Sophia tried to analyze the situation from Stanleyâs words; Irene hadnât been able to remember Michael and got together with Joel. Irene couldnât remember Michael, but he could remember her! If Michael saw Joel and Irene together in a while, he would be so sad!
Becoming worried all of a sudden, Sophia quickened her pace forward; both Stanley and Nathan were anxious about their uncle and father as well. The three of them walked quickly and soon spotted Michaelâs car.
However, Michael had already gotten out of the car; he was also wearing glasses with a wide frame and a black top hat that almost covered half of his face. Meanwhile, Irene and Joel were standing directly in front of him.
They were holding hands, whereas Michael stood there alone.
Sophia immediately quickened her pace and walked to his side, listening in to their conversation.
Holding onto Joel, Irene looked at Michael and said with a smile, âI didnât expect that you are Joelâs younger brother, Mr. Taylor. I really didnât think of it! My apologies!â
Michaelâs wide-framed glasses were blocking his expression. His voice sounded indifferent as he said, âNice to meet you too.â
The atmosphere was harmonious, and nothing was off.
However, Sophia was stunned.
In that moment, Michael mustâve felt really uncomfortable. Nothing was more cruel than saying ânice to meet youâ to someone he once lovedâor might even still love.
Michael must be heartbroken now, but he pretended to be okay so he could save his last bit of dignity.
The entanglement between Michael, Joel, and Irene must be deeper than Sophia could ever imagine, and it was impossible for her to see through nor intervene.
Sophia didnât know anything about Michaelâs past, and she had no idea what happened to him. In fact, she was always an outsider to him because he had never seemed to open his heart to her.
But now, Sophia wanted to help him! She didnât want him to face it alone!
Hence, she squeezed Nathanâs little hand and whispered, âGo to your father.â
No longer being uncooperative, Nathan smiled sweetly and ran over like a butterfly, throwing himself into Michaelâs arms as he yelled loudly, âDaddy!â
Michael embraced Nathanâwho had come running all of a suddenâand noticed Sophia at a glance.
Irene knitted her brows and asked Michael, âIs he your son?â
Looking at Nathan, Michael nodded and replied, âYes, heâs my son.â
Standing next to Michael, Sophia suddenly felt a warm embrace around her cold hand. Michael took her hand and openly said to the two of them, âThe Madam.â
Michael didnât brush off the introduction by simply saying âthis is my wifeâ. Instead, he introduced Sophia formally as âThe Madam.â
At that moment, Sophiaâs mind went blank as she didnât know what to reply.
Stanleyâs jaw dropped in shock as well, but he immediately understood the situation.
Michael had no courage to face Irene, so he simply asked a random woman to pretend to be his woman!
Stanley sighed to himself, Poor Uncle Michael!
Irene was stunned for a moment, but she immediately came around and said with a smile, âWe have met earlier. Sheâs very beautiful!â
Still holding Sophiaâs hand, Michael lowered his head and looked at the girl beside him gently. âYes, sheâs very beautiful.â
Sophia lowered her head as she was feeling shy.
After the short conversation, the Fletchers left and Sophia got in the car.
As the car moved, the family of three didnât speak at all; the atmosphere became dull.
The sun came out at noon, but it started raining again in the afternoon. As the fine raindrops hit the window, Sophia looked out and gazed at the gloomy mountains and rivers; her eyelids had become droopy as well.
Suddenly, a bumpy ride woke Sophia up. She opened her eyes and looked out of the window, realizing that there was nothing but deserted woods around them.
Whatâs going on?
According to the speed of the car, we should be back in the city and in the inner ring by now; why are we in the middle of some deserted woods?
It was a bumpy journey as well. The roads changed from main roads into smaller ones, and they seemed to have not been repaired for a long time as it was full of holes, making it extremely bumpy.
The rain stopped. Sophia opened the window and noticed that the car was moving toward the village.
Although it was getting further off the city, it was becoming more familiar as well.
This is t-the suburbs of Riverdale!
My hometown!
âHubby, did we take the wrong way?â Sophia asked Michael immediately.
Michael smiled in return and replied, âNo, we didnât. Weâre here to sweep your familyâs tomb.â
While talking, the car stopped right outside the village where Sophia used to live.
Upon getting out of the car, Sophia couldnât believe everything that happened in the past.
After so many years, she had actually returned to this place!
The village had been demolished during the year of Sophiaâs high school entrance exam, but her uncle and aunt were not removed from the place. Hence, they shifted the entire blame onto her. She had just finished her exams at that time; not only did she receive first place in her year, she was also accepted into Riverdale High School. However, her uncle and aunt wanted her to get married in exchange for betrothal money. Furthermore, the man was a bachelor in his forties.
Sophia was unwilling to give her life away to a bachelor in his forties, so she called the headmaster of Riverdale High School for help. The headmaster came to the village to reason with her aunt, but after a big fight, Sophia was completely chased out of the house.
Since then, Sophia had never returned and didnât have the chance to sweep the tomb.
Sophia didnât expect that Michael would actually remember this incident.
Sophia had her motherâs surname, but when she was born, her mother died. Later on, her maternal grandparents passed away too. Along with her mother, they were buried at the hilltop right outside of this village.
The car stopped at the bottom of the mountain, and the group walked up the mountain to look for the graves.
After the spring rain, the mountain was bleak and the wind soughed. There was no one about the remote area; the village was a kilometer away, and it seemed pretty deserted. Several graves were hidden among the cluttered weeds.
The group of people went up the mountain. As the mountain was rugged, they changed into the rain boots they had prepared in advance and walked unsteadily up the mountain.
Soon, Sophia found her grandparentsâ and her motherâs graves.
On top of her grandparentsâ grave, there were some traces indicating someone had cleaned the tomb together with the remnants of joss sticks and paper money, but they were all soaked in rain. On the other hand, no one had visited Sophiaâs motherâs grave for a long time.
According to Sophiaâs family tradition, girls were not allowed to sweep the tomb, so it was always her uncles who came. Since they believed that Sophiaâs mother had died disgracefully, she was unworthy to be brought up after her death; they simply set up a gravestone for her and that was it. During the New Year celebrations, they didnât even pay their respects to her with the joss sticks and paper money.
Michael took off his windbreaker. Only wearing a T-shirt, he picked up the equipment they brought and began clearing the weeds.
After working the whole day, they finally cleaned out the graves. Two of the graves were next to each other; one was Sophiaâs grandparentsâ and the other one which looked older and damaged was her motherâs. Under the sun and rain, the words on the gravestone had already blurred.
After clearing out the graves, Sophia and Michael began arranging the joss sticks and paper money before paying their respects to the deceased.
After burning the paper money, Michael took out a mat and was about to kowtow.
Sophia stopped him immediately. âDonât⦠â
How can I possibly let him kneel down?
The floor is so dirty!