Page 16 of Checkmate
She understood this was who Alex was, and there was no changing him. She gave back when she could and tried her best to rein her husband in.
As difficult as that could be sometimes.
With a sigh, she finished up the last of her stitches and closed the lid of her laptop.
Admiring her handy work, she stretched out the aches of sitting in one position for too long. Placing her work to the side, she padded down the corridor to their bedroom.
Alex was already asleep, one hand curled around his phone. Erica smiled at the sight, pulling the blankets up around him as he slept.
She watched him for a moment, her heart fluttering as a swell of emotions washed over her.
How could she have ever doubted this man?
Quickly undressing, she joined him in bed, shifting against him. His arms moved around her automatically, wrapping her in security and warmth.
As she drifted off, Erica made a promise to herself. She would stop doubting her husband and, instead, turn her attention to Sophie. If she overstepped in any capacity, she’d find herself the victim of Erica’s wrath.
And when rattled, she didn’t play nice.
Chapter 5
Sophie
Letting herself into the flat, Sophie sighed as a now familiar sight greeted her.
Marcus sat at his desk, hunched over and chain-smoking, until the house stank of cigarette smoke. He nursed a bottle of whisky as he stabbed and scratched at a sheet of paper before inevitably throwing it over his shoulder to join an increasingly bigger pile.
It had been a week since her birthday, and every day since, this had been what she came home to.
“Still at your desk, I see,” she said pointedly, dropping her shopping at her feet. “You’d have thought you’d be at work.”
Marcus grunted in response, and Sophie rolled her eyes.
She had long given up trying to get through to him. He said it wasn’t work-related; he had no financial concerns beyond the norm, and they weren’t about to lose the hovel they called home.
Briefly, Sophie wondered if he had somehow found out about the affair, but there was no way. He would have said something.
And that was the problem. He wasn’t telling her anything at all. He’d met any attempts to talk to him with grunts and a dismissive hand.
Sighing, she moved to their small kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. Watching Marcus from afar, she leaned back against the counter and took a drink.
Clearly, he was going through a midlife crisis of sorts, and Sophie wanted nothing to do with the situation. She had her own things to worry about and if Marcus refused to talk to her; she wouldn’t force him to.
What she needed to focus on was her relationship with Alex.
It had finally dawned on her that her feelings for her boss had escalated. It wasn’t just about sex anymore, not for her.
That ship had long sailed.
She wasn’t sure what it was about him that called to her. Really, all they had shared was some Earth-shattering sex. She didn’t know much about him or his background. But what she knew of him was everything she had been looking for in a man. Not only was he an incredible lover, but he worked hard to take care of his wife.
Sophie still held on to some resentment that Marcus’ situation had forced her to get a job. Yes, it led her to Alex, but she should have never been in this position.
Neither should she compare her husband to her lover. Unfortunately for Marcus, it just shone a light on how inferior he was and how much she had fallen out of love with him.
“What’s in the bags?”
Jumping guiltily, she focused her gaze on Marcus, who had somehow left his seat without her realising and was currently rummaging through her shopping bags.
