CHAPTERFIVE
1010 Words
The orientation began, but Sophie heard almost nothing. Her focus kept drifting back to him, to the way he carried himself like he owned everything around him. Which he did, and she should have known that he would be here. Of all the hospitals in the country, it had to be his.
When the session ended, Sophie stood up quickly, ready to leave before anything could happen.
“Sophie.”
Her name stopped her instantly, and the room went quiet again.
Louis’s voice was calm, but there was no room for argument. “Come to my office.”
Every head turned, their gazes glancing at the both of them. Sophie felt the heat of their stares, the silent questions, and the curiosity that lingered beneath their eyes.
She clenched her jaw slightly, this was exactly what she did not want, but she had no choice than to follow him while all eyes stared at them.
The walk to his office felt longer than it should have. Every step made her more aware of the situation she was in. By the time the door closed behind them, the tension between them had already reached its peak.
None of them spoke to one another when the door closed, and then out of nowhere, it exploded on Sophie’s face.
“What was that?” Louis asked in a sharp tone.
Sophie let out a short laugh. “You tell me.”
“I’ve been trying to reach you for months,” he said, his frustration was clearer now. “You ignored every one of my calls and all my messages. And now you show up here like nothing happened?”
Sophie crossed her arms, her eyes were cold as she stared at him. “Maybe you should focus on the woman you were talking to instead of worrying about me.”
Those were the last words Louis was expecting her to say. He frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“Don’t act like you don’t know,” Sophie snapped. “I heard you that night. The way you spoke to her, why didn't you tell me already, and you let me fall for you!” She tried to keep her tone neutral as she spoke, but her emotions were getting the best of her.
There was a brief silence before the realization hit him, and just like that, his anger faded away. So this was what this was about, this was the reason she had walked away and avoided him for so long.
“Sophie,” he said slowly, "you got it wrong.”
She shook her head immediately. “No, I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did,” Louis replied, his voice firm. “That wasn’t who you think it was.”
“Then who was it?” she challenged.
Louis held her gaze before he responded, “That was my mother I was speaking to.”
Sophie’s expression changed instantly, the anger slipping just enough for doubt to creep in.
“What?” she asked quietly.
“I was talking to my mother,” Louis repeated. “Someone I just reconnected with. I haven’t seen her in years.”
Silence filled the room as Sophie’s mind tried to replay everything she heard that night, but now it sounded different to her. She could recall the softness in his voice and the promises he was making to her. It sounded like he was talking to his lover.
Her chest tightened as she searched for the right words to say.
“I…” she started, but the words would not come out.
For the first time, she felt something she hated, she felt shame envelope her.
“I thought…” she stopped again, unable to finish.
Louis let out a small breath, his expression softening slightly. “You didn’t ask.”
Sophie looked away, her guard cracking in a way she was not used to.
“I don’t ask questions,” she said quietly.
“I know,” he replied.
Then another silence followed, but this one felt different. The tension was still there, but something deeper had come to the surface.
Louis stepped closer to her, lowering his voice as he spoke now. “That night was not nothing to me.”
Sophie’s heart skipped a beat as she listened to him, the heat from his body rolling off her in waves.
“It still isn’t,” he added.
She swallowed, her emotions rising faster than she could control.
“Well, this is complicated,” she said.
“I don’t care,” Louis replied.
That made her look at him, and for the first time, the feelings she had buried started pushing back to the surface, coming in stronger than before.
And this time, they were harder to ignore, walking away would not be easy anymore because she knew the truth and so did he.
"I...I need to leave now." She said, pulling away from him.
There was disappointment in his eyes, but he didn’t stop her.
Later that evening, as she left the hospital, the air felt heavier than usual. Sophie walked toward her car, her thoughts still tangled from everything that had happened.
She reached into her bag for her keys, then her phone buzzed. It was a message from an unknown number.
Sophie frowned slightly before opening it, her heart came to a halt as she read the first line of the message.
“I’ve been watching you.”
Her fingers tightened around the phone, and then another message came in.
“You really thought you could run forever?”
A chill ran down her spine as her eyes lingered on the text.
She looked around slowly, her instincts kicking in, her heart starting to race in a way that had nothing to do with speed.
Someone was out there watching and waiting for her, it was in that moment Sophie realized the truth she had been trying to forget was not gone. Her past had been there, waiting, and now, it had finally found her again.
- Writer
