CHAPTER XXXI
The moment Sophia realized what she said, some of their course mates were sending snickers and warning glares their way to reduce their voices or shut up.
“You got kidnapped? How?” Maya whispered.
“I’ll tell you about it later. Please, I need to read my Nana’s letter,” She began to search for the letter in her bag.
Maya and Alessia stared at each other before nodding slowly. “Okay,” They chorused.
“Thanks” Sophia whispered and tore open the white envelope. She then unfolded the note and started reading, her eyes running over the tired handwriting of her Nana.
Soph,
You had me worried for days after your sudden disappearance hope when you read this, you’re in good health. I hope you’re as okay as I was told. But you know, I’m a bit upset with you. You didn’t tell me you were going to fly out of the country with your boyfriend for important work with him. You didn’t even tell me you had a boyfriend. How about your studies then? I hope you’ll be able to adjust with your studies when you both come back.
Anyway, I hope you’re happy with him. You’re a very understanding girlfriend to even ignore your studies for him. I’m a bit upset about that too, but I’m proud of you. You’re finally growing.
Ahh! You also didn’t tell me your boyfriend had plans for my treatment. I know you won’t be back when I leave for London for my knee surgery. He said you wanted it to be a surprise. Well, he even came to see me at home and said you were sending your regards before you both left. I still don’t understand why you chose not to see or visit me before leaving. I hope he’s helping with your nightmares; you know?
I’m cringing at my poor attempt in writing this letter right now and my handwriting. I know this isn’t the best letter either. Anyways, bye. Take care of yourself and make sure you’re there at the airport when I return back.
Your Nana,
Bye.
Sophia folded the paper and stuffed it in her bag, tears glistening in her eyes. Her Nana didn’t exactly point out what she wanted to, but Sophia clearly understood it. It was even harder that her Nana had been lied to. Boyfriend? Was that the excuse Chase could come up with?
But it didn’t matter, right? He helped her Nana. He didn’t let the old lady get worked up while looking for her. And as a plus, he had even paid for her treatment. The knee surgery she and her Nana had chosen to ignore.
Sophie felt a familiar warm hand on her shoulder before the owner spoke up. “Wanna talk about it?” It was Alessia.
A lone tear slid down her cheek. “He’s paying for my Nana’s treatment. He’s paying for her knee surgery,”
“Who?” Maya asked.
“Chase,” Sophia wiped her tears with the back of her palm.
He was so confusing and bipolar. One moment, he was rude and cold, and the other, he would be the total opposite. She couldn’t even understand him.
It was as if he only did bad things to her and good things to others around her.
“You’re confusing me; you know?” Alessia said, earning a glare from Maya. “I’m not good at fixing puzzles. I want you to do us good by explaining this whole situation,” None of them could take her words to heart. She was only saying it to lighten the mood.
“I-,” Sophia gathered her things and stood up. “I’ll tell you about it. But not in here,”
“Yess!,” Alessia grinned and stood up. “Thank goodness we aren’t having any lectures till the next two hours, and you’re going to tell us how you’ve been treated there because you don’t look like someone who has been kidnapped,”
“Alessia,” Maya gave her a stern look.
That was their usual lifestyle. Maya, being the mother and caring one of them all while Alessia being the carefree one. She always got scolded by Maya, but it never decreased their love for each other. They all loved each other to the moon and back.
Alessia rolled her eyes and continued speaking, totally ignoring Maya. “You’re also going to tell me about Lucas Romano ” She placed her chin on her fist and stared into the space dreamily. “I’ve always had this crush on him since forever”
“Aren’t you supposed to have a boyfriend?” Sophia asked.
Alessia frowned and looked at the both of them. “That fucktard is a boring ass now. Trust me, you don’t want to know”
They all laughed.
~~~
“Buona fortuna sorellina,”
Lucas threw another punch on the boxing bag in the gym as his own torturous voice played in his mind.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck,”
Fuck his self. Fuck his lips. Fuck his mouth. Fuck his heart. Fuck his emotions. Fuck him. Dammit. Fuck Chase.
Chase.
He was the reason. He was the one that had made Lucas do what he did earlier. He asked him to walk Sophia to her class and wish her good luck. To make her happy. That was all Chase told him to do. He didn’t ask him to call her baby sister. It was his darned heart that made him do it. Being so close to her and helping her hold her bag and books had made him feel like that. Like… like an older brother protecting his little sister. Something he had never done for Valerie because she was home-schooled. And it made him call her baby sister.
All because of Chase Romano.
Chase had told him that even if he hated Sophia, nothing would ever change the fact that she was still his…
No. No.
He shook his head. He wasn’t going to think about it. He wasn’t going to think of, or even acknowledge Sophia Bennett as that. She was the result of an affair. An affair between his own mother and Agosti Bennett.
He was meant to hate her. She was using the same charm on every single fucking body in that mansion. That was the same charm her father had used on…
No. No.
Agosti was the cause of all their problems. Sophia was meant to be innocent. She was just unlucky to have a father like Agosti.
He threw another punch on the bag, ignoring the blood seeping from his knuckles. “Darn it! Fuck you Agosti! Fuck you!”
Immediately, the door to the gym flew open hitting the wall with a bang.
“Lucas!” Valerie rushed to him and dragged him. “Stop it! You’re bleeding!”
Lucas shoved her away and kept on punching the bag.
“Buona fortuna sorellina,”
Seeing this, Valerie knew he was going to end up with something worse than a bloodied knuckle. She had to calm him down, so she did the first thing that came to her mind.Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.
She pushed the boxing bag and stepped in front of Lucas, earning a punch from him across her cheek. That was the moment Lucas stopped.
It stung. Badly. But Valerie didn’t move. She stayed there, rooted to the spot. “Why did you stop? Continue. You needed something to punch, didn’t you? See me. Punch my face,”
“What the fuck is wrong with you, Valerie?” Lucas snapped, pulling her in to check the bruise he had left on her. She had a broken nose. “You shouldn’t have stepped in there. Now take a look at your face”
“I took a lot more worse than this during training, remember?” Tears welled up in her eyes. “But this doesn’t hurt as much as seeing you do that to yourself”
Lucas stepped back and ran his hand through his hair. “I-I called her baby sister”
Lucas stuttered and he hated himself for that. He wasn’t taught to do that. Sophia was the reason for that. Valerie stuttered for the first time when Sophia came. Luciano did, and he had done it too.
Sophia had been the reason for a lot since she walked into their lives. That should make him hate her, but he couldn’t bring himself to do that again. Ever since that fucking hug, all his reasons to hate Sophia had all flown out of the window.
“Sophia?” Valerie’s excited voice pulled him out of his thoughts. “You called her baby sister today? Is that why you’re upset?”
Lucas was taken aback for a while and he abruptly turned to her. Valerie wasn’t meant to know the truth. Why didn’t she sound surprised, confused or shocked?
“Do you-,”
Valerie cut him in. “Do I know the truth?” She smiled and crossed her arms over her shoulder. “Yes, I know. I know the truth that you and Chase have been hiding for eighteen years. The truth that Sop is our sister”