NovelEnglishSophia went quiet for a sec, and then whispered to her, "If you all know he's got it tough, why are you still giving him a hard time?"
Yvonne was stumped; took her a hot minute to find her voice again, "Maybe 'cause he's so tough, like he can do anything, we just
forgot that he's still a regular Joe, you know?"
Sophia didn't say anything.
"Truth be told, ever since we were kids, my brother's been groomed to be the strong one in our family. Weakness and fragility were
no-nos. Grandpa loved him, but he cared more about whether my brother was strong than if he was tired. And don't even get me
started on my dad. He was all about his authority as a father and whether it was being challenged; how his kids were doing didn't
really register with him. With the life we had, how could we not be okay?" Yvonne kept on in a soft voice, "All these years, the
reason my brother's been hung up on Yolanda might be 'cause she's the only one who actually thought about his feelings first.
Maybe it's not so much her he misses, but that feeling of warmth, you know?"
Sophia stayed silent, and didn't jump in.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Sophia." Yvonne couldn't hear a peep from her, hesitated, and then called out to her, wanting to say more, but Sophia already
started speaking softly, "I'm at the doorstep. I'll text you later, okay?"
"Okay."
Yvonne hesitated, "Then, sorry to trouble you, Sophia."
"It's cool."
Sophia was about to hang up when Yvonne hurriedly stopped her.
"Sophia, | think he does care about you." Yvonne blurted out, "Can't you just not be like this with him?"
Sophia's lips twitched slightly. Yvonne probably didn't even realize she said "think" - unsure, lacking conviction, that was why she
used the word.
"Yvonne," she said softly, calling her name.
"Hmm?" Yvonne responded, puzzled.
"Your brother's misfortunes aren't my doing," Sophia said, still in a gentle tone.
Yvonne was taken aback.
Sophia didn't say more, and just hung up. She fished out her keys and unlocked the door.
No one in the living room, but the study's light was on, door shut tight, light seeping through the crack.
Sophia stared at the closed door for a moment, her hand raised, about to knock, but as her fingers almost touched the door, she
hesitated again. In her head, half was the Brandon from their two years of marriage, half was the recent Brandon; half his coolness,
half his warmth; half the distant and polite hubby Brandon, half good-dad Brandon.
The Brandons in her mind, split by reality and past, ctogether as different versions, merging into the lonely and aloof figure
Yvonne had described, someone who, apart from Yolanda, never had his feelings cared for, tearing her heart in the process.
She took a deep breath, her raised hand hesitating again, about to knock, when the door opened.
Brandon, holding the doorknob with one hand, looked at her.
"Something wrong?" He asked, his voice calm and even.
Sophia barely moved her lips, "Yvonne just called me. Said she texted you and you didn't reply, didn't pick up the phone either.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmShe was a bit worried and askedto check on you."
"I'm fine," Brandon said.
"Okay," Sophia responded quietly, suddenly at a loss for words.
Brandon didn't speak either, the familiar silence spreading between them.
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