Page 5

Sophie

Letting herself into the flat, Sophie sighed as a now familiar sight greeted her.

Marcus sat at his desk, hunched over and chain-smoking, until the house stank of cigarette smoke. He nursed a bottle of whisky as he stabbed and scratched at a sheet of paper before inevitably throwing it over his shoulder to join an increasingly bigger pile.

It had been a week since her birthday, and every day since, this had been what she came home to.

“Still at your desk, I see,” she said pointedly, dropping her shopping at her feet. “You’d have thought you’d be at work.”

Marcus grunted in response, and Sophie rolled her eyes.

She had long given up trying to get through to him. He said it wasn’t work-related; he had no financial concerns beyond the norm, and they weren’t about to lose the hovel they called home.

Briefly, Sophie wondered if he had somehow found out about the affair, but there was no way. He would have said something .

And that was the problem. He wasn’t telling her anything at all. He’d met any attempts to talk to him with grunts and a dismissive hand.

Sighing, she moved to their small kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. Watching Marcus from afar, she leaned back against the counter and took a drink.

Clearly, he was going through a midlife crisis of sorts, and Sophie wanted nothing to do with the situation. She had her own things to worry about and if Marcus refused to talk to her; she wouldn’t force him to .

What she needed to focus on was her relationship with Alex.

It had finally dawned on her that her feelings for her boss had escalated. It wasn’t just about sex anymore, not for her.

That ship had long sailed.

She wasn’t sure what it was about him that called to her. Really, all they had shared was some Earth-shattering sex. She didn’t know much about him or his background. But what she knew of him was everything she had been looking for in a man. Not only was he an incredible lover, but he worked hard to take care of his wife.

Sophie still held on to some resentment that Marcus’ situation had forced her to get a job. Yes, it led her to Alex, but she should have never been in this position.

Neither should she compare her husband to her lover. Unfortunately for Marcus, it just shone a light on how inferior he was and how much she had fallen out of love with him.

“What’s in the bags?”

Jumping guiltily, she focused her gaze on Marcus, who had somehow left his seat without her realising and was currently rummaging through her shopping bags.

“This is interesting,” he said, pulling out her new lingerie with a price tag that would feed them both for a couple of days. “I thought you weren’t in the mood for anything sexy?”

“I just thought I’d see if they’d help me feel amorous,” she replied smoothly, silently congratulating herself on her quick thinking.

“Yeah?” He raised an eyebrow and held it out to her. “So why not go try it on? See if it helps.”

She took the black leather body suit automatically, wracking her brain for any kind of excuse.

“The PVC is an interesting choice,” Marcus said, his tone almost challenging. “I thought you were more of a lace and florals type of girl.”

She was. But Alex wasn’t.

“I am,” she admitted in a small voice. “I just wanted to see if something new might spice things up for us.”

She offered him a tentative smile, clinging to the bodysuit as though it offered any kind of protection from the look in Marcus’ eye .

Leaning against the back of the sofa, he crossed his arms over his chest and spread a slow smirk.

“Is that so?” He asked, his tongue flicking over his lips. She nodded, perhaps a touch too enthusiastically. “Well, now I really want to see how you look. Why don’t you go pop it on?”

“What about dinner?”

“Don’t worry about dinner. We can eat later.”

“O-okay, well. Yeah, okay.” She cleared her throat and gathered her bags, walking past him towards the bedroom.

Showing him the lingerie wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, would it? It didn’t mean she had to sleep with him.

Funny, the thought of sleeping with Marcus made her feel as though she were cheating on Alex. The man who had made it clear he was only using Sophie for sex.

Stripping her clothes, she changed into lingerie, watching herself in the mirror. The leotard fit her like a dream, riding high on her hips and hugging her where it counted.

The lace-up front pushed her breasts together, creating cleavage where there usually weren’t any. Honestly, this thing made her tits look incredible and made her more inclined to wear PVC in the future.

The halter neck framed her figure beautifully and gave her a bit of edge to an otherwise very feminine fashion sense.

Alex would go crazy seeing her in this. She just knew it.

It was almost laughable how much he wanted to deny their connection. At the very least, he found her incredibly attractive, almost salivating whenever he got her naked.

And yes, there were aspects of her personality he found trying, but Sophie was nothing if not a fast learner. Just being around him was teaching her how to act and present herself. She was more mature now. More poised.

Like Erica.

She frowned at her reflection, ignoring that particular thought.

She was nothing like Erica, nor did she want to be. Alex couldn’t be completely happy with her, otherwise he wouldn’t be sleeping with Sophie. There was still a chance to win him over, she was sure of it .

Alex would be hers, and she would be the one with expensive clothes and a beautiful home. The thought was enough to make her giddy.

“Sophie? You need help in there?”

“No,” she called to Marcus, checking herself out one more time. “No, I’m fine. I’m coming.”

She left the room, finding Marcus exactly where she left him. He cast his gaze over her, his face void of emotion.

Curious.

He was normally so vocal about his attraction to her.

“Turn around,” he commanded. Her heart leapt at his tone, finding herself complying before she could stop herself.

Who knew he had it in him?

He was usually so respectful, so careful not to push her boundaries. Honestly, it bored her to tears. But this? She liked this.

“What do you think?” She asked, turning back to face him. He shrugged, looking over her again.

“It’s fine.”

Fine?

“O-kay,” she said, elongating the word. “Do you not like PVC?”

