NovelOnlineBrandon spent the whole night sitting on the balcony, letting the night breeze kiss his face.
He'd never really done this before, just sat in solitude for a whole night, reflecting, taking stock.
Usually, even when thoughts of Sophia popped into his head, he'd quickly shove them aside and redirect his focus to studying or
work, not indulging in memories or longing.
But that night, out of the blue, he was hit with a wave of nostalgia for their senior year, for that girl who was a bit shy at first, but
after getting to know her, she turned out to be sweet with a mischievous streak.
He remembered a twhen Sophia let her guard down around him.
After sharing a desk for half a semester, they built a familiarity and an unspoken bond. She still had her moments of bashfulness,
but beneath that, there was a playful cunning that was uniquely youthful.
She'd act coquettishly, stick close to him, be a bit of a brat, show her temper, but then she'd quickly make peace, like a little girl
who never grew up.
In the second semester, she even took the initiative to move back to his corner.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThey were quite close for a good while.
In that class where they weren't too familiar with anyone else, she and he shared a closeness and a dependency that others
couldn't see.
But at spoint, all her forwardness, all her cute tricks and tantrums around him just stopped.
She becreserved, calm, exceptionally well-behaved and sensible, losing all her previous impudence.
After graduating from high school, she quietly walked out of his life.
When they reunited four years ago, the grown-up her was even more composed and steady.
During the two years of marriage, she was serene and quiet, not fussy, not noisy, but the high school girl who was shy yet sly,
who'd pout and act out, was gone.
Brandon suddenly missed that Sophia from senior year, the one with the heart of a little girl.
The next day, heading to the office, Brandon ran into Sophia in the elevator.
He had driven straight into the underground parking lot and didn't bother with the executive elevator, taking the regular one
instead.
The elevator stopped on the first floor. As the doors slid open, a swarm of people rushed in.
Among the swarm, Brandon spotted Sophia following the crowd into the elevator.
Sophia saw him too, her gaze hesitated for a moment before she calmly looked away, standing quietly in a corner of the elevator
as the doors slowly closed.
Her look and demeanor were the epitof what she had said about being strangers, just strangers.
It was what he had said too.
Brandon kept his cool, not saying hello, just letting his gaze drift over the crowd, settling on her tranquil profile.
She stood in front of him to the left, each in their own corner.
The elevator was packed, but with his height advantage, Brandon could still clearly see Sophia among the people.
Her expression was calm and peaceful, just like it had been these past few years.
But the girl who used to look up at him with big innocent eyes and ask timidly, "Brandon, | can't figure out this problem. Can you
explain it to me?" was nowhere to be found.
Brandon couldn't recall when exactly that version of Sophia had faded away.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmIt was as if all of a sudden, she stopped clinging to him, stopped asking for help with problems, started keeping her distance,
always serene and earnest in his presence, devoid of any significant emotional swings, just like now.
At different floors, the crowded elevator kept stopping, and the crowd inside thinned out slowly.
When the elevator halted at the seventeenth floor, Sophia walked out without looking back, without a greeting, without a goodbye.
True to her word, they were just strangers.
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