by Helen Cooper
“Hello.” She ran to it and opened it eagerly. “Oh, hello.”
“I have a letter.” The young man handed her an envelope. “Sign for it, please.”
“Okay.” She signed her name and then closed the door. She saw the writing on the envelope and her heart stopped beating. It was from Max.
My Dearest Sophie,
It’s been less than twenty-four hours since I left and I already miss you more than life itself. I didn’t want to write to you so quickly. I wanted to give you time to adjust to life without me but I miss you and love you so very much.
There are circumstances that are beyond my control and I didn’t want you to have to live in a life where you weren’t happy every second of the day. It broke my heart to hear you talk about Nicholas. But if you think he will be a better man for you, I cannot change that.
I love you Sophie. You may not know this but the day you told me you loved me was the happiest moment of my entire life. And when I found out you were pregnant it made me the proudest I have ever been. Please name our daughter Winter, and yes, I know we will have a girl. I know that you will be the perfect mother for Winter and Jacob.
Please do not try to find me. Contact Ella and let her know what has happened. She will get you access to all of my accounts.
Your ever loving,
Max
Sophie broke down on the floor with uncontrollable sobs. She didn’t know what to do. What was the meaning of his letter? Had he left her? Because she had told him about Nicholas? Nicholas meant nothing to her. She wished she had never brought him up. She had just been so jealous talking about Alexis. She wanted him to feel the same pain and hurt that she had and now she had driven him away. She screamed into the floor and cried. She struggled to get up when Jacob started crying. She held the baby to her chest and sobbed. “Oh Jacob,” she whispered. “What am I going to do?
She looked at her watch and realized that she was going to be late for her doctor’s appointment. She sighed and sat on the couch. She was too depressed and sad to go anywhere. “I can’t leave the house today, Jacob. That’s okay with you, right?” She closed her eyes and allowed her tears to run down her face at their will.
After a few hours, she decided to call Ella. She didn’t really know what to say to her now. They hadn’t had a good talk in years. But Ella didn’t answer her phone. Sophie sighed. She really just needed someone to talk to, the last couple of weeks had been crazy and she felt like she might lose her mind. She looked at the text message from Nick and bit her lip. She knew that she shouldn’t call him, but she also knew that it wasn’t his fault that she had dragged his name into her conversation with Max. He seemed like a nice enough guy and she just needed a friend to talk to right now. She dialed his number without thinking and held her breath as she waited for him to answer the phone.
“Hello?” Nick’s voice was cautious.
“Nick, it’s me, Sophie.” She spoke slowly, wondering if he had already forgotten who she was.
“Sophie. It’s good to hear from you.” He paused. “Can I help you?”
“I just wondered if you were free to talk.” Sophie’s voice was soft and hurt. “But if you’re busy.”
“No. I’m not busy. I just wasn’t sure if there was a reason why you were calling me?”
“No real reason.” She laughed. “I just wanted to say hi.” She wanted to slap herself across the face; he wasn’t even interested in her. He barely wanted to talk to her. What a fool she had made of herself.
“We can meet up for an early dinner, if you want.”
“I don’t know.” She sighed. “I have the baby.”
“Can your fiancé or friend take care of him?”
“No.” she sighed. “No, I don’t think they can.”
“Oh?”
“I can’t get in contact with either of them.” She laughed hysterically.
“It’s okay, Sophie.” Nick took a deep breath. “Why don’t we meet up now, before we don’t get another chance, you can bring the baby with you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” He coughed. “I’ll meet you at our spot in Central Park in an hour.”
“Sounds good. Thank you, Nick.”
“No, thank you, Sophie.” He paused. “I’ll see you soon.” He hung up and crossed his fingers praying that Sophie didn’t speak to Ella before she came to meet him.
**
Sophie tried calling Ella and Maxwell one last time before she went to meet Nick but there was still no answer. She bundled Jacob up and got up the stroller that Max had bought earlier in the week. She arrived just as Nick was sitting down and he jumped up when he saw her and gave her a big hug.
