Chapter 5

Kevin froze, his heart skipping a beat.

When he came back to his senses, his brows furrowed. He stepped forward and took Sophia's arm to hold her steady as he asked, "How did you get hurt?"

Mason also noticed the state Sophia was in. Upon recalling what he'd said just now, he pressed his lips together, feeling an inexplicable sense of unease and regret.

He didn't mean what he had said earlier. He was just angry that she no longer paid him attention or watched him while he practiced the violin.

However, Christina smiled and said affectionately, "Kev, even though we don't know how Ms. Jensen got injured, we should have Dr. Shaw check on her first. He examined me the last time I got injured, too."

She was referring to Marcus Shaw, Kevin's childhood friend.

Marcus was one of the pillars of the hospital, making it difficult to schedule an appointment with him. Apart from those who were close to him, including Kevin's relatives, everyone else had to get in line. However, he had tended to Christina the last few times she got injured.

This was Christina's way of reminding Sophia just how important she was to Kevin.

However, the only thing on Sophia's mind was her decision to leave. Since Marcus was one of the most skilled doctors, she would recover more quickly under his care, meaning she'd be able to leave on time.

"Sure," Sophia said, smiling, choosing not to reject the suggestion.

Soon, her wounds were cleaned and bandaged. Marcus also had the nurse give her a tetanus shot to prevent any possible infection and gave her an IV drip since she'd lost some blood earlier.

Christina had other matters to attend to, so she left the hospital much earlier.

Perhaps the medication had a sedative effect, or maybe it was because she'd slept poorly last night, but Sophia soon fell deeply asleep.

Marcus looked at Kevin before abruptly commenting, "Her injuries this time aren't as serious as the ones back during her freshman year."

"What about her freshman year?" Kevin asked, frowning.

"You don't know about it?" Marcus raised his brows. "During her freshman year, after you stood up for Christina, someone tried to cause trouble for you. It was Sophia who went with her bodyguards to stop them.

"Later, those people came after her to get even with her, but she and Erin took them all down. She was pretty badly hurt in the process, but she still warned them to stay away from you and not to disturb you."

At the time, the Jensen family hadn't fallen from grace yet, and Sophia was still the proud and reckless heiress she used to be.

She had stood out for her radiant beauty, passionate personality, and impressive capabilities. Naturally, she had her fair share of suitors, but everyone knew she was in love with Kevin.

Kevin was taken aback.

At the time, someone had been picking on Christina, and he'd come to her defence because he couldn't stand it. The other party had leveled threats at him, but he thought that they'd been frightened off by the Chase family's influence in the city.

Only now did he know that it was because of Sophia.

A faint bitterness crossed Marcus' expression before he patted Kevin on the shoulder and offered his advice. "I think there's some kind of misunderstanding about what happened between you and Sophia. As your friend, allow me to say this.

"Sophia's not the type to resort to such schemes. Even though the Jensen family had hit rock bottom at the time, she would never have done such a thing. Sometimes, being too blindly biased against someone will only end up causing you to lose more than you can imagine."

He then left without saying another word.

Kevin pulled out a cigarette, but he spotted the "No Smoking" sign. After glancing at the sleeping Sophia, he ended up not lighting the cigarette.

She seemed to be sleeping fitfully. Against her fair skin, the trembling of her eyelashes was quite noticeable. It seemed like she was feeling uneasy.

Even though she was injured, her lips remained as vibrant as ever, and her features were no less delicately beautiful.

She looked just as she had when he first met her.

Kevin's eyes darkened.

Sophia had started following him around ever since they were in high school. The Chases and the Jensens had a close relationship, but he never cared much for her, the somewhat spoiled girl who was at most like a younger sister to him.

Later, the Jensen family fell apart, and she married him after becoming pregnant. He'd assumed that it had all been part of her scheme, but what if it was as Marcus had said? What if it were all just a misunderstanding?

That possibility made Kevin even more frustrated.

Withdrawing his gaze, he texted Morgan. "Look into that night when Sophia drugged me again."

On the side, Mason looked up, his eyes red. "Daddy, I didn't mean to curse Mommy and make her get injured. I was just upset that she's been ignoring me…"

Kevin stroked Mason's head before looking at Sophia once more, his eyes dim. He quietly said, "It's fine. We'll apologize to Mommy when she wakes up. She won't be mad at you."

If it turned out that the incident all those years ago had been nothing more than an accident, that meant that he owed her an apology as well. He would also start treating her better from now on.

Perhaps Hiram was right. What he and Christina had was in the past.

…

Sophia slept deeply, caught up in a dream.

It was sometime in the afternoon. She saw the 16-year-old Kevin, dressed in a white shirt and black slacks, handing her a handkerchief he'd folded into the shape of a tiny bird.

"Don't cry. Tell me who bullied you."

The afternoon light was warm and golden.

The teenage boy had an unusually indifferent look in his eyes while the 14-year-old girl stared at him dazedly. She had just been scolded for breaking one of her father's antiques.

Her lashes were still wet as she blinked in confusion after hearing what he said. It made her look a little foolish.

She was thinking to herself how silly this older boy was. Who would dare to bully her?

"Are you in pain?"

Sophia's dream bled into reality, and a man's low, steady voice drew her out of slumber.

After looking at the present-day Kevin, his face older and his expression neutral, she finally snapped back to reality.

"I'm fine."

Sophia shook her head, feeling a mix of relief and bittersweet melancholy. She'd fallen for him when she was 14 and made up her mind to pursue him when she was 17.

Now that she was about to turn 26, she'd finally learned how to move on from him.

It was probably because she was injured, but she seemed unusually demure right now.

Kevin was abruptly reminded of the first time he saw her. His heart softened, and even his tone took on a rare note of gentleness.

"I'll help you to the car. Let's go home."

Sophia was startled, the tone in his voice catching her off guard. However, she didn't refuse him.

"Alright," she said, her smile faint.

Mason's nose prickled as he took in Sophia's current state. He obediently took her hand.

Once they were in the car, he recalled what Kevin had said earlier. Looking nervously at Sophia, he said hesitantly, "I'm sorry, Mommy. I didn't mean to say those things."

While it was true that Sophia couldn't compare to Christina, she was still his mother.

That took Sophia by surprise.

It was the first time Mason had ever apologized to her, but for some reason, it stirred nothing inside her.

As she thought back to what he'd said back in the hospital before, her heart remained completely calm.

Smiling, she said, "It's fine. I'm not mad at you."

Mason simply didn't love her. He was only apologizing because he'd been taught to be a polite child.

Meanwhile, Mason exhaled in relief, though he continued to clutch the hem of her clothes.

After looking at them, Kevin abruptly said, "It's your birthday next week. Have you thought about how you want to celebrate it?"

Sophia paused. It finally dawned on her that it would be her 26th birthday just before the day she was scheduled to leave.