I closed my eyes, “I have to end things with Tristen.”
“Let’s get through tonight and make decisions tomorrow.” She said softly.
“I don’t think I’ll survive tonight.”
Tristen walked up, “Are you ok?”
“She’s fine.” Keira answered for me.
I looked at Tristen, “Did he leave?”
“He did. Leo was able to make him leave.”
Keira let go of my hand, “Let’s go eat this expensive dinner and drink all the free booze we want.”
“You ready?” Tristen asked.
I gave him a flat smile, “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
Seeing Stefan for only a few minutes confirmed the lie I keep trying to believe. I’m not over him and I don’t know if I ever will be.
Stefan
Sophia walked away, taking my heart with her, Keira quickly following behind her. Tristen’s smug face was still staring at me. Leo was a few feet behind him. I felt Jess’s presence also taking in the show.
“Leave, Stefan.” Tristen growled.
“It seems to me like this isn’t your event. I will leave when I very well feel like it.”
“She doesn’t want you. Did you not just hear her?”
I ran my tongue along my bottom lip, “You waited for your opportunity to just slither your way into her life. At her worst.”
“Her life isn’t the only thing I’ll slither my way into. You fucking left. Don’t get mad at me for taking advantage of the opportunity.”
I clenched my fists, “You dare lay a hand on her, I will end you.”
He smirked, “Try me. I’d love to see the look on your face when she tells you she never wants to breathe the same air as you again.”
Leo stepped in between us. “Stop!”
“Leo, don’t let him touch her.” I snapped. “She’s too good for him.”
Leo looked at me, “I think he’s digging his own grave. The best thing you can do is leave right now. Trust me, Stef.”
“Let’s go.” Jess grabbed me by the arm, I resisted.
“Fuck you, Leo. I’m your cousin.” Tristen snapped. “He’s just your friend you used to get drunk with.”
Leo whipped around to face him, “Yeah you are, but I also know right and wrong. The whole story. Sophia is a good person and I don’t know if you are interested in her because you care, or because it gets under Stefan’s skin. So shut the hell up!” He looked at me again. “Stefan, fucking leave!”
Tristen stormed off in the opposite direction. Jess pulled on my arm again, guiding me toward the doors. I was fuming. I busted through the doors, before the doorman could open it for me. Jess trailed behind me.
I stopped at the stairs turning to face Jess, “This was a horrible plan. A horrible fucking plan, Jess.”
“Stefan…”
“Don’t Stefan me, Jessica. I don’t know why I listened to you.”
“You came because you wanted to, not because I have some magical powers and convinced you.”
“She doesn’t want me back! Did you not hear her?”
She sighed, “What I heard was a broken girl telling you how she felt after you took your scared ass across the pond as you ran away.”
“I don’t want to hear another word from you. I’m leaving. Do not contact me until I’m back in London.” I started down the stairs.
“Stefan…” She called out.
“Goodbye, Jessica.” I said firmly.
Sophia
We walked down into the main room. Everyone was still on the salad course. I spotted Evelyn sitting at her table; the seat next to her empty. Stefan’s seat. The four of us took our seats at the table with Tristen and Leo’s parents.
Celeste set her glass down, “Where have you four been?”
“We were taking shots.” Keira smiled.
“Shots?” Celeste sounded appald.
“Yeah, you know shots get the party going.”
Celeste raised her eyebrow at her. Keira was deflecting the conversation away from the real reason why we were out there and I was so thankful to have her as my friend.
Leo’s Mom raised her glass, “Oh Celeste they’re kids. Don’t fret.”
“I think you’re just used to Keira’s unique antics.”
Keira laughed, “I’m unique alright.”
“Mom, can you stop?” Tristen finally spoke up.
As they argued, my concentration traveled back to Evelyn’s table. She was smiling a fake smile. Evelyn used to intimidate me, but the woman I was watching seemed out of place, self conscious almost. I looked at the other people at her table, they weren’t speaking to her. Were they icing her out? Because of her dirt bag of a husband? These people can be so shitty sometimes.
Evelyn stood, excusing herself from the table. Two of the women glanced up at her, giving her a fake smile. Evelyn walked to the bathroom faster than I had ever seen Evelyn exit a room. What is going on?
My mind was telling me to ignore it. It’s Stefan’s Mom. She did everything in her power to keep Stefan and I apart. I’m with my friends. I just told her son to fuck off. I just had a break down in the hall over said son. She probably still hates me. These were all good points to ignore her. But she was clearly alone, and I felt the need to check on her. Because no one else was going to.
“Excuse me.” I smiled, addressing the table. All three of my friends looked up at me worried. I shot them the I’m fine look, and left the table.
When I got to the hallway, I couldn’t see where she disappeared to. If I was trying to avoid people where would I go? I decided to check the bathroom. I walked into the large bathroom lined with white doors, plush Victorian seating, and gold faucets.
“Evelyn? Are you in here?” I called out.
No response. Except a woman in a yellow dress stepping out from one of the stalls. “There’s another bathroom down the hall.” She told me.
“Oh. Thanks.” I smiled, making my way back into the hall.