“Hi,” she said softly and gasped as she saw the bruises on his face. “Oh my, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” He gave her a lopsided smile. “I fainted last night.”
“Oh no.” She touched his face softly. “You must have fallen hard.”
“I did.” He paused. “But I deserved it.”
“Oh Nick.” Sophie looked at his face and felt empty inside. She had made a mistake coming here. Somehow she had found another lost soul and she didn’t know how to fix him. She didn’t think that she could.
“So you should know that you’ll probably hate me by tomorrow.” His voice was pained and he couldn’t quite meet her eyes.
“Why?” She looked at his bloodshot eyes and felt a tinge of something akin to fear.
“You have to believe that I didn’t know who you were, when I first met you.”
“What are you talking about?” She leaned towards him, heart beating fast.
“When I met you, Sophie, I thought that maybe my luck had changed. I thought that maybe you would see the real me, the me that doesn’t really to come out in New York.”
“I thought I did see the real you.” She was confused.
“You did. When we played Frisbee and drank hot chocolate I thought that all of my dreams had come true. I couldn’t believe that someone as lovely as you would give me a chance.”
“You’re a handsome and nice man, Nick.”
“I’m not a nice man.” He pulled out his tie. “Sophie, I’m Max’s shrink.”
“Wait, what?” She looked at him in shock.
“I didn’t know who you were until yesterday. I figured it out. It all made a weird sort of sense.”
“I don’t understand.” She looked at his face and grimaced. “Did Max do this to you?”
“No.” He paused and exhaled. “I was with Ella.”
“Ella?” She clutched her heart. “Oh my God. What have you done to Max and Ella?”
“What are you talking about?” He looked at her panicked.
“I haven’t seen or heard from either of them since yesterday.” She slid away from him and looked at him like a stranger she was scared of.
“I swear to God, Sophie, I didn’t do anything.” He grabbed her hands.
“Then where are they?” she cried out.
“I don’t know.” He grabbed her shoulders. “You have to believe me. I wouldn’t hurt anyone. It wasn’t even me, Sophie. It was Frank.”
“Frank Phillips?” She looked at him in shock. “The senator?”
“You know him?” He looked surprised.
“You could say that. He’s Jacob’s real dad.”
“What?” Nick jumped up. “Oh my god.” He slapped his hand to his forehead. “It all makes sense now.”
“What?”
“I’ve been Max’s shrink for a while, since his downward spiral a few years ago.”
“His downward spiral?”
“I can’t tell you more.” He sighed. “But Max is a good man, he loves you, Sophie. You mean the world to him.”
“Tell me more about what happened.” Her voice was cold. She didn’t want to hear more about Max; she couldn’t afford to break down again.
“Alexis got him into drugs, the sex club, you name it, they did it. He was out of control and he was angry. I’ve
been helping him learn how to control his anger.”
“What a lucky man Max was,” she said sarcastically.
“I’ve done a good job, Sophie.”
“Whatever.”
“About a year and a half ago, I met a girl. She invited me to a club, we had a crazy night and the next thing I know, I’m being blackmailed with explicit photos and videos and a copy of the girl’s birth certificate.”
“Okay and?”
“She was underage.”
“Oh.”
“So then Senator Phillips presented me with an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
“To spy on Max.”
“To tell him things of interest that Max told me. And when Max told me about the baby I told the senator.”
“And now he’s worried that word will get out that it’s his?” Sophie sighed and looked at innocent Jacob sleeping.
“I guess so.”
“What sort of man is this Frank? He’s evil.” She clutched her stomach. “And what sort of mother is Alexis? How could she just give her child up like that?”
“I don’t know.” Nick reached out to her.
