Chapter 17

She walked past the front of the car and was about to get into a cab, but Patrick hurriedly got out of his
car and grabbed her wrist.He forced her to get into the passenger seat of his vehicle.He immediately
locked the door so Sophia could not get out.

Sophia worked the whole day and was already tired to the point that she had no strength to be angry or
to fight him, so she thought, ‘Let him do what he wants’

The car was swift.

Sophia and Patrick were both quiet.

The only sound that could be heard was the sound of the rubber wheels on the pavement.

Though the car was at high speed, John's driving was impeccable, making the atmosphere quite
tranquil.

On the other hand, Patrick also smelled like his old after-shave cream.

Sophia's absent-minded heart calmed down for a moment, and she felt so peaceful that she could fall
asleep in the next second.She closed her eyes for a bit.

Then, Patrick asked suddenly, "Do you get along well with Mr.Bower?"

Sophia turned her head and looked at Patrick's face.He did not look surprised at all.So Sophia could
not help but ask, "How did you know his name?"

"We did some business together" he explained vaguely.

After a long while, he asked again, "Are you planning to marry him?"

She was puzzled by Patrick's actions and words tonight.



Whether it was his questions or his manner, it gave her an illusion that Patrick was acting like a
husband right now.

Sophia looked out of the window and at the scenery as they passed.Her heart seemed to skip a beat, "I
don't know, I will let nature take its course.

How they looked inside the car was like a beautiful scene in the movie.

However, neither of them noticed that this was the first time they had interacted peacefully with each
other in many years.

They also didn't know that their world would change after this night.

She still had one day before she needed to pay the fine for the breach of contract.

Sophia looked at the money she had raised and was sad that it was not even half of what she
needed.She took out the diamond necklace that had been sealed in her wallet for five years.She could
pawn it for her plan to get through.

Evening came, and Sophia could not sleep.She turned on the lamp and subconsciously touched the
wallet on the bedside table.She suddenly remembered that she had pawned the necklace.

There was an emptiness in her heart.

That necklace had been with her for so many years, and she was reluctant to part with it.

"Young lady, it seemed that this necklace is very important to you.The contract will take effect before
tomorrow afternoon, which shows that you still have one night to get this back."

The owner of the pawnshop said.

The owner offered these words of advice when he saw Sophia's reluctance.



She didn't sleep the whole night.

The following day, she ran to the pawnshop and waited for the owner.

Finally, she decided to get the necklace back.

When the owner saw her, he was not surprised.

On the contrary, he looked as if he knew that she would come back.

"Sorry, Ms.Hill, that necklace has been bought by someone."

Sophia was anxious, "How could you do this? Didn't you say that the contract would only take effect in
the afternoon? Why did you sell my necklace?"

The man spread out his hands and said helplessly, "I knew the rules, and I told that to the buyer, but
the man who bought it said that he would bear all the consequences.Please understand, my store is
small, and I could not argue with the man who looks wealthy and powerful."

Sophia had never felt so dejected.

It was as if she had lost the most precious thing in the world.She belatedly realized that she should
have kept it.

It was too late.

"The gentleman left a phone number and said that if you want to take back the necklace, you can call
him; The owner said.

Sophia glanced at the number on the slip of paper.She didn't need to look twice to know who it
was.She had long since memorized the man's phone number because he had never changed that
number in the past ten years.



The moment she got through, her hand trembled, "Patrick speaking"

"You bought the necklace?"

She finally spoke after a long silence.

Patrick remained silent.

"Do you want to take it back?"

But, unfortunately, his voice was calm, and she could only hear the sound of a laptop keyboard.He had
guessed her intentions, or rather, there was no need to think.

Her phone call had already explained everything.

"Will you return it to me?" Sophia asked silently.

Her hand holding the phone turned pale, like a prisoner waiting for a sentence.

"If you want to get the necklace back, wait for me at my apartment building tonight, '' Patrick said
suddenly.

He didn't even allow her to say no.

Patrick hung up the phone.He expected that Sophia would wait for him at his apartment because of the
necklace.If it were for something else, Sophia would feel contempt.

But that necklace was different.

Although it could be sold for an obscene amount of money, its significance was not limited to this.

The importance of the necklace could not be measured by money.



She was furious and had nowhere to vent it, which caused the situation she was in.

The weather was very nice in the morning, but it was very dark come nightfall.

The breeze in Harrow city carried with it a portent of a storm.

The luxury apartment where Patrick lived was famous in the entire Frostford.

The people who lived here were either rich or an aristocrat.

Because of this, the security measures in the community were also of the highest level.

She did not have any credentials and could only stand and wait foolishly at the outermost part of the
building.

Patrick's car appeared outside the apartment building at nine o'clock in the evening.

He seemed to have drunk wine, and his eyes were darker and deeper than before.

"Have you been waiting for a long time?" He walked over.

His breath carried the smell of alcohol.

But even if the smell was very strong, it was not unpleasant.

Instead, it made people feel that Patrick was a man with story and depth.

"No, I just arrived."

Sophia shook her head and answered.

He was standing very close to her.



He looked at her hair that had been messed up by the wind, and he unconsciously raised his hand to
tuck her hair behind her ear.

She felt the warm temperature coming from his fingertips.It made her blush.

She stepped back a little bit.

This scene was somewhat awkward but enigmatic as well.

"Can you return it to me?" Sophia stretched out her hand.Her fair palm looked very tempting in Patrick's
eyes.

His Adam's apple involuntarily moved.

The corners of his mouth twitched as if to smile.

He didn't know why, but he was not normal tonight.

He thought that it was because of the alcohol, but he wanted to see her.

"Why are you so anxious about this necklace? Sophia, why do you care about it?"

He stepped a little closer to her until there was no gap between the two of them.His eyes examined her,
and it seemed that he could easily see through her.

She was speechless and confused.

'Why am I so anxious and nervous?’ Sophia asked herself.

Perhaps it was because of that necklace that she had treasured for many years.

Perhaps it was because it was the first time he had given her something.



Although Patrick did not personally pick it, and it was very superficial of him at that time, Sophia had
always regarded it as a treasure.

Did she not need money? Yes, now she needed money more than anyone else.

"Since you intended to sell it, you should have thought first that it might never belong to you again”
Patrick said.

His reminder hit the nail on the head and quickly brought her back to reality.Sophia bit her lips in
silence.What he said was true.

The necklace he gave, including Patrick himself, had never truly belonged to her.

"I can give it to you, but you need to pay ten times the price I bought it for"

He offered a condition to make things difficult for her.

Sophia was shocked by his words.

Ten times the price was incredible.She widened her eyes and reminded him, "Patrick, it's my necklace!"

"But I already bought it back!" He implied that no one could compete with him if he saw something he
fancied.

"I knew I shouldn't have come!" Sophia snarled.

‘Why I am so silly, I should not have had any expectations for him from the beginning” Sophia thought
forlornly.


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