Page 106 of Choosing Hope

Check mate. Thank fuck for that. I tap to end the call.

An hour later, I’d been to the preschool. Sophie collected Lily forty minutes earlier. Tony took me home as fast as he could. Her car wasn’t in the garage. And she still won’t answer her fucking phone.

The house is an empty shell without Sophie in it. It’s cold. I hate being on my own at the best of times, but being here without her means home doesn’t feel like home.

She’s only been gone for just over an hour and already I miss her.

The sound of a key in the door has me rushing to greet her. But when Carlo steps into the hall, I’m disappointed to see him.

“Oh, it’s you.”

The words tumble out of my mouth before I have time to check them.

“Buongiorno to you too,” he exclaims sarcastically in his thick Italian accent.

“Where’s she gone, Carlo?” I demand, near frantic to find Sophie. “It’s driving me crazy that she’s refusing to speak to me.”

“Explain again what happened,” Carlo says, speaking so calmly I could punch him.

I explain in minute detail what happened and then play him the phone call between Kalie and me.

“Have you sent that to her?” he demands.

“No. But I’ve told her in messages that Kalie was lying,” I tell him, pacing back and forth on the rug in front of the fireplace.

“Send her the recording,” he orders.

“I don’t want her to think I’ve kept videos of Kalie,” I whine.

Stopping in front of him with my hand in my hair.

“Spencer, that’s the least of your worries. Send her the recording. Let her hear it for herself. Be transparent. It’s all she’s been asking of you all along.”

As I pick up my phone from the coffee table, he changes his mind.

“Actually, send it to me. She might have blocked you,” he says casually.

“Blocked me?” I demand, appalled by the suggestion.

“Yeah, just temporarily.” He grins. “Sometimes it’s the only way with you.”

My mouth drops open. I can’t believe he’d ever block me.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Sophie

As I merge onto the motorway, a heavy sense of guilt settles in my chest, making me question whether I’m doing the right thing. I feel awful for leaving Spencer—especially after everything I’d promised him about always being there—but I had to get away.

So much had already happened in the past few weeks, and it seemed like the final straw when Kalie hinted that she might be pregnant.

Would he want her if she were carrying his child? We’d never be free of her. Even if Spencer stayed with me, he’d still share a child with her. There’d always be a connection Icouldn’t compete with.

In the taxi on the way home, I called Nicky, asking if Lily and I could visit her this afternoon. I knew the answer before dialing. Nicky’s a great friend; she’s always there for me. At the moment, she’s between jobs, so I was fairly confident she’d be home.

As soon as I canceled my call with Nicky, my phone rang with a call from Spencer.

I wasn’t ready to speak to him. It seemed wrong leaving his call to go to voicemail, but I needed a few hours to myself. Knowing Spencer would be frantic, I left Tony with him. Spencer’s known his driver for years. His presence would undoubtedly help to keep my husband calm.