I Walked Away Seven Years Too Late But Right on Time novel Chapter 79

As Sophie turned her back on him, the razor-sharp hostility in her eyes completely evaporated, replaced by a hollow, crushing numbness.

The afternoon rush of office workers poured out of the skyscraper, brushing past her as she walked against the current. Everything in front of her blurred into meaningless shapes. The entire world felt like a glitching simulation. None of this could possibly be real.

Looking over her shoulder, the crowd of onlookers had already dispersed, and the man was just sliding into the back seat of a sleek black sedan.

It had to be fake. Sophie repeated the mantra to herself like a lifeline.

She kept her head down and practically sprinted into her building's lobby, only for a figure to suddenly step directly into her path and snatch her arm.

A scream ripped up her throat, but the man whispered harshly, "It's me."

Without missing a beat, he dragged her aggressively toward the emergency stairwell.

Sophie looked up at Luke Lawrence. Her brain was still completely short-circuiting from the massive emotional bombshell, the shock and rage festering in her chest with nowhere to go. And now, of all times, Luke had to throw himself right into the crossfire.

Sophie kicked him hard in the shin. "Psycho!"

Luke didn't flinch. He simply hauled her flush against his chest. "Do you really want the whole building to see us like this?"

"Shameless," Sophie spat. Glancing at the endless stream of people pouring out of the elevators, she forcefully suppressed her rage. "I can walk by myself. Don't touch me."

The heavy fire door clicked shut behind them, and Sophie immediately shoved Luke backward with both hands.

"I already signed the damn paper! She gets to go back to you, scot-free. What more do you people want? What more can you possibly take from me?"

Luke didn't step back. Instead, he closed the distance again, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous whisper. "What is going on between you and Harold?"

Sophie shot him a venomous glare. He had obviously witnessed the slap in the plaza.

"Exactly what it looked like," she replied with freezing indifference.

"Sophie, Harold is an elder I have immense respect for. There is no way he would do something like that. You..."

Luke couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence, instead gripping her shoulders tightly to force her to look him in the eye.

"He wouldn't do something like that? So it must be me? You think I seduced your beloved mentor, your precious future father-in-law, just to get revenge on you and Eileen?"

Sophie finished his ugly accusation for him, a cynical, mocking smile curling at the corner of her lips.

"Why did you suddenly agree to sign the waiver today? Last night, I had Gwen pass along a message. I waited for you at the spot until eleven o'clock, but you never showed. Harold came back to the hotel very late last night too. I was worried you..."

The memory of walking into her apartment and finding Harold looming over her terrified mother flashed through Sophie's mind. How did she ever get tangled up with this parasitic, unhinged family in the first place? It was all because of the man standing right in front of her.

"Sophie."

Seeing her completely zone out, staring right through him, Luke grew frantic. "What exactly happened between you two?"

"Sophie, if you never want to see me again, at least let me finish. Wait for me tonight. Listen to the whole truth, and then you can decide."

The Harpers' flight was scheduled an hour before Luke's. After watching the entire family clear security, Luke canceled his own ticket and raced straight to the coffee shop they had agreed upon.

These were secrets he had buried deep in his chest for years. If he didn't tell her tonight, he knew he would never get another chance.

"The first time I went to Harold's house, I was eleven. That year, my mom was diagnosed with cancer, and we couldn't afford the surgery. My dad embezzled a massive amount of money from his company, and the auditors caught him at the end of the year. If they pressed charges, he was looking at ten years in prison. Harold stepped in, covered the stolen funds, and buried the entire scandal. He literally saved my family's life."

Luke looked up at Sophie. She sat completely motionless, her face devoid of all emotion as she stared blankly at her coffee cup.

Luke swallowed hard and kept talking.

"My dad dragged me to his house. He told me that for the rest of my life, I had to treat Harold and Victoria with the exact same filial devotion I owed my own parents. I stood trembling in their living room, thanking them with everything I had for saving us. I swore I would respect them forever, and that I would protect Eileen like my own flesh and blood."

"I was a kid. I had no power to repay a man like Harold. So, the only thing I could do was be nice to his daughter. I bought her snacks, played her stupid games, and whenever she wanted a piggyback ride, I carried her until my back gave out. She was only five back then. She was so incredibly clingy, like a little shadow. Everywhere I went, she had to follow."

"If I had any idea what it would turn into, I would have sprinted in the opposite direction."

Luke planted his elbows on the table, burying his fingers deep into his hair. He rarely looked this completely broken.

"When she was six or seven, she started telling everyone she was going to marry me when she grew up. Everyone just laughed it off as a cute childhood crush. I was twelve. I was already getting love letters from girls in my class. I never took a single word she said seriously."