CHAPTER 85

Sophia’s POV

I froze, my heart pounding in my chest, as Daniel's words sank in. “I've liked you since high school,” he confessed, his voice filled with sincerity. “Back then, I thought you were too focused on your studies to pay attention to me. And I guess I was too… afraid to approach you.”

High school felt like a lifetime ago. I had been so engrossed in my academic pursuits that I hadn't paid much attention to anything else. Certainly not to Daniel, who had apparently been quietly looking out for me all along. I did vaguely remember some encounters we had then, but we never even became close friends during that time.

“Even in college, though I was studying abroad, I still kept checking your social media,” he admitted. “And asking some people about you.”

“Oh,” was all I could say at the moment. This was indeed a revelation.

“I was sad when I found out you were married,” Daniel continued, his eyes searching mine. “But it was even harder to learn that you were unhappy. I was very ha