Chapter 20
Sophie
The darkest time of my life wasn’t finding out Max was cheating. It wasn’t the divorce. And it wasn’t seeing him move on. It was in the quiet after it all, when it was time to move forward and establish my own identity, that I faltered. My thoughts were consumed with fear and self-recrimination.
How could I have been so blind? How did Max trick me so thoroughly?
Doubt, heavy and cloying, crawled up my throat whenever I had to make a decision.
I didn’t trust myself or my instincts. How could I, when they had failed me so terribly?
Memories played on a loop in my head as I tried to spot the cracks and stains I had missed.
When you can’t trust your ability to distinguish truth from lies, everyday tasks are overwhelming.
Eventually, the anxiety had settled a little as I intentionally redirected it, focusing everything on Eloise.
Protecting her and making sure she had a healthy and happy life.
Primed for something awful in the future, it felt like I was preparing for war.
Forcing myself to take my time, I was slowly filling my arsenal one photo and one legal document at a time.
I didn’t have to get my hands dirty to take anyone down.
All I had to do was watch and wait for them to follow their basic nature.
And they had plenty of opportunities over the years.
Helen showing up after the horrendous night we had just been through was the last straw for me.
Having Linc at my back, standing up for Lou, for us, was empowering.
For too long, I had let that family push me around, terrified that they would somehow find a way to take Lou from me.
Once I felt like I could think straight and had recovered from the events of the past few days, I started making moves.
After speaking to my lawyer and PI, I had thick files on Max, Helen, and Nat.
My next call was to Pops. He stopped by while Lou was napping, and I knew it was time to fill him in. Prepare him.
“Helen coming to the house. Max acting out at the hospital. They’re becoming too unpredictable. I’ve put it off for too long. I don’t want them near Lou.” He flipped through the folders, his face neutral.
“Sophie, my dear, I wish you had done this sooner. You’ve got a lot of damning material in here. I’m not sure you understand exactly what you’ve got here, with Helen especially.”
“That she’s a walking STD?” I replied. Helen’s file was full of her boy toys and sugar daddies.
Everyone from married men to paid staff members…
She didn’t seem picky. Flipping through the photos, Pops pulled one of Helen out to dinner with an older man, and photos of them kissing and going home together followed.
“This man? His name is Barry Craft. He’s on our board, and is married to Helen’s best friend, Maryanne. This getting out would not only embarrass Helen, but it would force the board into action.”
“What do you mean? What action?”
“I’ve been looking for a reason to get them off the board.
I don’t think either has made a good example or representation of the Townsend name.
Plus, some of what you’ve got here points to both Helen and Max’s misappropriation of corporate funds.
These trips, fancy dinners, and hotel bills are for personal use, but were all put on the company card.
You’ve got a lot of damning information here.
I support you, and I’m happy to finally get the ball rolling on this. ”
“Thank you,” I told him. Having a hard time choking back tears, I didn’t say more. A door opened upstairs. Lou was awake.
Well over a week had passed, and no one had said a thing about changing the arrangements.
Linc’s family had been around constantly, popping by for lunch or dinner, or just coming over to hang out. I came home from a shift and found Quinn on the couch with Lou, eating popcorn, dressed in costume jewelry and singing along to Frozen, while “Wally” and “Gary” were bickering in another room.
We were a real family—one that was always meant to be. Trust was a five-letter word in my book, not easy to give or receive. Without realizing it, though, Linc had worked his way in.
It wasn’t sharp or sudden. It was something solid, tangible, growing stronger as weights were lifted and certain barriers and shields were pulled back. Linc saw me, took care of me. He showed he cared in every gesture, in the things he did without asking, the chores he took on.
In bed the night before, cocooned together, darkness wrapped around us like a cloak, it felt safe to ask those big questions I was afraid to confront. To share those secrets and goals, to talk about our dreams.
“So, how do you feel about my job? I know my schedule is not ideal, being gone at least twenty-four hours at a time,” he asked.
