Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Sophia
Leg extended, I leaned into the stretch, my joints aching for more than one reason today. But the world didn’t need to know why. I let out a breath and sank deeper into the stretch, before moving out of the angle and deepening my breath so I could continue my movement.
It had been a long day of classes, the twins needing a thousand things, and just exhaustion in the head.
School had just finished, and that meant that everybody’s priorities were shifting.
Oh, many students would come back for their favorite classes, and continue on during the summer, but others wouldn’t return until the fall semester.
Some of my middle schoolers would begin the path toward advanced classes, and even private tutoring. While I was no longer a principal ballet dancer for the Denver Ballet, I still danced to my heart’s content as much as possible.
So I didn’t have as much time as I once had.
But that made sense. I was a mom of two, owned my own business, and was doing my best to make my marriage work.
I rubbed my temples, telling myself that it was working.
Yes I made a few mistakes here and there, but those couldn’t be helped.
I wasn’t the sweet, affable Sophia that Cale had married so few years ago.
I was no longer dancing full time, or in the same shape I had once been.
I had let myself go when the babies had come, and was working on strengthening everything that I could.
It’s what Cale needed from me. He worked long hours and went on countless business trips to provide for our family.
When we had gotten together, I’d had a decent savings from my time dancing, but it wasn’t until my father’s will had been read that I’d been able to be financially solvent enough to find balance in everything that we’d wanted.
But that was okay. We were learning this new life of ours.
I did a few of the moves, letting the music sing its way through my bones.
I loved dancing. Ever since I had been a little girl, I had tried to stand on my toes, plié, and jeté.
I wanted to be the graceful dancer in a skirt and tutu, gliding and flying over the dance floor as if I could walk on air.
I had been blessed in my career and had gone out on top. I still danced with a local troupe, one filled with retired dancers who no longer wanted to dance professionally but still had the bug.
I couldn’t join often these days, not with the twins at home, and a husband who needed to be looked after, but I did my best. Besides my family, dance was the one thing that could truly be mine.
I smiled at myself, letting one final move take me, before bending down for my towel to dry off the sweat.
I needed to shower, get presentable, and then head home so I could feed the girls, and get ready for dinner.
Cale had been out of town for the past week.
He’d had a tough trip, with his bags being lost on the way there, and having to change hotel rooms halfway through, so I knew he would be excited to get home and see me and the twins.
My lips curved into a smile as I thought about our babies.
I never thought I would be a mom. It wasn’t that it had been a definite no, it was that my priorities had shifted.
I had only worked towards being a dancer.
My sister Isabella, as well as my mother, had done everything they could to ensure that I had the childhood I needed in order to find balance.
I had been competitive and determined. Much like my brother Kyler, we had gone into the arts and never turned back.
Kyler was still out on a world tour, and had just won yet another Grammy, because of course he did.
I couldn’t wait until my little brother came back to visit, but until then, I would be the artist at home.
Even if I didn’t do it professionally anymore.
Violet and Hazel, however, had changed my life. They were my babies, my darlings, and were somehow, over two years old. They were little people now, rather than infants, who were developing their tiny personalities. And they were changing day by day.
I knew Cale missed spending as much time with them as he wanted to. He was always on the road, doing what he could for his companies, and that meant he missed out on a few firsts.
I rubbed my shoulder, an odd pain that I pushed back. But he would see other firsts, and as soon as we finished with the next step of my father’s will, Cale said he would pause and take more time to be with the family. After all, we would have more money now, thanks to my philanderer of a father.
I pressed my lips together, doing my best not to think about that. I had loved my father as a little girl. He had doted on me and called me his little princess. And then he had ignored me so he could focus on his business, and his other family.
I hadn’t neglected naming him in my thoughts when I had imagined who had helped me push myself to where I was today. My father’s ambitions might not mirror my own, but he had similar determination. And that had been pretty much the only similar things about us.
But he was dead, his secrets long buried, and now thanks to my brothers and sisters who actually knew what they were doing when it came to business, Cale and I would be far more comfortable in our financial standings, and we would be able to breathe more.
