Trillion - Winter Renshaw Page 0,80
then I’ll do the same to him.
I may be paying him for his company, but in the end, he’s the one who’ll pay—dearly—for the heartless cruelty he inflicted upon the only woman I’ve ever loved.
Fifty-Two
Sophie
Present
“What really happened, Sophie?” My mom is waiting for me when I get back from lunch with my friends. When I told them I’d broken off the engagement, they called an emergency get-together at our favorite bar for drinks and small plates, not that I could stomach anything. And they collectively agreed that they were secretly relieved.
“It’s not like you to jump into a relationship and then when you said you were getting married …” Sara said.
“Obviously you were going through something,” Carina added. “We’re just glad that whatever it is, you’re over it.”
They bought me drinks that melted before I could finish them and I offered excuse after excuse about getting caught up in the excitement of the wealthiest man in the world pining for me.
In the end, they told me it was for the best.
And I said that I agreed, even if I didn’t, even if the words cut through me like a rusted, dull switchblade.
I collapse in the corduroy chair in my mother’s living room. I’ve been staying here for the past week. A temporary escape. I’ve also been avoiding work because I know Trey will be there, ready to call me into his office in an attempt to sell me on getting back together. He’ll paint a beautiful picture, as always, and feed me the most convincing words in the universe. And I’ll want to give in.
Oh, God, will I want to give in …
But I can’t.
“You’ve always told me everything,” Mom says, sitting on the sofa. And she’s right. But she’s been there since day one, plus she was there when Nolan’s attorney handed me the NDA the day after the baby was born. There’s nothing she doesn’t know. Besides, if she knew the truth, it’s not like she’d go running to Trey to tell him. “What is it? What happened?”
“Trey’s been trying to land this business deal for the past year,” I say, opting to hand-select details. “Long story short, the man selling it wanted to spend a weekend with us. But it turns out, that man … was Nolan Ames.”
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