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“I’m not in the mood for this possessive routine.”
“Too bad. You knew what you were getting when you let me claim you in the greenhouse. Hell, you all but begged for it. Now, deal with it.”
“I don’t have to do shit. And I didn’t beg. I don’t ever beg.” She delivered her bratty retort with a yawn, dissolving the intended impact. “God, I’m tired.”
“Ten more minutes. Then I’ll get you in the shower and put you to bed.”
“I thought you wanted a long talk?”
I wanted a hell of a lot more than a long talk.
“I do, but I doubt you have the stamina for anything besides sleep now.”
“I’m tired, not fragile. I can handle anything you have to dish out.”
Her annoyance whenever anyone believed she was weak amused the hell out of me. Fiery to the core and an attitude to match.
“My Sophia, the last thing I’d ever describe you as is fragile. I want to take care of you. You’ve had a long day. We both have.”
She’d faired far better than I ever expected. Most women from her world would have fallen apart, not come out looking like they wanted to punch someone. Then again, she wasn’t like any woman I’d ever encountered.
Pampered, privileged, princess—most definitely, yes.
Delicate, breakable, flower—not a chance.
We drove in silence for the next few minutes before Sophia said, “I didn’t do it.”
That came out of nowhere. Of course, Sophia hadn’t done it. I doubt she even knew what killed that sick fuck. The Randolphs had gone to a great deal of trouble to keep that part out of the media, just in case they assumed Keith Randolph overdosed on the many substances he was known for taking.
“I never thought otherwise.”
“Really? I—never mind.” The surprise and then the drift of her words had me glancing in her direction.
Her dark eyes pierced into my soul. So many emotions and so much confusion bombarded me.
Fucking Bryant and Sarah Morelli.
“You will never put me in the same category as your parents.”
Fire flashed in her eyes, and then it calmed.
“Sorry. My siblings are the only people who stand by me through everything. This is a new experience for me.”
Instead of being loving, nurturing parents and creating a safe haven in their home for their children, Bryant and Sarah fostered an environment of fear and anxiety.
They determined their sons' and daughters' worth based on what each could provide for the family’s standing in society.
Sophia had failed them by being different, wanting to shine and be an individual instead of conforming to the mold her mother and father insisted she shape herself into. And because she refused to follow the rules, they threw her away to fend for herself.
Even now, all the patriarch of the Morelli family cared about was how the Judge and DA were using Sophia to get to him, not the fact Sophia suffered because of acts he’d committed in his past. There was no compassion sent in Sophia’s direction, no fatherly love or worry.
I’d despised my drunk fuck father, but what Lucian and Sophia dealt with sat on a completely different level of narcissism.
Reaching over, I cupped her cheek and thumbed over her lower lip. “Everything between us is a new experience.”
“I’m talking about you believing my innocence without proof, without an explanation.”
Pulling my hand back, I focused on the road. “You accepted everything I told you about Maria as the truth. You could have let all the millions of rumors about me cloud your judgment.”
