NovelEnglishSophia had been off the grid for days, as if she'd vanished into thin air, with the only trace left being her scarf tangled up in the
branches.
Brandon has personally hit up all the nearby villages, but no one'd fished anyone out of the river, nor was there any buzz about
Sophia.
With a massive bounty of ten million on the line, people were tempted, sure, but no one'd got any solid leads. And not a call from
Sophia either.
If she were still kicking, there was no way she wouldn't have called.
These past few days, Brandon had been glued to his phone, not letting the battery dip below 50%, and he'd been snatching up
every call like it was the last copter out of Nam, scared to death he'd miss a call from Sophia.
But nada. Her familiar voice hadn't graced his phone since. She was like poof! Gone without a trace, not even a goodbye.
She could ditch him, but there was no way she'd bail on Theresa. Theresa was her world.
So, if she could have, she wouldn't have left Theresa hanging.
Theresa must've sensed something; she'd been quiet as a mouse, clinging to the teddy bear Sophia gave her, not even asking
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtwhen mommy was coming home. Just hugging her teddy and whispering to it in her room.
Only at night, when nightmares woke her, did she cry out for her mom. Every night, she woke up crying her heart out, screaming
for her mommy.
All Brandon could do was hold her and try to soothe her over and over, his heart aching like hell.
Since Sophia took off, Brandon had been tossing and turning all night, too. Every the closed his eyes, it was all Sophia - her
calm, her grace, her focus at work. Every memory of her vivid and alive, as if she was right there. But the moment he opened his
eyes, it was just the chill of empty space.
That feeling hit even harder when he was back in the hthey shared. Every corner of the room was filled with her presence, her
scent, but she was nowhere to be found.
He could barely stand a second in that room; the sense of loss was crushing, almost choking him. But he couldn't bear to leave the
place still echoing with her essence.
It was like he was torturing himself, pacing around that room, as tstretched out long and unbearable.
Theresa probably felt the same. Stepping back into that house, opening the door, she stood in the threshold, took in the empty
space, and then turned to him quietly asking, "Daddy, do you think mommy might have chand is waiting for us?"
Her innocent words made Brandon's eyes well up again. He didn’t say anything, nor could he.
The room was just as it was when Sophia left, but she was not there anymore.
At night, Brandon went through the motions of bathing Theresa, washing her hair, and putting her to bed like a robot. Even the
routine he'd mastered recently felt mechanical and endless.
It was not his first tdoing this while Sophia was away; he managed when she was on business trips. But back then, even when
he feared she might leave, he knew in his heart she'd cback.
He didn't get why he didn't treat her better back then, why get mad at her for wanting to leave.
Would've been better to just let her go. At least she'd be alive somewhere else in the world, undisturbed. He could've taken his
tto find her again.
But now.
When that familiar sharp pain hit again, Brandon forced himself to look away from Theresa's sleeping face, which was so like
Sophia's, and got up to head to the closet for pajamas and to wash up.
As he opened the closet, the familiar safe caught his eye. Suddenly, he was reminded of Sophia spacing out in front of that safe
the night before she left.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmHe found himself staring at the safe for a moment before his hand slowly reached out. He'd never cracked Sophia's safe, just like
he'd never snooped through her phone.
But he knew the code. He punched in the digits, and the safe door swung open. An old jewelry box cinto view.
Brandon zoned out for a sec, then slowly reached out, took the box, and opened it.
The antique white jade necklace stared back at him. He was frozen.
"Brandon, you've given it to me, but who's gonna look out for you without God's blessing?"
Yolanda's soft, youthful voice drifted through the years, echoing in his ears.
MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L
MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L
mmMwWLHIOfiflO&1
MMMWWLIIOAIfO&L
mmMyWL11I01F1081
mMMwWLIIOfiflO&1
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