The secret lover in the movie star’s heart

At two in the afternoon, in a café, Sophia Walker rested her chin on her hand, staring blankly out the window while stirring her now lukewarm coffee. She was so bored that she even considered yawning.

The man sitting across from her was still talking, trying to catch her attention, but they had exhausted all topics of conversation, and she remained completely unresponsive.

With a wry smile, he shook his head and asked directly, "Miss Sophia, don’t you want to talk to me?"

Only then did Sophia turn to look at him, bluntly stating, "Mr. Troy, I made it clear when you invited me that I have no intention of getting married right now, nor do I want to date. You said you didn’t mind, so I reluctantly came."

A bittersweet smile curved Troy’s lips. He had thought she was just being polite, but he realized she truly wasn’t interested in him.

"Miss Sophia, it seems I’ve indeed overlooked something. I have a good impression of you, and I assumed you felt the same way about me," Troy said, a distinguished figure who had returned from overseas, carrying himself with an air of sophistication.

Logically speaking, a man of his looks and status wouldn’t be easily rejected by any woman. Moreover, Sophia, who worked with a rough crowd, should have been even more susceptible to his charm.

Yet, Sophia showed no interest, firmly shutting him down without leaving any room for ambiguity.

Troy decided to let it go but was curious enough to ask, "Miss Sophia, do you already have someone you like?"

"No, where did you get that idea?" Sophia scooped a large spoonful of strawberry mousse into her mouth, oblivious to how she looked while eating.

Troy studied her for a moment before saying, "You seem like you have something on your mind, especially when you’re daydreaming; it’s as if you’re thinking of someone."

"Really?" Sophia frowned, having heard this line before.

Whenever she sat idle and lost in thought, someone would inevitably ask if she was heartbroken. Each time, she wanted to roll her eyes. How could someone who had never even been in a relationship be heartbroken?

At most, she sometimes felt a vague emptiness in her heart…

Troy wished to continue the conversation, but alas, Sophia received a phone call stating there was a case at work and hurriedly left.

Watching her retreating figure, Troy sighed with regret.

After arriving at the precinct, Sophia learned about a peculiar case involving a real estate company that had discovered a buried car while developing a piece of land for a villa area.

During construction, they found a vehicle buried underground, which supposedly contained human remains. The site quickly reported it to the police, and only with their assistance could they safely excavate the car with a digger.

Upon verification, it turned out to be a Ford sedan from over thirty years ago, meaning its owner had been buried beneath the ground for more than three decades.

Initially, they speculated whether it was related to a murder, but after geographical experts studied the land’s history, it seemed more likely to be an accidental death.

Over thirty years ago, that land had been at the foot of a mountain, and due to the loose soil, yellow rain alerts could trigger landslides. If a car happened to pass by at that moment, it could indeed be buried.

Sophia handed the analysis to experts while focusing on the human remains inside the car. After being buried for so long, they had become a skeleton.

From the skeletal structure, they determined that the deceased was male, and after thorough examination, it was concluded that he was around thirty years old with no signs of trauma on the bones, allowing them to preliminarily rule out homicide.

In addition to the remains, a few belongings of the deceased were recovered, but there wasn’t much, not even an identification card.

All they found was a deteriorated wallet, a rusty keychain, a popular singer’s album from that era, and several photographs that had decayed too much to restore.

Once everything was clarified, confirming that the deceased had died in a landslide accident over thirty years ago, the media was notified to report the story.

The goal was mainly to seek any knowledgeable relatives to come forward for identification. When the news broke, Sophia glanced at her phone and frowned.

Were the reporters really so careless as to capture her in the photos?

Although not obvious, it was clear that she was seen holding her phone and talking. Since the news was already out, there was nothing she could do but pretend she hadn’t seen it.

A few days later, just before she finished work one evening, the evidence room called her, saying they had discovered something intriguing and asked her to come over.

When Sophia arrived, an officer handed her an old photograph, saying, "This photo was found inside that album, tucked away, and we didn’t notice it before. Take a look and see if anything stands out."

Sophia took the photograph, which was in a transparent bag. The aged photo had yellowed, but the details were still visible.

The background depicted an indoor setting in a European style from the last century, where a man in a white shirt sat on a vintage sofa, his legs crossed, cradling a white cat in his arms.

He wore gold-framed glasses, his gaze gentle and his features elegant, exuding an air of nobility and refinement.

Standing behind him was a woman dressed in a tailored trench coat, resembling a bodyguard. She had her arms crossed and wore a proud, playful smile, her bright eyes shining with life.

Sophia blinked, sensing a strange familiarity with the woman, as if she had seen her somewhere before.

Noticing her lack of response, the male officer laughed and said, "Officer Sophia, don’t you think this woman looks a lot like you?"

"Huh? Oh my God! It really does!" Upon closer inspection, Sophia was shocked; they were almost identical!

The officer continued, "Officer Sophia, take this photo and investigate. Perhaps it will lead you to discover the identity of the deceased."

Sophia stared at the photograph for a long time, her frown deepening.

She wasn’t naive enough to believe the person in the photo was herself, but she was puzzled about how someone could look so much like her.

If the woman were still alive, she would likely be quite elderly now, wouldn’t she?

After thanking the officer, Sophia took the photograph and drove home from the precinct.

Currently, Sophia lived with her parents, who were constantly concerned about her marital status, always asking when she planned to get married. This was a source of frustration for Sophia.

Although she was already 27 and had never been in a relationship, she thought to herself that she was not lacking in any way; she was attractive enough, so why should she worry about finding a husband?

Each time she expressed her thoughts, her parents would nod in understanding and then promptly follow up with, "So when do you plan to marry? We can help set things up for you?"

Sophia: "…"

She surrendered voluntarily, thinking it was pointless to discuss the topic further.

After taking a shower that night, she lay in bed, staring at the photograph for a long time. The more she looked, the more she felt that the woman in the picture was indeed her; the expression and posture were almost identical!

Even her clothing was quite similar! Just as she thought this, Sophia sprang up and rummaged through her wardrobe for a trench coat and jeans that matched those in the photo.

After comparing them, she noted that aside from the photo being too old and yellowed to discern the finer details, everything else was a match.

Feeling uneasy about the strangeness of it all, Sophia continued to gaze at the photograph until she eventually fell asleep.

In the middle of the night, she was stirred awake by the sound of the television.

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she got up and went downstairs, only to find the living room TV on, but no one was there.

It was already past two in the morning; who would leave the TV on at this hour?

Confused, Sophia approached, assuming her father had forgotten to turn it off, planning to switch it off and go back to bed. But as she glanced at the movie playing on the screen, she froze and slowly sank back onto the sofa.

It was an old war film, in black and white, without color, with the date stamped at the bottom as 1975.

The filming techniques of that time weren’t as refined as today’s; the camera shook somewhat, but it had a strong sense of realism, capturing every frame as if it were an authentic scene.

Sophia watched intently; although there were no subtitles, the actors spoke with perfect American English, articulating each word clearly.

Perhaps it was because she hadn’t seen this film before, but Sophia found herself engrossed, pouring a glass of water for herself and sinking back into the sofa to continue watching.

However, as she sipped her water, she caught a glimpse of something in her peripheral vision and abruptly sprayed it out!

"Cough, cough!"

Forgetting to grab a tissue, Sophia covered her mouth, coughing a few times before rushing to the television.

On-screen was a man in a military uniform, wearing a cloak, exuding a commanding presence. But that wasn’t the main point; the significant part was that this man looked exactly like the one in the photograph she had just seen!