I Walked Away Seven Years Too Late But Right on Time novel Chapter 17

They broke eye contact almost instantly. Sophie walked over to the operations desk and greeted her colleagues with a warm smile, betraying absolutely nothing.

She had perfected this act over seven years. No matter how passionately they had tangled in the sheets the night before, no matter how fast her heart raced when she saw him, she always maintained the perfectly respectful face of a subordinate at work.

In seven years, not a single coworker had figured out they were dating. The younger girls in the office had even come to her constantly, trying to pry into who Luke's girlfriend was, how many bouquets he had ordered for Valentine's Day, and what gifts he had bought.

There were always rumors swirling about him—that he was aggressively courting the CEO's daughter of Company A, that he was sleeping with the PR director of Company B. Luke had never offered her a single explanation.

Whenever she casually brought up the office gossip, he would just brush it off, telling her not to listen to their nonsense, making her feel like a paranoid, jealous shrew.

Perhaps in a relationship devoid of marital intent, Luke simply wanted to maintain his absolute freedom.

After all, he had told her that if either of them ever grew bored or found someone they liked better, they could end things immediately.

Sophie had been certain she would never get bored. She could never fall for anyone else. She had simply been waiting in silence for the day he either found someone new or grew tired of her and said goodbye.

But waiting took a devastating toll. She was terrified of abandonment, and the childhood fears of being left alone frequently suffocated her in the dead of night.

Finally, what she witnessed on her twenty-ninth birthday had pushed her to walk away. The waiting had become too agonizing.

Sophie kept her head down, exchanging a few words with a colleague before flipping through the documents on the desk. She had already memorized them the night before, and the words were blurring together anyway, but she stubbornly kept up the charade.

A sudden gasp rippled through the crowd, and the coworker beside her shot to her feet with a sharp intake of breath.

Sophie looked up to see a player sprawled on the floor, surrounded by a rapidly forming crowd.

"I think someone's hurt," her colleague said, pushing her way forward. Noticing Sophie's lack of reaction, she yelled back, "Grab the first aid kit, hurry!"

Sophie numbly picked up the kit and followed. Her colleague was already parting the crowd to administer first aid.

The man on the ground was Luke. He had caught his fall with his elbow, scraping it raw.

When the game finally ended, a wave of sheer relief washed over her. She quickly packed up the desk and told her team she was skipping the client dinner.

"Are you sure? We have some major VIPs tonight, and a few of them are incredibly handsome. It's a shame to miss out," her colleague teased, gesturing subtly toward Luke.

Seeing him walking toward them, Sophie panicked. "I have a date. I really can't."

Her coworker smirked. "Oh, that younger guy who keeps coming around. Nice work. Younger guys are the best—sweet but fiercely protective."

She suddenly cut herself off as Gavin bounded down the bleachers toward them.

Covering her mouth to hide a laugh, her coworker shooed her away. "Go have fun. I'll hold the fort down here."

Feeling as though she had just been granted a pardon, Sophie shot Gavin a look of pure gratitude. She had never been so desperate for his presence.