#170 “Why won’t You Answer?”


    As soon as their nended, Sophia was eager to return to her grandfather’s house. She and


    Benjamin hailed a taxi, the anticipation of revisiting her childhood home palpable in the air. Upon


    arriving in front of the house, Sophia reached for her phone to inform Alexander of their safe arrival.


    “I’ll just write to Alexander that everything is fine and we’ve arrived,” she announced, her fingers


    hovering over the screen.


    But before she could proceed, Benjamin swiftly snatched the phone from her hand, eliciting a frown


    from Sophia.


    “You can write to him as soon as we enter. Come on, Sophia, you haven’t been here for years, let’s get


    settled in first,” Benjamin suggested, his tone persuasive.


    Sophia chuckled at Benjamin’s eagerness. “God, Benjamin, you’ve really missed this ce,” she


    remarked, a fond smile ying on her lips.


    “Of course, my best years were here,” he replied nostalgically, his arm draped casually around her


    shoulders as they approached the entrance.


    As Benjamin led Sophia into the house, Sophia remained unaware that he had discreetly stowed away


    her phone in his own pocket, a subtle act that did not escape his calcted intentions.


    Once inside the familiar surroundings of her grandfather’s house, Sophia couldn’t help but feel a rush


    of nostalgia. Memories flooded back to her, evoking a sense of warmth andfort that she hadn’t felt


    in years. Benjamin watched her with a knowing smile, his own fondness for the ce evident in his


    demeanor.


    “It’s just as I remember it,” Sophia remarked, her eyes scanning the familiar surroundings with a mix of


    nostalgia and curiosity.


    Benjamin nodded in agreement, his gaze lingering on Sophia as if trying to capture the moment. “Some


    things never change,” he mused, his tone wistful.


    Sophia couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something more to Benjamin’s demeanor, a subtle


    undercurrent beneath his seemingly innocent demeanor. But she pushed aside her suspicions,


    choosing instead to focus on the present moment.


    As they settled into the house, Sophia’s curiosity grew, her eagerness to uncover her grandfather’s


    secrets intensifying with each passing moment.


    As the day wore on, Alexander found himself unable to shake the restless agitation that gripped him


    like a vice. Despite his best efforts to focus on his work, his mind kept drifting back to the image


    Benjamin had sent him, tormenting him with visions of Sophia and Benjamin together, their smiles


    mocking him from the screen of his phone.


    Pacing his office with an air of nervous energy, Alexander’s thoughts churned with jealousy and


    insecurity. He couldn’t understand how Sophia could be so carefree in Benjamin’spany.


    ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    Hours passed like an eternity, each minute dragging by with agonizing slowness as Alexander waited


    for a sign from Sophia. But as the afternoon wore on and his calls went unanswered, his frustration


    boiled over into a seething cauldron of anger and doubt.


    With a trembling hand, Alexander dialed Sophia’s number once again, his heart pounding in his chest


    as he waited for her to pick up. But to his dismay, the call went straight to voicemail, leaving him with a


    sinking feeling of despair.


    “Where are you, Sophia?” he muttered to himself, his voice thick with emotion. “Why won’t you


    answer?”


    As the minutes stretched into hours, Alexander’s anxiety reached a fever pitch, his mind racing with a


    thousand worst-case scenarios. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong, and


    the thought of Sophia in Benjamin’spany filled him with a sickening sense of dread.


    Just as Alexander was about to give up hope of reaching her, his phone buzzed with a new notification.


    With trembling hands, he unlocked the screen to see yet another message from Benjamin,


    apanied by a photo that sent a fresh wave of anger coursing through his veins.


    In the image, Sophia and Benjamin were seated at a quaint little café, their faces illuminated by the soft


    glow of the setting sun. Sophia’s smile was radiant, her eyes sparkling with genuine happiness as she


    enjoyed an ice cream cone.


    The message that apanied the photo was like a dagger to Alexander’s heart, each word a cruel


    reminder of his own insecurities and doubts.


    “She seemed happier with me than she will ever be with you.”


    The words burned into Alexander’s mind, stoking the mes of his jealousy and resentment until they


    threatened to consume him whole. He couldn’t bear the thought of Sophia finding happiness in


    someone else’s arms, of being reced by Benjamin in her affections.


    With a roar of frustration, Alexander hurled his phone across the room, the sound of shattering ss


    echoing in the empty office. He felt like a fool, and the realization filled him with a sense of impotent


    rage.


    But even as anger boiled within him, a tiny voice of doubt whispered in the back of Alexander’s mind.


    Could it be true, he wondered, that Sophia was happier without him? That she had found someone else


    who could give her the love and happiness he so desperately longed to provide?


    The thought was like a knife twisting in his gut, tearing at the fragile threads of his self-confidence and


    leaving him feeling more alone and lost than ever before. As the sun dipped below the horizon and


    darkness descended upon the city outside, Alexander was left to wrestle with his demons in the cold,


    unforgiving silence of his office.