Trillion(71)

Her gaze narrows and she draws in a deep breath. “I knew you’d figure it out on your own eventually … there’s not much that gets by you, is there?”

“Come home, Sophie. I’m not above begging,” I say. “Tell me what it’s going to take. I’ll do it. I’ll do anything.”

“I’m sorry, but that doesn’t change anything. I wish it did, but …”

“Of course it does. It changes everything. Ames got what he wanted, but now he doesn’t have a say.”

“I’m afraid he does.”

My jaw sets. “What’s he holding over you?”

“You’re a very convincing man, Trey, but my answer is still no. I don’t want to marry you.” She tightens her folded arms. “I wish you the best though. And thank you for everything.”

I don’t ask if I’ll see her at the office—if she’s bidding me farewell, she likely doesn’t intend to return.

“So this is it?” I ask, unable to mask my incredulous tone.

“This is it,” she says.

Sophie disappears inside the house, and a second later, the tumbler clicks on the lock.





Fifty-Four





Sophie

Present



I lock the door, my heart smashed into a million shards, never to be the same after this.

If I went home with him, if we picked up where we left off, as soon as Ames caught wind of it, he’d carry out his threats on Mom and Emmeline. And it’s not like I could ask Trey for money. The millions of dollars he offered me were from before things got real. Now that he’s closed on Ames Oil and Steel, the contract I signed with him is unnecessary and void.

Plus, I could never take advantage of him.

I won’t expect him to pick up where Ames left off and provide my family with a future. Plus, what if it doesn’t work out? Even a man with all the money in the world would be stupid to throw money away on an ex-girlfriend.

And at the end of the day, if I married Trey and had his children and things took a turn for the worse, he’d be one more moneyed man with the ability to hold something over my head—my babies. I don’t know that I could go through that again.

“Who was that?” Emmeline asks, speeding my already racing heart with the surprise of her voice. I didn’t realize she’d come out of her room. Everything around me is tunneled and my breath is shallow.

I’ve just closed the door on a beautiful forever. The gravity of that isn’t lost on me.

Mom follows her, a cleaning rag thrown over her shoulder. “Yes, who was at the door?”

“Trey,” I say.

“And what did he say?” Mom asks.

“He wants me back …”

“Duh,” Emmeline says.

“Yes, but what did he say?” Mom asks again.

“Does it matter?”

“Yes!” they say in unison.

Before I can answer, Mom’s at the window, brushing the curtains aside. And in an act of total unexpectedness, she dashes out the front door.

He’s still here …

He didn’t leave.

He’s going to fight for me—even if it’s a battle he can never win.





Fifty-Five





Trey



Present



I run my hand along the steering wheel, parked in the driveway, staring at the back of Sybil’s minivan, when my passenger door swings open and none other than Sybil herself climbs inside.

“This is unexpected …” I say.

“Isn’t it though?” she asks. “I came out here to tell you not to give up.”

I raise my brows. I wasn’t even sure she liked me. That first—and only—night we met, she was lukewarm at best, avoiding eye contact, alternating between stoic and fidgety. I couldn’t get a read on her, which is rare for me.

“I don’t intend to,” I say.

“You see her the way I do. Complicated and beautiful. And you like her anyway.”

I don’t just like her, I love her. But I don’t tell Sybil that—Sophie should hear those words first.

“I’m crazy for your daughter,” I say.

“I know,” she sighs, staring back at the house. The curtains are still. If Sophie’s watching from inside, I can’t be sure. “You have no idea the amount of angst she carries in her heart. And sometimes she lets that cloud her decisions. She doesn’t think straight. She’s always worrying over everyone else, never about herself. She likes to take care of people. Her greatest trait is also her biggest weakness.”

“I’ve gleaned that much from my time with her,” I say.

“Just promise me you won’t throw in the towel,” Sybil says. “She’ll come around.”

“I have no doubt.”

She turns to me. “You sound like a man with a plan.”

“I’ve got one.” I can’t speak on dismantling Ames’ company just yet. Not until our paperwork’s been filed and the acquisition is final.

“Good,” she says. “In the meantime, you work on that. And I’ll work on her.”

With that, she gets out and vanishes inside the house.