Chapter 24
Elijah’s POV
It was Chris Baker who had sent me the message. Surprisingly, I found myself hanging out with him and Trevis at the bar on the ground floor of my Paris hotel.
“You don’t waste any time, do you?” Trevis said to Chris, chuckling and shaking his head in disbelief at the same time.
“Wait, why did you suddenly come here, anyway?” I wondered with great curiosity and confusion.
“I told him about that girl Julia who resembled his sister Sabrina so much,” Trevis answered for Chris. “Remember I also mentioned her to you? She has started her internship at my studio.”
“Oh, that girl,” I said dismissively, I had no intention of even meeting her because i just felt like it was far–fetched to consider she could really be Sabrina after all these
years,
Meanwhile, Chris was visibly excited, his eyes shining with anticipation. “I can’t believe it, Trevis. If this is true, we might finally find Sabrina after all these years,” he exclaimed, taking a sip of his drink.
Trevis looked a bit uncomfortable, clearly not expecting such a swift and determined reaction from Chris. “I hope I didn’t get your hopes up too much, Chris. You know we’ve done this many times in the past, and they were all wild goose chases… I never expected you to suddenly fly here!”
But Chris was undeterred. “I have to see for myself. Even the slightest chance is worth pursuing,” he replied, his voice filled with determination. “I can’t afford to miss even a one–in–a–million chance.” His eyes took on a faraway look, and he was probably thinking of his beloved sister who had suddenly vanished one day when she was only around ten years old.
Suddenly, images of Sabrina filled my mind. She was the only one who seemed to understand me, even after all the others I’ve met in my lifetime. A wave of sadness engulfed me as the pain of losing my childhood best friend came back to me.
I couldn’t help but admire Chris’s unwavering resolve. Sabrina had been missing for years, and if there was a chance she could be found, Chris was willing to take it. It somehow made me feel guilty that I had already given up
‘sist five in the afternoon,” Trevis told us “You can maybe catch her at Urban
It’s
Next you go now. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to join you as I’m meeting a client here in a few
NIT”
Let’s get out of here, Elijah,” Chris urged
is hesitant, but I still went with him.
The studio was located on the ground floor of a lovely brick structure, occupying quite a large space Chris was hurrying in front of me, ready to barge inside, when I heard him let out a short ony as he bumped into a woman couldn’t see her face at first because he was standing in front of he
“Im so sorry” Chris said, picking up several books and design plates that had spilled on the floor and handing them back to her.
“It’s alright.” As soon as I heard the woman’s voice, my heart began to poud crazily Sophia What’s she doing here?
Of course Limmediately recognized my wife’s voice. Slowly approached them from the back. Suddenly, Sophia’s gaze turned toward me. Her eyes registered surprise, but she didn’t say anything. I stared at her for a while, not knowing what to say
“I’m sorry, uh…” Chris repeated, looking mesmerized. “I didn’t catch your name
“It’s Sophia,” she replied, returning her gaze to him. She seemed quite confused. Then glancing at me briefly, she said, “Sorry I have to go now.” Before Chris could respond, she’d left already.
Chris followed her with his gaze. My eyes narrowed, wondering if he was interested in her. Didn’t he recognize her as my wife? He could have seen a picture of us together in the past, but maybe he did not recall that.
“Sophia, not Julia…” Chris murmured thoughtfully. “That wasn’t the woman Trevis was referring to, was she?”
“No,” I answered curtly.
“Wow, she reminded me so much of Sabrina!” Chris exclaimed. “I mean, that was just a brief encounter and yet I felt like she had the same aura as my sister. Don’t you think so too?”
“Hhmm… Yes, I agree,” I eventually said. “Chris, that woman Sophia is my ex–wife. But I’m not sure what she’s doing here at Trevis’s company… But yeah, you’re right. I
used to think she resembled Sabrina. They had the same attitude, same interests, same habits and mannerisms…”
Ready? That’s something else. Perhaps we should arrange a meeting with her.”
I watched Sophia’s back retreating farther and farther away. Now that even Chris felt like she could be Sabrina, it got me thinking about the things I’d liked about her in the first place, things that reminded me of my childhood best friend.
“Come on, let’s just find Julia while we’re here,” Chris said. “I want to meet her too.”
Unfortunately, the receptionist informed us that Julia had already left the place.
