by Helen Cooper
Her eyes adjusted to the light and she looked around for Ella and Joseph. She sighed as she looked at all the people in various stages of copulation. It didn’t seem sexy or adventurous now. She felt sick and embarrassed. And she was mad, she was mad that she had to be here. What did Ella think she was going to do when she got here? Just march up to Frank and tell him to leave her family alone? She decided that she needed a plan; she was going to walk around the room from left to right and look in each door that she came to, hopefully she would see Ella somewhere.
It was the fourth door that she came to when she felt her heart beating strongly. She knew before she even walked in the dark room that Ella was in there. She walked slowly and stopped by a bed. On it she saw a naked Ella and Joseph and she wanted to scream and cry. She didn’t understand why Ella just couldn’t seem to say no.
“Ella get up.” She kept her voice friendly and calm but now she had found her friend all she wanted to do was to get out of there.
“Sophie?” Ella frowned and blushed as she covered herself up. “It’s not what it looks like.”
“I’m not here to judge, Ella.” Sophie smiled weakly at her friend. “But get your clothes on so we can leave.”
“Sophie, why are you here?” Ella’s voice is panicked. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Ella, we can talk afterwards.”
“But Joseph is sleeping.” Ella pulled on her top and skirt.
“I don’t care.” Sophie grabbed her friend’s arm. “You need to forget about him, Ella. Please.” She stared into her friend’s eyes. “You need to get help.”
“Help for what?” Ella turned away from her and Sophie sighed. This wasn’t the time or the place for this conversation.
“Let’s just go.” She pulled her friend with her to the door.
“Okay, okay. Just hold on.” Ella sighed.
They walked quickly back through the club and that was when Sophie felt another odd feeling. “Hold on.” Sophie stopped and walked back across the club to another room and opened the door slightly and peeked inside. She saw Frank and Alexis arguing and she cringed as she watched them. She was about to close the door when she saw a slight movement from the corner of the room. It was Max. Her Max. She was about to rush into greet him, when he walked up to Alexis and put his arms around her. She cried out in shock as she watched him kiss her hair and she trembled uncontrollably.
“Sophie and I are done, Frank.” Max sneered at him. “I’m back with my true love Alexis now.”
Frank stared at Max with fury. “Why would you want that two-bit whore, Max?” He laughed. “She came here begging for me and now you want her.”
“I’ll have whatever part of her that she’ll give me.” Max pulled Alexis closer to him. “She’s a special lady Frank and I feel sorry for you if you can’t see that.”
Frank rolled his eyes. “You never did get it, did you, Max? It’s not about the women or the money. It’s about the power. It’s about the control.”
“No Frank, I think you don’t get it,” Max snarled at him. “I’m going to be raising your son, Frank, don’t you care about that?”
“If he’s my son.” Frank looked at Alexis in disgust. “If you want to take care of a whore and her child, that’s up to you.”
“Let me be clear about one thing, Frank.” Max pushed his face into the other man’s. “I have videos of you, me, Alexis and Gina and photos. I also have a signed legal statement from Alexis that you are Jacob’s father. If I ever hear that you are coming after me or my family again, I will release everything to the media and you will be ruined. Your wife will leave you, you will lose your position and you will never be President.”
“You would never do that, Max.” Frank looked at him in anger.
“Yes I would.” Max’s voice boomed across the room. “I have nothing else to lose Frank and a whole lot to gain. Stay away.” And then he right hooked Frank in the face. Frank went flying back and cried out. “And if you ever contact Alexis again, I will have you killed. Do you hear me?”
“Is that whore worth it, Max?” Frank laughed and rubbed his cheek, though he stayed back from Max.
“Alexis is my life, Frank. She is more than worth it.”
Sophie felt like she was going to faint at the words she was hearing. Nothing in her life was ever going to be the same again.
“How quickly the mighty have fallen? I’m sorry to hear that Sophie left you.”
“She is with Nicholas now. He’s a good man. And I trust him.” Max’s voice was clear and passionate. “Alexis and I are going away tomorrow, for good. My father will be running the company while I get set up overseas.”
“Good riddance. You both deserve each other.” Frank looked at him with narrowed eyes and Sophie fell back. She’d had enough, she couldn’t hear anymore.
“Let’s go.” She grabbed a delirious Ella and ran out of the club. She drove them back to her apartment and as soon as she paid the babysitter she locked herself in the bathroom and cried. When she woke up the next morning, Ella had gone. She decided not to call her just yet; she knew Ella needed time to herself to think for a bit. She sat on the couch and stared at the wall in front of her in detached silence. The knocking at the front door didn’t even move her and it was about thirty minutes later when she finally got up to open the door to see if anything had been left for her.
Sophie saw the envelope and her heart stilled. Another letter had arrived to bring her out of her detached numbness. The handwriting looked straight and neat. It was as if he had hoped that his apparent calmness would soothe her broken heart and wounded soul. She picked up the letter lifelessly. She didn’t want to read the words that would crush her all over again. She didn’t know if she was strong enough to withstand the gamut of emotions that were sure to pass through her as she read his letter. She preferred the silence of her numbness to the burning screeches of her pain. But she couldn’t resist the magnetic pull of the letter. She ran to her bedroom and ripped open the envelope, falling to her bed in sobs as she finished reading the poetic words of the man she loved.
