Chapter 103
“She’s in Skyrim City, Sophia said, gripping her cell phone, not daring to hang up, yet not answering
either, just letting it ring.
Brandon nced at her. “Why don’t you pick up?”
Sophia lifted her hand and touched her left cheek that had just been pped. “Don’t want her to see it
and worry.”
Brandon took a look at her left cheek. It wasn’t as swollen as before, but given Sophia’s fair and radiant
skin, you could still make out the outline of the palm print. It was clear that Laura didn’t hold back with
that p.
Sophia had no clue what was going on in Brandon’s mind. Her heart, slightly tense, tightened further as
she saw the darkness cloud his eyes, and she subconsciously gripped her phone harder.
“She and I have always been close. If she knew about my mom.”
She tried to exin further, but Brandon cut her off. “Get in the car.”
Sophia nodded slightly, not challenging him this time.
Brandon walked around the car hood to get in, buckled up, released the handbrake, and drove away
without dwelling on the topic. Susan didn’t call again.
Brandon brought her back to his ce, but not to the matrimonial home where Sophia had lived for two
years. It was his current residence.
Sophia had never been here before. She looked out in surprise as the car entered the neighborhood.
Seeming to understand what she was thinking, Brandon said in a calm voice. “I’m living here now.”
Sophia, puzzled, frowned. “Why not stay at the other ce?”
The other house clearly had a better location andyout.
“Sold it.”
His voice was very t.
Sophia didn’t know what to say and simply replied with a soft “Oh.”
But somehow, that “Oh” seemed to rub Brandon the wrong way. Sophia could distinctly feel his gaze
turn colder.
She looked at him, confused.
Brandon didn’t look back at her, just drove calmly, his sharp profile set against the night lights looking
tense and cold.
Sophia didn’t dare to make another peep, feeling guilty and a bit self-conscious, her hands fidgeting in
herp.
From their unexpected encounter tonight, this version of Brandon felt unfamiliar and intimidating,
leaving her at a loss. All the initiative she used to have around him turned into passivity.
The car soon stopped in the underground garage.
Brandon got out, took her suitcase from the trunk, and said, “Let’s go.”
Sophia had no choice but to follow.
Brandon lived in a high-rise. The ce wasn’t particrly big, just a simple three-bedroom, two-living
room setup, but it still boasted a typical riverside view. Below the living room balcony was the winding
river, shining brightly, with neon lights twinkling from the tall buildings along the riverbank.
The entryway was spacious, equipped with a treadmill, chest expander, and other fitness equipment, all
part of Brandon’s routine. He had his regr hour of exercise every morning.
There were two bedrooms left, and another room had been turned into a study.
Brandon pushed Sophia’s suitcase into the guest bedroom.
“You can stay here for the night,” he said, pressing a switch on the wall, and the room lit up instantly.
Sophia nodded gently. “Yeah.”
But she didn’t enter, just hesitated and nced at Brandon, waiting until his expression wasn’t as stern
before she spoke softly. “Is it really okay for me to stay?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Brandon turned to look at her. “Got a boyfriend?”
Sophia shook her head lightly. “No.”
“Married?”
Still, she shook her head.
ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .
“I don’t have a girlfriend, and I’m not married either. Unmarried man, unmarried woman, not stepping
on anyone’s toes, so what’s
the problem?”
Sophia didn’t know what to say.
Brandon had already turned to light up the bathroom next door. “You should wash up and get some
sleep. The guest room doesn’t have its own bathroom, so make do with the shared one.”
Sophia nodded gently. “Yeah.”
Brandon nced at the reddish mark on her left cheek, went to the kitchen, fetched some ice cubes,
wrapped them in a towel,
and handed them to her. “Put this on for a bit.”
“Okay.” Her voice was still very soft as she took the ice pack. “Thank you.”
Brandon didn’t respond, just left her with a “Rest early after you’re done” and went into the neighboring
study.
Sophia watched the door to the study close, exhaled softly, and closed the bedroom door. She sat
down on the sofa beside the bed, one hand holding the ice pack to her face, the other grabbing her
phone to text Susan back.
[I just ran into Brandon.]
[??] Susan immediately replied with two question marks.
[Bumped into him at the hospital. He seemed pretty pissed.]
Susan sent an emoji implying [Good luck with that.]
Sophia shook her head with a smile at the emoji. She couldn’t exactly wish herself good luck. She was
already walking on thin ice. Having seen this side of Brandon, she realized how good Brandon used to
be.
She closed the chat and opened Facebook, scanning casually until her gaze froze at Laura’s post.
Laura had posted a video of Haley waking up, captioned with just a toothy smile emoji, clearly ecstatic.
Haley, though weak in the video, seemed to be in good spirits and even shed a “yea” sign at the
camera, smiling.
Sophia couldn’t help but smile too, her anxiety easing.
After nearly twenty hours with barely any sleep,pounded by jetg, as soon as she rxed,
sleepiness washed over her.
Sophia dozed off on the sofa, sleeping deeply for three hours, but she woke up in the middle of the
night feeling sticky and somewhat disoriented, instinctively grabbing sleepwear and a towel from her
suitcase before heading to the bathroom.
It was only halfway through her shower that Sophia fully woke up, remembering she was at the
Crawley family’s.
That realization made her embarrassed.
Summer sleepwear was cool-she had just grabbed a light silk camisole without thinking. If she ran into
Brandon dressed like that.
Sophia nced down at her clingy pajamas and subconsciously covered her chest with her hands. She
hesitated and peeked towards the door, psyching herself up by thinking it’s sote, there’s no way
she’d be that unlucky, right? Tentatively, she cracked the bathroom door open, not expecting that at the
same moment, the door to the study would swing open and there was Brandon,ing out just in time
to catch a glimpse of Sophia emerging from the bathroom.
Their eyes met.
Sophia didn’t know what to say.