I Walked Away Seven Years Too Late But Right on Time novel Chapter 86

Sophie shook her head. She was in no mood to travel right now.

"There's a three-month probationary period, and the pay is a bit lower, so I need to start budgeting. We should probably cut back on eating out."

"I'll pay for groceries and crash your place for meals. Deal? I eat a lot, so I can pay double."

Gavin was still trying his best to make her smile. "We'll go grocery shopping tomorrow. You can be my personal chef, and I'll be your chauffeur. How does that sound?"

Sophie managed to squeeze out a faint smile.

"Sophie, I just want you to be happy."

She had been visibly burdened the last few days, and seeing her force a smile made his heart ache.

"There's just... some stuff," Sophie paused. "Gavin, I'm sorry. I always believed two people should be completely honest with each other, but this is something I really just don't want to talk about."

"Okay. Don't force yourself."

Gavin squeezed her hand and smiled warmly. "Just remember, I'm right here by your side."

By Monday, HR still hadn't called Sophie in for a meeting.

On Tuesday, Sophie proactively went to speak with the HR manager. The manager was incredibly polite, asking if she was unsatisfied with her salary or her position. "If you have any demands, just name them. Everything is negotiable."

Their eagerness to keep her was blatantly obvious. But Sophie knew her own worth; she wasn't some irreplaceable corporate prodigy. If they wanted her to stay, it certainly wasn't because of her outstanding talent.

This only confirmed her suspicions. She kept her tone polite, claiming she had family matters to attend to and different plans for her career.

Seeing her absolute resolve, the manager finally relented, telling her they would process her paperwork on Friday.

Sophie diligently handed over her ongoing tasks to her colleagues and passed her client list to her manager.

On Wednesday, the entire company had their physical exams. Instead of letting employees go to the hospital on their own, the company charted buses to take everyone together, calling roll one by one.

Sophie's suspicions grew by the second.

The very day she filled out the employee registration form, Harold had managed to track down her home address.

If he could find her address, he could naturally pull her mother's phone number off that same form.

Watching her mother act so on edge the last few days, constantly asking how to block unknown numbers, Sophie had already suspected Harold was the one harassing her.

While waiting in line for the blood draw, she pulled Gwen aside. "Can you do me a favor?"

On Friday, Sophie was called into Mr. Baxter's office.

"HR tells me you're absolutely set on leaving?"

Sophie nodded, repeating the exact same excuses she had given the HR manager.

"That boy is far too reckless."

Arthur looked at Harold with an expression of deep apology.

Harold patted Arthur's shoulder.

Compared to November, when Luke had been slapped with two critical condition notices in two days, this was a minor inconvenience. Harold was far more concerned about his daughter Eileen's reaction.

Eleanor, reading Harold's mind, quickly added, "We haven't told Eileen yet. Victoria thinks it's best to keep her in the dark for now."

Harold nodded in agreement.

Eileen had been born two months premature. That day, Victoria had a screaming match with him, sending her into early labor.

She was rushed to the hospital and had an emergency C-section. Victoria suffered severe postpartum hemorrhaging and lost the ability to have any more children.

Believing Eileen would be their one and only child, the entire Harper family spoiled her rotten. If she asked for the stars, they would figure out a way to pull them out of the sky.

Growing up, there wasn't a single thing she wanted that she couldn't have. You would think a child pampered like that wouldn't obsess over anything, but for some reason, she was clinically fixated on Luke.

Over the years, it wasn't that Harold didn't know Luke was unwilling. But his daughter absolutely refused to marry anyone else. He knew forced love never lasted, but he had no choice but to force it anyway.

He glanced at Luke on the hospital bed, sighed, and said, "I'm going back to check on Eileen. Get some rest."