I Walked Away Seven Years Too Late But Right on Time novel Chapter 118

"I want to wait until your parents get back. It's rude to go to sleep without saying goodnight," Sophie insisted, desperate to maintain her perfect impression.

Gavin smiled, opened the album back up, and continued narrating his childhood.

On the afternoon of the third, they boarded their flight back home.

Shortly after takeoff, Sophie slumped against Gavin's shoulder and fell fast asleep.

She had tossed and turned the night before. The first night had been standard travel insomnia; the second was sheer emotional overload.

Before the trip, she had envisioned disaster—judgment, passive aggression, humiliation. She never imagined a prominent, wealthy family accepting a girl with her baggage so seamlessly.

Perhaps she had encountered so few decent people in her life that she naturally assumed the worst of everyone.

That morning, she had set her alarm early to match Rosemary's schedule, accompanying her on a dawn walk.

It wasn't a chore. She genuinely adored being around the older woman, basking in her warmth and the absolute devotion in her voice whenever she spoke of Gavin.

Sophie slept straight through the turbulence until the wheels hit the tarmac. It was the deepest rest she'd had in days.

"Didn't sleep well at my place?" Gavin murmured, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face.

"I slept fine," Sophie mumbled, wrapping both arms around his bicep and burying her face in his shoulder. "I just feel so safe right now."

When she tried to sit up, he gently pushed her head back down, letting her rest until the passengers beside them stood up to grab their bags.

The moment Sophie stepped out of the shower at home, Sarah cornered her, desperate for every detail about the Gilmores.

Sophie recounted the entire trip, from Mark picking them up to Graham abandoning his lunch break to host a lavish farewell dinner for them near his school.

Sarah's stomach dropped and soared with every sentence. Hearing that Gillian was a CEO and Graham a vice principal made her crippling insecurities flare up.

But when Sophie relayed Rosemary's words about single mothers, Sarah was stunned. "She really said that?"

When Sophie confirmed it, Sarah exhaled a shaky breath, tears springing to her eyes. Her own parents hadn't accepted her choices, yet a stranger halfway across the country understood her pain.

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