Chapter 3
Sophie
Divorce. It was my only option, but I knew it wouldn’t be easy.
The prenup I had signed was ironclad, but I didn’t want any of that family’s money.
I wanted my freedom and my baby. I wanted to make sure my daughter was surrounded by people who loved and valued her.
Everything I thought I knew about Max, everything I had overlooked or accepted as parts of his personality, suddenly ate at me.
It was hard to be in the same room as him, to share the same air. Every touch made me want to cringe. Every word out of his mouth was stained with lies. I had reached out to some old coworkers and applied at a couple of doctors’ offices a few towns over.
Getting a job and finding a new place to live were the only things keeping me going. The idea that I would leave the cold, gilded cage sooner rather than later became my dream.
The small nest egg I had saved up prior to meeting Max was all I had in terms of money he had no access to or knowledge of.
With it, I planned to hire an attorney and put a downpayment on a house for Eloise and me to move into immediately.
I researched all the attorneys in the area and picked out the top three.
When I went in to meet with each lawyer, they declined to take my case as soon as they heard my husband’s last name.
Two days of meeting with different lawyers, and I had nothing.
Max was away on a business trip with Natalia.
There was an infidelity clause in our prenup.
It was the only way I would get out of the marriage cleanly.
The rest of my savings went to the PI who was currently following my husband around.
Photos of his business trip had already proved enlightening, but I paid the investigator to continue following him. The more I had on him, the better.
Sitting in the dark of Lou’s nursery, I watched her sleep, trying to time my breaths with hers, trying not to break down.
A soft knock at the door had me jerking in my chair.
Fear that Max was back early—or even worse, his mother was stopping by—had me steeling my spine.
Instead, Pops was there, his kind face eyeing me with worry.
“Sophie, dear, you haven’t been by for lunch this week. I just wanted to come and check on you,” he said, walking over to look at Eloise.
“My darling Lou. I can’t ever thank you enough for bringing her into this family,” he said, reaching down to stroke the baby’s hair.
At that, the dam broke, and tears started pouring out of my face full-steam.
I sniffled, and Pops turned to look at me, surprise on his face quickly morphing to anger.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” he asked. I struggled to speak. I stood up and went to Eloise’s crib, close enough to Pops that I could talk quietly.
“I can’t talk here,” was all I managed to say, and his jaw tightened. Stepping back, he looked at his watch before turning to me, his voice louder than usual.
“Why don’t you two come stay with me tonight?
You and I can have dinner, and we’ll get Lou set up in her room there.
I hate the idea of you two alone in this big house.
” Before he even finished speaking, I was nodding, grateful for the escape.
I had grabbed a diaper bag and started throwing things into it when Pops came over and stopped me.
My hands were shaking, and I hadn’t even realized.
“I’ve got this. Plus, there’s plenty of clothes and toys at my place. Go pack your own bag. Make sure you have everything you need.” In a lower voice, he added, “All your documents.”
Shocked, I nodded before heading to my room. Going straight for the safe, I grabbed my passport, birth certificate, and social security card. Sliding my ring off, I locked it in the safe, not wanting it anywhere near me. I went through my closet, only taking the clothes I had picked out myself.
No one batted an eye as we left the house with Pops, and the car ride was silent as Lou slept in her car seat. Once we got to his house, Pops helped me get her settled in her room before taking me outside for a drink on the patio. He handed me a snifter full of brandy, and I took a hearty sip.
“You’re leaving Max.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement. Pops looked tired but not surprised.
“He and Nat. They’re together. They have been since she got back, I think.
He doesn’t care about me or Eloise. We’re just pawns in his fucked-up games with her.
I heard him and Helen talking. They said if I ever tried to leave, they would use Eloise to keep me in line.
I spent all week trying to find a lawyer, but no one would take me on.
No one would go against the Townsends. I can’t stay with him, Walt.
I can’t let Eloise grow up thinking that this is what love looks like,” I told him urgently.
“I’m disappointed, but I can’t say I’m surprised.
When Max brought you home for the first time, I thought he had finally changed.
Free from Nat’s spell, he could grow into a man who was worthy.
The man I wanted him to be. I didn’t know they had…
reconciled. I will not sit by and let you and Eloise suffer for my family’s disgrace.
You’ll meet with my lawyer first thing in the morning.
After that, we’ll look at houses so you can move out as soon as you want. ”
“Walt, I can’t ask you to do this. Your family…This could divide everyone.”
“It won’t. They want my money. That’s the problem with Helen and Max.
All they see are dollar signs. Their sense of entitlement has blinded them to reality—to basic morality, at that.
You want family, love, connection. As long as you agree not to cut me out of yours and Eloise’s lives, I will do everything I can to make sure you get out of this with everything you deserve and more. ”
Gasping, I turned to him.
“I would never do that! I love you, Walt, like you’re my own father. Your love for Lou…I would never stop that. Max and Helen, though, never showed an interest. The way Helen talks about her …I can’t let that woman around my baby.”
“Yes, Helen has become quite disappointing. If my son hadn’t transferred his shares over to her, I would have cut her off years ago.
I tried to give her some grace, raising a child on her own, but she didn’t even raise Max.
She left that to nannies and housekeepers while she spent my son’s money on herself.
Neither Helen or Max are a good representation of this family.
You will always be who I side with. You and Lou are my true family.
” He held my hand as I sobbed before gently corralling me into the guest room.
The next morning, an older gentleman in a pristine suit was seated at the kitchen table, his briefcase open as he pulled out several documents.
“Sophie, this is my lawyer, Brian Carmichael. He has agreed to take on your case.” Brian shook my hand, his grip sturdy and serious.
It took a few hours, but after connecting Mr. Carmichael with my PI, they started putting together the divorce documents, working to make sure Max couldn’t find a loophole to try to screw me over.
I got a call back for an interview from two hospitals, and was grateful that Pops had basically moved us into his place. He insisted on taking me to the interviews so we could look at houses in the area after. He was determined to help me start over. To find a place I was happy with.
Then, the day before Max returned from the actual work portion of his trip, Mr. Carmichael returned to Pops’ house with all of the documents and evidence prepared for my case. He assured me we had everything ready to serve Max.
“Perfect. Brian, please join us tomorrow at 10 a.m. I’ve invited both Maxwell and Helen over.”
I gasped, reaching for Pops’ arm. “No, don’t do this. Helping me is one thing, but don’t put yourself in the middle like this. Helen will…You know what this will do, Walt. Please,” I begged. But he just put his hand over mine.
“That’s exactly why it needs to be here, with all of us.
They will be on their best behavior in front of me.
They will sign what I tell them to. We will make sure you get what you deserve, which is far more important to me than anything you think Helen might do.
As much as it kills me, I know what they want, what they need to hear.
Let me do the dirty work so you can get out of this family with your hands clean.
Let them think I hired the PI, that I told you about the affair.
You and Lou are the brightest lights in my life.
I can’t bear to let those people I have to call family dim that light any further.
” Tears were streaming down my face, and Mr. Carmichael had an angry expression that rivaled Walt’s.
“Alright. Tomorrow, then. Let’s get this over with. Then you can help Lou and me find a house with a guest room you find acceptable.” Pops squeezed my hand, bringing me toward him for a hug, and pressed a kiss to the top of my head.
“Tomorrow is the start of your new life, Sophie. I’ll see you both at ten,” Mr. Carmichael said before slipping out of the room, punctuating the seriousness of the conversation.