Too Late She Already Married Mr. Right (Sophia) novel Chapter 163

They both flicked on their phone flashlights. Good thing they’d charged up before bed–their batteries were at full bars, but there was absolutely no signal to be found.

The quake probably took out the cell towers. This just proved how brutal tonight’s disaster really was.

With her phone flashlight, Annabelle finally spotted her car–down the slope, buried nose–first in someone’s sweet potato patch.

She cried out, “Mother Nature sure doesn’t mess around… My poor car!”

“Quit your moaning and stay right there on the edge–I’ll handle the horn,” Sophia said, her tone firm.

Every second counted now–if she could wake someone up even a moment sooner, she might just save a life.

With that, she snatched the keys, vaulted down into the field with practiced ease, and popped the car door

open.

The SUV came to life, its headlights flashing as Sophia jumped in from the passenger side and slammed her hand down on the horn, refusing to let go.

The harsh honking kept going, and every time it hit the mountains ahead, the sound bounced back, echoing through the valley.

Instantly, Ginkgo Town was filled with the sharp, blaring sound of the horn.

The loud honking jolted the townspeople awake, and in their panic, they scrambled out of their houses–only then did they realize a full–blown earthquake was happening.

Word spread like wildfire; before long, the elderly, young children, and women were all scrambling for safety out in the open, coughing and with their faces smeared in dust, looking a complete mess.

“What did we do to deserve this? Seven years ago, we had an earthquake, and now it’s happening all over again,” someone wailed.

“We’re right on the fault line–we’ve had small tremors for years, but I never thought a big one would hit. My house is gone. What are we supposed to do now?” another person cried out.

People were venting and griping nonstop, talking about how the last quake left them living hand to mouth and barely making ends meet.

Sophia and Annabelle stood not far away, listening to the townspeople talk about the quake and their troubles. Annabelle felt herself transported right back to that catastrophic night seven years ago.

“My parents died during that quake, Sophie… That was the day our lives crossed for the very first time,” Annabelle whispered, her voice trembling.

Sophia wrapped her arm around Annabelle’s shoulder, holding her close. “Don’t be sad.”

“My parents must have been terrified that night… I never even got to see them one last time. Sophie, before they passed, did they ever talk about me?” Annabelle murmured, leaning her head sadly on Sophia’s shoulder.

Her heart felt like it was breaking all over again.

Especially with all this disaster and helplessness surrounding her, those memories of her parents being buried alive hurt even more than before.

“They did. They told me a lot about you, and made me promise them I’d survive–and take care of you, no matter what,” Sophia replied gently.

Annabelle’s tears wouldn’t stop falling. In the end, she realized the ones her parents worried about most- their last and deepest thoughts–had always been about her.

“You know,” Annabelle sniffled, voice thick with grief. “I used to think they only cared about their work, like I barely mattered to them.”

Sophia stroked her hair softly. “You were always what mattered most to them.”

“I get it now,” Annabelle said quietly.

No matter how long the night, dawn would always come.

As soon as morning broke, news about the magnitude 7 earthquake in Ginkgo Town flooded social media, instantly shooting to the top of the trending charts.

The death toll kept climbing, and the number of injured just wouldn’t stop rising.

The officials responded in no time, sending help straight away. Within moments, young soldiers from the nearby base showed up–fresh–faced guys in sharp uniforms, looking like real heroes in the night.

Thinking aftershocks could hit any time, the soldiers wasted no time pitching tents on the safest stretch of open ground they could find.

Sophia and Annabelle got assigned their own tent. After a quick breather, the two of them threw themselves straight back into the thick of the rescue efforts.

All day, Sophia and Annabelle worked side by side with the soldiers, racing through one rescue after another and handing out supplies wherever people needed help.

By the time they finally made it back to the base, dust–streaked and exhausted, they immediately noticed two men who stood out from the crowd like a pair of dazzling stars.

One was clad in a military uniform and the other in a tailored suit–both carried an ethereal air, almost too refined to be real.

Sophia spotted Richard standing tall amidst the chaos, and all the exhaustion from her frantic day seemed to melt away in an instant.

She picked up her pace to meet him, but before she could get close, Richard had already noticed her and was striding over with purpose.