Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN WHO TOOK HIS PLACE
Sophia Reynolds arrived at my hotel on Thursday afternoon.
She wore a cream coat and carried a handbag worth more than my first car.
Some things never changed.
“Claire.”
I stared.
“Sophia.”
She smiled.
“I heard you were back.”
“Chicago has always been terrible at keeping secrets.”
Her smile tightened.
“May I come in?”
“No.”
She blinked.
I crossed my arms.
“Say what you came to say.”
Sophia glanced down the hallway.
Then lowered her voice.
“You need to stop seeing Alexander.”
I laughed.
“That's rich.”
Her expression hardened.
“You don't understand what you're interfering with.”
“His relationship with his son?”
Sophia went pale.
For one brief second, she looked genuinely frightened.
Then she recovered.
“Alexander has obligations.”
“So do I.”
I stepped closer.
“And mine is standing inside that room playing with toy dinosaurs.”
Sophia swallowed.
“You should take your child and leave.”
I studied her.
There was something wrong.
This wasn't jealousy.
Not entirely.
She kept looking toward the elevators.
As though someone might appear.
“Who sent you?”
Her face changed.
“No one.”
I shook my head.
“Try again.”
Sophia's eyes filled unexpectedly.
Then she whispered:
“Graham isn't gone.”
My stomach dropped.
“What?”
She stepped backward.
“He's coming back.”
Before I could ask another question, she turned and hurried toward the elevator.
That evening, Alexander arrived.
I told him everything.
He listened without interrupting.
Then his expression became frighteningly still.
“Sophia said Graham is coming back?”
“Yes.”
Alexander looked toward the window.
For the first time since my return, I saw genuine fear.
May you like
Not for himself.
For us.
