Chapter 17


    She walked past the front of the car and was about to get into a cab, but Patrick hurriedly got out of his


    car and grabbed her wrist.He forced her to get into the passenger seat of his vehicle.He immediately


    locked the door so Sophia could not get out.


    Sophia worked the whole day and was already tired to the point that she had no strength to be angry or


    to fight him, so she thought, ‘Let him do what he wants’


    The car was swift.


    Sophia and Patrick were both quiet.


    The only sound that could be heard was the sound of the rubber wheels on the pavement.


    Though the car was at high speed, John''s driving was impable, making the atmosphere quite


    tranquil.


    On the other hand, Patrick also smelled like his old after-shave cream.


    Sophia''s absent-minded heart calmed down for a moment, and she felt so peaceful that she could fall


    asleep in the next second.She closed her eyes for a bit.


    Then, Patrick asked suddenly, "Do you get along well with Mr.Bower?"


    Sophia turned her head and looked at Patrick''s face.He did not look surprised at all.So Sophia could


    not help but ask, "How did you know his name?"


    "We did some business together" he exined vaguely.


    After a long while, he asked again, "Are you nning to marry him?"


    She was puzzled by Patrick''s actions and words tonight.


    Whether it was his questions or his manner, it gave her an illusion that Patrick was acting like a


    husband right now.


    Sophia looked out of the window and at the scenery as they passed.Her heart seemed to skip a beat, "I


    don''t know, I will let nature take its course.


    How they looked inside the car was like a beautiful scene in the movie.


    However, neither of them noticed that this was the first time they had interacted peacefully with each


    other in many years.


    They also didn''t know that their world would change after this night.


    She still had one day before she needed to pay the fine for the breach of contract.


    Sophia looked at the money she had raised and was sad that it was not even half of what she


    needed.She took out the diamond ne that had been sealed in her wallet for five years.She could


    pawn it for her n to get through.


    Evening came, and Sophia could not sleep.She turned on themp and subconsciously touched the


    wallet on the bedside table.She suddenly remembered that she had pawned the ne.


    There was an emptiness in her heart.


    That ne had been with her for so many years, and she was reluctant to part with it.


    "Youngdy, it seemed that this ne is very important to you.The contract will take effect before


    tomorrow afternoon, which shows that you still have one night to get this back."


    The owner of the pawnshop said.


    The owner offered these words of advice when he saw Sophia''s reluctance.


    She didn''t sleep the whole night.


    The following day, she ran to the pawnshop and waited for the owner.


    Finally, she decided to get the ne back.


    When the owner saw her, he was not surprised.


    On the contrary, he looked as if he knew that she woulde back.


    "Sorry, Ms.Hill, that ne has been bought by someone."


    Sophia was anxious, "How could you do this? Didn''t you say that the contract would only take effect in


    the afternoon? Why did you sell my ne?"


    The man spread out his hands and said helplessly, "I knew the rules, and I told that to the buyer, but


    the man who bought it said that he would bear all the consequences.Please understand, my store is


    small, and I could not argue with the man who looks wealthy and powerful."


    Sophia had never felt so dejected.


    It was as if she had lost the most precious thing in the world.She btedly realized that she should


    have kept it.


    It was toote.


    "The gentleman left a phone number and said that if you want to take back the ne, you can call


    him; The owner said.


    Sophia nced at the number on the slip of paper.She didn''t need to look twice to know who it


    was.She had long since memorized the man''s phone number because he had never changed that


    number in the past ten years.


    The moment she got through, her hand trembled, "Patrick speaking"


    "You bought the ne?"


    She finally spoke after a long silence.


    Patrick remained silent.


    "Do you want to take it back?"


    But, unfortunately, his voice was calm, and she could only hear the sound of aptop keyboard.He had


    guessed her intentions, or rather, there was no need to think.


    Her phone call had already exined everything.


    "Will you return it to me?" Sophia asked silently.


    Her hand holding the phone turned pale, like a prisoner waiting for a sentence.


    "If you want to get the ne back, wait for me at my apartment building tonight, '''' Patrick said


    suddenly.


    He didn''t even allow her to say no.


    Patrick hung up the phone.He expected that Sophia would wait for him at his apartment because of the


    ne.If it were for something else, Sophia would feel contempt.


    But that ne was different.


    Although it could be sold for an obscene amount of money, its significance was not limited to this.


    The importance of the ne could not be measured by money.


    She was furious and had nowhere to vent it, which caused the situation she was in.


    The weather was very nice in the morning, but it was very darke nightfall.


    The breeze in Harrow city carried with it a portent of a storm.


    The luxury apartment where Patrick lived was famous in the entire Frostford.


    The people who lived here were either rich or an aristocrat.


    Because of this, the security measures in themunity were also of the highest level.


    She did not have any credentials and could only stand and wait foolishly at the outermost part of the


    building.


    Patrick''s car appeared outside the apartment building at nine o''clock in the evening.


    He seemed to have drunk wine, and his eyes were darker and deeper than before.


    "Have you been waiting for a long time?" He walked over.


    His breath carried the smell of alcohol.


    But even if the smell was very strong, it was not unpleasant.


    Instead, it made people feel that Patrick was a man with story and depth.


    "No, I just arrived."


    Sophia shook her head and answered.


    He was standing very close to her.


    He looked at her hair that had been messed up by the wind, and he unconsciously raised his hand to


    tuck her hair behind her ear.


    She felt the warm temperatureing from his fingertips.It made her blush.


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    She stepped back a little bit.


    This scene was somewhat awkward but enigmatic as well.


    "Can you return it to me?" Sophia stretched out her hand.Her fair palm looked very tempting in Patrick''s


    eyes.


    His Adam''s apple involuntarily moved.


    The corners of his mouth twitched as if to smile.


    He didn''t know why, but he was not normal tonight.


    He thought that it was because of the alcohol, but he wanted to see her.


    "Why are you so anxious about this ne? Sophia, why do you care about it?"


    He stepped a little closer to her until there was no gap between the two of them.His eyes examined her,


    and it seemed that he could easily see through her.


    She was speechless and confused.


    ''Why am I so anxious and nervous?’ Sophia asked herself.


    Perhaps it was because of that ne that she had treasured for many years.


    Perhaps it was because it was the first time he had given her something.


    Although Patrick did not personally pick it, and it was very superficial of him at that time, Sophia had


    always regarded it as a treasure.


    Did she not need money? Yes, now she needed money more than anyone else.


    "Since you intended to sell it, you should have thought first that it might never belong to you again”


    Patrick said.


    His reminder hit the nail on the head and quickly brought her back to reality.Sophia bit her lips in


    silence.What he said was true.


    The ne he gave, including Patrick himself, had never truly belonged to her.


    "I can give it to you, but you need to pay ten times the price I bought it for"


    He offered a condition to make things difficult for her.


    Sophia was shocked by his words.


    Ten times the price was incredible.She widened her eyes and reminded him, "Patrick, it''s my ne!"


    "But I already bought it back!" He implied that no one couldpete with him if he saw something he


    fancied.


    "I knew I shouldn''t havee!" Sophia snarled.


    ‘Why I am so silly, I should not have had any expectations for him from the beginning” Sophia thought


    forlornly.