Part 3She Hid Her Face, He Hid His Heart

Gabriel's POV

Sophie followed me out. "Gab, I never said I wanted you to leave."

"I know."

Just then, the elevator doors opened. A man stepped out and spoke in a language I didn't understand. "Sophie, who's this guy?"

"A relative," Sophie replied in the same language.

Once he was gone, I asked her what he'd said.

Something flickered in Sophie's eyes as she answered. "Oh, it's nothing. He was just saying hi."

I looked down at the translation on my phone and smiled. Then, I pushed her hand away. "Go check on Edward. Wouldn't want him having another bout of respiratory alkalosis."

Sophie didn't seem to notice anything amiss. "Thanks for understanding, Gab. I'll pick you up tomorrow morning."

Having said that, she turned and went back inside.

Before long, I could hear Sophie comforting Edward. Her voice was low, and it grated on my ears. Whatever last bit of attachment I'd been holding onto finally faded.

…

I found a hotel and checked in. Moments later, a coworker sent me a message. It read, "Gab, I got the results of your transfer request. Didn't you want to transfer to Marlfield?"

I'd only wanted to transfer to Marlfield because of Sophie. I'd have taken the pay cut just to be near her. But now, I had no reason to go through with it.

I texted back, "Not anymore. I'll report for duty in Himara the day after tomorrow."

…

Maybe it was because I'd been caught in the rain earlier. By midnight, I'd come down with a high fever.

When I woke up, Sophie was sitting beside my bed, looking after me. "Gab, you're finally awake."

I stared at her in surprise. I hadn't expected to find her here.

"You were staying at a hotel by yourself. I was worried about you, so I came over."

As she spoke, she handed me a glass of water.

I looked at Sophie's tender expression, and something churned inside me. I was about to say something when she spoke.

"Good thing your fever broke. Edward would've been disappointed otherwise."

So, she'd only come because of Edward.

"What?"

Before I could process what Sophie meant, Edward walked in and asked, "Gab, do you remember it's our tenth anniversary? We promised we'd go camping at a national park and watch the sunrise together."

We'd made that promise when we were 18. We'd agreed that ten years later, we'd go camping and watch the sunrise together. After all, that was where it had all begun for us—a camping trip.

Since I was leaving anyway, I decided this trip would be the end of us.

Not long after, we got into the car.

Then, an email notification popped up. Apparently, I had declined the transfer.

I froze. Sophie, however, smiled as she explained, "Fortunately, Edward noticed the email while he was helping me look after you. So, I turned it down for you."

In an instant, anger surged through me.

"Sophie Anderson! This is my future. Who gave you two the right to reject it for me?"

Edward jumped in, sounding innocent. "Gab, I didn't mean to look through your phone. I thought you'd always wanted to work with Sophie."

I turned to open the car door, but Sophie grabbed my arm.

"Gab, don't make a big deal out of this," she said. "Edward and I were only doing it for you. Next year, I can put in a referral for you. Then the three of us can work together and look out for one another. Wouldn't that be better?"