Con

CHAPTER 42

Elijah’s POV

Knowing that Sophia was working in the same building where I was, every single day, drove me crazy. I often found myself glancing around in the lobby, in the elevator, in the hallways… always searching for her, hoping to catch a glimpse.

Today, Trevis and I had a meeting. Finally, I had good reason to go to Urban Next Design Studio. At first, I didn’t see Sophia anywhere. Then after the meeting, my heart went crazy when I saw that her office door was ajar. Taking a quick peek inside, my heart dropped. There she was, closely sitting together and poring over some designs, even whispering to each other. Sometimes she would giggle, oblivious to my presence.

That architect even had the nerve to put his arm around her and rub her back!

It was all I could do not to pull him away from her and punch him in the nose. I shook my head as I tried to control the anger that threatened to consume me.

“What’s happening to me?” I asked myself as I went back to the top floor and closed the door behind me in my office. I gulped down a glass of wine, shaking my head in disbelief and trying to calm down. I used to always be composed, never showing my real emotions. But ever since Sophia and I had separated, I’d become easily affected by her.

I could not control the surge of jealousy and anger that came over me, the intensity surprising myself. I had hoped that coming back to the U.S. would distance me from such feelings, but seeing Sophia with another man right inside my own building reignited the emotions I had tried to bury. I clenched my fists, trying to push the thoughts away, but they lingered, festering like an open wound.

Just then, there was a knock on my door. Chris poked his head in after a while. “Hey, Elijah!” he called in a jolly voice, oblivious to my negative emotions. “My sister has finally come home here! Did you

know?”

I narrowed my eyes, looking puzzled, as he entered. Then it dawned on me who he was talking about. Do you mean Julia Stanford?”

“Yes!” Chris said eagerly. “You’ve met her?”

I nodded, thinking about the woman I’d met at the restaurant. She did look a lot like Sabrina. “She

works at Urban Next, Trevis’s company.”

“Yeah, she was an intern there in Paris! I did hear that Trevis partnered with you and they have ant office here now. That’s awesome! You have easier access to Julia then. You need to help me

convince her to take that DNA test.”

1 then remembered the bracelet I saw Julia wearing the very same one I’d given Sabrina years ago. When I told Chris about it, he was even more ecstatic,

I’m telling you, she’s the one!” Chris said with confidence and excitement. “Maybe she doesn’t remember her childhood because of the trauma, but she really is Sabrina. We’ve finally found her!”

“Maybe…” I said, hope rekindling in my heart. But I still couldn’t be too sure. “It’s still best that we have

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her take that DNA test. I’ll try my best to persuade her, though I can’t guarantee you that she’ll say

yes.”

“She will. You’ve got that charm over her. She always listens to you.”

The next day, I had my assistant call Julia to my office. She enthusiastically entered, though she seemed a little shy at first. It reminded me of Sabrina who was always quite shy even though she was eager about something. I struggled to see any resemblance between them other than the physical appearance and this modest, bashful demeanor.

Perhaps it’s because we don’t really know each other well.

“Take a seat, please. How are you, Julia?”

“I’m great, thank you.” She sat down in front of my desk, gazing into my eyes and smiling widely.

“Your work

at Urban Next, right? We’ve partnered with them for our latest development. I’m glad to know you’ll be one of our latest project’s designers.”

“Oh, yes. That’s awesome!”

“So…” I started, thinking of the information I wanted to fish out from her. “You seem to be very creative. I’d love to learn more about your background, how your interest in design began, that sort of

thing…”

She began to describe herself as a shy, artistic child. It was through her sketches that she was able to release her emotions and express herself. “I, uh, had a troublesome childhood,” she told me hesitantly. That perked up my interest at once, and I leaned forward to listen closely. She continued, “I went missing when I was around ten years old, then I was adopted afterwards…”

“Wow, really?” I asked, my heart thumping faster. She could really be Sabrina.

She paused for a while, perhaps struggling to decide if she would tell me more. I offered her wine, and she gladly accepted. As she sipped it, she began to physically relax.

“It must have been a traumatic experience,” I remarked.

“Yes, and it resulted in losing my memories from before I was ten. But I knew that art and design were always a part of me. It helped me feel better and adjust to the new life I had.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I genuinely said. Then slowly, carefully, I mentioned Chris Baker which made her frown. “I know that you’ve been feeling harassed by him in Paris, but he’s a good friend of mine who just really loves his sister dearly and would like to get her back if possible. Even until now, he hasn’t lost hope… Even I would like to find out if you could be Sabrina. You know, she was my childhood best friend.”

Her eyes widened and she seemed to be thinking about it.

“Sabrina means a lot to me,” I added softly, remembering the last moments I shared with her.

“Wait, but I’m curious about something,” Julia suddenly said. Out of the blue, she asked, “What’s your relationship with Sophia? I mean, I saw how you two acted in the elevator…”

I took a deep breath and told her the truth. “She’s my ex–wife.”

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“I see.” Sh

didn’t even seem to be surprised. “Is she still important to you, more than Sabrina?”

“I…“I was about to say yes. But then I remembered Sophia whispering with Craig. It reminded me of how angry I’d been whenever I saw her with Daniel. And now there was Craig too! Damn, it hurt me

badly. It made me so furious.

Julia was still waiting for my answer. To her, it was probably just an innocent question.

“No, she doesn’t matter to me anymore,” I finally said, “It’s long been over between us. Sabrina is much more important to me.”

Julia nodded, a slight smile beginning to appear on her lips. “Okay. I’ll get the DNA test.”

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