A silence ensued.
Is she leaving?
Sophia was slightly taken aback.
As she was still considering how to broach the subject, Nicole had unexpectedly come out to announce her own departure.
Sophia suddenly felt an aching in her heart for the pitiable Nicole.
Nonetheless, is anyone to be blamed for all of this?
“Where do you intend to go? Is there anything that I can help you with?”
“Mrs. Seet, I’m going overseas and I don’t know when I’ll be back. Nevertheless, no worries. Even if I were to return, I shall not seek to make things difficult for you and Evan. I only ask that…”
“What would you like from me?”
“That you might allow my request to visit my children at any given point of time. I hope that you’ll allow me to meet with them in secret.”
Bless the hearts of all parents in the world.
Nicole cannot bear to abandon her children, but she cannot do otherwise either, in consideration of Evan’s circumstances. The young woman’s thoughtful gesture left Sophia, a mother herself, deeply moved.
“You can rest assured that I’ll take very good care of them. Furthermore, I will definitely make them available whenever you wish to see them.”
“Then, I’m glad.”
Sophia reached out and held Nicole’s hand. “You really don’t have to go overseas. For you to go to a place so far away by yourself…”
“Mrs. Seet, I’ll be going for a reason.”
Sophia pressed her for an answer. Nicole took a moment to consider it before she decided to share it with her.
There was a moment of brief silence after that.
“Did you mean it?”
“Yes. I suspect that the culprit was not my mother.”
“If it wasn’t your mother, then you and Evan might be able to…”
When Nicole saw that Sophia’s eyes had lit up, she found it difficult, to speak truthfully.
In the end, she decided to be upfront about it.
“Mrs. Seet, if it weren’t my mother, it could have been my father. Hence, no matter what, the Seet family will not be likely to change how they feel about me.”
Between Nicole and Evan lay a lost life as such. It was an immutable fate.
The light in Sophia’s eyes then dimmed.
Sophia then sighed. “Please don’t be upset with me. I’d never wanted things to turn out this way. Unfortunately, the entire Seet family is coming down hard on Evan. As a mother, I really don’t want to see my son… Please forgive my selfishness.”
Nicole forced out a crooked smile.
Being in a similar position herself, she was able to empathize with Sophia.
As soon as Sophia left Summervale, Nicole wasted no time before she headed straight for the airport.
Before she embarked, she took care to send Evan a message.
“I’ll be going away for work. I will return in a few days’ time. Please take care good of the kids!”
When a restless Evan saw her message, he paused and wondered why was Nicole traveling for work during such a time.
He remembered that she had asked for his support in this regard the previous night.
Work.
Is it really for the purpose of work?
Evan pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
“Mr. Seet, Lane Corporation has received a major project overseas. Ms. Lane was anxious to secure it so she has decided to travel there personally.”
Having heard that from Nicole’s assistant, Evan’s doubts were temporarily put to rest.
When Sophia returned to the Seet Residence, she shared the news of Nicole’s departure with Jonathan and Russell. As for the underlying reasons and her whereabouts, she did not breathe a word about them.
Sophia assumed that all the Seet family wanted was for Nicole and Evan to be separated, so they should have been reasonably satisfied, now that this objective had been realized.
Jonathan and Russell both received this news with some degree of misgiving.
“What about Evan? Did he agree to her leaving?”
Sophia glanced at Jonathan. “Do you mean to say that Evan doesn’t need to part from Nicole if he is not amendable to it?
Her words were met with silence.
Jonathan coughed.
“As you can see, it doesn’t really matter what he thinks, so long as it makes the rest of you happy.”
Sophia shot Jonathan a blank stare before she took herself upstairs.
Russell exhaled. “Heaven’s will is unfathomable. Hopefully, Sofie will be able to assist Evan in forgetting about Nicole.”
At the Sweeting residence.
Sofie had mixed feelings after learning that Russell had permitted her to join the Seet family, on the condition that Evan was agreeable to marrying her.
