NovelGoldAfter saying that, Kent couldn't help but sneak a worried glance at Brandon, whose face, devoid of anger, remained unchanged.
"Mr. Crawley?" He called out again, anxiety creeping into his voice.
"l got it; you can head back now," Brandon finally spoke up.
"What about the school centennial event at West District High tomorrow?" Kent hesitated, "Should we tell President Poe you're
feeling under the weather and skip it?"
"No need." Brandon turned slightly, his gaze piercing through the living room to rest on Sophia's photo on the desk, "I'll be there on
time."
"Alright." Kent replied softly, "Grace has prepared sfood for you; maybe you should eat something."
"I'm not hungry." Brandon cut him off, "You go back now."
"But..." Kent cast a worried glance at his haggard face, “your body...”
"Just go back."
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt
After saying that, Brandon had already closed the door. He walked over to the photo of Sophia on the desk.
His fingertips gently traced her serene and gentle features. He remembered the body in the ue, distorted beyond recognition,
his chest torn open as if an invisible claw was wildly ripping and stirring inside, making every breath he took painfully heart-
wrenching.
"Sophia," he called her nin a hoarse whisper.
But that call seemed to rip open all the wounds, causing him such agony that he doubled over. Inadvertently, he knocked things off
the desk, and the loud crash startled Kent, who was just about to leave outside.
Rattled, Kent cback, wanting to knock on the door, but his raised hand slowly dropped.
"Mr. Crawley, I'm right outside; just call if you need me," in the end, he could only say through the door to Brandon.
"Alright," a raspy response cfrom inside, and Kent felt somewhat reassured.
Brandon didn't look at the pages scattered on the floor, but stared blankly at Sophia's photo album that had accidentally been
knocked over.
The album was turned upside down, hiding Sophia's face. Brandon stared at the overturned album for a long time, until he finally
reached out and picked it up.
Sophia in the album still smiled with gentle tranquility, untouched by the passage of tor any external force.
Brandon looked at the photo of Sophia in the album, motionless. On the phone lying on the floor, a message from Sophia had just
"Hello, Mr. Crawley, would you be able to take a look at the design draft | sent you this afternoon? The plans have been revised and
already include the cultural gallery you requested. Please take a look and letknow if there are any further changes needed."
Apanying the message was a revised set of design plans.
When the Whatnotification sounded on his phone, Brandon's expression didn't change, and he didn't look at his phone.
Instead, he slowly sank down against the wall and closed his eyes, clutching Sophia's photo tightly, immobile.
Brandon sat like that through the night.
Sophia had waited all night too.
She had sent Brandon a draft during the day, but likewise, there was no response from him. Since returning from school the day
before, she had pulled an all-nighter to finish the design revisions and sent them to Brandon before the end of the workday, not
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmwanting to delay his after-hours time. Unexpectedly, Brandon hadn't replied.
Worried that he might have been too busy to notice, she couldn't resist sending him a reminder message in the evening, but still
until now, there was silence from Brandon's end.
Sophia felt an indescribable sense of loss, perhaps because of her high expectations. After sending the design draft yesterday, she
couldn't help but check her phone multiple times, and this morning she woke up early, the first thing on her mind was to check for
any feedback from Brandon.
But there was none. Sophia didn't know what was going on with Brandon and didn't feel it was appropriate to message him again.
From their brief interactions, she had roughly figured out Brandon's attitude towards the design draft.
If he was interested, he would naturally reach out to her; if not, she guessed that would probably be the last she'd hear from him.
Sophia couldn't quite put her finger on her feelings, but having been given the cold shoulder once before, she quickly adjusted her
mindset this time.
She didn't dwell on whether Brandon would reply or not, and instead got ready for the day as usual, then went out for breakfast.
She hadn't expected to nearly bump into a man in a hurry as she was about to step into the elevator.
He seemed to be rushing and wasn't watching his path, striding along with the crowd. Sophia had already stepped aside, but it was
still a close call as the tall man in a hurry bumped into her.
"Sorry," Sophia apologized instinctively.
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