Page 198 of Checkmate
He flashed a conciliatory smile, his eyes betraying his guilt. “You look nice,” he said, moving to kiss her cheek. And she did. After Joseph had been born, Sophie started taking care of herself again.
She would never again be the bombshell he first met. But she was still enough to turn a few heads, even if she looked a little more mumsy now.
“Thanks,” she said, smoothing her hand through her hair. “Do you like my hair?”
He glanced up at the uneven cut and nodded with a smile. “Of course. You did great, love.”
After losing the business, Sophie had to cut back on her beauty treatments. She had watched tutorials online nonstop. But she had never quite learned to cut her own hair.
Alex would never tell her that, though.
It was his fault they lived just above the poverty line. Sophie had tried to adapt as best she could, so he would never make her feel even worse than she already did.
Besides, she rarely left the flat, so it’s not like it mattered, anyway.
“Joe down for a nap?” He asked as he sat on the sofa, on autopilot as Odette ran to him. She hugged his legs, expecting him to lift her into the air.
“Just about,” Sophie said, joining him on the sofa. “Did you guys have fun while you were out?”
“Swiiiing, mama!” Odette said as Alex lifted his legs while she clung on.
“You went on the swings, baby?” Sophie cooed. Alex stayed silent, praying Odette wouldn’t elaborate further. “That sounds like a lot of fun. It’s fun having Daddy home, isn’t it?”
“Don’t start, Soph,” Alex groaned. “You know I’d be home more if I could. And I really don’t want to have this discussion around little ears.”
“Fine,” Sophie tutted, rolling her eyes and grabbing the TV remote. “Marcus and Erica are releasing another season of their show. They played the ad while you were out.”
“Is that right?” He fidgeted in his seat. “Well, bully for them.”
“It’s in America this time,” she continued. “America, Alex.”
“Okay? What am I supposed to say to that, Sophie?”
She tutted again, lifting Odette into her arms. “We haven’t even been for a weekend away with the kids,” she said. “Never mind bloody America.”
“We can’t afford a weekend away with the kids,” he said through gritted teeth. “We can’t even afford a date night.”
Sophie sighed, playing with Odette’s hair as various emotions played across her face. He watched as her lips formed words she would never speak out loud, too scared of the consequences.
Alex didn’t need her to say them; he’d heard her crying to herself far too often not to know what she was thinking.
She had chosen the wrong man.
After how much he slaved away to keep them afloat, he should feel offended by that. But he couldn’t argue.
After all, she wasn’t the only one who had made the wrong choice. He’d made the mistake, and for the rest of his life, he was going to pay for it.
Karma was a mother-fucking bitch.
Epilogue
Endings are hard.
No one knew that better than those who had lived through an ending. But they also gave way to beautiful new beginnings if you let them.
Marcus and Erica welcomed their son, Jackson, into the world on New Year’s Eve at three minutes to midnight. Seventeen minutes after his birth, his sister, Addison, followed on New Year’s Day.
Wedding bells followed soon after. Both of them agreed that their engagement had been long enough. Now the twins had arrived, so they had no more excuses. They got married in an intimate ceremony and took a year off to enjoy their new family.
