I Walked Away Seven Years Too Late But Right on Time novel Chapter 161

Luke Lawrence and Harold Harper appeared at the hospital, where Sophie Sullivan was already sitting in the waiting area.

Her head was bowed, lost in thought, and she didn't even notice when Luke walked up beside her.

She was alone; Gavin Gilmore hadn't accompanied her.

Luke glanced around, confirming that Gavin really hadn't shown up.

He cleared his throat. Sophie looked up at him, then shifted her gaze to Harold standing behind him. Her eyes then drifted further back.

Luke immediately understood that she was looking for Victoria and Eileen Harper.

"Victoria said she wasn't feeling well and couldn't make it. Eileen is keeping her company at the hotel."

Sophie nodded. Whether they witnessed it or refused to acknowledge it, they couldn't change the outcome. Their presence meant nothing to her.

She stood up and looked at Harold, who was standing behind Luke. "Let's begin."

Harold's face showed the weariness of a long journey, his eyes entirely bloodshot, but Sophie couldn't care less.

Watching the nurse clip her fingernails for the sample, Sophie stood up and said to Harold, "Let's go to the next one."

Luke stepped in to mediate. "Harold just got off a flight that lasted over ten hours and hasn't rested at all. This hospital is highly reputable; there's no need to go anywhere else."

"You might think it's reputable, but do your precious Victoria and Eileen feel the same way?"

As long as it could shut those two up, Sophie was willing to get tested at ten, even a hundred different facilities. She wasn't afraid of the exhaustion, and she certainly didn't care if Harold was tired.

Downstairs, their private driver was waiting.

Luke opened the rear door, gesturing for Sophie and Harold to sit in the back. Instead, Sophie walked straight to the passenger side, opened the door, and got in.

Luke looked at Harold, who simply gave a slight shake of his head.

Earlier, he had tried to speak to Sophie several times, only to be met with her icy glare.

It was going to take time for this daughter to accept him.

Three hospitals, three different specimens—fingernails, hair, and blood—each tested once.

At all three hospitals, Sophie asked the exact same question: "When will the results be ready? Can we expedite this?"

Money talked. By paying the rush fee, results that typically took a week would be available the very next day.

Seeing a fleeting smile of relief cross Sophie's face, Harold approached her and spoke softly, "Sophie, Dad wants to talk to you."

Sophie looked at him, a hint of mockery in her eyes. He adapted to that title far too quickly.

Having lost her patience completely, Sophie snapped at him, "Don't tell me what to do."

She swatted away the arm Luke had extended to block her and quickly walked off.

She raised her hand on the bustling street, but no cabs stopped for her.

Seeing the private car that had just dropped them off heading in her direction, Sophie hurried to a nearby bus stop and hopped onto the first bus that arrived. Going anywhere was better than facing Harold and Luke.

That evening, Gavin didn't come. Like that morning, he was too busy to stop by.

"Did everything go smoothly yesterday? I should have been there with you."

"It's fine. Accompanying your parents is obviously more important."

Sophie said it with a smile, but there was already a palpable distance in her tone.

"Sophie..." Gavin stepped forward and pulled her into his arms.

As soon as he had walked through the door, Sarah had found an excuse to leave the room, giving them space. But right now, despite having a thousand things to say, neither knew where to start.

His parents were leaving today. He had taken Sophie with him when he picked them up from the airport. But dropping them off was different; bringing her along would only subject her to unnecessary hurt, though saying that out loud would break her heart.