“Don’t touch me,” she screamed and sat up. “Let’s get this straight, Nick, I barely know you. I thought we may have been friends but after everything you have told me today. I despise you. You are a weak, evil man. I don’t know what you have done to my fiancé or my best friend but if I find out anything bad has happened to either of them, I will find you and I will cut your dick off.” She jumped up and grabbed Jacob’s stroller. “I never want to see you again.” She walked away quickly, adrenaline giving her the strength to walk without her knees buckling beneath her.
Max stood behind the bush and watched her walk away, head held high. He had never been prouder of Sophie than at that moment. He knew that he should have skipped town, that he should have left the state if he really wanted his plan to work but he knew as soon as he paid the courier to deliver the letter that there was no way he could be far away from his love. He had to make sure she was okay; he had to make sure that Jacob was okay, and his precious daughter Winter. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to them. He had been deeply hurt when he had followed Sophie to the park to her meeting with a man. When he had realized that Nick was Dr. Spencer, he had wanted to jump out of the bushes and beat him up. He wasn’t sure what stopped him. Maybe his love for Sophie was controlling his urges; he knew that wasn’t the time to reveal himself.
As soon as he saw Sophie fade from sight, he walked to the bench where Nick was sitting. “Dr. Spencer.” His voice was rough and angry and Nick jumped back when he saw him.
“Max.” He looked scared.
“I’m not going to kill you, Dr. Spencer or should I call you Nicholas?”
“Look Max, I don’t know what you think—”
“Listen to me, Nick. I don’t care what you have to say.” He leaned towards him. “I care about Sophie and our life together.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt Ella,” Nick squeaked out.
“Ella?” Max frowned. “You’re the date?”
Nick’s eyes bulged out. “She didn’t tell you?”
Max shook his head. “I see that Frank really has it in for me, doesn’t he?”
Nick nodded without saying a word.
“When we met at Harvard, he was a nobody. Did you know that?” Max frowned. “I introduced him to his wife. I was nothing but a friend to him but he hated me.”
“Why?”
“Because he thought I had it easy.” Max laughed harshly. “He thought I had the perfect life, money, looks, a good family. But he didn’t know that the one thing I really wanted I couldn’t have.”
“Sophie?”
“I’ve always loved her, Nick. It’s hard to for people to understand that sometimes you just know when someone is meant to be with you. She has had my heart from the first smile she gave me.”
“She’s special.” Nick sighed.
“She’s an angel on earth.” Max sighed. “And I will not allow anything bad to happen to her.”
“Do you think Frank will go after her?” Nick frowned.
“You tell me, Nick.” Max grabbed his shirt and pulled him towards him. “You know when I knew you were a snake?”
Nick shook his head scared.
“When you started asking me those weird questions in the last meeting we had. That’s why I left so quickly. I knew you were a leak.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t know you were the Nicholas though, not until I saw you today.” Max shook his head. “I’ve got to hand it to Frank, he’s good. But he’s not better than me.”
“What shall we do?” Nick’s voice was scared.
“What’s Franks plan?”
“I don’t know. He just wanted more information about Sophie. He wants to hurt you through her.”
“Well, then we let him think that,” Max whispered into Nick’s ear. “I want you to call or text Frank and tell him that Sophie and I are done and that I’m heartbroken. Let him think you’ve taken over the relationship.”
“He won’t believe that.” Nick shook his head.
“I’ll send more letters, have his people intercept and read them.” Max grunted. “He’ll believe them. Trust me.”
“But what about Sophie?”
“Leave her alone.” Max glared at him. “I will be looking out for her. Stay away from her and my sister. And after you send Frank the messages, I expect you to leave town. For good.”
“Ok.” Nick took out his phone and opened it. He typed. “Max’s fiancée’s name is Sophie. But it’s over. Max is so devastated that he left town. And now Sophie is mine.” He handed the phone to Max and Max handed it back to him silently and nodded. Nick sent the message and they sat on the park bench and waited until he got a response, it came about twenty minutes later. “Great news. Enjoy Sophie, she’s a vixen for sure. If I weren’t married I’d screw her myself. I’ll be in contact if I need anything else.” Nick showed him the message and Max threw the phone to the ground before standing up.
