Chapter 321
“You’re so calm, Uncle Tristan! That being said, you’re so cool like this!” said Ysabelle earnestly.
However, was it not normal to want the person you liked to remain with you at all times?
“Mr. Tristan, I know you must be suffering deep down. You needn’t put on a brave front for our sake, really. Why not take a look?” No matter how magnanimous one wanted to appear, a man could not be this calm knowing that a rival wanted to confess their feelings for the person they fancied.
“There’s no need. Plus, they are not to be disturbed,” said Tristan, shooting them a warning glare.
Charles and Sean shared a look.
Tristan’s current behavior was foreign to them. After all, if Tristan liked something in the past, the rest of them could barely sneak a second glance.
The fact that Tristan even allowed this to happen was beyond their expectations.
In the meantime, Sophie had gone to see Sunny.
When Sunny saw Sophie, he anxiously confessed, “Sophie, I’m not the one who needs to see you. It’s actually Mark. He’s got something to tell you.”
Sunny knew he could not hide it anymore, thus he decided to come clean.
Sophie knitted her brows in response.
“Sunny, enough is enough! You’ve been messing around all night!” Sophie could be quite terrifying when she became serious.
Immediately, Sunny began to try and appease her.
“Sophie, I’m not messing around! Is what I’m saying so hard to believe?” Sunny was, in fact, being truthful the whole time. Why did Sophie think he was messing around?
“I don’t know what’s so great about Mr. Tristan! Are you getting mad at me because of him?”
Upon hearing this, Sophie could not help but let out an exasperated sigh.
If she had to be honest, Sunny was no longer a child.
Why is he behaving so childishly?
“Fine. I’m sorry, Sophie. I know I messed up. But Mark really needs to see you. Why don’t you go to him?”
“I understand. Just tell me where he is, and I’ll go. That should settle things.” Regardless, they had been her teammates for some time. One could say that they represented her redemption.
As such, she had always taken extra care of The Wheelers, given that they had never done anything to hurt her.
“Sophie, I knew you were the best! You wouldn’t have stayed angry at me for long! You’re so kind!”
Without further delay, Sunny told Sophie where to find Mark.
When Sophie arrived, Mark was sitting at the piano, playing one of her favorite songs.
Sophie decided not to bother him, instead choosing to listen to the song quietly.
Mark was concentrating on playing the piano, but something was different about him today. Instead of his usual demeanor, Mark seemed more striking and handsome than before.
Sophie waited until Mark finished playing before walking over and joining him on the bench.
“Let’s play a song together!” Sophie was not too adept at playing the piano, but she knew the basics.
“Okay.” Mark had always fulfilled Sophie’s requests. Playing a tune on the piano could not hurt.
“Let’s play a song by Chopin,” said Sophie mildly.
Mark said nothing. He obediently performed a duet with her, the two of them being in perfect sync with each other.
If anything, Mark truly felt that he knew Sophie the best.
Regardless of what the task was, Mark thought they both made a good team.
Surely his desire to come clean about his feelings was not all that strange?
He was never one to complicate things, but Sophie was a different matter altogether. Mark was worried that things were going to change. If he confessed, would they have ceased being friends too?
Or perhaps Mark’s fault lay in caring too much. Why else did he feel so worried?
Soon, the duet came to an end.
Sophie merely sat there, making no indication that she was about to leave.
“Sunny said you have something to tell me, so I came over.” No matter how uncomfortable it was, Sophie had to face it. The same applied to Mark.
Mark sat there, motionless, seemingly in quiet contemplation. He then turned to look at her with an earnest expression.
“Sophie, I think you can feel this too.” She should have been able to feel the extent and depth of how much he cared for her. It should have been obvious enough.
After hearing what Mark had to say, Sophie knew she made the right guess. He was going to say it.
“I like you, Sophie. I like you the way a man likes a woman. I want to take care of you for the rest of your life. I used to think you were still young, with so much lying ahead of you, but I can’t hold back now. I’m just scared that if I don’t say it now, I’ll never have the opportunity again.”
Mark could only tell her how he really felt. The rest was out of his control.
Sophie felt sorry for Mark, seeing him in this current state. He only seemed to care about her right now.
He never wanted to kick the hornet’s nest and cause Sophie any distress.
However, Mark had already started the ball rolling. Similar complications were what led to Sophie taking a break from The Wheelers the last time.
It was because she cared too much about their friendship that she chose to leave for a while.
When his confession was met with nothing but silence from Sophie, Mark became even more anxious.
He could vaguely sense the direction in which this conversation was heading, but why was he so intent on holding on? Or was he so hell-bent on giving it a go that nothing mattered?
After all, he had a crush on her for three whole years.
“Sophie,” said Mark hesitantly. “Do you feel the way I do?”
Sophie gave him a gentle smile.
“Mark, regardless of what happens, I’ve always treated you as a sibling. You’re like a brother to me. Nothing is going to change that.”
As much as Sophie did not want to hurt him, she had no choice.
Alas, it was exactly as he imagined.
Mark knew that she was going to reject him, and he knew that Sophie fancied someone else. However, hearing her say this to him in person had wounded him much harder than he expected.
Mark looked a little crestfallen.
Anyone who saw him in this state would have felt bad.
However, there was nothing Sophie could do.
This was how tricky love could be. One could not force another to like them, and there was no way around it.
“Don’t look at me like that, Sophie. I’m fine.” After all, had Mark not already anticipated this from the start? Mark had been afraid of confessing his affection for her, which was why he kept them hidden for so long. The reason why he even confessed at all was that he did not want to regret not telling her how he felt.
“I’m sorry, Mark.”
“What are you apologizing for? You did nothing wrong. There’s no need to apologize. You have your own desires to pursue, so don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
Even up to this point, Mark still wanted to comfort Sophie.
He did not want Sophie to feel sad for his sake.
“We’re still friends, right? We’ll be friends forever.” Mark had no desire to forsake this friendship. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep my feelings in check,” said Mark reassuringly.
Sophie then nodded in response.
“I guess… I’ll be off then.” Mark then turned around to leave, seeming like he wanted to escape from this scenario.
Regardless of how cold he looked before, the current Mark seemed like quite a pitiful soul.
Sophie sat by herself in front of the piano. With both hands on the keys, she started to play a tune.
This time, she played one of Mark’s favorite songs.
Even though she did not want to hurt him, the damage was done. In truth, Sophie had no desire to see him this way.
A while later, Tristan came over to see Sophie, but he saw Mark leave the area with an extremely grim expression on his face.
Without eavesdropping, Tristan could deduce what had happened there.