When I got back into the main hallway I was stumped. There are ten different directions she could have gone. I saw a man walking by who seemed to be working the event. “Excuse me Sir. Is there another bathroom than this one?”
He pointed over my shoulder, “Walk that way, and turn left. You’ll see it.”
“Thank you.” I walked down the hall and turned left like he said. I saw the small sign for the bathroom.
I slowly pushed open the door. “Evelyn?” Then I saw her sitting on a similar plush Victorian chair as the last bathroom.
She looked up at me, “What do you want, Sophia?”
I let the door close behind me, “I was making sure you were ok.”
“I’m perfectly fine.”
“Then why are you hiding in the bathroom?”
She sighed, “Go back to your table, Dear.”
“Not until you talk to me.”
“Why would I talk to you?”
“Because it’s not like you have anyone else to talk to.”
She glared at me. Clearly I made a point she couldn’t dispute.
“I was there that night, in your bedroom. I know this isn’t easy for you.”
“Sophia, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t speak about my personal life.”
I laughed, “I’m pretty sure my personal life and your personal life intertwine. So, I think I can talk to you about whatever I want.”
She placed her hand on her temple, “You give me a headache with your persistence.”
I walked over and sat down next to her, “Evelyn, you don’t have to pretend with me. Everything was laid out on the table the night of your husband's arrest. What more can I judge you for?”
She stared at me for a long time, until she finally chose to speak.
Chapter Thirty Two
Sophia
Evelyn’s eyes stayed locked in on mine, “You are doing a lot better than I thought you would after your Mother’s death.” She looked away, grabbing a paper towel, feeling her impending emotion
s. “You are much stronger than I thought.”
I kept my eyes on her, “Your family destroyed who I was, what I believed in. I don’t know that girl anymore. Stefan loved me until all my broken pieces fit back together, and then he loved me some more. You can’t destroy that.”
She smiled, “He loves you more than anything.” Evelyn gripped the paper towel tighter, “I never got to choose who I belonged with.”
“What do you mean?”
“Stefan adored my father, he truly was a great man, but being his daughter was different. He built this empire from scratch. Somewhere along the way he changed. Henry was a business deal in his eyes. He was smart, charming, first in his class, on paper he was perfect. I was smitten with him.”
She took in a deep breath as if she didn’t want to tell me the next thing she was going to say.
“Then he started working for my father’s company, and everything changed. He became money hungry. It was fine at first, but he always wanted more. My father saw what was happening, the perfect son in law was becoming a monster. In reality I think he finally saw himself in Henry, and he didn’t like it.”
She continued, “Then he changed back to the father I knew growing up. There was so much fighting when my father changed who the company would go to. It was no longer going to Henry and I. The day I had Stefan, was when everything changed. My father saw this beautiful baby boy, and he knew. He always knew Stefan would grow up to be a great man, and he has grown into one more than I could have ever imagined. He fights for everything he believes in, and he is so strong. I see my father in him more and more.”
“What about Thomas?” I asked her. “He is the older of the two?”
She looked at me, and I knew her heart was broken for me. She always seemed so tough on the outside, but no one should want someone to feel the pain that they have caused me.
“My sweet Thomas.” She wiped away a small tear from her face with the paper towel. “My father loved him, but he was adopted. My father always wanted it to stay in the blood. He was very old school in that sense, but I think he saw in my boys things we couldn’t see. Thomas changed and I think he saw that before we could. Thomas became so much like Henry.”
“Why couldn’t you have taken over the company?” I asked.
“It was a different time then. It may have only been 25 years ago, but women weren’t really in charge of entire empires.” She half laughed in annoyance.
“That’s bullshit.” I said it before I had time to filter my mouth.
She looked over at me and I saw a real smile slowly form.
“Why were you terrified of Henry?” I asked, taking a leap that she would answer.
She touched her arm, “Bruises fade, my Dear. But the pain they leave on your heart never goes away. No matter how many times someone apologizes. I should have stood up for myself long ago, but sometimes you don’t see a way out.”
I tried to hide the shock, “He hurt you?”
“More than I’d ever like to remember.”
“You stayed?”
“He had my boys by the collars. How does a Mother leave her children? At least that’s what I told myself.”
I let the level of holy fuck set in as she spoke. My heart was breaking for her.
“But you left now? Why now?”
“I was losing Stefan. I had already lost one son to him. I’d go through hell and fire if I let him take Stefan down too. I should have left a long time ago, with both my boys, but I didn’t. I can’t change my decisions in the past, but I can change my future. I was allowing myself and my family to suffer through Henry’s wrath because I was afraid.”
I placed my hand on hers, “Evelyn, you are truly one of the strongest women I know.”
She smiled, “My Dear, you are one of the strongest women I know.”
I was surprised by her answer. I clasped my hand around hers.
Her smile faded, “I’m sorry for Thomas.”
“Did you know?”
She sighed, “No.”
“Would you have stopped it?”
“Yes.”
She had full remorse for something she didn’t do, Evelyn was still a Mom behind the charade of a person she allows the world to see.