Cale wouldn’t have to work as hard, and I would be able to spend more time at home with the girls, just like he wanted me to.
I rolled my shoulders back and headed to the small shower area that I’d had added to the office space above my dance studio.
I did not like traveling covered in sweat, and Cale hated when I came home looking like I had drenched myself in a pool.
So it was best all around if I did my hair and makeup and got ready for the evening while still at the office.
I checked my watch and winced. I had danced on my own a little bit too long, and the sixteen-year-old girl I was privately tutoring had been on such a roll, that we had gone over time.
Her parents had been thrilled, but now I was a little behind.
I showered as quickly as I could, and thanked the Lord that Kyler had gotten me this fancy blow-dryer for Christmas. My thick hair could sometimes take nearly an hour to dry, even with the best blow dryers out there, but I was grateful that now it wouldn’t take as long.
Minutes later, I was as ready as I was going to be, but I still put my hair back in a low ponytail.
I dabbed some concealer over the bruise on my jaw and ignored the ache there.
I had hit my face on the floor when I had fallen, but it was a hazard of the job.
I met my gaze once more, the shadows there no longer surprising me. No, I was fine. Everything was fine.
I grabbed my things and headed out to my car after locking up.
If I hurried, I would make it home to relieve the nanny before Cale got there.
Neither one of us liked having a nanny, even part-time, but the girls were too big for me to wear them both while at the dance studio.
And it wasn’t like Cale could bring them into a business meeting.
He was a very important person in his job.
A small part of me wondered exactly where those voices had come from. Or why I was even saying them. It didn’t sound like me.
But I pushed those away because the more I dug into them, the harder it would be for everyone. If I just gave in a little bit, it would be easier. And soon we would both be home more, and it wouldn’t be like this.
Everything was just fine and working how it should. My hands fisted on the steering wheel as I turned into my driveway and pulled into the garage.
Everything had to be fine.
I turned off the engine and grabbed my bag.
When I walked in, the sound of little girls screaming hit my ear, and I paused, realizing that Cale’s luggage was in the front foyer, and I had failed to realize that the nanny’s car hadn’t been parked in front of the house.
It was late.
This wasn’t going to be good.
No, it was going to be just fine. Cale would understand. He always did.
I set my bag down next to his and walked into the living room.
Cale stood in the kitchen, facing the window, a glass of whiskey in his hands.
Both Violet and Hazel were in their playtime pen, their heads thrown back as they screamed.
Their little faces were red, their hands fisted at their sides, and I moved quickly towards them, heart thudding.
“What’s wrong, little girls? Your daddy’s home. You should be happy.”
Hazel launched herself at me, and I caught her before reaching down and pulling Violet into my arms. I kissed the tops of both of their heads and swayed back and forth.
“They’re crying because their mother wasn’t here like she promised.”
I swallowed hard, rocking my baby girls as they quieted down.
“I must have lost track of time. But it’s so good to see you home.”
I turned, so focused on the babies I had missed him moving closer.
The blow caught me off guard, the back of his hand slamming into my cheek. I staggered back, one step, two, until I was falling. Horror rocked through me as I tried to maneuver so I would fall on my back, or even on my side, doing anything to protect my babies.
Hazel and Violet had both quieted down, but were now screaming in my ears, and yet everything moved so slow.
My butt hit the ground first, and the momentum pushed me back, the back of my head slamming into our hardwood floor.
Stars shot from beneath my eyelids, and I realized that blood coated my mouth. I had bitten my tongue, and tears stung my eyes.
I sat up quickly, ignoring the nausea, as I looked down at my baby girls.
“Are you okay?”
“Mommy tripped, girls.”
Cale moved forward, as if to reach for them, and I turned, moving so they were both behind me.
“I’ve got it. Don’t touch them,” I snapped.
My voice chilled, and Cale just looked at me, tilting his head. One blond lock fell over his gaze, and he smirked at me.