Love Like Falling Petals

At that moment, Sophie's phone buzzed with a message from her Prof. Brown.

"Sophie, the visa has been approved. I've booked a flight for you tomorrow night. Get ready—your colleagues are all excited to see you."

A warmth filled Sophie's heart, and her eyes grew moist without her realizing it.

No matter how many years had passed, only Prof. Brown and her profession had never betrayed her.

She wiped away the thin tears at the corner of her eyes and quickly replied, "Thank you, Prof. Brown. I'm looking forward to seeing all of you as well."

When Sophie stepped back into her house, a sense of disorientation washed over her, as though she were stepping into a different lifetime.

In just a few days, her entire life had been turned upside down.

The house was eerily quiet, a clear sign that Luke hadn't been home during her absence.

But since she had decided to leave, there was no point in caring about that anymore.

After standing dazed for a while, Sophie finally started clearing out the house.

The couple's mugs, pillows, and plush toys—all of them were packed into garbage bags.

The photos on the walls were also taken down, one by one, and burned.

Those photos were taken on every anniversary during the past five years—a special way of marking their memories together.

Luke had once promised her that they would keep taking such photos, capturing their happiness until they grew old, so he could remember every stage of her life clearly.

But now, it was all just a joke.

There was no future for her and Luke anymore.

After working tirelessly for hours, Sophie had finally cleared out everything from their bedroom.

She thought she could quietly leave the next day without anyone noticing, but then she heard the sound of the front door unlocking.

Sophie froze for a moment before hastily hiding her luggage behind the door and closing the bedroom door.

As expected, it was Luke.

The moment he saw Sophie, his face lit up with joy, filled with what looked like deep affection.

It was as if he had simply been away on a long trip and was overjoyed to see her after such a long time.

He rushed over to hug Sophie, his voice choked with emotion. "Sophie, you're finally back. I've missed you so much..."

Sophie had thought her heart was numb, but now it started to ache again, making it hard for her to breathe.

She couldn't understand how he could act as if nothing had happened.

She couldn't understand how he could be such an incredible actor.

Sophie struggled desperately to break free from his embrace, only to notice Luke's mother standing behind him.

Her heart sank, and the word "Mom" felt stuck in her throat, impossible to say.

Luke's mother avoided her gaze, looking guilty as she spoke first.

"Luke heard from the property management that you were back, so he asked me to come along to explain things to you."

"Sophie, the child was an accident. Luke never wanted it, but his father is very ill and really wants to see a grandson before he passes... so we..."

Luke knelt in front of Sophie, wrapping his arms around her waist as he began to beg pitifully.

"Sophie, I don't even know how I ended up drinking so much that night, let alone how I ended up in bed with her. It was a mistake, one I deeply regret. But I don't like her at all, and I never intended to betray you. If it weren't for my dad, I wouldn't have kept that child... Please, forgive me for this one thoughtless mistake, okay?"

His eyes were red, his tone filled with humble pleading, and his words made it clear how little he cared about the child.

But to Sophie, it was hilarious, and her face grew even colder.

If she hadn't seen Helen's social media posts, she might have convinced herself otherwise.

But she had seen them. She had also felt Luke's anticipation for that child.

How could she possibly believe he didn't care about the child?