“I have someone I need to go and see now but I expect to hear you’ve left town.”
“Take care of her, Max.” Nick looked at her with pleading eyes and Max could tell that Nick had had genuine feelings for Sophie.
“I always will. She’s my life.” Max leaned into Nick and right hooked him in the stomach hard. “That’s for my sister, you asshole.” He looked around him and walked away quickly. He needed to go and meet Alexis and take care of the paperwork for the adoption and then he needed to sit pretty while everything went through and then he could go back home and hope that Sophie would be willing to listen and take him back.
Chapter 17
Ella
“Hey Sophie, I just saw your missed calls. Sorry, I was out. Is Max there?” Ella tried to keep her voice upbeat not wanting her friend to know that there was anything wrong. It seemed like years had passed since they had been the two young girls who summered in Winterside and made prank calls.
“Hey Ella, I’ve been better.” Sophie sighed. “I need to tell you something.”
“Is Max there, Sophie? I really need to talk to him.” Ella’s voice was insistent.
“He’s not here, Ella.” Sophie sighed. “I just met up with Nick, or you may know him as Dr. Spencer.”
“He found you?” Ella gasped.
“It’s a long story but I think Senator Phillips is after Max.”
Ella sighed. “I know.”
“You know?” Sophie exclaimed loudly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I don’t know.” Ella sighed. “But I have a plan.”
“What? Let me help.”
“You can’t help, Sophie. I’m going to The X Club tonight. I’m going to try and talk to Senator Phillips.”
“Oh Ella, you can’t go there.” Sophie paused. She didn’t want to tell her about her own experience with Frank Phillips.
“It’s okay, Sophie. I won’t be alone.” Ella’s
voice was determined. “I’m going with Joseph. And before you say anything, he’s a good guy. Well, maybe not a good guy in love but he is loyal to Max. He’s going to help me.”
“I don’t like this, Ella.” Sophie’s voice was sad. “These people are powerful and dangerous.”
“I’ll be okay.” Ella tried to keep her voice calm. “I promise. Just stay home and take care of Jacob. Please.”
“Stay safe, Ella.” Sophie hung up and thought for a moment. There was no way that she was going to allow Ella to go to ‘The X Club’ with Joseph and just stay home. Not to protect her and not to protect Max. Someone needed to step up to protect Ella. She looked around and saw the wedding magazines on the table and sighed. Why couldn’t she have just read the magazines and planned a wedding? Instead she had to insist on going to the sex club and all sorts of chaos was in her life now. She picked up Maxwell’s letter and held it to her heart. “Oh my darling Max, I hope you come back to me.” She dropped the letter as she remembered something. Max had said he was going to meet Alexis today to get the paperwork. She didn’t think that he would skip out of town and not take care of that. So that meant he was still in town, which if she was smart she would have realized earlier. The letter he sent had come by courier and not by a delivery service. Sophie’s heart started beating fast, Max was still in town. Somewhere in New York, Max was doing something, possibly thinking about her. She looked out at the sky and blew a kiss to the clouds. “That’s for you, my love.”
**
“I don’t care about him, I don’t care about him,” Ella whispered to herself in the back of the cab as she checked her makeup on the way to The X Club. She wasn’t sure what to expect when she got there. And she wasn’t sure how she would feel seeing Joseph again. Her heart still ached to be with him. She loved that he got her and that he still cared about Max enough to stick his head out for him. She wondered what would have happened between them if he hadn’t been married. Maybe he would have married her. Maybe he would have cheated on her as well. She couldn’t allow herself to think those thoughts. The thoughts of what could have been. “I’ll get out here,” she shouted at the driver to stop a couple of blocks away from the club. She had arranged to meet Joseph outside of the club so that they could arrive together. “Thanks.” She jumped out of the cab and walked to the corner and waited for Joseph.