My Dearest Sophie,
I hope this letter does not meet you with too much grief. By now you should have received one other letter from me. I remember how you loved to receive letters as a child. I hope that you are beginning to understand my actions. That’s all I dare ask of you now, Sophie. Remember me as the man you loved and not the man I became.
Please kiss Winter and Jacob every night and give them an extra long hug from me. Tell them that their father loves them dearly and I hope that one day they will see that I was trying to protect them. Thank you for being the kind of mother that welcomes everyone into your heart. My love for you has tripled in these last few weeks as I have witnessed the magnanimity of your devotion.
Sophie, you know that it pains me to say this but Nicholas is a good man. Know that you have my blessing.
Always yours, in sickness and in health, in life and in death,
Maxwell
So it was true she thought to herself. He had left her. She couldn’t believe that he would do this to her. She wanted to scream at him, to tell him that Nicholas was nothing to her, that she had only wanted a new friend. She cried out in anguish and ran and banged the walls in pain and fury. The loudness of her actions made Jacob cry and she broke down on the floor in tears. Jacobs’s wails got increasingly louder and she felt something click in her brain. She couldn’t be this person right now. She had to be stronger for herself and for Jacob. She needed some fresh air. She picked up Jacob and changed his diaper before putting him in his pram. She decided to take him on a walk through the park. The fresh air would make both of them feel better.
She walked out of the building quickly before she could change her mind. She didn’t change her clothes or wash her face or brush her hair and she knew she looked a mess, but she just didn’t care. She got to the park and watched all the people around her having fun. She wished she could feel even a fifth of the happiness that som
e of the couples were feeling. As she stared at an elderly couple walking and holding hands, she couldn’t stop the tears from coming. She was heartbroken and dejected.
Max and Nick sat on a park bench and watched as Sophie cried. Both of them feeling her pain in different ways.
“Take a photo now and send it,” Max ordered Nick.
Nick took out his phone and snapped a photo of Sophie as she stood there crying uncontrollably. He attached it to a text and said: Your work has been done. Sophie and Max are over. I’m moving in now. He got a reply back within a few minutes: Good. Delete my number and don’t contact me again. Frank. Nick looked at the text in surprise and wonder and felt a sudden release.
“I think I’m done.” He looked at Max with a smile on his face and showed him the text message.
Max nodded and stared at him with a hard look in his eyes. “I think you should see this as another shot at life, Nicholas. I want you out of New York within a week, do you hear me?”
Nick looked at him with pained eyes. “I’m sorry, Max.”
“I don’t care about your sorries, Nick. I just need to make sure that Sophie is okay.”
“Tell her I’m sorry, please.” Nick pleaded. “I—”
“Stop.” Max held his hand up to silence him. “You don’t get to feel sorry or say anything, Nick. We are done here. Leave.”
“For what it’s worth, Max, I’m proud of your progress. The love of a good woman has really made you a better man.”
“She has blessed my life in more ways than I ever would have thought possible.” Max sighed. “I only wish that more of us were lucky enough to find our true loves.”
“What happened with Alexis?” Nick questioned as he stood up.
“She’s back in Winterside. Mitch is going to get her into a rehab program in Paris.”
“Paris? Nice.” Nick looked at him with respect. “You really did good by Alexis, Max.”
“I failed her. I should have tried to help her battle her demons a long time ago. But it was the least that I could do. I think I helped her save a little self-respect.”
“Frank really crushed her, huh?”
“Yes.” Max sighed. “He crushed her until there was nothing left. He never loved her. In fact, he probably loved seeing the effect he had on her, so needy and washed out.”
“He’s an evil man.” Nick sighed.
“Yes, yes he is.” He paused. “But I suppose he has his reasons as well.”
“I wonder if he knows what it is to love?” Nick questioned but Max saw him staring at Sophie. Max felt something in his body want to comfort Nick. He knew that the man genuinely loved Sophie. And it was that love that had made him help Max. But the both of them couldn’t have her and he would never let Nick have her. He would never be good enough for his Sophie, no matter what lies he had put in his letter. He was never going to just leave and let Nicholas attempt to take over her heart. They both sat there and watched Sophie as she attempted to wipe away her tears with her shirtsleeve. She looked disheveled, depressed, and achingly solitary and it made Max love her even more. She had still found it in her to take Jacob for a walk, even though she was at her lowest. He would have to spend the rest of his life trying to make up for the pain he was putting her through right now.
Max jumped up quickly as he saw Sophie walking again. “We need to leave now.” He pushed Nick and they ran to the street, terrified that she would notice them. Max reached out and shook Nick’s hand. “Good luck, Dr. Spencer.”
