by S M Mala
She had no intention of letting him wind her up.
The best way forward was for her to tell him about getting married, and the need for her husband to adopt Amelia.
To the best of her knowledge, there would be no way he would stand in the way.
The phone buzzed and she knew Harry was outside, with his solicitor.
Her heart was beating fast and she watched Dana tell her assistant to let them in. Sophie got to her feet in anticipation of seeing him.
As the door opened, she flashed a glance at Dana and got ready for the next round.
In he walked, looking trim and tanned, but there was no smile.
That’s when she remembered why she fell in love with him all those years ago.
The total package was simply wonderful; and at the time, so was he.
Harry scowled on seeing her and this made Sophie instantly feel self-conscious.
She wondered if he thought she was still too fat to fuck.
But she then thought about Jonah.
He didn’t have a problem rising to the occasion, again and again.
She wasn’t going to back down when it came to her ex-husband, so stood up straight and smiled.
That was bound to wind him up, and it certainly worked by the return dirty look.
Deep down, she didn’t want to admit it, but she was afraid of Harry. Maybe it was because this was only the second time she had seen him since the incident.
‘Please take a seat,’ Dana said, trying to break the immediate iceberg that walked in.
‘My client can’t stay too long. He has a flight to catch,’ his solicitor replied.
‘You want to speak about the child, so speak away,’ Harry said, sitting down and looking at his phone.
Still Sophie couldn’t fathom out what sort of man he was. Even the way he said ‘the child’ showed how dismissive he intended to be.
‘I got remarried and want my husband to adopt Amelia. You don’t have to get involved but I need you to agree.’
That was when Harry stared straight at her and looked shocked.
‘You got re-married?’ he asked, then half laughed. ‘Couldn’t you stand being single?’
‘I couldn’t stand being married to you,’ she replied, and noticed Dana shake her head slowly from side to side as if warning her not to agitate him. ‘You don’t have to contribute to my child; the settlement covers everything. I’ll pay for the solicitor costs so it doesn’t dent your large pile of money. Agreed?’
‘Married?’ Harry said and sat back in his seat. ‘I never thought you would again, and so soon.’
‘It happened in October and I’m very happy, thanks for asking.’
‘Who is he?’
‘A man who loves me. I’ll make sure she drops your surname. I won’t change her birth certificate; she has a right to know who you are, whether I like it or not.’
‘And what surname will she have now?’
Harry’s look seemed challenging, and she had no intention of saying.
All hell would break loose.
That was the last thing she wanted to happen.
‘All you need to know is that he loves her as if she was his own. Milly calls him dada.’
‘Dad?’ Harry got to his feet in astonishment. ‘Jesus Sophie, you didn’t let the grass grow under your feet, did you?’
‘I met a man and fell in love. He will legally adopt her because you don’t care about our child.’ Sophie stood. ‘Yes, I said our child, because she is. She needs a man in her life that cares.’
‘Fine. Let someone else take on my mistake,’ he said, scowling. ‘I knew you’d bounce back but never at this speed.’
‘Was that after you hit me with her in my arms, and noticed my head reverberate off the door frame? Or was it after you grabbed my head and made sure I felt the pain a second time?’ Sophie couldn’t hold in her anger. ‘Thanks for sparing the time. I take it you agree.’
‘And what if I refuse? What do you do then?’
‘I’ll put a charge against you for hitting me and see how that goes down with your clients.’ Then she hesitated and noticed Dana frown. ‘I don’t want to argue. I’m very happy right now and I want to make it perfect for Milly. Sign the papers agreeing to the adoption and you won’t hear or see us again.’
‘Fine,’ he said and stepped closer. ‘You look beautiful, do you know that?’
‘That’s the glow of being in love with a man who loves me back.’
‘I made a few mistakes. I wasn’t thinking straight.’
‘Pardon?’
