CHAPTER 22: CHAPTER 22: SILAS SHEFFIELD BRAVES THE SNOWSTORM TO COME HOME AND KEEP HER COMPANY

"Impossible, my brother has only ever been with Thea. We used to live under the same roof every day. If he was dating someone, wouldn’t I know? Who am I? I’m Sophie Sheffield, the detective!"

The next day, after hearing from Clara that Silas Sheffield’s first love might have been someone else, Sophie Sheffield was utterly shocked and skeptical.

Even though they hadn’t seen each other in over three years, Clara and Sophie remained as close as they were in high school, sharing everything.

Yesterday, when Silas said he couldn’t get over Thea, Clara was also very surprised.

Silas’s words implied that his first love was someone else.

So when Clara met with Sophie today, she brought it up to her.

Unexpectedly, Sophie stubbornly refused to believe it.

"Absolutely impossible, my brother is aloof with everyone. If he were truly in love, wouldn’t I notice?" Sophie shook her head and waved her hand, "Impossible, he’s just being stubborn."

Clara took a sip of her drink. "Then he’s really stubborn, isn’t he?"

Sophie laughed, "Hahaha, all men are like that."

But then she couldn’t laugh anymore.

Because she thought of Preston.

Sophie drooped her head like a frost-bitten eggplant, "Clara, I still can’t seem to let go of Preston."

Clara blinked, "So, are you going to find him?"

Sophie remained silent, her bright eyes full of despondency, "Sigh, never mind, he probably has a girlfriend by now. I shouldn’t bother him."

"How would you know if you don’t ask?" Clara said, "Follow your heart, if you miss him, go find him."

Sophie thought about it, sadness welled up in her eyes, and she recalled some unpleasant memories.

"Forget it, he wouldn’t want to see me."

Clara put her arm around Sophie’s shoulder, "Well then, don’t see him. Our Sophie is so wonderful, you deserve a better man. Preston doesn’t know what he’s missing."

Preston was a classmate of Sophie and Clara’s in high school.

Their high school was a top national one, a public school that only accepted students with good grades, regardless of family background.

In high school, Preston had excellent grades, often ranking in the top three in their class, and his overall year ranking never fell below the top 100 among over two thousand students.

Preston was exceptionally good-looking, standing at six feet one, with clear eyebrows and well-defined features, a cool demeanor, and didn’t like to smile much. Even in the unflattering school uniform, he looked surprisingly good.

Sophie, having grown up with Silas’s good looks, was picky about appearances and usually unimpressed by handsome guys.

However, Preston wasn’t just any handsome guy; he was the school heartthrob.

Many girls admired him, and Sophie was one of them.

Despite her lively and outgoing nature, Sophie turned speechless when faced with Preston, lacking even the courage to meet his eyes.

As outgoing as Sophie was, she could only engage in a secret crush.

During the summer of their graduation year, after secretly admiring Preston for two years, Sophie finally mustered the courage to confess with her friends’ encouragement.

The result was Preston coldly rejecting her.

That night, Sophie ran to Clara’s house and cried in her arms for a long time, her eyes swollen like walnuts.

A few days after her confession, she resolutely went abroad for further studies.

Later, Clara heard from classmates that Preston attended Crestwood University of Science and Technology and never dated anyone throughout his college years.

...

Days passed during the cold, dry winter in Veridian.

Silas Sheffield came to Veridian this time to inspect the branch office.

The Sheffield Group was a large enterprise with branches across the country, and the branch in Veridian had developed well, taking on many significant projects in recent years.

Silas was busy every day, leaving early and returning late. During the day, Clara hardly saw him.

The villa where Clara lived wasn’t far from Luminar Hospital. She would spend a half-day every day at the hospital with her mother and the remaining time preparing her graduation thesis.

These days, Clara frequently received texts and calls from unknown numbers on her phone, all from Isaac Sutton using other people’s phones.

[Clara, why did you block me?]

[Do you know everything now?]

[I’m sorry, baby, I was wrong. Give me a chance to make amends, please? Don’t ignore me.]

[Baby, even though I pretended to be poor and deceived you, my feelings for you are real. Can’t you give me another chance?]

[Please acknowledge me? I’m going crazy without you.]

[I’m begging you, please respond to me.]

[Clara, you can’t just give me a death sentence like this. I’m willing to do anything for you, to spend money on you, to marry you, just please respond to me, alright?]

[Clara, it’s snowing, I miss you so much.]

[Clara, where are you?]

[I just found out my mom visited you. Don’t listen to her nonsense. You’re the one I love; I won’t marry Quinn Hughes, I only want to marry you.]

[Clara, I dreamt of you again last night, waking up to realize it was just a dream. It’s the first time I’ve known what heartbreak feels like.]

[Clara Sterling, how can you so heartlessly cut off a relationship of more than two years?]

Clara blocked each number as they came.

Isaac kept finding new numbers to contact her, so Clara, overwhelmed, eventually changed her own number.

...

That evening, Clara finished organizing her thesis proposal and went downstairs for dinner, rubbing her shoulders.

Ms. Cheney came out of the kitchen with a bowl of winter melon and pork rib soup, "Oh, you’re downstairs, ma’am, I was just about to call you."

There were two place settings on the dining table.

Clara paused and asked, "Is Silas coming back for dinner tonight?"

Ms. Cheney replied, "Yes, he just called to say he’ll be home for dinner."

Clara nodded, "Did he say what time he’ll be home?"

"Probably soon."

Just as she finished speaking, Silas walked in, his body wrapped in the cold.

It was snowing heavily outside, with the wind howling fiercely, biting cold.

In such inclement weather, Clara thought Silas wouldn’t come back tonight.

Sophie had mentioned before that the rest area in Silas’s office was almost as big as his bedroom at home, equipped with a bed and bathroom, and he usually slept there when busy.

Clara instinctively took his coat and hung it up for him, "Silas, you’re back."

The man responded with a cold "Hmm," "Today’s the Lantern Festival."

It was only then that Clara noticed two plates of dumplings on the dining table.

She didn’t usually pay attention to the lunar calendar and had no idea today was the Lantern Festival.

Silas headed toward the dining room, "I originally planned to bring Auntie over for dinner, but the weather’s too bad; I sent dumplings to her instead."

His thoughtfulness touched Clara, and she said, "Thank you."

So, did Silas specifically come home tonight to have dinner with her for the Lantern Festival?

That feeling came again.

It was as if a warm current flowed through her heart, and she heard the sound of ice and snow melting.

Clara suddenly realized that perhaps Silas Sheffield wasn’t as cold as he appeared.