Sighing, Chris led the way out. “I guess I’ll stay a couple more days here in Paris. What about you, Elijah?”
I shrugged, uncertain about when I’ll return to the US. “The project I’m overseeing here is pretty much in good hands and I’m done with the actual work I need to do in the business… But I don’t know… I’m not sure when I’ll leave France.” In my mind, I was thinking about Sophia and how I felt determined to make peace with her first, to try to win her back and get her to come home with me.
Sighing, I felt defeated. It surely won’t be easy to make her trust me again. What more to make her want to be with me again!
”
“I bet you’re thinking about Sophia,” Chris guessed as we walked back to the car. Your ex–wife, right? I heard from Morgana that you’re dating Serena again. Isn’t she here with you too? Man, your life’s pretty messed up. How’s everything going?”
I frowned, wondering if it was my stepmom who’d assumed that or if perhaps Serena was the one who had implied that we’re dating. I knew that Serena and Morgana still
talked often while we were here in Paris.
“We’re just friends,” I clarified. “Serena works at my company, so she’s just here to assist with the business.”
“I see. Well, maybe there’s something more there. You know it’s fine for you to move on from anyone connected to Sabrina. We’ve looked for my sister for so long, and I don’t want you to be tied to her memory.”
“Yeah,” I agreed nonchalantly, nodding. But deep inside, a spark had been triggered in my heart. I was silently going through the similarities between Sophia and Sabrina as we went back to my hotel.
Chris needed to go back to his own hotel. Meanwhile, as soon as Lentered the lobby, I was surprised to find Trevis still there, talking animatedly with none other than Serena! They were standing very close to each other, and Trevis seemed to be
gazing into her eyes intently.
When I came closer and they caught sight of me, they both grinned and waved. Trevis was chuckling as he asked me, “Elijah, you brought such a beautiful woman to the romantic city of Paris. If I were in your place, I would be happy every single day. Why were you so out of it the other night?”
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forced myself to look at the book in my has had been trying to focus on my studies but i had not been successful the entire day. Seeing him recently at Urtsen Next Design Studio had stirred up unexpected emotions within ms
And that guy he was with What was that shout? why was he staring at me as if he knew me from somewhere?ve never even been hun before
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My phone rang them. When i saw Serena’s name on the screen, I groaned loudly What do you want this time?” I muttered under my breath.
1 straightened up and answered casually pla Serena
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“Why?” I asked narrowing my eyes
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*28 BONUS
know that he’s still hanging around you, maybe trying to catch you or talk to you… I snow of a way for him to stop harassing you Sophia.”
Ruin’t understand why Serena wouldn’t just leave me alone and go on with her Ife. But my curesity got the best of me. “How?” I asked.
see you in theen minutes, then you can find out.” She put the phone down, leaving me no choice but to get ready and meet her in that cafe.
It wasn’t long before we were sitting across from each other. Serena didn’t waste any time with plessantes. A small smile was playing on her lips. An evil smile, I would sey. She was probably up to no good, but I still stayed and listened, anyway.
Have you heard of Sabrina Baker?” she asked directly.
She seemed quite happy. “Well, Sabrina is Elijah’s long–lost childhood best friend and the first love of his life. She went missing when they were about ten years old, and Ellan was never the same since then. He spent years looking for her and only stopped when he met you..*
“Hun?” I was bexicered by this news, but I didn’t want to show her. “So what? It has nothing to do with me. Were divorced, anyway.”
“You’re connected to Sabrina, in a way.” Serena went on. “That’s because you reminded Elijah of her. That’s why he pursued you in college.”
My heart began to thump hard. I didn’t like where the conversation was going.
“Who knows? Maybe he even got you pregnant on purpose, so you’d want to marry him.” Serena continued, her tone mocking. If you weren’t similar to his dearest Sabrina, he wouldn’t have bothered spending any time with you, you know. And it’s the real reason that he married you! He told me so himself!”
The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. All this time, I had believed that Elijah genuinely liked me, that our relationship was built on something real. But now, as I sat in the café, I couldn’t shake the feeling of devastation.
It became clear to me that Elijah never really cared about me. I was just a stand–in, a substitute for someone else. I was a mere reminder of this Sabrina, whoever she was, and it was because of her that Blijah had decided to pursue me. The thought was crushing