‘Us. I know I didn’t treat you well.’ Harry leant closer to her. ‘Sophie, whoever you married, I think you did it on the rebound. You can’t tell me he’s what you want?’
‘He is. Let my husband be a father to Amelia.’
‘Amelia?’ Then he frowned. ‘You named her after Jonah’s deceased sister didn’t you?’
‘Yes, I did.’
‘Jonah,’ he sighed, shaking his head. ‘He’s doing well now. A great success. He split with Onya, but you never liked her.’
‘I had good slut radar on that occasion,’ she replied, feeling the bile rise in her throat. ‘You should tell Jonah what you did.’
‘Why? He’ll only get upset and what’s the point? He married some actress or something, so I heard. It won’t last. It never does.’ Harry shrugged his shoulders before whispering. ‘But you never stood a chance. Remember, he was only nice you because he liked me.’
‘You agree to the adoption.’ Then Sophie hesitated, not rising to his bait. ‘Don’t you want to see a picture of Milly?’
‘What’s the point? It’s not as if I’m going to see her again, is it?’
‘Don’t upset yourself.’
Jonah watched Sophie cry. ‘It doesn’t matter.’
‘It does! He’s such a terrible human being!’
‘But he agreed so that is a good thing.’
‘How can he not love her? And he’s not signed the papers yet, no matter how many times my solicitor rings him.’
He knew seeing Harry a month ago had left its mark on Sophie, and today she was a heap of stress.
There was no turning back now.
Harry needed to know about them being married.
Knowing he was going to meet him for drinks in an hour, Jonah wiped Sophie’s tears and looked at Amelia sleeping in her cot.
‘It’s good that he doesn’t love her, then it gives me the chance to be a father, and love her twice as much.’ Grabbing Sophie in his arms, he held her tightly. ‘Now I have to tell him everything so there are no secrets.’
‘Are you sure?’ she said, pulling away and looking up, fear etched on her face. ‘Jonah, what if he gets angry at you?’
He had thought it through.
If Harry decided to break their partnership, he would accept it and walk away. Natalie had lined up some other agents very discreetly, one being Kay. Jonah didn’t want to stop using Harry but the situation would become untenable when he found out.
And he was mostly concerned how it would affect Sophie.
‘What about work?’ she asked, wiping her eyes. ‘Don’t risk it all, please?’
‘Do you agree that he needs to know?’
‘He said you married some actress and looked at me in such a belittling manner. I wanted to tell him.’
He kissed her, pushing his tongue into her mouth as she slowly parted her lips. Moving away, he looked into her tear filled eyes.
‘Baby, I love you and Milly. I would never do anything to spoil that. I’ve made enough money to stop work for a while.’ He noticed her raised eyebrows. ‘Okay, I don’t have to do long projects too far away, that’s the deal.’
‘And have you told him this?’
‘Today is the day. Wish me luck.’
‘I’m scared.’
‘Don’t be scared. It’s going to be fine.’ Then he watched her face crease up again and noticed the large tears falling down her cheek. ‘It’ll be a
ll right.’
‘Jonah,’ Sophie said, getting more upset. ‘I know some things that I never wanted you to find out about.’
‘Like what?’
‘Things that might hurt you. And I bet he’s going to say.’
‘Is it about you?’
‘Yes and no,’ she whispered, choking on her sob.
Taking her quickly out of the room, he led her to their bedroom, sat her down and grabbed her hand.
‘I used the information to secure a divorce settlement. I had no choice.’
He remembered she said something about it months ago but never asked what.
‘What do you know?’ asked Jonah, wiping her tears with his fingers. ‘What can hurt me?’
‘When someone is disloyal, that will hurt you, wouldn’t it?’
‘Was it Harry?’
Sophie turned her head away and nodded.
‘Are you going to tell me more, Soph?’
She shook her head from side to side then took a deep breath, before turning to look at him straight in the eyes.
‘I love you. I don’t want him to hurt you. He might say a lot of things about me, but I need you to know, I would protect you with my life if I had to. Especially against him.’
