I Walked Away Seven Years Too Late But Right on Time novel Chapter 163

Sophie lowered her head, her eyelashes fluttering slightly. Instead of answering Luke's question, she countered, "If you have something to say, just say it."

Luke looked at her, unsure of where to begin.

In just three days, Sophie had grown noticeably haggard. She clearly hadn't been eating well, and her cheeks looked hollowed out.

She sat across from him, but her gaze wasn't on him. Her eyes seemed unfocused, and she looked completely drained of life.

It was a stark contrast to the radiant, stunningly beautiful woman who had stepped out of Gavin's car the last time he visited.

He knew these past few days had been pure agony for her. Gavin's parents were undoubtedly prejudiced against her after that explosive incident, and her complicated past with Luke would only further taint their view of her.

And this, for him, might just be an opportunity.

Yesterday, before going to the airport to pick up Harold, he deliberately dialed the number of a different testing center. When Eileen saw the number on his phone, she rushed straight to the wrong clinic.

By the time they finished their tests and returned to the hotel, Eileen was throwing a massive tantrum.

"Luke Lawrence, you are so manipulative! Tricking me into going somewhere else so you could take her to get tested with my dad! Do you want her to be his daughter that badly? Trying to turn Cinderella into a princess so you can marry her?"

He couldn't care less about Eileen's crazy rants, but he cared deeply about what Sophie thought.

He wanted to win her back, not because her social standing had changed, but because the man who swore to protect her had been MIA for two straight days.

Gavin had once told him that until he handled his own mess, he had no right to bother Sophie. Well, his mess was sorted out now, while Gavin was likely drowning in his parents' objections and interference.

The tables had turned. How would Sophie choose now?

"I'm not going. I just want what's legally mine. I have zero interest in Apex Holdings, and I have even less interest in tangling with that mother-daughter duo. I'm not going to spend the rest of my life fighting with two psychos."

A paternity test wouldn't erase the bad blood between them; it would only make Victoria and her daughter view her as an even bigger threat. Spending the rest of her life dodging their dirty tricks was a sickening thought.

This wasn't the life she wanted. She refused to let her existence be consumed by hatred and endless bickering, eventually turning her into a twisted, bitter person like Victoria and Eileen.

"You know that's not the life I want."

The life she wanted... was the one Gavin had painted for her so many times. Building a career she loved, being with the man she loved, having beautiful kids, and finding happiness in the little moments of everyday life.

Beneath the table, Luke's hand tightened around the box holding the ring.

Sophie had once told him she wanted a simple life—to be with the person she loved and build a warm, loving home. He had the power to give her that now.