Pushing the baggy top over her head, Adelaide's hands trembled for a moment. She ran her hair through her hair, trying to shake off whatever dirt it must have caught. She needed to look clean. She needed to be beautiful and she was desperate to get her hands on some things. A lot of things.Her fingers reached under her baggy T-shirt to stroke the bruises she had newly acquired under it. By now, the spot had turned purple and it still hurt as much as it did when she had first gone through the experience.Walking toward the mirror on the wall, she grabbed a brush and managed to brush through her thick mane of a hair, aware that her guest would be arriving any moment from then. When she finished brushing her hair, she pulled it into a high ponytail and fixed her chapped lips.She grabbed a pair of shades to wear over her face, mostly to conceal the bruise under her eye which she had worn make up to cover. Her target knew her well and he wouldn't take a second look to know that somethin
Sophie glanced down at the list in her hand, quickly reading off the items she had written down to purchase. She had almost crossed off the list, she only had a few more things to purchase. She glanced at Tyler as he dumped the fresh peppers he had gotten off the rack into the stroller.“What next?” he asked, glancing up at her. Sophie stared at him for the millionth time that day, watching him wipe away the beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead with the sleeves of his grey T-shirt.His shirt fitted him perfectly. Sophie prided herself on choosing something so good for her man. The grey top hugged his biceps, making it look almost too tight for him but it was just right. As much as she loved the cloth on him, she hated it. She couldn't count the number of ladies that had stopped to ogle at him. Some had even taken the step to flirt with him.Which had annoyed her a great deal.“I want to get some tampons,” she listed off the list, still eyeing him closely.“That, I got you a
Adelaide moved about her apartment, vacuuming. Even after Manuel had asked her to clean up, she hadn't taken him seriously and when he came back last night, he had been furious. Hit her twice on the face.She hadn't retaliated. Heck, she couldn't even retaliate. All she had done was laugh. A sick sound escaped her because it was all she could do not to do anything stupid. She had sat there, holding her cheeks in disbelief once more like it was the first time it was happening while she laughed like a mad woman. She laughed for a very long time. She laughed till Manuel had taken a step back from her, wondering if it was appropriate for him to call 911. She laughed until she woke her baby up and had her little champion strolling into the living room to check if she was okay.Only then had she cried.Manuel hadn't been able to handle it as she had thought and he had walked out on her, leaving her to her mess. Now, he was going to be here in thirty minutes and she was still taking care of
"Sophie,” Tyler called as he shoved his hands into the black jeans he was donning. His eyes flickered to the large clock on the wall to check the time and he sighed when he saw that they were going to be late. Very late.“Sophie, come on.” He called again before walking down to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of wine. He needed all the wine he could get for tonight. As much as he needed to survive the dinner they were going to.Alicia and Mantha had gone ahead to call the shots once more, planning a family dinner he was anything but interested in. He wasn't looking forward to it. He didn't want to go but he couldn't exactly back out. He was left with no other choice.From the inside, Sophie tended to her makeup. When Tyler had told her about the dinner Gabriel and Alicia had invited them to, she had been a bit surprised. But she was excited to meet the cheerful woman again. She wrapped her hair into a chignon after the nude makeup she did on her face. Tyler had stopped trying to c
It was the weekend and Tyler was out with Gabriel. Gabe had dropped by at the house earlier to talk to Tyler and her boyfriend had ended up following him out on her insistence. Sophie was moving about the house trying to finish doing the dishes when her phone started ringing.She bolted out of the kitchen to check who was calling. She made no plans with anybody for that weekend except for Kristen who had insisted on dropping by from the salon in a few minutes so they could go check out the place she had decided to purchase for her art gallery. But when she picked up her phone, it wasn't Kristen's name flashing on the ID. It was Mira's. With her brows furrowing, Sophie answered the call and placed it on speaker to talk to her father's wife.“Hi, Sophie!” The woman's voice was chirpy, better than she had ever heard it. Sophie swallowed, trying not to scratch her itchy hair. She needed to find time to go to the salon one of these days.“Hi,” she mumbled back, her voice low and quite uns
Tyler simmered when his phone lit up with a text from Adelaide demanding that he send her the money she had requested and make arrangements for her to move in with him.He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe her audacity to think he would ever allow it. Adelaide had taken almost everything he had. She had stripped him of his honor, dignity, and heart and she thought he would allow her back in?It was appalling for him.He hadn't been shocked when she revealed the recording given to her by his half-brothers. They had been the ones to navigate her presence into his life for the first time. So,of course, he was aware that her coming back now was their doing.He wasn't blind either. Tyler had seen the bruises on her. The purple stretches and marks highlighted her skin, peeking beneath whatever she chose to wear. He had seen them all and he hadn't cared. Why should he?It just seemed to disturb him a lot how someone who wouldn't allow a blemish on her skin could go about entertaining
The pounding in Sophie's head increased by the second as she tried to understand what the hell the woman seated in front of her was saying. She had picked up her glass of wine now like she couldn't resist not having a sip. The warm eyes that had regarded her that day she showed up at their apartment were filled with malicious glint.Her fingers trembled slightly and she gripped the hem of her clothes to steady herself. She looked at Tyler, seeing how shocked and dumbfounded he looked. But there was no hint of surprise in his eyes.So, she knew. She knew that the woman wasn't lying.“Hi, Sophie Pierce.” The woman she had welcomed with open arms addressed her by her full name while she sat there lost, staring at her. “My name is Adelaide and you are having an affair with my husband,” she pointed lightly to Tyler.Sophie reeled back like the additional information tipped her over the edge. It infact tipped her over the edge. She opened her mouth to say something but in the long run, she
The color drained out of Tyler's face as he realized what had just happened. His eyes were wide and cold like two frozen marbles. He clenched his fists, veins bulging in his neck. His whole body was shaking as he struggled to contain his fury. His jaw was clenched and his hands were balled into fist. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't even understand what was going on. He tried to wrap his head around it. Adelaide coming in, interrupting their dinner. Adelaide telling Sophie everything he had always wanted to tell her.He gulped when the papers he had seen earlier from her flashed in his mind, making his head pound. How could he have been so foolish? How didn't he know that she never signed the papers? How was it that for three fucking years, he wasn't aware of the fact that he was married to that devil on paper.It unnerved him as much as it infuriated him.When he turned around, he stormed back toward the table Adelaide was still sitting at. The little girl whom he still hadn't ac