Old Mrs. Constance had no appetite now, so she only ate a bit before stopping, but she waved John down. “Don’t mind me. Have some more. You’ve been working hard.” She slowly got up, and the servant took her outside.
John slowly put his spoon down, for he couldn’t eat anymore either. Leaning back in his seat, he took out his cigarettes. The moment he lit the lighter, his phone rang, so he took it after glancing at who was the caller. “Hello, Miss Bailey.”
Isabelle said gently, “Am I disturbing you?”
John lit his cigarette. “No. Do you need anything?”
She sighed. “Your mother called me this afternoon. She said she’s upset and told me about what happened. I’m worried about her, but I don’t want to agitate her. Are you home now? Is she feeling better?”
He puffed and leaned back on the chair. “She is.” He didn’t need to guess what his mother told Isabelle. Probably everything and then something more.
Isabelle didn’t know what to say, so she kept quiet. A moment later, she said, “Do talk to her. They still have to live together, so let’s not be too tense about it.”
John smiled. “Got it.”
Then, she lowered her voice and added, “They’re family, so there’s no need to go this far.” John stayed quiet, so Isabelle asked, “If it’s fine, can I visit her tomorrow? She talked a lot today, so I think I should visit her.”
“Suit yourself.” John didn’t care about this.
“I do have time.” She was okay with it.
That was about it, so John hung up and finished smoking his cigarette before going outside. He could see the carpark here, so of course he saw a part of the garden as well.
Dylan was right there, presumably walking around after dinner. Looking at Dylan, John then went in his direction. Dylan stood there alone with his hands in his pockets, looking at the carpark, so he noticed John coming up to him. “Done with your family issues?” He arched his eyebrow.
In other words, he knew about what happened between Sophia and Matilda, so John went into the garden to talk with him.
Dylan stood in his spot. “Sophia’s different now.”
John snorted. “You seem to know what she used to be like.”
Dylan looked at him with amusement. “Of course. Your mother loves to insult her in front of us, but Sophia never retorted even once. Everyone knows that, and even the servants used to think she’s a coward.”
John pursed his lips.
Dylan looked at the carpark. “When I saw her last time, she seemed to have changed.” A moment of pause later, he continued, “It’s not a bad thing. She probably thought it through. If she doesn’t change, living that kind of life would crush her no matter how mentally strong she is.”
John started turning shadowy in the darkening skies, while Dylan kept looking at the carpark. There were many cars in there, and almost everyone in the household had one car, even if they didn’t know how to drive. People like that had drivers though, but not Sophia.
He noticed she would hail a ride every time she wanted to go out. That wasn’t befitting of a young madam. He took a deep breath and fished out his phone, sending a text to Sophia before he even realized what he was doing.
Sophia was being a couch potato after she had her meal, but nothing good was on air. She felt scared living in such a big house alone, and when she looked at the second floor, panic seized her. When her phone vibrated because of John’s message, she leaped up in shock. His text surprised her, but he only asked if she was asleep. What does he want? Thinking, she pursed her lips and texted, ‘Yeah, I’m asleep.’
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