I Walked Away Seven Years Too Late But Right on Time novel Chapter 39

Sophie's childhood apartment was tiny, and the living room was especially cramped. The small dining table could barely fit four people.

Sarah apologized politely to Gwen, "The place is a bit small, I'm so sorry."

Gwen waved her hands quickly. "Please don't apologize, Mrs. Sullivan. I should be the one apologizing for crashing your lunch."

Jason held his daughter on his lap and gave Sophie an apologetic smile. "I had no idea you were bringing a guest. I shouldn't have just dropped by like this."

"Why is everyone being so polite today?" Sophie laughed, gesturing for everyone to start eating.

"Auntie Sophie, are you married?" Mia suddenly shrieked, staring wide-eyed at the ring on Sophie's hand.

Sarah's face went pale. She immediately grabbed her daughter's hand to inspect it.

There, on Sophie's left ring finger, sat a very real-looking diamond ring.

"You... what is the meaning of this?" Sarah's voice trembled, terrified that her daughter had done something reckless again in a moment of emotional distress.

"Mom, I bought it myself. It's just a decoy ring. It's fake," Sophie quickly explained.

"Why on earth would a single girl walk around wearing a wedding ring? Take it off this instant," Sarah scolded sharply.

Sophie pulled the ring off her ring finger and slid it onto her index finger, wiggling it at her mother.

"Is this better? Wearing it on my index finger means I'm single."

Sarah shot her a withering glare but held her tongue, not wanting to make a scene in front of Jason and Gwen.

She was terrified that after her recent heartbreak, her daughter would either refuse to date entirely or impulsively marry the first guy she met.

The table settled back into a peaceful rhythm, save for Gwen, who had silently observed the entire exchange between Sarah and Jason. She sat there suppressing a smirk, looking like she had just unraveled the secrets of the universe.

After lunch, Sophie helped her mother clear the plates into the kitchen and prepared tea for their guests.

"Mom, I'm heading to the furniture showroom this afternoon to pay off the final balance."

Before she left for her business trip, she had only paid the deposit using a maxed-out credit card. After selling the jewelry Luke had given her, she had bought the decoy ring and had enough left over to cover the remaining balance.

"The balance is paid, and the furniture has already been delivered. We're just waiting on you to pick out the curtains."

"Where did you get the money?" Sophie was stunned. The renovations had completely drained her mother's life savings. Both mother and daughter were practically broke right now.

"Mr. Jenkins advanced me two years of salary. He said the new furniture needs time to off-gas the paint fumes, so it has to sit for a few months before we can move in."

"Mom, why didn't you wait for me to get back? Owing favors like that is complicated."

"I tried to refuse, but Mr. Jenkins insisted. He meant well; he just wanted us to be able to move into the new place sooner."

Sophie couldn't argue with that. She carried the brewed tea out to the living room.

"I'm going to head out. I need to catch up on sleep before work tomorrow."

Gwen took a sip of tea and stood up to leave.

"I'll go with you. I need to head over to the new apartment and measure the windows for the curtains anyway," Sophie said, standing up as well.

"I already measured them for you. I sent the dimensions to your phone."

Jason pulled up a photo on his phone. It was a detailed, hand-drawn floor plan with precise measurements for the windows and walls in the living room and both bedrooms.

"Thank you so much. I guess I can just head straight to the fabric market then."

"I need to stop by the office anyway. I can drop you off," Jason offered, standing up.

"Do you think you could drop me off on the way, too?" Gwen chimed in with a hopeful smile.

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