Chapter 512
Chapter 512
Neither Sophia nor Kylie said anything as they stared at the tombstone in front of them.
It had been a long time since Perrin drank alcohol. He loved to drink when he was young, but he cut down on it after starting a family. With Penelope keeping a close eye on him, Perrin hardly had any chance to drink anyway. After Penelope was diagnosed with cancer, Perrin stopped drinking completely.
The wine that Perrin's assistant, John brought from the Dawson residence was Perrin's favorite kind. He had been storing it in a cabinet for over twenty years. For the first time ever, Perrin found the wine's taste to be unpleasant.
He only took a sip of it before handing it back to John.
Sophia looked up at Perrin and asked, “Shall we head back, Granddad?”
Perrin shot her a glance and nodded in response.
The group then left two bouquets of flowers before the tombstone to signify their visit and walked out of the cemetery.
It was still early when they returned to the city and not yet time for dinner, so Sophia brought Perrin and Kylie to Quantus Mountain, a popular spot in Coldbridge to watch the sunset.
The view from Quantus Mountain during sunset was beautiful regardless of the seasons, making it famous all over the country.
Perrin had been feeling blue since they left the cemetery. Sophia, on the other hand, was feeling all right as her parents had been gone for almost ten years.
She had long since accepted that cruel reality.
It was five in the evening when they arrived at the bottom of the mountain. The hot sun was still high up in the sky, and the surrounding area remained brightly lit.
Sophia opened an umbrella after getting out of the car and held Perrin steady as they made their way toward the ticketing counter.
A lot of people loved coming over to Quantus Mountain for trekking and camping activities during the weekends. It wasn't really tall, so it would only take a three-hour hike to reach its peak. However, they were short on time that day, and Perrin's legs were not exactly in good condition for such strenuous activity. As such, they decided to ride a cable car up the mountain instead.
It was still fairly early by the time they arrived at the peak. Because schools and universities were on summer vacation, most of the students would come over to camp. Watching the sunset in the evening, stargazing at night, and having some cookies for breakfast before heading back the next morning made quite a pleasant experience.
Sophia would often go camping at Quantus Mountain with Katherine and the others during her high school days. The night sky looked really pretty with all the stars shining brightly.
A tour guide was giving an introduction of Quantus Mountain nearby. After wandering around for a bit, Sophia finally found a vacant spot and sat down with Kylie and Perrin. The three of them were seated
about a few meters apart and enjoyed the cooling mountain breeze while listening to the tour guide's speech.
Perrin, who had been in a bad mood since they left the cemetery, finally spoke up. “Quantus Mountain sure is an interesting place.”
“Mom and Dad used to bring me hiking here when I was five. They didn't have cable cars here at the time. I got tired halfway through the hike, so Dad carried me on his back and continued the hike up the mountain,” Sophia said with a smile.
That was Sophia's first time seeing the sunset. As she was only five at the time, she didn't really understand the concept of sunsets. All she knew was how beautiful it looked as she stood at the peak and stared at the clouds floating in the bright orange sky.
In the years after that, sunsets had always held a special place in Sophia's heart.
John bought them some drinks from a nearby stall. Sophia took a sip of it and glanced at her watch. It was half past five at the time, so the sun would set in another thirty minutes.
Perrin loved hearing stories about Sophia's childhood, so she told him the ones that were interesting to keep him entertained. They had such a great time together that thirty minutes went by before they even realized it.
The sky began to get dark at six in the evening, and an orange glow began to spread from the horizon.
Most of the photography enthusiasts had already whipped out their cameras and were testing them out in preparation.
The people at the peak had doubled in number, so they couldn't see anything while sitting down.
“Mr. Zinn, could you please help hold Granddad steady?” Sophia said while helping Perrin to his feet.
Given how crowded the place had become, it would be safer to have John hold Perrin instead.
John quickly put his things down and stepped forward to hold Perrin's arm.
The sun was starting to set, and the sky looked even more beautiful with each passing second. Kylie, who was standing next to Sophia at the time, exclaimed, “Now I see why people love watching the sunset!”
Sophia turned around and asked, “Have you and Uncle Kasper not watched sunsets before?”
Kylie snorted in displeasure. “Hmph! That dense guy doesn't know a thing about romance!”
Sophia couldn't help but agree with her statement after thinking about Kasper's personality.
“Lukas is just as dense as he is!” Perrin chimed in.
He wouldn't still be single if he weren't so dense!
Just thinking about Lukas was enough to put a frown on Perrin's face. Original from NôvelDrama.Org.
Kylie let out a helpless sigh. “Well, you know what they say. Like father, like son...”
“I'm not like that, though! It's not my fault they turned out like this!” Perrin exclaimed.
Kylie let out a soft chuckle. “Of course, Dad! Mom told me a lot of good things about you.”
“Oh? What did she say about me?” Perrin asked.
“She said you gave her a book the first time you met her. She also told me that you would always bring her a little surprise whenever you two went out on dates. Sometimes, it would be a flower from the mountains, and sometimes it would be a barrette that you probably spent a lot of money on,” Kylie replied.
Sophia was a little shocked when she heard that. She had always assumed that Perrin was a dense man because of his job as a soldier. She did not expect him to be such a romantic person during his younger days.
As Kylie was quoting Penelope directly, Sophia could tell from her choice of words that Penelope saw Perrin's small acts of affection as a sign of his love for her.
Feeling happy for them, Sophia lowered her head and let out a soft chuckle.
Upon looking up, she made eye contact with a man standing about seven to eight meters away from her.
He was dressed in a baseball outfit and staring right at her. When he saw her looking at him, he even arched an eyebrow at her.
The smile on Sophia's face faded instantly, and she quickly retracted her gaze.
Yulisa Saddler exclaimed with a dissatisfied frown when she saw Heath Barker being distracted. “What are you looking at?”
Heath slowly turned around upon hearing that and shot her a nonchalant gaze. “Nothing.”
Yulisa stared at the direction he was facing in hopes of finding out what he was looking at but to no avail. “Keep in mind that you agreed to come here with me today!”
Heath frowned impatiently at her. “So? Do you think I would've said yes if it weren't for your brother?”
“You...” Yulisa burned bright red with anger, but Heath didn't seem to care.
“What? Are we done here? I'm leaving if we are.”
Yulisa gave in the moment she saw him get ready to leave. “No, we're not! We're staying here until the sunset is over!”
Rumor has it that if we see the sunset at Quantus Mountain with the person we like and sincerely wish for us to be together, then that wish will come true!
Little did Yulisa know, she was simply being naïve.
Given how short a sunset lasts, it would not make sense to use it as a symbol of a long-lasting relationship.