Chapter 24


    Sophia’s band twitched as she switched shoes, but she quicklyposed herself Slipping into her


    slippers, she looked up at him and exined. “Got a hands on ss today, heading to the construction


    site Walking in heels would be a nightmare, so I swapped them for ts


    Brandon’s gazended on the trench coat she was wearing “A trench coat to a construction site?”


    “Well Sophia’s voice hitched. “We change into our uniforms at school before heading to the site. We


    gotta dress the part, you know


    Brandon gave her a skeptical look but didn’t press further


    Sophia squashed the nervous flutter and dawdled over her shoes, hanging up her bag filled with


    medicine and medical reports at the entryway. As she withdrew her hand, she couldn’t help but second


    quess herself and cast an anxious


    nce at Brandon


    Brandon’s attention had already shifted to the room


    Sophia’s ce was a simple studio apartment The kitchen and bathroom were side by side at the


    entrance. Beyond that was a makeshift living area with a small sofa and coffee table, and further in was


    a bed and a closed-off balcony. The interior was clean and bright decorated in a refreshing Nordic style


    with a hint of countryside charm. Sophia’s living habits, much like when she was married, wereid


    back and casual. Her room was tidy but dotted with carelessly ced trinkets For instance, the coffee


    table was spotless, yet the white tabletop was home to a bamboo basket crammed haphazardly with


    knick knacks Among the clutter Brandon spotted a piece of paper that looked like a medical report his


    brows furrowing slightly as he walked towards the coffee table


    Sophia’s gaze involuntarily followed Brandon’s,nding on the medical report carelessly ced in the


    basket. Her heart skipped a beat, and instinctively she reached out and tugged at the hem of Brandon’s


    clothes


    Brandon turned to look at her, his piercing ck eyes filled with questions


    Sophia forced a calm smile “By the way, you haven’t eaten yet, right?”


    Her hand stealthily pushed the bag, with the buzzing phone inside, back into ce, unaware of the


    device’s persistent


    glow


    Susan stared at her phone as it repeatedly reminded her, “The number you have dialed is currently


    unavable, and she felt a wave of panic. She didn’t know how Sophia was doing


    N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content.


    Earlier, after witnessing Sophia throw up twice and hurriedly hang up the call, Susan had been on


    edge, worried something might have happened to her friend.


    But at the time, she was entertaining a client and couldn’t break away to call Sophia. Later, seizing a


    moment to duck into the restroom, she managed a quick call to Sophia, who was on her way to the


    hospital. Susan could hear the unease in Sophia’s voice, clearly flustered, even though Sophia


    reassured her that it was just a stomachache and she wanted to get it checked out. When the test


    results came back clear, Sophia immediately sent them to Susan to ease her mind. But Susan was


    swamped and didn’t have time to respond. Now that she finally had a moment, Susan realized that


    Sophia had only mentioned the clear test results, not the baby’s condition or her own. Frantically


    worried, Susan texted Sophia for an update but got no response


    Phone calls also went unanswered, and Susan’s mind was racing with all sorts of scary possibilities,


    fearing something had happened to Sophia. After another failed attempt to reach her, Susan decided to


    call Ivan instead.


    Ivan picked up after a few rings.


    “Hello?


    Susan’s voice was edged with panic as she spoke to the clear male voice on the other end, “Ivan, are


    you home? Could you check on Sophia for me?”


    Ivan was in the middle of a meal, but his voice turned grave, “What’s wrong?”


    dont know for sure. Sophia’s been throwing up since noon, and she mentioned spotting so she went to


    the hospital t couldn’t talk to her properly because I was busy, and now i don’t know how she’s doing. I


    sent her a WhatsApp


    message, but she didn’t reply. She’s also not answering her video calls or phone.” Susan was on the


    verge of tears. “I’m worried something’s happened to her. Can you please check on her at her ce?”


    “Okay,” Ivan said, putting down his utensils and standing up “Don’t worry. I’ll go take a look and call you


    later.”


    With that, Ivan hung up, grabbed his jacket and keys from the coat rack, and left.


    Back at Sophia’s, Brandon caught a glimpse of the light from her bag and nodded towards it. “Phone.”


    Sophia nced back at the small bag, which wasn’t big enough to hold much.


    She had stuffed her phone inside when heading to the hospital and hadn’t taken it out since. The


    medical reports and medication were also crammed on top inside the bag Sophia didn’t dare to open it.


    She wasn’t ready to tell Brandon about her pregnancy, and she wasn’t sure if there was a need to, as


    today’s encounter was unexpected


    Seeing the hesitation on her face, Brandon’s gaze shifted back to her bag. He nced at it, then back


    at her face. “You hiding something from me?”


    Sophia instinctively shook her head, “Nope. Just some realtor calling. No biggie whether I answer or


    not.”


    To convince him, she turned and reached into her bag, fumbling for her phone


    Brandon watched her careful movements, then asked, “Is there something in your bag I shouldn’t see?”


    Sophia quickly shook her head again, “Nothing like that.”


    Her hand found the phone but felt the medicine and papers on top. She tried to slide the phone out


    without moving anything else, but Brandon stepped forward, reaching out to open her bag himself,


    startling Sophia into pressing down


    on his hand.


    The cool, delicate touch of skin met skin, and Brandon looked at her, “Why are your hands so cold?”


    “It’s been getting coldertely, Sophia’s voice faltered, and her hand hesitantly retreated


    Brandon didn’t insist on opening the bag. He just looked at her and noted, “I thought you got over that a


    couple of years ago?


    “Maybe I just can’t cut it here,” Sophia said, her hand clutching the phone in her bag tensed up slightly,


    hesitating whether to just whip it out. Her heart fluttered with indecision, seemingly at sixes and sevens.


    Brandon frowned slightly, looking at her, “You’ve also lost a fair bit of weight, I remember you used to


    be pretty good at rolling with the punches in new ces.”


    Sophia nced at him hesitantly. As long as Brandon was willing, she had nowhere to hide in front of


    him.