Page 19
By the time we leave the boutique, I’m exhausted—emotionally and physically. Kierra, on the other hand, seems to have enough energy to power the entire city. She spends the drive back to campus talking about the dresses, the food, and everything she wants to know about the secret relationship I’ve supposedly been hiding.
I smile when I’m supposed to and give her vague answers when she asks questions I can’t afford to answer.
When I pull into the college parking lot, she turns toward me, her expression softening. “I still can’t believe this is happening, Soph.” Neither can I. “But I’m so happy for you. I really am. You deserve someone to take care of you, for once.”
The guilt is almost unbearable as I reach across the console to hug her.
“Love you.”
“Love you more.” I squeeze her a little tighter before letting go. She disappears toward the residence halls, and I wait until she’s inside before pulling away.
The drive home feels different, maybe because I know it isn’t going to be my home anymore.
When I unlock my apartment door, I step inside and stop. I knew the movers would be boxing my things to transport them to Vance’s penthouse, but knowing it and seeing it are two very different things. It’s empty. Well, mostly empty. Standing in the middle of what used to be my living room is Vance.
He looks completely at ease, one hand resting casually in his pocket, as though he belongs here. His gaze moves over me with a maddening calmness. “I trust shopping went well.”
I stare at him. “What are you doing here?”
His eyebrow lifts slightly. “We agreed you’d be moving in tonight.”
“That doesn’t answer what you’re doing here.”
“I’ve come to take my wife home.” His words land with a weight that makes my stomach twist.
“I’m not your wife. Not yet.”
His mouth curves faintly. “That distinction is insignificant to me.”
“I’m aware,” I snip, glaring at him. “You’ve made your position on everything remarkably clear.”
My eyes drift past him, toward the empty apartment. I look at the bare wall, where Kierra’s graduation photograph used to hang, the empty space beside the window where my sofa has sat for years, the kitchen counter where I’ve eaten takeout after late nights at the office and cried quietly when Kierra went through something I couldn’t fix for her.
This is where I learned how to be an adult. Where I learned how to survive without my parents… and become one. This is where Kierra opened her college acceptance letter, screaming so loudly that she scared the neighbors. This is where I spent countless nights convincing myself that if I worked harder, saved more, planned better, I could give her a life that looked nothing like the one we inherited. And now it’s ending.
“Did the movers miss something?” Vance says quietly as I stare at the small kitchenette.
“I’m saying goodbye.”
“To the apartment?”
“To my life.”
“This isn’t the end of your life, Sophia.” Vance steps toward me, not stopping until he’s close enough that I have to tilt my head back to look at him. “This is the beginning of a new one.”
I hate the satisfaction in his voice.
He snakes his arm around me, and every muscle in my body tenses as his hand settles against the small of my back. The gesture is deceptively gentle, but possessive, nonetheless.
“Take your hands off me.”
“No.” His thumb moves slowly against my back, almost absentmindedly, as he guides me toward the door. “You might as well get used to it, sweetheart. You’re going to have my hands all over you for the rest of your life.”
He pulls the door shut behind us, and the latch clicks into place behind us, sealing me out of the life I knew and into the one he has chosen for me. I stand there for a moment, staring at the door, feeling the weight of everything I’ve agreed to.
When Vance’s hand settles on the small of my back again, I force my shoulders straight. I’ll be Sophia Ashford. For Kiki. I will be Vance’s good little wife, give him his heir and a perfect little family.
But I will never actually give him me.
