Chapter 68
Chapter 68 She Has Come Of Age
“Mr. Tristan, what are you doing?” Sophie exclaimed. She had noticed Tristan tailing her a while back but decided to wait and see what he had up his sleeve.
To her surprise, they had almost reached the apartment, yet he still hadn’t taken the initiative to show himself.
Knowing that he had been exposed, Tristan went to Sophie and walked with her.
“Are you okay? Is the Lombard Group going bankrupt?” the latter asked.
Alas, Tristan said nothing.
Sophie suddenly stopped in her tracks and added, “Then, what’s with that expression of yours? Are you feeling down?”
“It’s nothing. Come on. I’ll send you home. It’s getting late.”
“Let’s grab a bite first! I didn’t have a good dinner earlier,” Sophie suggested, remembering how she had only ordered non-spicy dishes because of Bailey. The food was not to her taste that she could feel her hunger pangs return.
“What do you want to eat?” Tristan asked as he took her bag.
Women who walked past the couple, regardless of their ages, couldn’t help but cast envious glances at them.
What a lucky young lady! Her boyfriend is such a good-looker and so considerate to help carry her bag!
“Oh, let’s go get some barbecue! It’s been so long since I had that,” Sophie chirped as she pulled Tristan along excitedly. If I remember correctly, there’s a food truck just up ahead!
True enough, a barbecue food truck came into sight after about ten minutes of walking.
Sophie pored over the menu and ordered several items that caught her attention. She turned around to look for Tristan, only to notice he was staring at her.
Realizing Tristan would stick out like a sore thumb if they ate at the food truck, she quipped, “We’ll take these home to eat!”
“It’s all right. Don’t worry about me.”
“Hey, boss, we’d like to do a take-out. A medium spice level will do,” Sophie instructed. As much as I love spicy food, I don’t think it’d be wise to overdo it this late at night.
“Got it! Please take a seat first!”
“Oh, it’s okay. That won’t be necessary,” Sophie replied before sauntering toward Tristan to stand with him.
After a while, she broke the silence. “Why have you come today?”
It hasn’t been that long since we parted, has it?
“I don’t know why, but I ended up walking here,” Tristan explained. “And since it was almost time for your self-study session to end, I decided to drop by.”
“Oh, okay…” Sophie answered and said nothing more. She wasn’t particularly curious, so she didn’t see the need to probe further.
Unfortunately, there were so many people at the food truck that the waiting time got rather long.
“Are you tired?” Tristan asked concernedly.
Indeed, Sophie was starting to feel the exhaustion setting in. How could she not, when she had attended a shareholders’ meeting in the morning, a class in the afternoon, and a self-study session at night?
“I’m all right.”
“Why don’t you head home first? I’ll bring the food back when it’s ready,” Tristan urged.
“It’s fine. We should be getting our orders soon anyway,” Sophie replied. I don’t want to go home. I don’t want to stay there alone.
“All right, miss, your food is ready! Oh, and I must say, your boyfriend’s very handsome!” the food truck owner teased as he handed a bag of food to Sophie.
Just as she was about to pay by scanning the QR code with her phone, Tristan handed a hundred in cash to the owner.
“That’s right, miss. You guys are dating, so don’t be shy to spend your boyfriend’s money,” the owner said with a chuckle while looking for change.
“Keep the change,” Tristan uttered.
Thanks to the owner’s words, his gloomy mood had done a complete one-eighty.
Sophie, too, could also sense the drastic change in him.
Wow, he sure has cheered up a lot!
Later, on their way home, Sophie bought a case of beer at the convenience store.
“Let me take that!” Tristan offered.
Sophie didn’t reject him either and handed the beers over without hesitation. Now that she didn’t have to carry anything, there was a spring in her step as the couple made their way home.
Once they were back in Wisteria Apartments, Sophie quickly laid the food on the coffee table and passed a can of beer to Tristan. “Do you want to drink?”
Tristan instantly accepted it. Knowing that Sophie was in the mood to drink, he was only too happy to join her.
With that, Sophie opened another beer for herself and took a long sip. “Oh, the taste is pretty good.”
After sitting on the carpet and leaning against the couch, she began tucking into her spread of barbecued meats.