“Thanks Max.” Nick smiled briefly and walked away, disappearing into the crowd. Max stood there for a moment trying to absorb everything. It was done. Everything was finally done. All he needed was to get Sophie to take him back and to forgive him. And after watching her cry her eyes out, he needed to be able to forgive himself for putting her through all of that heartache.
**
Sophie dried her eyes and looked down and saw that Jacob was sleeping. She knew she should continue walking in the park but she just didn’t have the energy. She just wanted to go back home so that she could lie down and cry. She hurried back into the building and back to the apartment so that she could break down in the comfort of her own home. She laughed at the irony of her thoughts. She considered the apartment her home now, even though she hated that Max had lived there with Alexis. Somehow she forgot about that when she was there. Maybe it was because sitting on the couch or lying in the bed made her think of Max and only Max. It was his scent she smelled, his clothes she saw, his voice she heard when she closed her eyes. The apartment was her link to Max and she knew that she would never leave it, that she could never leave it if he never came back to her.
She stood by the door for a moment and rested her head before she opened it. She needed a moment before she walked into the lonely space again. Finally she opened the door and gasped as she walked in. She rubbed her eyes, not quite believing what she saw. Max was standing there with a bouquet of flowers and a worried look on his face. His hair was rumpled and he looked like he hadn’t shaved in days. His eyes bore into hers and looked defeated and weary. His clothes looked dirty and she laughed as she realized that he looked as rough as she did. She only had to look at him for a few seconds before she ran into his arms and burst into tears. They stood there for what seemed like a few hours and just held each other. She felt his chest heave beneath her and she knew that he was as emotional as her. She knew in that moment that her Max had returned to her and everything was going to be all right.
“I’m sorry, Sophie,” he whispered in her ear and she looked up at him not sure whether to laugh or cry. His eyes held unshed tears and she realized the gravity of his emotions. This man loved her as much as she loved him. She knew it in her heart, in her soul, in her bones. She wasn’t sure how she had ever doubted it.
“Don’t you ever leave me again.” She poked him in the chest. “Do you hear me? Never again.”
“Never.” He held her close and felt her heart beating in sync with his. “I love you, Sophie. Nothing will ever keep me apart from you again.”
Chapter 20
Max
He couldn’t believe that he was now a married man. That Sophie was now his wife. And that they had gotten married by a Justice of the Peace in a courthouse. It had only been a week since all the drama had gone down but they had both needed and wanted to get married right away. They had held on to each other with such devotion and tears when they had reunited and had promised each other that they would never part again, no matter what.
“Are you sure you don’t want to have a big wedding?” he whispered into her ear as they rode in the back of the limo to the airport. They hadn’t had a magazine dream wedding but they were going to have a dream honeymoon. He had made sure of that. Everything was taken care of and Jacob was in Winterside with his parents.
“I’m more than sure.” She laughed happily and held his hand. “All I wanted was to be your wife. I don’t need the rest.”
“All I wanted, all I needed was for you to be my wife, so of course I’m happy.” He grinned.
“Thanks for flying my aunt and uncle up.” Sophie stroked his hand. “It meant so much to me.”
“Of course, my love. They are family.” He picked up her hand and kissed it.
“And thank you for supporting them and me.” She sighed. “I can’t believe I didn’t know.”
“I didn’t want you to know.” Max sighed.
“Max, you paid for my college, you paid for their livelihood,” Sophie exclaimed.
“The insurance had run out, Sophie. I wasn’t going to let anything happen to you or to them.”
“But you didn’t even tell them.” She looked at him with love. “You let them think that you had found another insurance policy that my parents had.”
“I didn’t want them to say no.” He looked into her eyes. “Don’t you know that I would do anything for you and your family, Sophie? I just want to make sure you are okay. That’s my whole life’s goal.”
“I don’t know how I got so lucky.” She beamed at him as his kissed her.
“I’m the lucky one, Sophie. I’ve waited for this moment my whole life. I was made for you. We were destined to be together. And now you are my beautiful wife.”
“I didn’t know if this day would ever come.” He laughed as she shook her head. He studied her face, she looked beautiful wearing her white flowing dress, with her long hair in curls and a ring of white flowers in her hair. She looked like an angel. And he supposed that she was really, she was the angel that had taken his heart and saved his life. “I’ll never forget this moment, Sophie. The moment when you became my wife. I wasn’t sure if I would ever see this day.”
“It sure has been a long road.” She grinned at him and kissed his cheek, and then his nose and his lips. “And if you ever pull a stunt like that again without telling me, it will be a much longer road.”
“I know.” He sighed. “I’m sorry, Sophie.”
“I forgive you.” She caressed his face. “I know you did it for me. But it broke my heart. When I saw you with Alexis and I heard you say you loved her.”
“I didn’t know you were watching that.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe you went to The X Club.”
“I had to go for Ella,” she said earnestly.
“I know. And thank you.” He sighed and looked sad. “I didn’t know things were so bad for her.”
“But she’s getting help now.” Sophie squeezed his hand. “That’s the most important thing.”
“Yes.” Max stroked Sophie’s hair. “And apparently she is seeing someone new.”
