Vain (The Seven Deadly, #1)(76)

“You have no choice, Sophie. You’ll return home and face Reinhold.”

“I can’t leave them now, Pemmy. I just can’t,” I said, straining not to break down. “It would make things so much worse.”

“If you don’t face Reinhold now, your legal troubles will compound. It would be wiser for you to appease them now.”

I looked at Pemmy. “He’ll throw me in jail.”

He shrugged his shoulders in reply.

I smiled at him in disbelief. “I’m paying for my past sins, Pembrook.”

“Oh,” he said, taking my hand, “I believe you’ve already paid for them tenfold, Sophie.”

“When will you tell, Ian?”

Ian! “I can’t tell him. Not now, Pemmy. News that his mother did this would send him over the edge!”

“He’s going to know you’re gone, love.”

“I know. I think I’ll try slipping out with you tonight when your plane arrives.” I’m a coward.

“You won’t even entertain the idea of letting him know his mother did this?”

And risk her cutting him off too? Never!

“No, I can’t, it would kill him, Pembrook.”

“So you’ll let him believe you betrayed him? Is that really a better fate?”

I nodded, sure revealing the blackmail tactic would only hurt. “Betrayed by someone he’s barely known six months or his mother?” Not to mention her little threat.

“But why be the fall guy? Why allow her to escape this intact?” he asked, suspicious.

“Because I love him, more than you could possibly imagine,” I confessed truthfully. Let him take that however he wishes.

Pembrook smiled at me but his expression was sad. “How unselfish,” he told me, wrapping me in a hug. “Who would have thought such an unselfish act would, in turn, cause you so much pain?”

“Not me,” I confessed candidly.

Pembrook left my CHU and I looked around me, certain I didn’t need to take back a single thing. I discreetly gave away all my things, leaving Mandisa my comforter. I would return home with only a single pair of jeans, shirt, boots and toothbrush.

Which is why Ian hadn’t thought it anything weird when we went to say goodbye to Pembrook together.

“Are you coming?” Ian asked as he passed by my CHU.

I nodded, a queasy feeling residing in the pit of my belly.

I followed closely, listening to him fill Pembrook in on whatever they would need soon. Pemmy dutifully dictated it all on his pad. I had no doubt Pembrook wouldn’t hesitate in accommodating them. I would ensure it was my money that paid for it all though.

I watched Ian’s hands as he gestured when he spoke and even they looked tired. Calluses on his palms and fingers screamed out they needed tending to but I knew him well enough he would ignore the plea. His own needs never came before Masego and that was unfortunate because Masego would always be needy.

I looked on him knowing I would be saying goodbye to him soon and that familiar hollowness began to creep within, making me feel cold and alone already. My gut twisted at the thought of how he’d react, how he’d interpret my leaving. I was determined though. I wouldn’t be responsible for his mother making his life miserable not when she so callously and easily made my current life a living hell.

When we reached the plane, I yelled at him to stay back with me. He obeyed without thinking much of it, hugging Pembrook goodbye. Charles, whom I’d tearfully said goodbye to earlier, waited for Pemmy below the hatch and they spoke to one another briefly before Pemmy boarded the plane.

“Ian,” I said softly, fighting tears.

He turned toward me, his concerned expression wounding my already wounded heart. Something in his eyes lit in understanding.

“I...”

“Don’t you dare, Soph,” he said. A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I swear to God, Sophie Price.”

“Ian,” I said, the unshed tears giving way.

He edged closer but I stepped back, unable to handle his touch without breaking down completely. He recognized this and grabbed me by the upper arms, bringing me close to him. “You owe me,” he gritted. “Why?”

“I- I’ve been given an opportunity to go home and I decided it was for the best.”

“Bullshit,” he said, shaking me a little in his frustration. “You’re lying. I know you and you’re lying.”

I avoided eye contact, focusing in on the tips of my worn boots. The same boots that worked tirelessly with me day after day caring for Masego. The same boots I wore while falling in love with him.

“Look at me, damn it!”

I raised my gaze toward him.

“Answer me,” he demanded. “Why?”

“I- I told you already. My answer won’t change. I think it’s for the best,” I lied.

He shook his head back and forth.“You can’t go,” he begged, hugging me to him like he could hold me there forever.

“Why?” I whispered in his ear.

“Because I’m in love with you.”

I clenched my lids and kissed his tanned cheek. “I love you, too,” I confessed...and walked away.

“Soph,” I heard behind me.

“Sophie,” he pleaded, softer.