Clearly, the question had been weighing on him.
My head was resting on his chest, so I tilted my head up so I could look him in the eyes and reply. Make sure he really heard me.
“I’m so proud of you, proud of what you do.
I’m happy you have a job you love. I worry about you getting hurt.
How much sleep you’re getting. That sort of thing.
But it’s not something I would ask you to change.
The times that you’re here, when you’re not on call, we have all of you.
That’s enough. I’m not saying there may not be a time in the future where my feelings might change, but right now?
I don’t mind at all. Especially since it gives you and Lou time together. ”
“How did Max get any custody? Your arrangement is unique…” Linc asked one night. It was a question I dreaded but knew needed to be discussed.
“When I found out about Nat and Max, I was petrified. Unprepared. I thought I could just walk into any law office and they would hand me some paperwork Max would sign.” I closed my eyes and took a breath.
“I went to see half a dozen lawyers. They all refused to take my case, to risk going up against the Townsend family. I felt so naive, so stupid, for thinking it would be easy to leave quietly.
“Since then, I promised myself I wouldn’t get caught so off guard that I couldn’t do what was best for my child.
I’ve been waiting. I’m not sure what for.
Maybe it was some stupid hope that Max would wake up and try to have a relationship with his daughter.
Now, though, I don’t want him around her.
Max, his mother… They only care about appearances.
They have never and will never put Lou first, and I’m tired of putting her at risk.
” Tears filled my eyes, and Linc hugged me close.
“You’re not alone, Sunshine. Walt will back you, and so will I. You need legal advice of any kind, I’ve got a family full of experts. You can do this,” he urged, his face fierce.
Trust, fragile and precious, was building between us. Sharing my plans with Linc felt big. I was letting him in, letting him help me. We weren’t alone anymore. He was making sure we knew that with every word and every gesture.
Now, it was my turn to ask a question…
“What does the future look like for you? Not next year, but like, ten years down the road—twenty, even?” I asked, still half-debating the time window to ask about. He froze under me, his hands going into my hair as he replied.
“I can see us growing old in this house, making it a place we stay in forever.
Lou will grow up here, and we will build whatever she needs.
A playroom, a music room, or a science lab.
Whatever she decides she wants. I want to get her a pet, maybe a few animals around here.
We can give her a brother or sister, or two, if having more kids is something you want or need.
We will create our own memories filled with vacations, holidays, and family dinners.
Mostly, I just want to wake up next to you, with our girl sleeping safe and sound down the hall, for as long as I live.
“Ten years, twenty years. None of it matters unless I’m with the ones I love,” he continued. My heart was beating far too fast, words trapped in my throat. Leaning down, he kissed me slowly with care, love.
“I love you, Sunshine, you and Lou. You’re it for me. You two are all I need.”
Before I could let him know how I felt, Lou had woken up, yelling about how itchy her cast was. That moment of hesitation was haunting me. Loving Linc felt like a dream. It was a partnership, but also more.
There was always meaning and intent behind his decisions, like all the things he did without asking. Sometimes, I didn’t want to have to make all the decisions, to be responsible for everything. Linc saw me, put my needs first, and shared some of the weight that I was so used to carrying on my own.
That night, he had arranged for Lou to sleep at his parents’ house. It would be the first time we were alone together since her accident. We had stolen moments together here and there—in the shower, late at night—but it wasn’t the same.
I loved Linc. More than I thought was possible.
Loving him was easy, unrestrained. The promise of what we could be together, what he would give, not just to me, but to Lou, weighed heavily in my mind.
As much as I had tried to move forward, not to let my trauma and scars from Max linger in me, they were there.
I was waiting for a shoe to drop, for a crack in the mask.
But there wasn’t one because Linc had always given all of himself—no secrets, no lies—since the beginning.
And I loved him for it. I needed to tell him, and was trying to find the right moment since we had been interrupted the night before.