Chapter 7
The penthouse was quiet that evening as a heavy stillness settled over the rooms. I had spent the entire afternoon with Sophia, playing tag and coloring anything to distract her from the news that had so deeply upset her.
Alexander's girlfriend, Victoria, was joining us for dinner, and the anticipation made the air feel thick. Sophia's usual bright mood completely dimmed as the clock ticked closer to the evening.
In her room, I knelt beside her to help her into a soft navy dress, my fingers smoothly adjusting the fabric. She stood unusually quiet, her small face scrunched into a deep frown.
"I do not like her," she said, crossing her arms tightly. Her voice was a stubborn pout that tugged at my heart.
I crouched lower to meet her stormy hazel eyes, which looked so much like Alexander's in that moment. My gaze was gentle as I rested a hand protectively on her shoulder. "Why do you say that, sweetheart?"
She shrugged, her lower lip trembling as she kicked at the edge of the rug with her sneaker. "She is mean," she muttered, her voice small but fierce. "She never plays with me. And she smells funny like too many flowers squeezed together."
I bit back a laugh and brushed a stray curl from her forehead, letting my fingers linger gently. Forcing a reassuring smile, I tried to keep my voice light despite the growing unease in my chest.
"Maybe she is just nervous around you, and she does not know how amazing you are yet. But we will be polite for your dad, okay? I will be right there with you, and no one is going to hurt my favorite girl."
She gave a reluctant nod, her tiny fingers tightening their grip on mine.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. The sharp, echoing sound made her flinch. I squeezed her hand back, my resolve hardening. I would protect her through this dinner, no matter what Victoria brought with her.
We walked into the dining room hand in hand, Sophia's fingers clutching mine like a lifeline.
Victoria had already arrived, entering the space like a sudden, harsh wind. She was perfectly elegant, her designer heels clicking against the marble floor like precision gunshots.
Her tailored red dress fit her flawlessly, and her smooth blonde hair caught the brilliant light of the chandelier. She was stunning a true predator draped in silk but her thin, fragile smile never reached her cold blue eyes.
Dinner quickly became a battleground of tension. The clink of silverware against porcelain provided a brittle soundtrack to the strained silence.
Victoria dominated the conversation, her voice sharp and sweet as she talked endlessly about her new projects, a boutique opening, and a fancy gala filled with important names I had no desire to know.
Alexander sat across from her, his face completely devoid of emotion. His fork remained poised over an untouched steak.
Sophia huddled close to my side, her small body stiff. Her plate of mashed potatoes and chicken was barely touched as she poked at it idly, her eyes cast downward.
I tried to guide the conversation, keeping my voice calm as I wove through Victoria's rude remarks to ask about the weather and Sophia's recent success flying her kite.
But Victoria's answers were laced with scorn. Her gaze flicked toward me as if I were an annoying insect to be swatted away.
"Oh, how old-fashioned," Victoria murmured, her tone dripping with passive-aggressive dismissal.
I felt my jaw tighten, and my hand instinctively moved closer to shield Sophia from her meanness. As the night wore on, Sophia's unease became too much to bear.
She squirmed uncomfortably in her seat, her small hands twisting her cloth napkin into tight knots as her eyes glistened with unshed tears.
"I do not feel good," she whispered. Her fragile plea sent my protective instincts into overdrive.
I jumped to my feet, my chair scraping back with a harsh, loud screech against the floor.
Moving quickly around the table to her side, I slid my arm securely around her shoulders.
"I have her," I said. My voice was firm and unyielding as I locked eyes with Alexander across the table, daring him to argue. "I am taking her to her room. She has had enough."
As we turned to leave, Victoria's sharp voice cut through the air like a blade aimed directly at my back. "Alexander, you cannot let her act like that. She is spoiled rotten. Someone seriously needs to teach her some manners."
I froze, my grip tightening on Sophia's shoulder as a hot, fierce anger flared within me. But I refused to turn around; I wouldn't give her the satisfaction of a reaction.
Alexander's reply was a low, indistinct murmur too quiet to hear but the damage was already done. A deep rift had widened in the fragile peace of the night.
I guided Sophia out of the room, her small body trembling against mine as we escaped the stifling atmosphere of the dining room.
In her bedroom, the soft glow of her nightlight cast stars across the ceiling as I tucked her safely into bed. Smoothing the blankets over her, I brushed her damp forehead and knelt beside the mattress.
"I am sorry about dinner, sweetheart," I whispered, my hand gently stroking her hair. "Some grown-ups do not know how to be kind. But I have you, okay? No one is going to make you feel bad while I am here."
She sniffled, her red, watery eyes searching mine before she curled deeper into her pillow. "I do not like her, Elena," she mumbled, her voice thick with tears. "Why does Daddy like her?"
My chest ached, and I struggled to find the right words as I rested my hand protectively over hers.
"Your dad is complicated," I said carefully.
"He is figuring things out, just like we all do.
But he loves you more than anything in the world, and that is what counts. I am here to keep you safe. Always."
She nodded, her heavy eyelids drooping as exhaustion finally pulled her under. I stayed, my fingers tracing gentle circles on her back until her breathing became even and her face went slack with sleep.
My heart beat heavily, tangled in a knot of anger and sorrow. Victoria's words had hurt her, and I would never let it happen again.
When I slipped back into the living room, the dining room lights had been dimmed and the table was completely clear.
Alexander stood alone by the floor-to-ceiling window, an amber glass of whiskey gleaming in his hand. The sprawling city skyline stretched out beyond the glass, a chaotic grid of lights against the dark night.
His wide shoulders were stiff, and his suit jacket had been tossed onto a nearby chair. He didn't turn when my footsteps whispered across the rug, but his voice cut through the silence low, strained, and final.
"She is gone," he said. The simple statement hung heavily in the air.
I paused, my hands curling into fists at my sides, unsure of how to bridge the massive gap between us. "Sophia is asleep," I said, keeping my voice steady despite the lingering ache in my chest. "She will be okay, but she was deeply upset, Alexander. Victoria hurt her."
He turned to face me then, his gray eyes shadowed and entirely unreadable. His grip on the whiskey glass remained perfectly steady despite the volatile tension radiating from his frame.
"Thank you," he said quietly. His tone was rough, carrying the weight of something left unsaid perhaps gratitude, or perhaps regret.
I nodded and stepped closer, the fierce protectiveness I felt for Sophia fueling my words as I held his gaze.
"She needs you, Alexander. More than anyone," I said, my voice firm with a quiet challenge. "Not Victoria. Not some stranger who refuses to see who she really is. She is your daughter, she is scared, and she deserves so much better than what happened tonight."
For a moment, his eyes flickered as a storm brewed beneath the surface, looking as though he might snap back with his familiar, rigid control.
But then he exhaled a rough, heavy breath and looked away, his gaze drifting back out toward the glass where the city lights reflected in the dark pools of his eyes.
"I know," he murmured. The words were barely audible a raw confession pulled reluctantly from deep inside him.
The silence stretched out between us, heavy with his admission. I stood there, my heart aching for Sophia, for the broken family I had somehow become a part of, and even for him. He didn't say anything more, nor did he move, his silhouette standing as a dark, silent guard against the window.
But I felt the shift a tiny crack in his hardened shell, a space where I had finally planted a seed of truth. I would protect Sophia with everything I had, and if that meant pushing him, I would do it again and again until he finally saw her the way I did.
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