completely. He thought that leaving each other alone was the ultimate form of respect.
His hand flipped the calendar face down on the desk as he shifted his gaze to the computer screen, his mind fixated on the date circled in bold red ink, “June 30th, just two days away
Graduation meant the final curtain call on the ties between him and Sophia.
At least before her graduation, he knew where she was, and she couldn’t just disappear.
But graduation meant that the moment she stepped out of the school gates, she would vanish into the sea of faces, perhaps never to cross paths with him again.
For the rest of his life.
Brandon’s fingers paused over the keyboard, then lifted to look out at the dusky sky, where lights were slowly coming alive.
The night was aglow with thousands of lights, dazzling yet
cold.
He hadn’t returned to the home he shared with Sophia in those two years. The house wasn’t sold but stood empty
He had moved to another apartment near his company.
That apartment hadn’t seen a soul in two years. Brandon hadn’t even bothered to have someone clean and maintain it regularly. What state was it in now?
As he pulled his gaze away from the distant lights, he shut down the computer, stood up, grabbed his sult Jacket from the coat rack, and headed out.
still busy at his computer, spotted Brandon leaving and promptly stood up with a sharp eye. “Mr. Crawley, are you heading out?
No need clock out early Brandon said, walking past his desk
Mood there stunned watching Brandon’s retreating figure. A Brandon not working overtime was ar
Chapter 88
Brandon drove to his old marital home.
Throughout the drive, his expression was blank, unsure why he was going back, what the point was.
That apartment was just like his marriage with Sophia, sealed by the dust of time.
Standing in front of the door, Brandon didn’t immediately unlock it. Instead, he stood there, head slightly tilted back, gazing at the closed copper door, hesitating.
The elevator door behind him opened, and a lady in this neighbourhood emerged, spotting Brandon. Tentatively, she called out, “Mr. Crawley?”
When he glanced back, confirming it was him, she struck up a conversation, surprised. “Is that really you? Haven’t seen you or your wife in ages. Thought you might have sold the place.”
With only two apartments per floor, encounters between neighbors were rare. But the lady, having lived in a close–knit community in a small town in her younger days, was used to the warm neighborliness. She used to greet them warmly, even if their interactions were brief. Now, she continued as if it was just the same.
Responding to her warmth, Brandon offered a polite smile as a greeting.
But the lady was a chatterbox and didn’t mind his coolness. As her nanny waited with a baby stroller, the lady holding a bag of baby essentials, she opened up the conversation. “Planning to move back in? It’s been quiet. without you two here for the past couple of years. We didn’t interact much, but your wife was nice. She’d smile and say hello, lend a hand. It felt good to have neighbors to rely on. Then you left without a word, and it got so quiet.”
She glanced at Brandon and asked, “How’s your wife been? Haven’t seen her in a while, and I miss her.”
Brandon nodded politely. “She’s doing well, thanks for asking.”
As his gaze lifted to the baby girl in the nanny’s arms, his eyes paused.
The little girl, no more than a few months old and not yet a year, looked adorable with her big round eyes curiously fixed on Brandon, not the slightest bit shy, just full of wonder.
Brandon couldn’t help but smile at her.
Feeling his kindness, the little girl’s eyes crinkled with her own smile.
There was a deeper smile in Brandon’s eyes, a hint of nostalgia and an indefinable regret.
The neighborly lady noticed and explained, “She was just born last year, only ten months old. She babbles all day, still doesn’t understand much.”
Then she turned to Brandon and asked with a smile, “You must have kids by now, right? You’ve been married for quite a few years. It’s about time for a child. Don’t wait too long. It’s not good for your wife’s recovery if she gets pregnant too late.”
Brandon gave a polite, noncommittal smile, choosing not to answer directly.
Chapter 89
