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Mom gasps, fingers tracing her open mouth.
“He didn’t like seeing us together,” I continue. “And he didn’t like the idea of me marrying Trey and having access to his company.”
She rolls her eyes. “What would you possibly do with his company?”
I shrug. It’s impossible to know what’s going through the head of a liar and a con and a self-serving bastard.
“Maybe he thought I’d carry out some revenge fantasy,” I say. “But who knows?”
“He disgusts me.” She stands from the couch and paces the living room picture window. “What did he threaten you with?”
I huff, too mentally exhausted to get into my chain of logic. “Everything.”
She pinches the bridge of her nose. “Hasn’t he taken enough from you, Sophie?”
Yes. Yes he has.
“Don’t let him take Trey.”
I raise an eyebrow. “I wasn’t aware you liked Trey.”
With a hand on her hip, she exhales. “I didn’t want to … but after that dinner … the way he talked about all the things he loved about you, the way his eyes lit when he looked at you … this one’s different.”
It takes a lot for my mom to like anyone. The fact that she likes Trey is nothing shy of a miracle. But now he’s the one person I can never be with … and the point is moot.
“Figure out a way,” she says.
“I’ve tried.” Many times. Lying awake in bed.
“Whatever it is, Trey’s a man of means and influence. I’m sure he can strong-arm Nolan even worse than Nolan strong-armed you.”
It sounds good in theory.
But any rebellion against Nolan’s wishes would only cost him the deal he wants more than anything.
And I love him too much to take that away.
Fifty-Three
Trey
Present
I leave The Black Lotus the second the Ameses are gone, and I hightail it to Sophie’s apartment. She doesn’t answer, so I text her. When she leaves me on ‘read’ I text her again. I tell her it’s an emergency and we need to speak immediately.
No response.
I head to her mom’s house next. If she’s hiding out there, I could picture her mom lying, telling me she isn’t inside. But at this point I’m willing to take a chance.
I have to find her.
I have to tell her that I know it was Ames who did this to her.
And I need to find out exactly what he’s holding over her head.
Thirty minutes later, I fly into the driveway of the quaint yellow house I’ve only visited once before, recognizing the crooked “welcome” sign hanging on the front door. Slamming my car door, I trot up the pitted sidewalk and ring the bell.
Footsteps sound on the other side, followed by the unlatching of a deadbolt. When the door swings open a second later, I’m taken aback to see Sophie.
My thoughts scramble as she opens the door and steps outside under the stoop, arms folded in her baggy t-shirt. Despite the messy ponytail and the dark circles under her eyes suggesting she hasn’t slept in a while, she remains the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
Beautifully broken. Perfectly imperfect.
I want to tell her I love everything about her, flaws and all. That I’d take her pain if I could so she would never have to feel it ever again.
But first thing is first.
“Sophie …” I resist the urge to cup her face or pull her into my arms. “I didn’t expect you to answer. I’ve been trying to reach you for over a week.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Ames sold me the company. Signed the papers today,” I say.
“Congratulations.” There’s no emotion in her voice, only steel in her blue gaze. “I’m happy for you.”
“I know it was him,” I say, attention falling to her lower abdomen. “I know it was Nolan who did that to you.”
She doesn’t react. Doesn’t confirm—or deny.
“I also know he said something to you that weekend,” I continue. “But whatever he said, it doesn’t matter. You can come home now. You should come home.”
“Please don’t tell me what to do,” she says. “If another man tries to control my future …”
I frown. “You’re not hearing me. I’m not trying to control your future, Sophie. I want to be your future.”
She avoids my stare, chewing the inner corner of her lower lip, the one I’d give anything to taste again.
I tense my jaw, impatient, our entire life dangling on the tip of her tongue.
I’ve been called the most powerful man in the world—but suddenly, she’s the most powerful soul in mine.
If I’m the sun, she’s the whole fucking universe.
“How did you figure it out?” she asks, admitting what I already knew. “About Ames?”
“I had lunch with him and Anabelle earlier. She was telling me the story of Sasha’s adoption, and let’s just say she gave enough information that I was able to piece it together. It didn’t help that Ames was all but squirming in his seat the whole time. That coupled with a few strange reactions of yours that I noticed over the weekend and it made perfect sense.”
