billion book
Chapter 139
Chapter 139
Sophia and Brandon’s gazes collided.
Sophia flashed a smile, bidding farewell with her eyes without letting on anything unusual.
It was her turn in line.
She looked away, said a quick virtual goodbye to the little girl in the video, then handed over her passport and boarding pass, and went through security. Once her phone was back in hand, Sophia shot a WhatsApp video to Susan.
The call connected in no time.
A baby girl popped up on the screen, clueless about how to use a phone, her face pressed curiously against it. Her big eyes fluttered as her chubby little fingers poked at the screen. “Mommy, mommy,” she called out to Sophia with her sweet, mushy baby voice, her chubby cheeks still showing that adorably puzzled baby look.
Sophia couldn’t help but smile, chatting with the baby off and on, not wanting to strain her eyes with too much screen time, so she didn’t talk long. She coaxed her into hanging up the call, pocketed her phone, and started scoping out the airport’s interior, bored out of her mind.
She had arrived early, with plenty of time before her flight.
In the parking lot.
Brandon sat in his car, not starting the engine just yet.
He glanced towards the tarmac, catching a glimpse of planes taking off through the window, the image of Sophia’s distant goodbye lingering in his mind, hinting at a sense of finality.
Brandon couldn’t fathom why such a thought would cross his mind.
He sat in silence for a while, glanced at his watch, then got out of the car and made his way quickly to the airport terminal.
Sophia was idly examining the airport’s architecture.
She had been to this airport many times before and had pretty much scoped it out, but the wait for boarding was long and boring, and a part of her couldn’t help but indulge her professional curiosity to pass the time.
After what felt like an age, with the airport announcements starting and stopping, flights departing one after the other, Sophia finally heard the boarding call for her flight.
She got up to join the line and, turning around, saw Brandon in the crowd, looking rushed and a bit startled.
He saw her too, slowed down, and his handsome face regained its usual calm composure.
He approached her, ‘Ready to board?”
Sophia nodded, “Yeah.”
Her gaze drifted behind him, “Are you heading somewhere too?”
“Nope,” said Brandon, but he stayed put, joining her at the end of the line.
Sophia couldn’t quite suss out what Brandon was up to.
She turned, hesitating, and looked at him, “Are you heading to Wye City too?”
“No ticket.”‘
“Oh.”
Brandon looked at her, “Sophia, you’re not pulling my leg this time, right?”
Sophia was baffled by his question, “What do you mean?”
“It’s just a few days you’re going back for.”
Sophia realized, “Yeah, just to sort out some stuff with my school registration, work, and the house.”
Brandon gave her a look, then nodded, saying no more.
He didn’t even know why he needed this confirmation.
Whether Sophia was getting divorced, changing her number, or moving house, even if she had already made up her mind, she always kept her cards close to her chest.
So, this kind of confirmation was actually pointless.
But his body had made the decision before his mind could catch up.
Now that reason had taken over again, Brandon made no further moves.
He watched Sophia board the plane, and only after she disappeared into the cabin did he turn to leave.
When Brandon returned to the office, Don was there too, and could roughly guess the situation by Brandon’s expression.
“Had Sophia left?” he asked.
Brandon nodded, “Yeah.”
Don was only concerned about retaining talent and projects, “Did she agree to stay?”
“Don’t know.”
Don was speechless.
He said, “Weren’t you taking care of her at the hospital for a few days? Didn’t that sway her?”
He knew from Kent that Brandon had been at the hospital taking care of Sophia.
Brandon glanced at him, “What’s that got to do with anything?”
Don was stumped.
“What if she doesn’t come back?”
Don asked anxiously, noticing a slight pause in Brandon’s gaze before he heard a casual reply, “Let her go.”
Don didn’t know what to say.
Knowing he couldn’t count on Brandon, he reluctantly called Ivan from his office to ask about his progress in persuading Sophia. The answer was the same. they’d talked, but Sophia was considering it.
Sophia’s consideration dragged on until it was nearly up against the deadline Brandon had set.
These past few days, she hadn’t reached out to him, hadn’t been to the company, and seemed to have vanished into thin air.
Don was freaking out internally, but seeing Brandon so calm, he didn’t push and even started asking him to look for replacements. “Are you seriously going to replace her?”
When notified, Don couldn’t hold back any longer and barged into Brandon’s office to ask about his intentions.
Brandon was busy, and without even looking up, he replied, “Since she doesn’t want to come, should we just leave the spot empty?”