Chapter 157: No Rush, Keep It for Now
Sophia had mixed feelings about Benjamin.
After all, he had once been her best friend, so she nodded in response to his greeting.
Benjamin hadn't seen her since their last meal at Hidden Feast.
Remembering that he had said he really missed her as a friend the night before, only to leave Empire City the next day, he explained, "My grandmother got sick. After we finished dinner that day, I rushed back to Port City overnight."
He explained why he left without saying goodbye—the main reason being that he didn't have her phone number.
William's sharp eyes studied the two people in front of him, a nerve tightening in his mind.
Benjamin took the initiative to greet him, "Mr. Smith, we meet again."
William's tone was cold, "Yes."
His eyes, filled with cold emotion, swept past Sophia as he said to Benjamin, "Excuse me."
Benjamin stepped aside.
William, followed by his two secretaries, exited the elevator and walked straight toward his room.
Sophia hadn't brought any other assistants—only Joe was with her.
His room was right next to hers.
William's room was directly across from hers, adjacent to Benjamin's room.
Seeing her, Benjamin was in no hurry to leave. He had his two assistants go ahead while he followed Sophia toward her room.
"Sophia, my grandmother knew I'd seen you and asked me to bring you some gifts."
"They're in my room. I'll go get them for you now."
Sophia's hand suddenly tightened on her bag, her steps pausing slightly as her gaze settled on Benjamin's calm face.
Benjamin looked puzzled, "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"
It seemed Benjamin didn't know what his grandmother had done to her in the past. Of course not—how could Isolde Franklin bear to make her grandson Benjamin sad?
Sophia lowered her eyes, hiding her emotions. "No rush, keep them with you for now."
Isolde was an old friend of Sophia's grandmother. She was the one who had personally brought people to Rain Village to take Sophia to Port City.
But three years later, she was also the one who forced Sophia to leave Port City.
Benjamin vaguely sensed the coldness in Sophia's expression. Thinking of her sudden departure back then, alarm bells went off in his mind.
Could it be that his grandmother was also involved in this, not just his mother?
He looked carefully at Sophia's expression, only to see that she had already composed herself, showing no sign of anything unusual.
Sophia didn't want to discuss it further. She said goodbye to Benjamin and returned to her room.
Joe also went into the suite next door.
Only Benjamin remained standing in the hallway, lost in thought. He hurried back to his room and contacted his friend Dwayne Chapman to investigate what happened in the past.
"Dwayne, do me a favor."
In the room next to his, William was listening to his two secretaries arrange the upcoming schedule, but his mind had already wandered.
William said, "You can go back now."
Molly and the male secretary exchanged glances, gathered their things, and quickly left.
The room returned to silence.
William thought about the information he had uncovered earlier.
Sophia had lived at the Franklin Villa in Port City for three years and attended school with Benjamin. The two were excellent students who worked well together and won many awards.
But just before the SAT, Sophia had dragged a small suitcase back to Rain Village.
She took the exam in Forton County and even ranked first in Forton County that year, winning prize money.
However, the very next day, she transferred that money into Isolde's account.
Not only that, but throughout her four years of college, apart from her demanding studies, she spent all her remaining time working.
Whatever paid the most, that's what she did.
Even the bar video that Hannah had deliberately leaked was because the bar offered cash rewards for every bottle sold.
Most importantly: sell it that day, get paid that day!
If she could sell a bottle of expensive wine, she'd get an even higher commission—the more valuable the wine, the higher the commission.
Sophia worked at that bar for six months and was the top seller every single month.
It showed just how hard she worked during those six months.
William saw the amounts she transferred to Isolde—nearly all of her part-time income.
No wonder when he first met her, she was not only thin but also pale, looking chronically malnourished.
He looked at the now-dilapidated school in the distance—the only middle school in Forton County, and the place where Sophia had once studied.
In the room across the hall, Sophia also stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the county town.
Compared to over ten years ago, it was much more prosperous.
But she still couldn't forget that rainy night when she returned from Port City with less than two hundred dollars to her name. To save money, she didn't stay at a hotel.
Even when she returned to Rain Village two years ago, she rarely came to Forton County's downtown area, mostly staying in the village.
Times had changed, and everything was moving in a better direction.
Sophia rested in her room for a while, then grabbed her bag and went out. She didn't call Joe—she wanted to walk around the school alone.
Dusk was falling.
Nightlife here wasn't very lively, and tourism wasn't well developed.
There weren't many people on the streets.
Sophia walked until she reached the school gate.
When she followed her grandmother back to Rain Village, her student registration was transferred from Empire City. She had attended middle school here for three years.
Later, she was taken to Port City, and under the Franklin family's power and wealth, she and Benjamin were deskmates for three years.
Scenes from the past replayed before her eyes. Sophia's thoughts wandered, and she didn't even notice the footsteps following closely behind her.
She wandered aimlessly around the area. As she passed a small alley, a sleazy voice called out from behind her.
"Hey, beautiful, all alone?"
Sophia calmly turned around.
Even the streetlight couldn't hide the man's foul-smelling, yellow teeth or the lust in his eyes.
Seeing her turn, amazement flashed in the man's eyes—he hadn't expected this lone woman to be so beautiful.
Full of evil intentions, he didn't notice the cold indifference in Sophia's eyes.
"I'm alone too. It's cold at night—want some company?"
As he reached out his hand, he was kicked flying from behind in the next second.
William had spotted Sophia when she came over, and he'd also seen the man following her the whole way.
"Fuck, which bastard dared to kick me!"
The man scrambled up only to meet William's dark eyes. The sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up, and his black leather shoe pressed hard on the man's knee, twisting his face in pain.
Already suffering from osteoporosis, the man was beaten down in just a few moves.
William said, "Still want company?"
"No, no more! I don't need company anymore!"
The man practically ran out of the alley, limping, terrified of getting another beating from William.
Seeing Sophia standing there calmly and unhurried, William felt a flash of anger. "It's the middle of the night—instead of resting at the hotel, what are you doing wandering around out here?"
But just as he finished speaking, she suddenly reached out her hand toward him, her wrist particularly eye-catching under the streetlight.