Dusk was fast approaching and still, there was no sign of Sophie. Rhys was worried, Veronica was worried and thought she was the reason why her child would never come back home, while Eliana was too busy being angry with her sister for causing a scene in front of a guest. She had gone berserk earlier about it. Talking down on her sister like she was only a child. Rhys had just watched. If he did not care for Sophie the way he did and respected her so much, he’d have sat them down and told them how much they were destroying that little girl’s life. “Hey,” Veronica said, walking up to him. “I am sorry about earlier.” He was sitting on the patio lounge in front of the house, and she took the seat opposite him. He saw the redness in her eyes and knew that she had been crying. She folded her arms around her chest and hugged herself, although the weather was not cold. Rhys stared into the forest where he knew Sophie would have gone. He wondered if she would be calmer now. Would she wan
Sophie sat in the filled bath tub, mesmerised by her thoughts and bubbly warm water. She had had enough surprises for one day, and the thoughts filled her mind and flew around in fizzy images in her brain. The thoughts were too much, and they threatened to drown her, to drag her to the deepest and darkest depths of the ocean of thoughts, where she thought she might not be able to resurface in the human world. Her thoughts were interrupted by the slow, creaking sound of the door. She looked beyond the dim lights of the bathroom, trying to recognise the silhouette she was seeing. It was Rhys’. “Hey baby.” He called coolly, not sure whether he was trying to be cool or not disturb the co-occupants of the mansion, even though it was big enough to host three times the number. “Hey honey.” Sophie tried to get out of the bath, but Rhys’ urged her to stay there. “I know there is nothing I can say or do that will get you out of this confusion, but, on your mother’s behalf, I’m sorry.” Soph
The air was refreshingly cool, and Sophie decided this was the best time to rest under the fig tree, which stood proudly at the center of the park. Families and couples arrived some minutes after the sunset, and they sprayed mats on the grass or lounged on the benches that the park provided. Sophie watched the kids squeal and giggle as they ran around each other. The parents were engrossed in their discussions, and once or twice she heard them laugh at something someone was saying. The park was a quiet place during the day, and it was here that Sophie spent most of her time, and the rest of it she spent behind the oven doing what she loved most. She turned her face up to the sky, allowing the cool breeze to romance her face and play with her long hair. She felt at ease with life; it was like the world paused and all her worries were gone.Her notebook, her only companion, rested on her lap, together with her notepad. She had gotten the notebook about twelve years ago, immediately
Sophie raised a perfectly carved brow. She took the letter from his outstretched hand, wondering what it was about that Rhys could not just handle it alone. Usually, Rhys did stuff like this. He prepared all the documents she needed and made sure their accounts and tax books were up-to-date; basically, everything was his unit. She looked at the letter, noting the agency’s logo and their name spelled out in fine, meticulous prints behind the envelope. Her eyes went back to Rhys, who, as if understanding her unspoken question, quickly shrugged his shoulders. Sophie tore the letter open and ran her eyes through its content, then looked up to Rhys and then to the shop across theirs, whose shutters were sealed shut. “What does it say?” Rhys asked impatiently. She handed the letter to him and placed her notepad on the table. “Apparently, the laundromat and the restaurant have been bought, as has the land around them, and the new owner will start renovations as early as next week.” She
Sophie looked at herself in the mirror. She had not changed a lot since she left her aunt and uncle about six years ago. Her hair had grown, though; it was at her waistline now. And her hips and legs had become more accentuated and rounder. It certainly attracted many men to her, this figure and face that she had. But they were quick to leave once they learned of her disability. Rhys was the only man who had stayed with her long enough, and sometimes she wondered why. She definitely was not paying him a lot. It was average, to say the least, but he always insisted on staying. She gazed once again at her reflection in the mirror and sighed. Her aunt had always liked to remind her of how much she resembled her mother but would never allow her to see a photo of the woman. She picked up her notebook from the dresser before her and leafed through it. In its pages, she picked a photo and held it up to her face. She had stolen the photo from her aunt’s room one fateful night when her a
For the five years that Rhys had worked with Sophie just across from the jewelry and pawn store, they had always been careful to avoid Neal and his business, so he had not been in here many times.“So, what brings you in here? Mm?” Neal asked. “Uhhhh… Man, so you know? Did you hear about the sale?”He glanced up briefly, then went back to his work. “Do you mean the shops beside yours?” “Yeah, yeah. That. We got the notice yesterday.”He stared at Rhys now. With his eyes wide open,. “What?” Rhys asked. “Its just I’ve known for a while now. I was just surprised you guys were hearing it for the first time yesterday.” He returned his focus to the work in his hands. “Just in case you didn’t notice, man, your bakery has some kind of weird energy. It was crushing the other two businesses, and you guys were just there, thriving in between.”Rhys furrowed his brows. “What do you mean? If anything, they crushed us. I mean, we’re literally sandwiched between the two. Most times, people com
They had spent the next three days planning the trip to Sophie’s hometown. Sophie had not been able to meet the new owner, and they had agreed to meet as soon as she was back from her trip. The shop would be closed temporarily, pending when she was back from the trip, but as Sophie stood once again before her mirror, she was not so sure. She had never been sure when it came to home. Was it even really home? It never felt like home to her. All the years that she grew up around her aunt, uncle, and pairs, she always felt like she did not belong. They acted strangely, and they looked at her strangely. The photo of her mother was at her fingertips, and now she wondered who the other person in the photo was. The one whose photo had been torn away, where could it be and who could have torn it off? Her mind strayed to the message she had received from her aunt five days ago and how much she had changed since then. How had the confidence and the walls she had built around herself crumble
Rhys was saying goodbye to the Uber driver when he noticed the woman rushing towards them. She drew Sophie in for a hug, and she laughed loudly. “It’s so good to see you, Sophie.” She squealed. Her eyes skimmed over Sophie’s figure, and she brought her hand to her lips as though she would cry. Sophie just stood there, with no expression on her face. “You’ve changed a lot.” The woman commented. “You look just like her if she were here now.” She sniffled, and her eyes immediately caught Rhys. Her mouth opened wide, and her eyes darted from Rhys to Sophie and back. “Oh my!” She exclaimed, pinching Sophie. “You never told me you were getting married!”“Oh… uhhhh. No ma’am. Sophie and I are not married. I am, uh, a friend of Sophie’s, Rhys.” He sputtered, stretching forth his hand. The woman shook it eagerly. “A friend indeed. Nice meeting you, Rhys. Come on, Sophie, Adrian has been waiting for your arrival.”Rhys felt Sophie stiffen beside him, but the woman had not noticed this. S