Charlene felt so moved that she could just cry. A minute ago, she was down in the dumps, but she was walking on cloud nine now. Charlene thought Avery had left her alone earlier. Little did she know he went away to get a better ointment for her. Did this mean he loved her too? “Thank you. I thought you had left me earlier.” Her voice was husky. Avery said, “I’m a doctor. There’s no way I’d leave when you’re injured. You should’ve told me about it earlier.”She was at a loss for words.Alright, It seemed like she read too much into it. He was a doctor. That meant it was his duty to treat everyone. It felt as if he rained on her parade, bursting all of her bubbles. Avery had no idea what was on her mind. Squeezing some of the ointments on his fingers, he applied them to his feet. The cooling ointment abated some of her pain. Then, she stared at him quietly. She had not had a chance to admire his looks so boldly in the past. Now, she could do it at last. His side profile l
The flight was scheduled for six in the morning. Ultimately, Avery brought Charlene along, but her ankle had yet to make a full recovery. She still had to shuffle sometimes. Sophia asked, “How is it? Does it still hurt?”Charlene was overjoyed. She couldn’t have hid the humor in her eyes even if she tried. “It doesn’t hurt anymore. It’s just that it’s still swollen a little, so I had to be mindful of it and avoid putting too much strain on it.”Looking at Sophia, Avery said, “You’ve got so many people to keep you company, but you just have to ask me to bring Charlie along. Do you like her this much?”Nodding, she said, “Mm-hmm. We’re friends, after all.”Avery said, “Perhaps I should make her your bodyguard. She can keep you safe and do whatever it is that friends do.”Charlene was shocked at that. She gave Sophia a panicked look. Sophia knew what she meant. Smiling, she said, “I don’t need protection. You’re the one who needs a bodyguard, Quintus. You don’t know how to fight,
Elliot knew her better than anyone. He could also feel what she was feeling now. He very much wanted to wipe her tears away and pull her into his arms.However, he took a glance at the crowd and knew he couldn’t squeeze into it. So, he had to give up. It was a good thing that Jocelyn had been wiping Sophia’s tears. She tried to soothe her. “We knew all that. Your mom will always be your mother. No one can take that away from you. After all, they saved you. We’re eternally grateful for that.“Like I said, we’re not about to take it away from you, and there’s no reason for you to force yourself to do something you’re not ready for. If you can’t do it, you can go ahead and call me by my name instead of ‘Mom.’ It’s okay. What matters is that you feel yourself.”Wiping her tears away, Sophia said, “I know you guys didn’t reconcile with me because you cared about my feelings and were going along with my unreasonable and immature attitude. In fact, Elliot told me many times that you guys
The following day, Elliot brought Sophia to Westo. Emma’s grave was in the Ridge Cemetery, right beside her parents. They were here to pay respect to all of them.Little did she know she’d see two cars parked at Lingen Mountain. She asked puzzlingly, “Whose car are those?”Elliot recognized it instantly. “Your brothers are here.”She was bewildered. “What are they doing here?”He responded, “We’re about to find out.”Treading the path, they climbed the hill until they reached the cemetery not far from the villa. Several guys were standing in front of her mother’s tombstone. Elliot was right. They were her brothers.She started walking lightly without realizing it. It wasn’t as if she wanted to eavesdrop, but she was a little curious as to what they were doing here. Then, she began to hear their voices when she crept in closer. Donald said, “Greetings, Grandpa. Grandma. Aunt Emma. Allow me to introduce my siblings to you. You have Chester here. The guy standing next to him is
Phoebe was stunned. “Alright, then. Goodbye.” With that, she hung up the phone. Elliot turned and looked at Chester. He had done what he could. Now, it was up to Chester himself.Chester’s body went stiff when he heard Phoebe’s voice over the phone, but he relaxed the moment she hung up. It felt as if he had been running vigorously for six miles and finally got to settle down. Immediately after that, he found himself missing her longingly.He didn’t dare to stay anywhere near her. In fact, he didn’t even trust himself to stay in Phoenix. He was worried that he couldn’t control himself and ended up appearing before her, thereby making her hate him more.However, the more he tried to suppress himself, the clearer he saw her in his mind. He saw her in different moments of the past, wearing different expressions. Arrogant, affectionate, and miserable. She spent most of her time with him, feeling miserable. In his mind, he saw her looking at him with this disappointed look on her fac
There was no way Elliot would swap seats. He wanted to sit next to his wife. “Try asking someone else.”Pouting, Chase looked at Sophia and said, “Let’s swap seats, Soph.”She responded lazily, “Nuh-uh. I’m too lazy to move.”Donald frowned, “That’s enough. It’s just dinner. Is this really necessary?”Chester glared at him and said, “Get out of here if you’re not going to eat!”That riled Chase up. “Excuse me. Am I talking to you?”Chester responded, “You’re bothering me.”Chase retorted, “Well, then. You should get out of here.”Chester banged the table and stood up abruptly, “Are you still itching for a beating, Chase?”Chase followed suit and banged the table as well. “Bingo! I’m still up for it if you are. How about that?”Avery, too, banged the table and barked, “For Heaven’s sake, can you two quit it and have a nice dinner?”Now, Donald was doing the same thing as well. He banged the table and roared, “That’s right. Will you two knock it off?”Chester and Chase glared
Chester looked at her and smiled.‘Is Sophia showing me how to win Phoebe back? It’d be wonderful if it were true.’“I appreciate your help, Soph.”She rubbed her eyebrows, troubled. The whole thing was so convoluted! What was she supposed to do? She was the one who messed it up. So, she had to clean up her mess.Reaching out, Elliot held her hand and smirked, “Are you doing this to clear your conscience?”Whispering, she said, “I wouldn’t have intervened if he wasn’t my brother. I still think he deserved to wallow in guilt and regret, but I feel responsible for tearing their relationship apart!”He responded, “Do you think he’s all carefree and unfeeling? I’m sure he’s swimming in a sea of regret!”She whispered, “The truth is, I think both of them still have feelings for each other. So, I’m going to give them a shove in the right direction. I can’t guarantee that they’ll find their way back to each other, though. That’s up to fate!”…The moment they arrived at Elm County, S
Sophia sat in her room for a long time, but Chester still didn’t come back into the villa. Worried, she decided to go out and check on him. Then, she saw him. Leaning against the wall, he kept his head lowered, looking miserable. It seemed as if a black hole had drained all of the light from him. He was a six-foot-tall man, but it seemed as if an invisible, crushing force was weighing down on him, making him look very vulnerable.Walk over, she asked, “What’s the matter?”Looking at her with reddened eyes, Chester said in a barely audible husky voice. “Phoebe didn’t even want to be friends with me.”Sighing, she said, “Is that all it takes to beat you down? Think about all the cruel stuff you did to her. How do you think she took it? Here are some tips. If you want to win her back, then you need to know that it’s not going to be easy.“If you can’t take the hits, then you might as well give up now. After all, given your background, you could easily find another lady.”He said