As he spoke, he naturally pulled Ellinor towards him. He looked at the red marks on her arm with a pained expression. He chuckled and said, "Well, even if it's a reunion of old friends, there's no need to be so rough. Look, you've left a mark on Ellinor!"
Bartlett's protective gesture towards Ellinor seemed far from innocent.
Ellinor, of course, found this repulsive.
Sophia, however, was quite pleased with this. She was happy to see them be so close.
"Mr. Rex, I apologize. I was just too excited to see Ellinor after so many years, and I didn't realize how hard I was gripping her. I didn't mean to hurt your girlfriend."
Bartlett was more than willing to accept Ellinor as his girlfriend. He put on a boyfriend-like demeanor. "It's okay. Girls like to greet each other with a hug, so it's understandable. We haven't seen each other in a long time, so I was thinking we could catch up over dinner. But it seems your husband is in a hurry to get to the next stop with the kid, so we won't disturb you any longer. We'll catch up another time."
Sophia agreed immediately. "Sounds good! We won't disturb your little date then. We'll leave now."
With that, Sophia waved at Ellinor and quickly walked towards Marcus.
Ellinor frowned and began shouting in frustration, "Wait! Don't go! Stop!"
Bartlett held her back. "Ellinor, they've got a schedule to keep. Let's not hold them back. Be good."
Ellinor shouted, "Let me go! I want to ask him why!"
Ellinor's shouting made Sophia quicken her pace. She said a few words to Marcus and quickly ushered him and Tristan back to their RV, then immediately drove off.
After watching the RV drive away, Ellinor continued to struggle and shout. "Come back! You can't leave! Come back, come back!"
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