Chapter 140: The Smith Family Matchmaking Banquet!
Sophia didn't want Benjamin to keep pestering her about this.
She turned around and said seriously and calmly, "The reason I don't want to go abroad is simple - because I want to stay in the country."
"Mrs. Evelyn Franklin was very kind to me and took good care of me. When I left Port City, I left you a letter, so I didn't just vanish without a word, right?"
Wasn't it?
Benjamin remembered coming home excitedly, wanting to share with her that he'd gotten a recommendation letter. With their consistently tied first-place grades and competition awards, they would definitely get into their dream schools. But instead, he found an empty room.
No, not exactly empty.
All the clothes and jewelry the Franklin family had bought for her were left behind. She only took her own things, along with a letter on the desk.
[Benjamin, I've returned to Rain Village. Don't worry about me.]
Snapping out of the memory, Benjamin looked into Sophia's eyes. He knew something must have happened that he didn't know about.
But he had asked his grandmother, asked his parents - they all said they didn't know, only that Sophia had gone back to her hometown.
Later, at a family dinner, Evelyn had too much to drink and let something slip, saying that although Sophia was nice, she wasn't good enough for him.
That's when he got a clue. When Evelyn sobered up, and he asked her about it, she said she didn't remember what she'd said.
Benjamin had been outstanding since childhood, and with his prominent family background, even his friends were mostly there because of his status. Although Sophia didn't talk much back then, he could tell she genuinely considered him a friend.
He also genuinely considered Sophia a close friend.
They went to and from school together, did homework together, researched topics they were interested in together. He was amazed by her thinking and really enjoyed every day with her - it felt like finding a soulmate.
He wanted to tell the whole world that Sophia was his best friend!
But in the end, he was the only one left in the Franklin family.
"Sophia..."
Sophia thought of Evelyn kneeling and crying, and steeled herself to reject Benjamin's attempt to continue the conversation.
"Benjamin."
He hadn't heard her call him Benjamin in over ten years.
Benjamin stared at her intently.
Sophia said, "It's getting late. You should head back and rest."
She smiled and nodded politely, looking at the children's curious eyes, and said slowly, "Say bye-bye to Mr. Franklin."
The children said bye-bye in unison.
The car door closed, and soon drove out of Benjamin's sight.
He picked up the business card nearby and handed it to his assistant when he came over, telling him to keep it safe - they might need it later.
Sophia had told the restaurant manager in advance to refund Benjamin's payment an hour later.
When Benjamin got back to the hotel and saw the refund notification, he immediately had his assistant contact the restaurant to ask about it.
When he learned it was Sophia's instruction, Benjamin's heart sank into a bitter whirlpool. So...
They had grown this distant from each other.
-
When Sophia returned to the Johnson Villa, she saw William's car.
The black Maybach was parked under the streetlight, in exactly the same spot where Benjamin had parked a couple days ago.
She didn't know if it was a coincidence, or if William had learned something from the bodyguards who stayed here to protect the children.
Peace Group had several new projects coming in, and William had been working overtime at the company day and night, so he'd been coming to the Johnson Villa less often.
"Daddy."
James and Michael hadn't seen much of him lately. As soon as they got out of the car, they ran toward William, their faces full of excitement at seeing him.
Emily instinctively ran a couple steps with them, her little pigtails bouncing, when she suddenly realized something was wrong.
He's not her daddy - why was she running after James?
Emily stopped abruptly. Because she stopped so suddenly, her body swayed, and Sophia quickly grabbed her clothes.
She looked up and called out sweetly, "Mommy, carry me."
Sophia picked her up, tapped her nose playfully, and teased, "Little lazybones, we're already at the front door, and you still want me to carry you."
Emily kissed her.
"Love Mommy."
"supa... love Mommy."
Sophia was amused by Emily and corrected her pronunciation, "It's 'super,' watch your pronunciation."
Emily nodded and repeated, "supa!"
Emily looked at her with blinking eyes, clearly waiting for Sophia's praise. Sophia shook her head helplessly.
"Baby, looks like Mommy needs to send you to school soon."
At the mention of school, Emily's eyes lit up. She nodded and said, "With James, together."
This little girl who wasn't even in school yet was just too cute.
"At your age, you can't go to school with James yet.When you're old enough, you'll go to the same school, even if you're in different grades."
Sophia carried Emily toward the villa, not interrupting James and Michael's time with William.
William caught James and Michael as they ran over.
"Why are you running? What if you fall?"
James smiled sheepishly, "Daddy, I missed you so much."
Michael said cheerfully, "Daddy, we haven't seen you in so long. Did you go on another business trip?"
Every time William went on business trips, Michael wouldn't see him for a couple of days. He was used to it by now - after all, William always brought him and James gifts when he came back. He wondered if there were any this time.
Today, he cared about something more important than gifts.
Michael said quietly, "Daddy, did you see the message I sent you and rush back right away?"
William patted his head, "No, not a business trip. The company's been busy lately, so Daddy's been working overtime at the office. As soon as I finished, I came to see you."
Michael was a bit disappointed. He'd thought William had rushed back after seeing his message.
"Come on, Daddy will take you back inside."
William didn't see Sophia in the living room. Allan told him she'd taken Emily back to her room. He glanced at the time - it was indeed Emily's bedtime.
Earlier, when Emily had started running toward him but then stopped, William thought Sophia must have told her not to get close to him.
His long lashes lowered, and he felt a faint sadness.
Hearing that William would read them a bedtime story, James and Michael immediately went upstairs to bathe. They each had their own room, but to hear the bedtime story together, Michael brought his pillow to sleep with James.
William watched James and Michael fall asleep, closed the book, turned off the bedside lamp, and quietly left the children's room.
Across the hall was Sophia's master bedroom.
The door was tightly closed, she clearly had no intention of seeing him.
William stood in the dim hallway for a long while before leaving. Hearing the car start downstairs, Sophia gradually closed her eyes.
A few days later, it was time for the matchmaking party Holden had arranged for William. She hadn't expected him to send her an invitation, too.
Martin Collins, the butler of the Smith Manor, personally delivered it.
"Ms. Johnson, Mr. Holden Smith misses you very much. He heard you have a daughter now and specifically asked you to bring her along."