Next One Is a Babe

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After glancing at Sophia, the old man said, “Sophia, you don’t seem to be doing that well.”

Sophia lifted her head while telling him, “Nah, I’m doing just fine. I set up a shop over there, which is making me quite a lot of money, so I’m good.”

Meanwhile, Mrs. Hensley was serving them their meal. She knew that no matter how Sophia was doing, the latter wouldn’t tell them much about it, so she said, “Alright, everyone. Sophia must be tired, so we should let her rest. We can come over after she has rested, since she will be here and won’t be leaving any time soon.”

As soon as the others heard Mrs. Hensley, the rest of the occupants stood while telling Sophia to take care. They were all kind people who hailed from the same village as her. After sending them off, Sophia returned to her room.

In the house, there was a simple and worn frame which held a photograph that was taken from many years ago.

Sophia could be seen leaning against her grandfather’s legs in the photo. She was probably twelve or thirteen, while her grandfather’s hair was still mostly black. Smiling, he was looking toward the camera. Sophia caressed her belly while staring at the photo for a long time before murmuring, “Look, this is the guy who protected me for more than twenty years, so you have to remember him.”

After having something to eat, Sophia lay down. Due to how tired she was after all the hiking she did, she fell asleep as soon as she lay down, after which she slept through the rest of the day. It was night when she was roused by a phone call. Without even checking the caller ID, she picked up upon reaching for the phone. “What’s up?”

John’s voice could be heard over the line. “Sophia.”

After Sophia grunted in response, John fell silent without saying anything else. She asked in a semi-conscious state, “Is there something you need?”

It wasn’t until a while later that John told her he didn’t. Wherever he was, it sounded like a quiet place as there wasn’t a lot of noise. Sophia didn’t give much thought about it while she added, “I was sleeping, so I will be hanging up if there’s nothing to be said.”

Agreeing with her, John hung up, after which Sophia put down her phone. She spent some more time in bed before getting up. There wasn’t a lot to be done though, so she began spacing out after doing some house cleaning. Life in the village was starkly different from life in the city, as there was nothing she wanted that she could get her hands on, but it provided her with an odd sense of security.

She went into the yard to sit on a chair, then she lifted her head to admire the night sky. While she was in the village, Robin would be looking after the shop, so she wasn’t worried about it. Now that she had a baby within her, she no longer wanted to return to the city. If the Constances knew she was pregnant, they would definitely take the baby from her, but she wasn’t sure if they would accept her into the family.