Tristan, too, picked up a fork and took a few mouthfuls of food.
Worried that Sophie might overeat, he began to eat even faster. “Don’t eat so much. It’s not good for your health,” he advised.
“It’s okay. I only eat these occasionally. Besides, many people in Chanaea are fond of barbecued meats, yet they’re all fine, aren’t they?”
It didn’t take long before Sophie finished her can of beer.
After crushing the empty can and tossing it into the bin, she promptly took another.
“You can stop eating if you’re not used to the food,” Sophie suddenly said.
Tristan did as he was told and joined her on the carpet with his beer.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m good!” Sophie answered. I merely had a craving for beer. That’s all.
Despite having a high alcohol tolerance, she still couldn’t stop her face from getting warm and flushed after downing a few cans of beer at one go.
Just as she was about to open another beer, Tristan grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms.
Sophie looked up at him in surprise. “What do you want?”
“I think you’ve had enough.”
“Oh. Well, this is the last can,” Sophie insisted as she cracked it open and took a few sips. Then, she set it down on the coffee table and added, “Excuse me, I have to use the bathroom.”
In all honesty, with Tristan sitting so near her, she couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable.
Seeing that she was about to leave, Tristan pulled her back into his embrace and planted a kiss on her lips.
Even though Sophie wasn’t drunk, her eyes had glazed over from the alcohol, making her look even dreamier and more alluring.
Breathless from the unexpected kiss and feeling somewhat parched, she hurriedly pushed Tristan away.
“I’m thirsty.”
Without further ado, Tristan fetched a glass of water and fed her.
“Time for bed,” he muttered.
If I continue staring at her like this, who knows what else I might do to her?
Sophie nodded obediently and headed back to her room.
For the next few minutes, Tristan finished Sophie’s remaining can of beer, tidied up the coffee table, and finally left Wisteria Apartments.
The next day, Felix walked into the CEO’s office at Lombard Group and was surprised to see Tristan in a cheery mood.
“Mr. Tristan, how did last night go?” he teased, curious to find out how far his boss had progressed.
“Are you tired of living? What filthy thoughts do you have in your mind?”
“Of course not! But didn’t you go straight to her as soon as you heard about the campus hunk? You were jealous, weren’t you?” Felix said with a chuckle.
I can’t believe I had the chance to see Mr. Tristan being green with envy. For that alone, everything’s worth it!
“Mr. Tristan, if you like her, you got to tell her! How else would she know about your feelings?” Felix added. “Also, there has to be some form of physical contact. Catch my drift?”
“She’s still young,” Tristan replied. There’s no need to rush things.
“She has come of age.”
“Felix, are you sure you want to carry on this discussion?” Tristan snapped as he signed the documents that the former had brought along.
“Fine. I won’t say anymore.”
Mr. Tristan has always been ruthless and decisive in everything he does. When it came to love and relationships, he never seemed to harbor any desires either. But now that he has found someone he fancies, he’s become so willing to dote on her!
After finishing her second period of the day, Sophie instantly received the information from Butterfly.
Unfortunately, before she could go through it all, she received a call from the latter.
“Are you sure you don’t need our help?”
“It’s just a small matter. I got this,” Sophie replied. If I can’t even find the confidence to handle it, I wouldn’t be Sophie Tanner!
That evening at seven, Sophie skipped her self-study session and went to Nocturnal after changing her clothes.
Since she was alone and a total knockout, her appearance soon caught everyone’s attention.
To her surprise, the young lady she was looking for had three men around her and plying her with alcohol.
“I can’t drink anymore.”
“How can that be? You haven’t drunk a lot at all. Come on. I’ll feed you,” one of the men urged before pouring whiskey into his mouth to feed her.
Seeing how dazed the young lady was, Sophie immediately strode toward her and pulled her up.
“Hey, who the hell are you? How dare you ruin my fun!” the man scolded.
However, when he looked up and saw how pretty Sophie was, his eyes instantly lit up.
“Hey, missy, have you perhaps fallen for me? We’re happy to oblige if you want to join in the fun. You know, I’m a very skilled lover. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied!” he said leeringly.
