Yvonne's investigation revealed that Tanya's family had rented a house in a village in Jadeborough's countryside in order to seek treatment for Tanya.

Sophia drove almost half an hour to track down the village Yvonne had indicated.

The village was located just off the fringe of town and was in better shape than she had imagined. However, it was certainly far less developed than the city.

Sophia parked her car and asked several villagers before pinpointing the low-cost flat Tanya was renting.

The privately built flat did not have an elevator, and Sophia had to trudge up six flights of stairs to get to Tanya's unit.

The outdoor temperature in Jadeborough was nearing thirty degrees Celsius in June. Sophia's forehead was covered in a thin sheen of sweat by the time she got to the sixth floor.

She checked the unit number and turned left after leaving the stairs.

The stench of traditional medicine stung her nose as she approached Tanya's unit.

Sophia stared at the metal door before lightly knocking on it.

Someone opened the door soon after, and a woman who looked somewhat similar to Tanya appeared in the doorway.

Sophia guessed this woman was Tanya's mother, Laura. She smiled and explained, “Hello, Mrs. Gomez. I'm Tanya's university—”

“Get lost! Tanya doesn't have classmates like you!” Laura yelled, cutting Sophia off. She then tried to slam the door in Sophia's face.

Sophia quickly collected herself and stopped Tanya's mother from shutting her out. “Wait, Mrs. Gomez. You're mistaken. My name is Sophia Yarrow. I'm not like the students who visited earlier. If you think I'm lying to you, you can ask Tanya. Please tell her my full name. It's Sophia Yarrow.”

She sounded sincere and gentle as she made her case to Laura. There was not a hint of arrogance in her beautiful eyes.

Laura could feel Sophia's goodwill, yet she was reminded of how Tanya almost took her own life after being agitated by her university classmates a couple of days ago.

Eventually, she decided against letting Sophia in and said, “Wait here. I'll ask Tanya.”

Laura's expression was still cold, but the hostility in her tone had dimmed somewhat.

Sophia took a step backward and no longer blocked the door.

Tanya's mother promptly closed the door, leaving Sophia outside.

Footsteps sounded from the stairwell—it was Tanya's neighbor.

The man had probably never seen a woman as pretty as Sophia and stared blatantly at her.

Sophia glanced at the man but ignored him.

She returned her attention to Tanya's unit just as the metal door opened.

Instead of Laura, Tanya now stood in the doorway.

Sophia had not seen Tanya since their graduation five years ago. Tanya looked like a completely different person. The spark in her eyes was gone. Still, when she spotted Sophia, Tanya seemed to perk up in surprise. “Sophia. It's really you.”

She stepped back and said, “Would you like to come in?”

A pause later, Tanya suggested, “Or, should we catch up at the café downstairs?”

Sophia smiled and replied, “Sure.”

Tanya mistook Sophia's reply as an agreement to meet at the café and was about to return to her room to change. To her surprise, Sophia strode into the house just as she turned around.

The living room was suffocatingly small at five square meters.

Sophia plonked herself on one of the stools in the room, surprising Tanya. The latter composed herself a moment later and apologized, “Sorry. My house is pretty small.”

Shaking her head, Sophia reassured her, “Don't sweat about it.”

Tanya took one of the stools just as Laura reappeared with a coffee pot in hand. “I'm sorry, Ms. Yarrow. I thought you were one of her malicious ex-classmates from university! Just a few days ago, two fancily dressed women came knocking, claiming to be Tanya's classmates. I happily welcomed them into the house. Dear God, they said the nastiest things to my precious Tani once they came in! I was so—”

Tears welled in Laura's eyes as she recounted the incident.

Then, as though embarrassed over her emotional outburst, Laura wiped her tears and explained, “Don't mind me, Ms. Yarrow. At my age, I just lose track of time and go on and on.”

“Mom.”

Tanya called out to Laura, who replied, “I'll prepare lunch in the kitchen so I don't disturb you two. Why don't you stay and eat with us, Ms. Yarrow?”

“Okay.” Sophia accepted Laura's invitation with a smile.

Her agreement cheered Laura to no end. “Well, have fun catching up among yourselves. I'll get started on lunch.”

Laura walked into the kitchen, and the sound of cutting vegetables soon drifted out of the space.

Tanya said by way of greeting, “You're still as beautiful as I remember, Sophia.”

“You're also as cute as I remember,” returned Sophia.

They rarely interacted despite being classmates in university. If Tanya had not sought Sophia out to discuss Connor's affairs, Sophia would have forgotten the former's appearance after years of separation.

The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy.

After their graduation, Tanya landed herself a job at a local bank in her hometown. For two years, she led an unassuming but decent life.

Later on, she got into some bad company, and coupled with a slew of malicious rumors thrown her way, Tanya gave in to the demons that lurked in her heart since her university days and fell into severe depression.

Sometime later, Sophia said, “Actually, I came to visit you today to ask for a favor.”

“I'm sorry, Sophia. I'm not too sure how I can help you in my current state.”
The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

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