Chapter 50
Chapter Fifty
Sophie
For several seconds, I stare at Mom’s message.
Tell Lucian and Caleb thank you for what they just did.
Across the table, Piper leans forward and reads the message. “What did they do?”
I frown at the words, as if that will help them make more sense. “I have no idea.”
“Call her,” Piper encourages.
“You don’t mind?”
Grinning, she reaches for a slice of cheese. “I want to know too.”
I press the Call button before I can invent possibilities worse than whatever the truth is.
“Sweetheart.”
The warmth in her voice loosens my tension. She sounds stronger than she has during some of our recent calls, and for one precious second, I’m grateful for that.
“Aren’t your husbands wonderful?”
“I…”
“I saw an email from the financial office. At first, I thought there might be a problem with the payment for the next treatment cycle, but it was exactly the opposite.” She pauses.
“Your husbands established a medical fund in my name. The clinic will automatically draw from it for my treatments, medications, and anything else the doctors approve. Of course I asked how long it would last.”
My stomach knots.
“And they said at my current level of care, it would last at least ten years and that it would cover many trips back home between cycles.”
Ten years.
My brain races.
Ten years isn’t a payment.
It’s a fortune.
I reach for my wine but don’t drink.
“They didn’t say anything to you?”
“No.” My mind is reeling. Why did they do this? “But I’m glad they did. Now we can all stop worrying about it.”
“You made a good choice, Sophie. With your two men.”
Since she hadn’t always made good choices, and I’m still not sure how I feel about that, I simply say the words that are true, no matter how complicated things are, “I love you, Mom.”
“More than all the stars.”
The familiar words almost undo me.
I lower the phone, and Piper is staring. “Ten years? Jesus.”
Exactly.
For a moment, neither of us speaks.
Mom’s treatment was the bargain when my dad wagered me. Lucian and Caleb have just made sure her care no longer depends on anything I do.
The evening started with the call from Hawkeye.
And now this.
They’ve spent eight years trying to control me, and now they’ve stopped. Completely.
If I were to leave them, my mom would still be taken care of.
My shoulders roll forward as stress I didn’t know I was carrying vanishes.
“What are you going to do?” Piper asks softly.
“I have no idea.” This is something I never ever expected.
She reaches across the table and covers my hand with hers. “You know, this doesn’t mean you have to forgive them.”
Slowly I nod.
“Or go back.”
“I know that too.” For the first time, the words don’t make my chest hurt.
Because she’s right.
My mom is safe.
Hawkeye is not giving them details about me.
And most importantly, Lucian and Caleb are respecting my choices and staying away because I told them to.
There is literally nothing forcing me toward them anymore.
I look at Piper. “But if I do go back, it won’t be because I have to.”
Something changes in her expression.
She doesn’t smile. Doesn’t tell me what that means or what I should do with it.
Thank God.
Instead, she squeezes my hand. “No. It won’t. It’s completely up to you. And I’m here to support you and love you, no matter what you decide.” She picks up her glass. “And I’m here if you need to do this every day for weeks.”
With Piper and her loyalty, I won the friend lottery.
We both call for cars and stand on the corner talking until they arrive.
Another change.
More freedom.
My mind is still racing when I get home and let myself into my apartment.
I turn on a light, and silence settles around me.
For days, I’ve been telling myself this is what I wanted. My own space. My own life. The freedom to decide what happens next without anyone manipulating circumstances until I arrive at the answer they want.
And now I have it.
Mom’s treatment no longer depends on my marriage.
No third party is monitoring my security feed.
I can come and go without reporting to anyone.
My rings are off.
Lucian and Caleb have stayed away.
For the first time since Dad wagered me, nothing is pushing me toward them.
I’m free to walk away forever.
The thought should feel like relief.
Instead, tears gather in my eyes.
I swipe them away and head into the kitchen, where I pull out a half-finished bottle of cheap red and set it on the counter.
But I don’t open it.
I prop my hips against the counter and look around the apartment I once loved coming home to.
My life before Lucian and Caleb was good.
I had work I loved. Piper. Independence. Quiet evenings that belonged entirely to me.
I could have that life again.
So why does the thought make my chest ache?
Because somewhere along the way, their penthouse stopped feeling like a place I had been taken to and started feeling like somewhere I belonged.
I miss coffee appearing at my side without me asking.
I miss them noticing when I haven’t eaten.
I miss curling up on their couch with a book while they move around me, the ridiculous certainty that my favorite butter-pecan ice cream would somehow always be in the freezer.
I miss them.
None of that excuses what they did.
It doesn’t make eight years of manipulation acceptable.
It doesn’t mean I trust them again.
But it does mean something I can no longer pretend away.
I love them.
And now that no one is forcing me toward them, I’m not sure I want to keep walking away.
My heart starts pounding.
“Oh God.”
My voice sounds ridiculously loud in the empty apartment.
I reach for my phone.
For several seconds, I only stare at it.
Then I open our group thread.
My hands shake as I type a message.
I read it.
Delete it.
Try again.
This time, I read the words twice.
My stomach flips.
I almost delete them too.
Instead, I press Send.