New Beginnings (The Billionaire’s Baby #4)(38)
Author: Helen Cooper

“You would never do that, Max.” Frank looked at him in anger.

“Yes I would.” Max’s voice boomed across the room. “I have nothing else to lose Frank and a whole lot to gain. Stay away.” And then he right hooked Frank in the face. Frank went flying back and cried out. “And if you ever contact Alexis again, I will have you killed. Do you hear me?”

“Is that whore worth it, Max?” Frank laughed and rubbed his cheek, though he stayed back from Max.

“Alexis is my life, Frank. She is more than worth it.”

Sophie felt like she was going to faint at the words she was hearing. Nothing in her life was ever going to be the same again.

“How quickly the mighty have fallen? I’m sorry to hear that Sophie left you.”

“She is with Nicholas now. He’s a good man. And I trust him.” Max’s voice was clear and passionate. “Alexis and I are going away tomorrow, for good. My father will be running the company while I get set up overseas.”

“Good riddance. You both deserve each other.” Frank looked at him with narrowed eyes and Sophie fell back. She’d had enough, she couldn’t hear anymore.

“Let’s go.” She grabbed a delirious Ella and ran out of the club. She drove them back to her apartment and as soon as she paid the babysitter she locked herself in the bathroom and cried. When she woke up the next morning, Ella had gone. She decided not to call her just yet; she knew Ella needed time to herself to think for a bit. She sat on the couch and stared at the wall in front of her in detached silence. The knocking at the front door didn’t even move her and it was about thirty minutes later when she finally got up to open the door to see if anything had been left for her.

Sophie saw the envelope and her heart stilled. Another letter had arrived to bring her out of her detached numbness. The handwriting looked straight and neat. It was as if he had hoped that his apparent calmness would soothe her broken heart and wounded soul. She picked up the letter lifelessly. She didn’t want to read the words that would crush her all over again. She didn’t know if she was strong enough to withstand the gamut of emotions that were sure to pass through her as she read his letter. She preferred the silence of her numbness to the burning screeches of her pain. But she couldn’t resist the magnetic pull of the letter. She ran to her bedroom and ripped open the envelope, falling to her bed in sobs as she finished reading the poetic words of the man she loved.

My Dearest Sophie,

I hope this letter does not meet you with too much grief. By now you should have received one other letter from me. I remember how you loved to receive letters as a child. I hope that you are beginning to understand my actions. That’s all I dare ask of you now, Sophie. Remember me as the man you loved and not the man I became.

Please kiss Winter and Jacob every night and give them an extra long hug from me. Tell them that their father loves them dearly and I hope that one day they will see that I was trying to protect them. Thank you for being the kind of mother that welcomes everyone into your heart. My love for you has tripled in these last few weeks as I have witnessed the magnanimity of your devotion.

Sophie, you know that it pains me to say this but Nicholas is a good man. Know that you have my blessing.

Always yours, in sickness and in health, in life and in death,

Maxwell

So it was true she thought to herself. He had left her. She couldn’t believe that he would do this to her. She wanted to scream at him, to tell him that Nicholas was nothing to her, that she had only wanted a new friend. She cried out in anguish and ran and banged the walls in pain and fury. The loudness of her actions made Jacob cry and she broke down on the floor in tears. Jacobs’s wails got increasingly louder and she felt something click in her brain. She couldn’t be this person right now. She had to be stronger for herself and for Jacob. She needed some fresh air. She picked up Jacob and changed his diaper before putting him in his pram. She decided to take him on a walk through the park. The fresh air would make both of them feel better.

She walked out of the building quickly before she could change her mind. She didn’t change her clothes or wash her face or brush her hair and she knew she looked a mess, but she just didn’t care. She got to the park and watched all the people around her having fun. She wished she could feel even a fifth of the happiness that some of the couples were feeling. As she stared at an elderly couple walking and holding hands, she couldn’t stop the tears from coming. She was heartbroken and dejected.

Max and Nick sat on a park bench and watched as Sophie cried. Both of them feeling her pain in different ways.

“Take a photo now and send it,” Max ordered Nick.

Nick took out his phone and snapped a photo of Sophie as she stood there crying uncontrollably. He attached it to a text and said: Your work has been done. Sophie and Max are over. I’m moving in now. He got a reply back within a few minutes: Good. Delete my number and don’t contact me again. Frank. Nick looked at the text in surprise and wonder and felt a sudden release.

“I think I’m done.” He looked at Max with a smile on his face and showed him the text message.

Max nodded and stared at him with a hard look in his eyes. “I think you should see this as another shot at life, Nicholas. I want you out of New York within a week, do you hear me?”

Nick looked at him with pained eyes. “I’m sorry, Max.”

“I don’t care about your sorries, Nick. I just need to make sure that Sophie is okay.”

“Tell her I’m sorry, please.” Nick pleaded. “I—”

“Stop.” Max held his hand up to silence him. “You don’t get to feel sorry or say anything, Nick. We are done here. Leave.”

“For what it’s worth, Max, I’m proud of your progress. The love of a good woman has really made you a better man.”

“She has blessed my life in more ways than I ever would have thought possible.” Max sighed. “I only wish that more of us were lucky enough to find our true loves.”

“What happened with Alexis?” Nick questioned as he stood up.

“She’s back in Winterside. Mitch is going to get her into a rehab program in Paris.”

“Paris? Nice.” Nick looked at him with respect. “You really did good by Alexis, Max.”

“I failed her. I should have tried to help her battle her demons a long time ago. But it was the least that I could do. I think I helped her save a little self-respect.”