Page 86 of Checkmate
“See you around, Alex.”
Without a backward glance, she left the office, slamming his door behind her. Gathering her shit from behind her desk, her hand shook as adrenaline raced around her body.
What had she done? What had she done?!
Not giving herself time to second guess her actions, Sophie left the room with her head held high, a broken heart and a case of instant regret.
Chapter 22
Marcus
“Something weird is happening,” Marcus said, walking with Erica around the Christmas market. “Suddenly Sophie is all over me like a rash, and acting as though she just swallowed the manual on how to be the perfect wife.”
“Her and Alex both, then,” she replied, sipping her mulled wine.
Man, it was nice to be around her again.
With everything ready for the relaunch in the New Year, there hadn’t been many excuses to meet up. Especially with the final stage of their plan put in place.
As far as Alex and Sophie were concerned, whatever was going on between them was now over. Although they still had the business, of course, they had cooled off on the more intense parts of their relationship.
Outwardly, at least.
In reality, whatever it was he shared with Erica was stronger than ever. They still spoke whenever they could and when she had called and asked to spend the day with him, he’d jumped at the chance.
“They’re buying the ruse then,” she said, tucking her hair back under her hat. Looking like she had stepped straight out of the twenties with her matching faux fur coat and bucket hat, she was the epitome of beauty and elegance.
And he really wanted to fucking kiss her.
It was something he had been fighting for weeks now. Longer, if he was honest with himself. But since the night of Alex and Sophie’s death-wish fuck down the motorway, the feeling had never been so strong.
He knew she felt it, too. They had been so close, and it would have been so easy.
But neither of them would cross that line. Not while they were still married. It didn’t matter that those marriages were over in their minds. Cheating is cheating.
“I’d say so,” he agreed, looking towards a stall in front of them.
They had walked up and down these stalls countless times so far and he couldn’t name one item being sold.
Mulled wine aside.
The woman at his side commanded his entire attention, and nothing else around him mattered.
“Do you want to go on the big wheel?” He asked, gesturing in its direction.
She nodded, finishing her drink and tossing her cup in a nearby bin. He followed suit, knocking back the rest of his wine before leading her to join the queue, resting his hand over hers.
“Are you all prepared for Christmas day, then?” She asked, smiling up at him. It occurred to him that anyone looking their way could mistake them for another couple in love. The thought made his stomach flip.
It wasn’t the worst feeling in the world.
“I think so,” he said. “I’ve got divorce papers drawn up and I’ve found the biggest box to wrap them in. She’s going to think I’ve gone all out.”
“You evil, evil man,” she teased. “And you’re absolutely sure?”
He nodded without hesitation.
There was a part of him that was still completely and utterly in love with Sophie, even knowing how awful she was.
