I shake my head.
“It’s your father, isn’t it? What did he say to you? You were fine until you spoke to him.”
I knew I couldn’t hide it from Viper, but I try to keep my face passive and shove those emotions down deep… even for a few minutes. He can’t approach Dad. It will make everything worse. “No… I have a life in New York. My business, my friends. It’s all there. I moved away from Crown Village to make something of myself. I won’t give that up.” My voice is steady, though the heartache on Viper’s face crushes my soul. My hand flies to my mouth. “I’m sorry,” I mutter, then close the door.
I slide down as another sob rips from my chest. I struggle to draw air into my lungs. Lawson rushes out of his room and to me. My vision is blurry as he bends down and picks me up off the floor, bringing me over to the lounge again, where he places me down ever so gently.
Soon after, there’s a duvet over me. A memory flashes. Alec used to do this when we were kids, playing the big brother role. Even though we don’t see eye to eye, I should give him more of a break. It was the nannies who looked after us, but he tried to do his best, even though he wasn’t much older than us.
I roll over and close my eyes, hoping sleep can take away some of the pain. I wish it could be different between me and Viper, but it isn’t.
In the afternoon, a knock on the door wakes me up. My heart pumps harder as I patiently wait for Lawson to see who it is. I hear muffled voices and then Zara, Ava, and Elena come into view. As I sit up to greet them, I look down at my attire. I’m sure I look like a mess.
Zara rushes to me and gives me a tight hug. I flinch from the pain. “Sorry,” she says, then sits beside me. “How are you doing?”
Ava and Elena give me sad smiles and also sit down. “Okay, I guess… Thanks for coming to see me.” I try to sound cheery but fail.
Zara puts her hand over mine. “You don’t have to be strong all the time.”
I press my lips into a hard line, trying not to cry. “How’s Viper?” The tormented look he gave me before he left… I’ll never forget it.
“He’s hurting,” says Elena. “Him and Axle are close, and even Axle’s worried about him. They were having a few drinks as we were leaving.”
I look at the three of them in turn. “I never intended to hurt Viper.”
“We know that,” Ava replies.
“What did he tell everyone?” I ask curiously. I’m sure everyone hates me for hurting him.
“All he said was that you’re going back to New York and that you’ve asked for a divorce,” says Zara. She studies me. “Was there something else?”
I take a moment to gather my composure. “I have responsibilities in New York. I have my business and my best friend. I’ve enjoyed staying here in Crown Village, but the attack…” I peer at the floor and then back up. “It scared me. My father is intolerable as well. I’ve loved spending time with you, the MC, and my brothers, but being here was short-term.” Even though I try, I can’t stop the tears from falling.
“I’m sorry, Sophie,” says Zara. “I thought you two were really great together.”
We were.
TWENTY-TWO
DESPAIR
Viper
A week passes.I’m sitting on the edge of the bed, twirling the wedding ring around my finger, wondering why Sophie changed her mind within a day of me seeing her. She held on to me in the hospital, like she didn’t want me to leave her side. I saw the sadness in her eyes when I went to see her at Lawson’s. All I wanted to do was break the door down and hold her when she was crying. It makes me think it was her father forcing her hand.
I’ve been to Lawson’s apartment a few times after Sophie ended it, but he wouldn’t let me see her. I thought that if I told Sophie I love her, it could be enough for her to stay. I want her to hear me out before leaving, but at the same time, I want nothing to happen to the club. The club’s my life, and the people in it are my family.
My jaw tightens at what happened. If I had more time to prove to Garrett that I can care for his daughter, that I love her, I’d like to think he would at least give me a chance to show him, but Candy ruined that for me. I thought Candy was a cool chick, but I never had feelings for her like I do for Sophie. I never thought she would go to the lengths of physically harming Sophie.
Garrett was right: I shouldn’t have left Sophie by herself. Within our town, I thought she’d be safe, but instead she got hurt because of me. The world weighs heavily on my shoulders. Being in an MC comes at a cost and can be dangerous for ol’ ladies. I don’t think I could live with myself if something happened to her again because of me.
I let out a heavy breath and run a hand through my hair for what feels like the hundredth time today. My thoughts are radical, going from one extreme to the other. It’s been hard thinking Sophie would be better off without me. I know she has strong feelings for me, but she’s independent, and her business means a lot to her. It shouldn’t be black and white. She was managing her business fine from Crown Village.
I’m sure it’s hard for her to be away from her friends, but she has her family here. She’s close to her brothers, and she has Zara. She also seemed to get along well with the other ol’ ladies.
There’s a knock on my door.
“Come in.”