And Jonah realised she meant it.
‘I don’t trust him.’
Sophie was on the phone to Kay. ‘Harry’s such a shit!’
‘He’s consistent. I’ll give him that.’
‘He doesn’t want anything to do with Milly.’
‘That’s a good thing.’
‘How do I explain that to her when she gets older?’ She felt sick at the thought. ‘He should have his testicles cut off!’
‘It’s that sausage sword which seems to cause the most damage, as well as his ability to worm out of anything.’
‘He’s going to upset Jonah. I know it.’
‘How?’
‘Onya,’ she guiltily replied.
‘Really Sophie? You didn’t tell him, not after all these months.’
‘We’ve been so happy. I didn’t want to reveal his agent is a deceitful fucker.’
‘You know Harry isn’t going to let Jonah go that easily. He has made a lot of money out of your new husband. God knows what he’ll have up his sleeve.’
‘He’ll try and wedge Jonah and me apart. I know it.’ Sophie rubbed her forehead.
‘Are you sure Harry still doesn’t love you?’
‘How?’ she said, starting to laugh. ‘You don’t treat someone the way he treated me, physically and emotionally. Leaving us penniless and homeless, not caring what happened to Milly and me.’ Sophie started to feel upset remembering what happened. ‘I’ve bounced back because Jonah walked into my life again.’
‘I have a funny feeling he’s one of those men who, if they can’t have you, don’t want anyone else to either.’
‘I don’t think it’s me he wants,’ she whispered, fearing for her husband. ‘And that’s the most troubling thought.’
‘Scotch straight up.’
Waiting in the bar, he looked around at the people as his thoughts wandered off.
Sipping his drink, he thought hard about what she said.
The reoccurring thought was Harry did something and it upset Sophie.
‘You look lost in thought,’ he heard Harry say, standing in front of him.
‘Hi,’ he said, getting to his feet and shaking his hand. ‘Good to see you.’
‘It’s been a while. When my star client says they want to meet up, I know it’s time to drop everything and cater to his every need. Which reminds me, how’s married life?’ Harry gave him an impromptu hug before stepping back. ‘It seems to suit you but I expect you’re still in the honeymoon period.’
‘It’s all good,’ he said, forcing a smile before sitting back down and taking a sip of his drink. Watching Harry order from the waiter, Jonah thought about how he was going to approach the subject of Sophie. ‘And you? What’s going on there?’
‘Me?’ Harry looked amused. ‘Nothing much.’
‘You never speak about what you’re up to. You look well so I take it all is good.’
‘All is very good,’ he slyly smiled back. ‘Are you bored yet with wedlock? It happens you know.’
‘I’ve not been married long so I’m pretty happy with everything.’
‘Well, I’ve tasted the bad side, believe me.’
‘You never said what happened,’ Jonah quietly asked. ‘I never wanted to intrude as it seemed a sort subject.’
‘Sore subject?’
‘I got the impression you didn’t want to talk about it.’
‘We drifted apart. Sophie had the baby and I couldn’t be the husband she wanted. Did I tell you, I saw her last week? Sophie.’ The way he said her name, made Jonah wonder if he still had feelings. As his drink turned up, he took a large sip and immediately ordered them both another round. ‘Actually, she looked really good. Very sexy.’ Harry let out a little laugh. ‘Stupidly, she got married again. Wants the new man in her life to adopt the child.’
It was happening far too quickly for Jonah. He thought they would wait an hour before he brought up the subject.
‘And what do you think about that?’ he eventually asked.
‘If that’s what she wants.’
‘Are you happy about it?’
‘It’s a done deal, give or take.’ Harry then shrugged. ‘I’m not designed to love children. To be honest, when I saw Sophie, I could have fucked her there and then. She looked that hot.’
The comment took Jonah by surprise. He had to take another gulp of his drink. The idea that Harry wanted to sleep with Sophie again made him feel nauseous.
