“I would like to stay here for a little while longer,” Sophie said as she didn't feel like heading back just yet.
“All right, then.” As always, Tristan could never bring himself to say no to her.
He then took off his double-breasted coat and draped it over her shoulders as he continued, “You need to stay warm, or you'll catch a cold.”
“Okay.”
Because Tristan was only wearing dress shirt and slacks, Sophie feared he would catch a cold instead.
As such, she decided to head back after standing there for a bit.
There were a lot of stuff that she wanted to say, but she couldn't bring herself to speak her mind as she wasn't good at expressing herself. Even so, she believed that Josiah would know what she had in mind.
Sophie turned around and glanced at the graveyard once more after entering the car.
Realizing that she was reluctant to leave, Tristan gently held her hand and said, “We'll come to visit him often.”
The graveyard wasn't that far away, so he could easily visit Josiah's grave with her. That way, she wouldn't feel as sad.
“Yeah, you're right. Thanks.”
He is probably the only person who would remain by my side and never leave me...
Tristan leaned in close and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
“There's no need to thank me. I'm happy with being able to stay by your side.”
Sophie nuzzled against his chest as she said, “But I want to thank you.”
She still wasn't used to such unconditional acts of kindness.
“For now, let's go home.”
It had almost been a month since they returned to University of Medicine and Jipsdale University. Since the issue with the gene virus had been taken care of, Sophie decided to return to University of Medicine.
Sandra and Simon ran up to her the moment they saw her on campus.
“Where have you been, Sophie? You were gone for almost an entire month! Do you have any idea how worried we were? Did something bad happen to you?” Sandra bombarded Sophie with a series of questions while eyeing her from head to toe.
“I'm fine. I just had some business to take care of. There's nothing to worry about,” Sophie replied in a gentle tone.
“Did you get yourself into trouble or something? Please let me know if that's the case. I will help you out in any way I can!” Simon said as he had some influence in Jipsdale.
“I'm fine, really.”
Despite growing up in a fairly wealthy family, Simon wasn't a bad person.
Sandra and Simon had no idea what Sophie had been up to throughout the past month, but they respected her privacy enough to not pry into her personal affairs any further.
All that mattered was the fact that Sophie came back alive and well.
They didn't want to make her uncomfortable by asking her about stuff that she didn't feel like discussing.
Greta felt very uncomfortable when she saw how close Simon was with the two of them, but there wasn't much she could do about it.
Her feelings toward Simon had always been one-sided, and she knew it would be impossible to force someone into a relationship.
However, she simply couldn't bring herself to get over him and move on.
Sophie only had a two-hour class that afternoon. After finishing that class, she packed her stuff and was about to head back when Greta stopped her.
“Sophie, do you mind if I ask you a question?”
Sophie frowned in displeasure as she did not like the way things were going.
She hated trouble and couldn't be bothered to waste her time on people she disliked.
“I am not obligated to answer your questions.”
“It will only take a minute, Sophie. I won't bother you again if you just answer this one question of mine,” Greta insisted.
Although Greta didn't pose much of a threat to her, Sophie decided to answer her question anyway to avoid unnecessary conflicts.
“What is it?”
“Do you like Simon?”
“We're just friends.”
Since Simon was no longer hostile toward her, Sophie figured she could classify him as a friend.
Not wanting to waste any more of her time, Sophie said, “There, are you happy now? If yes, please step aside. I still have some business to attend to.”
She had vowed to outperform Whitley Group within three months.
As she spent a month dealing with the gene virus incident, she did not make a lot of progress and would need to pick up the pace.
Greta was overjoyed when she heard that.
“We can be friends as long as you don't have feelings for Simon!”
“I don't need a friend like you.”
If a friendship requires conditions to be fulfilled beforehand, then it simply isn't genuine. I have no need for such friends.
Greta's expression turned gloomy as she exclaimed, “What's with that attitude of yours, Sophie? Do you really think that highly of yourself? You should consider yourself honored that I'm willing to be your friend!”
Having wasted a minute dealing with Greta, Sophie simply shot her cold glare and walked off without saying anything.
Greta stamped her feet in anger and frustration as she couldn't stand being ignored.
One of the female classmates, who happened to witness their conversation earlier, told her, “You should just forget about befriending Sophie. There's no way an arrogant person like her would ever accept you as her friend.”
Greta let out a disdainful snort in response. “Hmph! Whatever! It doesn't bother me anyway!”
She couldn't care less about Sophie as long as the latter didn't develop feelings for Simon.
Noticing that Simon and Sandra were making their way over, Greta ran up to them and said, “Hey, Simon! How about we have dinner together?”
Not wanting to waste any more of Greta's time, Simon decided to be honest about his feelings toward her. “I don't think we're that close, Greta. We used to be classmates in high school, nothing more. I know you have feelings for me, but I need you to understand that I do not feel the same about you. You should just give up on me.”
Sandra shot him a surprised glance when she heard what he said.
This guy sure doesn't hesitate when it comes to rejecting girls! Hmm... Didn't Sophie reject guys the same way? Maybe they've spent so much time together that she's rubbing off on him...
Greta was not expecting him to embarrass her in front of everyone like that. “You... I'm just asking you to have dinner with me, Simon! You didn't have to go that far!” she exclaimed with reddened eyes.
“And I just don't feel like having dinner with you. Also, please stop bothering Sophie in the future. She has nothing to do with me not reciprocating your feelings.”
“Is Sophie all you care about? She doesn't even like you, Simon! You're nothing but a friend to her!”
“And what does that have to do with you?”
I hate people who think too highly of themselves! They go around acting as though everyone has to do as they say!
“Forget it, Simon. Let's go!” As much as Sandra disliked Greta, she felt that Simon was being a little overboard with his words.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Pursuing Her novel (Sophie and Tristan)
That's all ??? How about cecelia & sean..?? I want moreee~...