“I like it just fine,” he replied. She waited for him to continue, feeling herself getting warm as her ears tinted pink.

The problem couldn’t be her . Could it?

“Do you not like it on me?” She asked, chuckling as though the idea was preposterous. “I mean, obviously it needs some heels. Maybe some—”

“I already said it was fine,” he said, pushing off the sofa. “Is there a problem?”

“Fine?” She repeated, chuckling again. “Just…fine?”

“It’s a perfectly acceptable word, Sophie. I’m going back to work.”

Wait, what?

Sophie stood frozen to her spot as Marcus took a seat back at his desk. He lit another cigarette and turned his attention to whatever the fuck he’d been working on for the past week, Sophie already forgotten .

“Marcus?” Crickets.

He didn’t even look up, tapping his pen against the page as he blew smoke over the trash surrounding him.

“Marcus, is everything okay?”

She was ready to try it on with him, just to see if he still had it in him. He always complimented her and made her feel as though she was incomparable.

“Everything is fine, Sophie,” he replied, taking a drink of whatever alcohol he’d settled on today.

“Stop saying that word!” she screeched, balling her hands into fists. “You’re clearly not fine !”

“What makes you say that?” He asked, turning his head.

“You’ve been in a mood all week. There are three empty bottles of whiskey on the kitchen counter, and I’ve lost count of how many cigarettes you’ve been through.”

She took a breath, pushing her hand through her hair. “You barely talk to me. In fact, you’ve barely spoken more than a handful of words this entire week. And now you’re insulting me.”

“I’m hardly insulting you, Soph,” he said, rubbing his fingers into his temples. “I didn’t say you looked bad—”

“But you didn’t say I looked good either! What happened to you, Marcus? Don’t you want me anymore?”

Marcus laughed. It was a harsh, condescending sound that darkened his features as he turned his head to look at her.

“You’re asking if I still want you? After you have turned me down over and over for… fuck, it’s been so long, I don’t know how long it’s been.”

“It’s not been that long,” she muttered, knowing she was lying. She could pinpoint the day when she stopped sleeping with Marcus.

“And you’re lying to yourself,” he said, spitting his words. “But if you need to fuel your ego, then fine. You look stunning, Sophie. As always. Now get the fuck out of my face. I’m busy.”

Sophie frowned, still rooted to the spot despite her brain yelling at her to get out of there.

“So why aren’t you trying something?” She asked. “You’d usually be all over me by now. ”

“Because I understand the definition of insanity, and I’d rather not put it into practice.”

“I don’t understand—”

“Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. You’ve made it clear. You’re not interested in any sort of intimate relationship with me. Well done, you’ve got your wish.”

Wait, what?

She was supposed to be the one that rejected him . Not the other way around. It was insulting that he wasn’t falling at her feet, begging for a taste of her.

“Marcus—”

“Sophie! Either shut the fuck up and get out of my face, or shut the fuck up and bend over.”

Woah.

“You can’t talk to me like that—”

“I can talk to you however the fuck I want. Make your choice. You’re giving me a headache.” Stubbing out his cigarette, Marcus raised an eyebrow in challenge.

Something about the way he acted reminded her of Alex. So disconnected. So distant. And for the first time in weeks , she felt a stirring of attraction for him.

He was her husband, after all. She should be sleeping with him. Before she could doubt herself, she turned around and made a show of bending over the back of the sofa.

She heard Marcus laugh in that same harsh, condescending way. There was a scrape of wood on wood as he pushed his chair back and scratched the wooden flooring.

And then he was there, a hand on her hip, the other on her shoulder. His fingers moved higher, grabbing her hair, and wrapping it around his hand. With a sharp pull, he tugged her to a standing position as his breath fell against her ear.

“I’m not going to fuck you, Sophie,” he whispered, sending chills racing across her neck even as she whimpered in protest. “No. I’m going to leave you high and dry and show you how fucking awful rejection feels. ”

Releasing her, Marcus took a step away. She looked over her shoulder before turning to face him. “Why are you being like this?”

Marcus scoffed, moving back to his desk. “If you haven’t figured it out yet, Soph, that’s not my problem. Don’t worry, though. Soon enough, everything will be crystal clear. ” He lit yet another cigarette. “Now just fuck off, will you?”

She didn’t need telling again.

The sting of rejection left a sour taste in her mouth. Her eyes watered beyond her control, and a lump formed in the back of her throat. She didn’t even care about Marcus, so why was she bothered by his callous attitude?

Because no one of his calibre should ever be in the position to reject someone like her.

She was so embarrassed. So completely mortified.

Her bedroom was only a handful of steps away, and yet the walk to the door felt like miles, with each step bringing another wave of humiliation.

She slammed the door behind her and stared at her discarded work clothes. She caught sight of herself in the mirror and tore at the bodysuit that earlier had brought her so much confidence.

Naked and with tears streaming down her cheeks, she climbed into bed, pulling the covers over her head. She didn’t have to worry about Marcus finding her like this.

He had made it painfully clear that he didn’t want to be anywhere near her right now.

She should feel elated.

Instead, she couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps she was losing her touch. Alex didn’t want her outside of his dick, and now Marcus couldn’t stand to look at her.

She wasn’t sure why the men in her life had suddenly turned on her, but she was going to make damn sure they paid attention to her in the future.

No one rejected Sophie and got away with it.