‘Anyone in your life?’ asked Jonah, wanting to change the subject but knowing it would only have to be diverted back later.
‘A few people, all very casual and that’s how I like it. And your wife? What does she do?’
‘You know, Harry,’ said Jonah, sitting up. ‘I was surprised why you didn’t take an interest when I told you all those months ago. You usually seem keen to know what was going on with Onya and me.’ He noticed Harry flash him a glance. ‘I know she was a friend of yours, years before you met me.’
‘Still is. She was shattered when she found out that you got hitched. You hurt that woman, you know.’
‘I didn’t intend to.’
‘But you did.’ Harry watched as their next set of drinks arrived. ‘I always thought you’d marry her. She understands your work. Does Mrs Bauer know how long you’re going to be away for?’
‘That’s what I need to speak to you about, face to face. I’m thinking of taking on smaller projects so I can stay closer to home.’
‘Really?’
‘Natalie was going to discuss it with you, but I wanted to tell you myself.’
‘And why is that?’ laughed Harry, sipping his drink. ‘Little woman wants to keep an eye on you?’
‘I want to be with her. It seems there’s never enough time in the day.’
That’s what he truly thought.
Even when they went to sleep, he wished he could talk to her more and when they woke, he felt fit to burst with happiness.
In the cold light of day, telling Harry wasn’t going to be easy.
And from the look on his agent’s face, he wasn’t too pleased about the last statement.
‘I need to talk to you about something,’ Jonah said, realising there was no good way about going about it. ‘And I don’t want you to get upset.’
‘I hear Natalie has been talking to other agents,’ he flatly replied.
‘You and Natalie rub each other up the wrong way. And she’s there to protect my interests.’
‘She’s there, like me, to make you successful and take a cut of the proceeds.’ Harry smiled for a fleeting moment. ‘Are you unhappy with me?’
‘Not at all.’
‘Then why would she be finding out about alternatives. Have I not treated you well?’
‘It�
�s not about the work; it’s personal.’
He noticed Harry’s eyes widen in confusion before grinning.
‘Personal? What does that mean?’
It was hard to find the words.
There was no way he could fathom on how to start, so he looked at him straight in the eye.
‘I met and fell in love with a woman, who is the most amazing thing in the world,’ Jonah began, not diverting eye contact. ‘I tried not to fall for her, but I did. And it was hard because I thought she didn’t feel the same way. She let me go because she thought I betrayed her trust. I did, in a way.’
‘What’s this got to do with me?’
‘You see I saw her again last September, and instantly knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.’
‘You’re in love and want me to slow down on the work front.’
‘And we got married three weeks later. I’m also in the process of adopting a child from her first marriage, called Amelia.’
Harry stared, and he watched how the information slowly dripped in.
‘You married Sophie?’ he asked and Jonah couldn’t fathom out what was going on in his head.
All that was going on in his was the fact he didn’t know what to do or say next.
‘Did you marry Sophie?’ Harry said again, and this time, there was a certain amount of anger.
‘I married Sophie and I am very much in love.’
‘And you’re telling me now?’ he spat back, knocking back his drink. ‘Why didn’t you ever mention it before? Fucking hell, Jonah! She was my wife!’
‘You didn’t seem interested.’ Jonah took a deep breath seeing Harry’s agitation. ‘I wanted to tell you but she was worried about your reaction.’
‘I see.’ Tapping the rim of the glass, he looked away before staring back. ‘You and Sophie? How long have you been in love with her?’
‘From the moment I set eyes on her walking into the party,’ was the honest reply. ‘I knew then.’
‘So you fucked her when we were married?’
The look of shock and disgust on Harry’s face took him aback, making Jonah slightly falter in his response.
‘I never did anything untoward and neither did she.’ Jonah could see where this was heading. ‘I saw her at the exhibition after all those months and knew I could never let her go again. And I haven’t. And I won’t.’