Page 174 of Checkmate
“He is not your baby,” Erica said. “He is not your husband. I don’t know what you hoped to achieve by coming here tonight, but he is mine. And unlike your stupid ass, I know what I have with him and I will not give him up. So back the fuck off.”
“Or what?” She taunted. “You’re going to hit a pregnant woman?” Sophie stuck out her bump, a smug smirk on her face. Marcus, so focused on the warmth Erica’s words brought him, looked down at Sophie’s stomach, swollen with her growing child. By the look on her face, he could tell she thought she’d bested them.
As if they didn’t know about her pregnancy.
“Your face isn’t pregnant,” Erica warned, her eyes flashing. “I’m sorry you and Alex haven’t worked out.”
“No, you’re not,” Sophie said, scoffing. “You don’t care.”
“You’re right, I don’t—”
“Exactly! I fucking knew it. You’ve been waiting for this moment.”
This time it was Erica’s turn to laugh. “Watch what you say next, Sophie. I am warning you very clearly. You are pissing me off and I am losing my patience.”
“Are you going to let her talk to me like that?” Sophie demanded, looking at Marcus expectantly.
“Yes?” He said with a shrug. The audacity of this woman was so astounding he had to laugh. “I reckon you’re getting off pretty lightly.”
“Don’t be like that,” she said, reaching for Marcus’ hand. “Just let me say what I came here to say.”
“I don’t want to hear it—”
“Let her speak,” Erica said. Marcus turned to look at her, tilting his head in confusion. “Let her say what she has to say, and then we can toss her out on her ass.”
Stepping aside, Erica gestured for Sophie to come in. Feeling uneasy, but trusting Erica completely, Marcus nodded, following her lead.
Scoffing, Sophie pushed past them, clicking her fingers towards her suitcases. “About time.”
“I’ve got them,” Erica said before he could speak. “Don’t worry about it. Just go hear her out.”
Kissing the side of her head, Marcus reluctantly followed Sophie into the living room.
“This place must be costing you a fortune in rent,” she said as her greedy eyes scanned the room.
“We don’t rent,” he said, sitting on the opposite sofa and ignoring the flash in her eyes. “What do you want?”
“Is she joining us?”
“No idea,” he answered honestly. “That’s completely up to her. Since this is her home, you can’t really dictate—”
“Well, I don’t want her here,” Sophie said, folding her arms over her chest. “She ruins things.”
Marcus chuckled in disbelief, shaking his head. “Okay. How do you figure?”
“Well, she’s got you all confused.” It was incredible to him that Sophie could speak with such confidence in matters she knew nothing about. Here, she had come to the home he shared with the woman he loved and accused Erica of ruining things.
“I can assure you I have never been more sure,” he said. “Simply put, Sophie, whatever game you’re trying to play, I don’t want to hear it.”
“But I miss you,” she said. “Ever since I found out I was pregnant, it hit me how much I missed you. Because it made me realise it should have been you. You should have been the daddy.”
“But I’m not,” he said. “Nor do I want to be. You made your choice, Sophie.”
“I made a mistake,” she corrected. “I was just caught up in the moment, and I thought Alex was what I wanted, but—”
“But then you realised I’m fucking loaded now and your shiny new life doesn’t seem so shiny?”
“What?” She gasped, holding her hand to her chest like some drama school reject. She couldn’t even fake being offended. “No, of course not. I loved you when you were poor.”
