Chapter 59 Sophie
Sophie
Istare up at him, my eyes wide, searching his face for—what? Confirmation that this means something? Guidance on what we’re going to do next?
His expression is unreadable, shadows and light playing across his face.
He holds me. His arms tight around me, his heart pounding against my chest, our bodies still connected. For just a moment I let myself believe this is real. That we’re real.
As the sun comes up, spilling light into our little cocoon of darkness, he shifts out of me.
“You’re not staying, are you?” The words are out before I can stop them.
He goes still. Every muscle in his body tenses, and I know the answer before he says anything. The silence stretches between us, cutting deeper than words.
“I’m sorry.”
I push him away, the cold air rushing in where his warmth had been.
“I don’t want this, Vin,” I say, my voice steadier than I feel. “You can’t do this anymore.”
He flinches and for half a second, I see hurt flash across his face, genuine and unguarded, and something in me wants to take it back.
But then his expression hardens, and the walls slam back into place, brick by brutal brick.
“We were never in a relationship.” His voice is cutting. He swings his legs over the side of the bed, reaching for the clothes I’d laid out for him last night. “You don’t like it, use your fucking safe word.”
I lean up on my elbows, glaring at him as he yanks on his sweats and pulls his shirt over his head.
Sitting up in bed, I pull the blankets up to my chest. I feel used, marked, just… off. I search for a way to repair this, to get us back to where we were when he was inside me.
“I’ll make you something to eat before you go.”
“No.”
He’s so cold, completely and utterly shut down.
“Some coffee at least—”
“I can’t see you again.”
The words stun me though they shouldn’t. I can’t speak around what feels like a lump of dry bread lodged in my throat. I drop my gaze to my lap, focusing on the way my fingers twist in the blanket, anything to keep the tears from falling.
When I finally look up, he’s staring at me hard, his jaw tight, his eyes dark and unreadable.
“I know I’ll see you on holidays. Stuff for the kids because of Siena.” His voice is flat, emotionless. “But I can’t talk to you. Especially when I’m with my wife. Do you understand?”
My wife.
Everything goes black. He’s still talking but I can’t hear him. My heartbeat has taken over my entire body, and I can barely breathe.
“Your… wife?”
“I’m marrying Ashlyn MacCuinn now that I’m boss. When she’s with me, you are not allowed to talk to her or to me.”
Something like rage flares inside me, all-consuming. He’s marrying someone else but he showed up here last night and fucked me while I was sleeping? And now he’s treating me like I’m the needy piece of shit?
Throwing the blankets off me, I stand. I’m wearing nothing, and I don’t care. Let him see what he’s walking away from.
I close the distance between us, standing on tiptoe, my chin tipped up defiantly.
“Follow your own fucking rules.”
He blinks hard and opens his mouth to respond, but I don’t give him a chance. I jab a finger into his chest, backing him into the living room step by step.
“Seeing you at family events doesn’t mean you ever have to come into my house or my restaurant again.” My voice is steady now, strong. “The next time you think you need me, you fucking don’t.”
His face goes stony, blank. He turns and heads for the door without a word, and I walk into the kitchen on shaking legs, arms crossed over my bare chest. I will not cry in front of him.
He pauses at the door, looking back at me with that infuriating smirk I used to find charming.
“Thanks for the food and the pussy, princess.”
I throw a water glass at the door as it slams behind him.
It shatters against the wood, shards of glass scattering across the floor. Before the pieces have settled, I burst into tears.
I don’t know how long I stay there, sobbing in my kitchen. Long enough for the sun to fully rise. Long enough for my tears to run dry, leaving me hollow and drained.
When I rise, I am a different person. The new version of the Arsenal is ready. The apartment above it is furnished, waiting. A fresh start. A new beginning.
When I move out of this little place, I’m locking the ghost of Vin inside and I’m never looking back.
For the first time, I feel that promise on a deeper level. I’m done with Vin Demonio.
My life is my restaurant, my niece, my cousin. I’m going to build a whole new world that has nothing to do with the man who was never good enough for me in the first place.
**
Sophie and Vin’s story is far from over!
Read the stunning conclusion to their duet in HARBOR as Sophie and Vin find their way home.