Three Years Later, He Came Back Begging novel Chapter 35

Lawrence thought back to Bonnie’s freshman year. She had no clue how to use any of these programs. All her assignments were sketches and watercolors done by hand, every line crisp, every painting clear and vibrant.

She’d even drawn a portrait of him once, carefully outlining his features, shading in the light and shadows until she was satisfied. In the end, she had bound her sketches into a notebook for him and told him to keep it safe.

He took that sketchbook with him when he moved to the United States.

It didn’t survive. In the end, it burned.

A weight pressed hard against Lawrence’s chest. He barely heard his colleague’s question. When they repeated themselves, he finally snapped out of it.

“The overall plan looks fine,” he said, eyes fixed on the screen. “What’s the difference in elevation between the east and west sides? How are you going to tackle the vertical layout?”

Jim gestured for Bonnie to pull up the cross-section and projected it on the big screen.

“Lawrence, the terrain has a big drop. There’s a forty-five-meter height difference between the east and west. Our idea is to use terraced levels, work the commercial underground, have sunken plazas, parking as well, so we don’t have to dig everything out…”

Lawrence was basically satisfied with the initial concept. The Municipal Design Institute in Cabinda was an industry giant—well-regarded across the country. That didn’t stop him from pointing out dozens of issues, from the major to the trivial.

Bonnie wrote everything down, her thoughts running in two directions at once. On one hand, she kept tracking Lawrence’s requirements; on the other, she couldn't help but wonder how much he had changed.

He’d graduated from business school. Did he go on to study architecture in America?

How did he know all this?

Lawrence’s comments cut right to the heart of things—from utilities to layout and structure, every suggestion pointed at something the design team hadn’t fully considered.

Bonnie lifted her hand and pressed it against her left ear. The constant ringing had been worse lately, and the voices in the room sounded far away and unreal.

When the noise finally faded, she caught Lawrence’s voice again.

It was steady, though there was a hint of tension there.

“We’ve been at this all morning. Why don’t our friends from the design institute stay for lunch in Evergreen Estates?"

That was the first time Abbot had seen Lawrence so rattled. He’d opened the phone case, so carefully, and pulled out a small photo from inside.

He’d wiped that picture over and over.

Abbot only got a glimpse, but he remembered the girl in the photo—stunning, young, full of life.

Now, the pale and silent woman sitting in the meeting room didn’t seem like her at all.

Bonnie opened her lunch box. Inside, there was sautéed yam with wood ear mushrooms, steamed chicken with shiitake, potatoes with short ribs, broccoli, and a bowl of radish and carp soup.

Her heart felt like it had been pricked. She almost felt dizzy.

Jim kept chatting between mouthfuls, muffled, “Food’s not bad here, way better than what we usually get. Bonnie, why aren’t you eating? Don’t let it get cold.”

Bonnie lowered her head and picked up her chopsticks. She couldn’t stop wondering what Lawrence was trying to do with all of this. Why keep crossing paths, why keep reaching out like this?