Initially, Sophia was worried that Alexander would have difficulty controlling himself. To her surprise, the weight above her suddenly disappeared, and he stopped in his tracks after a passionate kiss that nearly sent Sophia spiraling out of control.
Alexander got up and sat beside her, leaning against the back of the couch. Then, he used his arm to block his eyes from the light as he wrapped another arm around Sophia’s waist. When his hand reached Sophia’s left hand, the man used his thumb to caress the latter’s palm.
The living room was silent as Alexander and Sophia did not speak to each other. The sound of their panting and rapid heartbeat tangled together, making it impossible to differentiate between whose those sounds belonged.
After around thirty seconds, Alexander finally moved. He retracted the arm covering his eyes before gently touching the corner of Sophia’s eyes. “Go shower and rest up. We are sailing out to the sea tomorrow.”
He looked at Sophia. There were still traces of the rosiness on her face, a result of their intimate moment earlier. The woman’s eyes were soft, and there was some redness near her eyes when she gazed at Alexander.
Alexander’s eyes glinted as he shifted his eyes from Sophia with difficulty. “Be good, Precious. Don’t look at me that way.”
Rendered speechless by Alexander, Sophia wanted to explain herself but stopped because she knew the more she said, the more mistake she would make. Instead, she got up from the couch, saying, “I’m taking a bath now.”
“Oh, right. I have a yacht.”
Alexander’s words were a reminder that they did not need to rent a yacht the next day.
Sophia raised her brows and chuckled when she heard it. “I have one too, Mr. Xenos.”
Alexander peered at her. He lifted his brows too. “The one from last time?”
Sophia nodded. “You are a smart one, Mr. Xenos.”
With that, she turned and headed upstairs while Alexander watched her as she left.
Finally, after Sophia turned the corner, Alexander retracted his gaze. He lowered his eyes as a smile appeared on his face.
The sun rose earlier than usual because it was summer. Sophia woke up then because they needed to sail out to the sea.
Meanwhile, Alexander didn’t spend his night at the mansion, so he brought breakfast to her around seven o’clock in the morning.
They went their separate ways after breakfast. Sophia went to fetch Perrin while Alexander got to the harbor to meet the person in charge of maintaining Sophia’s yacht, Xavier.
Perrin was an elderly man. He had fallen asleep at around ten o’clock the previous night, so the man woke up before six o’clock in the morning to exercise.
When Sophia arrived to pick Perrin and John up, the duo was already done with their breakfast a long time ago.
“Granddad, how was your sleep last night?”
Perrin glanced at Sophia, smiling. “I don’t have trouble falling asleep in a different spot like you and Lukas do.”
Sophia thought, Well, he had a good night’s sleep.
“Granddad, my friend will tag along today because he is free. I hope you don’t mind.” Sophia smiled.
Perrin didn’t think much of the friend that Sophia mentioned. He replied, “Why would I mind? I get the opportunity to meet your friend too! I remember you have two friends that you’ve been close with since you were young, right?”
“Yes. But they are not free recently.”
“It’s fine. Bring them on a trip to Doveston when they have some free time.”
“Sure!”
Sophia noticed the happiness on Perrin’s face. A thought flashed across her mind. Will he still be as happy as he is now when he sees Alexander later?
After a forty-five minutes drive, they arrived at the port.
The wind was strong. However, as it was only the beginning of June, the typhoon in Jadeborough was much lesser. It was the perfect time to sail out to the sea.
On the side, one yacht was preparing to sail too. Sophia had seen a few of these people on board before, but she was unfamiliar with them.
Sophia slowly helped Perrin onto the vessel. The latter couldn’t help but feel like the yacht was a wise choice when he walked into the cabin and noticed how spacious it was. He asked, “Where’s your friend?”
The moment he finished speaking, Alexander strode in. “Hi, Mr. Dawson.”
Perrin’s expression turned frosty when he saw Alexander. “Why are you here?”
“Sophia told me she is accompanying you today. Since I’m free, I decided to tag along and keep you company.”
Perrin looked at Sophia, who was smiling. It was then he realized that Sophia was in on the plan too. He glared at Alexander. “I don’t need you to accompany me!”
Alexander retorted, “I also want to spend more time with Sophia.”
Perrin didn’t know how to respond to that.
Such a shameless prick!
Not only was Perrin musing about how brazen Alexander was, but Sophia was also wondering about the same thing. She blushed, though, at the mention of her name.
Sophia glanced at Alexander before lowering her head to look at Perrin. “Granddad, it’s fun to have more people around during sea sailing. It would be really boring if it were just you and me.”
Yvonne had arranged to deliver fruits, drinks, and fresh ingredients early in the morning. The supply was enough for them to spend half a month on the sea.
Perrin was unwilling to see Alexander and didn’t want Sophia and the latter to share alone time. He requested, “Sophia, accompany me for a walk outside.”
I had never seen or appreciate the sea before.
Even though Perrin had a unique and legendary life, he lived in Doveston, and that place was located inland. Besides, Perrin spent his youth serving the country. When he retired, Penelope’s condition worsened, so he didn’t have the heart to travel. The man then spent the remaining time in Doveston. He thought that was how his life would end during his final breath.
Little did Perrin expect that he would reunite with Sophia before his death and that she would bring him on a sea-sailing trip today. He felt like he could boast about this experience to Stanley.
After all, Stanley keeps telling me what his granddaughter brought him and where she brought him on a trip. What is there to be proud of, anyway? Sophia brought me on a sea-sailing journey too! Did Stanley’s granddaughter get him on one of these? Most definitely not. If she did, Stanley would have boasted about it every day!
“Sophia, help me take a few photos! I’m going to show them to Stanley when I return.” Perrin’s tone was smug. He was acting like a kid that was trying to show off some new gift that he had gotten.
Sophia knew who Stanley was. According to Lukas, it was their neighbor, Stanley Willis. He was Perrin’s comrade when they were young, and he had been Perrin’s counselor for much of the time. Both of them retired together around ten years ago. As they stayed next door, Perrin had always played chess with Stanley.
However, Stanley was admitted to the hospital last year after being diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer. The elderly man had spent much of those two years doing chemotherapy.
Although it seemed like Perrin was being boastful, he was secretly hoping that Stanley would recover quickly so that the both of them could sail on the sea together.
I know the harsh truth, though. Stanley is old, and that’s cancer we are talking about. His days are numbered.
Sophia took a lot of photos. Perrin mumbled that he wanted to look for Stanley as he stared at the phone. Suddenly, he stopped speaking. With his gaze still on the sea, Perrin raised his hand and wiped a tear off his face.
Oh, I’m getting old. My age is catching up with me.
Sophia watched on as the smile on her face faded a little.
Alexander walked out as Sophia tilted her head and looked at him. She smiled as she mouthed. “Don’t come over here first.”
Granddad is not feeling his best right now. Won’t he think worst if he laid eyes on Alexander?
