The Third Wheel

The Third Wheel - Part 5

Sophie stepped out of the chauffeur-driven BMW, her door being opened by her chauffeur. She nodded in appreciation towards him, who in turn gave her a slight bow. After seeing the chauffeur leave out of her sight, she studied her surroundings. What she saw was a vast field, her left side a maze the middle was a road which was connected to the main entrance and on her right side, a beautiful garden, well tended by the hired gardener. In front of her right now, is a large fountain, beside it a small high fountain for the birds to clean it selves. Lastly, she studied the mansion when she finished studying her surroundings. It has a Georgian architecture, which doesn’t really suit the white marble staircase at the front door. She guessed that it was a new addition to the otherwise half-century old mansion.

She already took a step on the staircase when the door opened. She looked up, and saw her vice-president, or rather accurately, her personal ‘bodyguard and butler’ Peter Summers, giving her a smile, smartly dressed with black chinos and a crisp white-long sleeved shirt. Sophie raised her eyebrows, giving him a smirk. “Love the chinos, Peter” she said. “Love your outfit too. It makes you look mellow” he quipped back, with a teasing tone. Sophie looked down at her outfit. She was wearing a teal-coloured cocktail dress, French lace decorated at the hem, which ended almost above her knees. “Really? I feel overdone for just a normal dinner” she answered back, “Anyways, this is the first and last time I’m wearing this. It’s tight at my waist”. She frowned, obviously uncomfortable in her outfit.

Peter chuckled, and took her hand. “A lady shouldn’t frown. It’s unattractive. Besides, you will get old easily”. Sophie half-pouted by this remark, and raised her head slightly to study the chandelier above her. “It’s still early, so I will bring you up to your room”. As they both ascended the stairs, with Peter in front of her, Sophie studied his back. Peter has been by her side the moment her father took him and Jennifer in. He explained they had been abandoned by their mother, and her father decided to take care of them. From then, Peter and Jennifer loyally stayed by her family’s side until now. Even though Peter is a year older than her, he was pushed back a year so that he could stay by her side better. Peter did not mind, as he promised to look after her when that event happened. “Sophie?” Sophie snapped out of her thoughts and saw Peter looking at her with worry. “Are you alright? You look pale” Sophie shook her head at this remark and gave him a gentle smile. “No, I’m fine. I think I just need to have a breather. I’ll just walk outside”. Peter nodded and as she walked away, he yelled out “Be careful outside”. She raised her hand in reply to his message.

Sophie stepped out of the mansion and went towards the garden. She sat on the white bench and stretched. She was glad that she managed to get out of the stuffy mansion for a while. She sighed. She felt tired with her daily routine. Apparently, she is living by herself in a condo nearby her school. But it was made possible after she agreed to a few conditions made by the head of the house. Her grandfather. One of the conditions is to have a family dinner during the weekends. She mentally shivered when she saw her grandfather’s face in her mind. She immediately blocked it out.

Her other problem was Jordan Watson. His advances weren’t much, but she found herself getting attracted to him. It wasn’t because he was not just an eye candy, nor his way of flirting. It was his serious expression that caught her. She never knew he was capable of having that expression. When she saw him on the bed, her heart skipped a beat at his innocent sleeping face. She was even tempted to stroke his forehead. What she did not understand was, she treated him kindly then coldly after that. She knew why though. She wanted him to give up, making him avoid her at any cost. She did not want to fall in love. She was too scared to do so.

She bit her lip, trying to stop herself from crying. After coming back from school, she found her golden locket missing. She tried not to make herself cry, but she did anyway when she was in the shower. She felt empty when it was not by her side. Her treasured locket.

She heard splashing nearby. She craned her neck towards the direction of the sound. She walked towards it, the splashing sound clearer as she walked. She then reached a white door and opened it. She almost forgot. The door leads to the outdoor swimming pool. It was a huge rectangular swimming pool with a mini Jacuzzi beside it. She saw a white towel on the pool bench, indicating that someone was in the swimming pool. She turned towards the pool when the splashing stopped. A tall figure with broad shoulders went out of the pool. He walked towards the pool bench to grab his towel and wiped his tanned body dry. Sophie stepped back, trying to avoid him, but somehow she stepped on a twig along the way. When the twig snapped, it made such a noise that it made Sophie’s heart skipped a beat. She suddenly heard footsteps. She stood there, frozen, as the footsteps became louder and louder. She shut her eyes closed, when the footsteps stopped making its sound.

“See you at dinner”

That was the sentence she heard before she opened her eyes. She leaned on the white door, and turned back to the route she went before. She entered the mansion again, this time bumping into another figure. It was John. When he saw her, his calm face became teary-eyed. “Sophie…!” he exclaimed. He was about to saw something else when she covered his mouth with her slender hand. She gave him a reassuring smile. “It’s alright, John. I’m not angry with you. You were right; I haven’t been taking care of myself lately. Thank you for worrying about me”. John was about to pull Sophie into a hug when suddenly they heard someone clearing their throat loudly behind them. Sophie turned around slowly.

What she saw is the man whom she feared the most. The man who has made her life hell. Charles Bradford, the chairman of Bradford Corporation, also known as her grandfather. He slowly walked towards them, letting Sophie study him. Even though he was in his late 50s, he looked younger. He had a fit body, and his broad shoulders made him look strong. He may have wrinkles on his face, but he still had his handsome features. A strong jaw, his skin tanned and piercing blue-green eyes. “How are you doing, Grandfather?” John asked, being friendly though there was a hint of fear in his voice. Charles merely grunted, and went to the dining room before the butler could even ask them to. John followed on, when he noticed Sophie still standing there, frozen. “Sophie? What’s wrong?” he asked, but before he could hear her answer, he knew why. Behind Charles Bradford was another man. He was in his mid-20s, with broad shoulders and a tanned, fit body. He had on a serious face, yet there was a hint of gentleness in it. Sophie noticed that his jet-black hair was wet, which almost fell on top of blue-green eyes. John let out a smile, and greeted him. “Phillip! Aren’t you glad that Sophie came to the dinner this time? Our precious sister” John beamed, pulling Sophie closer to him. Phillip threw his gaze towards Sophie. “Yes. I certainly am. How rare, that is” he murmured. The three of them walked towards the dining room. Peter Summers watched everything from afar, and felt nervous for Sophie.

TO BE CONTINUED