“You should talk to Judith.” I said firmly.
She looked at me, “My Mother left me a long time ago.”
“Judith loves you. She will always love you. She couldn’t live the life you were stuck in.”
She sighed, “I think about her every day.”
“She has been more than kind to me, I'm sure she’s still the same Mom you remember.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“I’ll go with you if you’re nervous.” I said with a small smile.
“I don’t need a chauffeur, but thank you.”
“You’re going to have to have tough conversations. It’s nice when someone is there by your side.”
She eyed me with a smirk, “You’re a very bright girl. I never gave you credit for that.”
I laughed, “I know.”
“Why were you hiding in here?” I asked.
She thought about what she was going to say, “Being an Edwards comes with people wanting to know everything that you do. Now since Henry’s arrest, we’re the pariah of society. It will fade, it always does, but for now all eyes are looking the other way, but we stay on the tip of their tongues.”
“That sounds exhausting.”
“We should probably head back to the dinner. People might think we’ve been kidnapped.” Evelyn joked.
“Well, you are an Edwards, I wouldn’t be surprised if we were.”
Evelyn let out a true laugh, and it was refreshing to hear.
When we got back to the main room, we split ways making our way towards our tables. Just before I took my seat, I looked over at Evelyn taking her seat next to the empty one. The others at her table didn’t glance up at all. I really hate these people.
I stopped before I got to the Van Doren’s table. Keira looked up at me, “Where are you going?”
“To be the bigger person. I’m so fed up with the hierarchy. It’s bullshit, and I’m kind of over the smell.”
The entire Van Doren table’s faces were shocked. Leo laughed under his breath. Leo’s Mom, smiled against her wine glass, but the rest of them, you would have thought they choked on their potatoes.
“And Celeste, don’t you dare ever threaten me again. I don’t need your approval in life, nor do I want it. I won’t sit at a table where you are going to judge the way I choose the wrong fork, because my Mom fed me chicken nuggets growing up. Enjoy your night; I’m going to go help someone who needs me now.”
Celeste raised her eyebrows.
Leo’s Mom whispered, “Well she’s not wrong. You kind of are a little bit of a prude.”
Celeste shot her a look and I walked away. Fuck. What did I just do? Tristen is going to hate me now.
I walked across the room, very well knowing I was Tristen’s date, but he didn’t have my heart. The man that did, his mother was here facing the wolves alone. I could just get through dinner and return to the apartment and fight it out with him later. This was the right thing to do.
Evelyn’s worried eyes followed me, I walked around the table. Everyone looked up at my presence. I took the seat next to her.
“Hello everyone, I’m Sophia Brooks.” I addressed the table. “But I'm sure you already know that. Being that I’m the girl who wrecked the Edwards family.”
Not one of them dared to say a word. The women smiled, forcing food into their mouths as a polite way to not respond. They were all a sheepish form of white in the face.
Evelyn shot me a what the hell are you doing look. I reached under the table taking her hand, squeezing it tight. Her shoulders relaxed, her eyes stayed on mine for a moment. I don’t think she was used to having someone stick up for her. She had spent most of her life fighting her own fights.
Stefan
Why I chose to come here was bey
ond my knowledge. I knew the advice I would get here would be the harsh kind. The kind I would snap back at, but maybe that’s what I needed. I knocked on Joe’s front door, waiting for a few minutes. His lights were off. No one was home. I slowly walked down the steps sitting on the last one, resting my elbows on my knees. Today was not how I thought it was going to go. I knew in my gut that Sophia would react like that. She’s broken, and I’m the one who dropped her.
“Stefan?” The deep voice sounded concerned.
I didn’t even look up, I knew it was Joe. “Hey.”
“What are you doing here?” He sat down next to me, setting his paper bag of groceries down on the ground.
I sighed, “I don’t know.”
“I thought you were in London?”
“I was.”
“And now you’re in New York?”
“You’re so observant.”
He laughed, “I'm just confused, that’s all. You said you wouldn’t be back for a long time.”
“I’m going back to London for good, I think.”
“Why are you here?”
I leaned back on the stairs, “I had a surprise visit from Jess who pestered me to come home. My Mum also missed me. I gave in after a few weeks of Jess annoying the shit out of me.”
“So, what’s wrong now?”
“I saw Sophia tonight.” I felt a strong feeling come over me when I said it.
“Oh. I see.”
I leaned forward again resting my elbows on my knees with my head down, “It was a public showdown. She told me everything that I knew I did wrong. There was so much pain in her voice, it nearly destroyed me.”
“What happened?”
“It was at a charity dinner. She stormed off, and Leo made me leave. She was Tristen’s date. I should never have gone. She barely gave me any time to breathe, she just kept yelling at me.” My emotions got the best of me, a few small tears escaped. “I broke her, Joe. I fucking broke her.”
“Why did you go?”
I kept my eyes forward, blinking away the few tears, “I wanted to see her.”
“I think, and I may be wrong, but I think she needs to sort this out on her own. If she’s ever going to come back to you, she will do it on her own terms, when she is ready.”
Until Him: Book 3 - Until Then Series Page 21
