Page 30 of Forever, Never, Always (Forever #2)

Silence hangs between us, heavy and unforgiving.

Then I hear Harry babbling softly behind her.

I move past Sofia, kneeling down on the rug.

Harry’s sitting there in his little sleep suit, one sock half off, chewing on his plush giraffe like none of this is happening. Like his world isn’t about to change.

I scoop him into my arms, and he giggles— giggles —grabbing at my shirt like he always does. That little warm hand curls into my collar, and I nearly fall apart.

“I love you, mate,” I whisper, pressing my forehead to his. “I love you so much.” And a loud sob escapes Sofia. I kiss his cheek, then the top of his head, breathing him in like I’ll never get to again. Maybe I won’t. “I’m so sorry,” I whisper, mostly to him, maybe to her too.

Then I pass him back to Sofia with shaking hands, my heart tearing open at the seams. She cradles him instinctively, her body still trembling, and I back away like I might shatter if I don’t.

“Don’t call me unless you’re choosing me,” I say, my voice low and uneven. “Because I can’t go through this twice.”

Then I turn and walk out, not because I want to, but because if I stay a second longer, I won’t have the strength to leave.

Zoe

“She did it,” says Meg through the phone.

I tap my card against the payment machine and take my caramel latte. It’s been five days since I saw Sofia or Meg, and to be honest, I was beginning to think she’d made her choice. “Should I buy balloons and make an official announcement?” I ask, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

“I’m not calling to fight,” she mutters, “but she’s not picking up my calls or answering text messages.”

“You don’t expect me to go round there, do you?” I half-laugh as I step out into the street. “Console her?”

“Yes, actually, I do. This is what you wanted, Zoe. The least you can do is help with the cleanup.” It’s just like Meg to make me feel bad for this clusterfuck. “Forget the reason she’s heartbroken and just focus on the fact she is. Meet me at hers in ten minutes.”

I roll my eyes and disconnect.

Ten minutes later, I pull up outside Sofia’s. My eyes are drawn to Ric’s, but there’s no sign of him. Meg pulls up a second later and climbs out. I join her on the path. “It’s three-thirty. Won’t she be at work?”

“She got the sack,” says Meg, making her way to the front door.

I rush after her. “What? Why?”

“Suddenly you care?”

I narrow my eyes. “Of course, I do.”

She knocks, firm and sharp. We both wait, holding our breath. Nothing. The curtains are drawn. No movement. No sound. Just the faint hum of traffic down the road and the uncomfortable weight of silence.

I step forward and pound harder. “Sofia, open the damn door!” Still nothing . “She’s in there,” I mutter, jaw tight. “I know she’s in there.”

Meg gives me a look then glances around. “What if she’s unconscious or something? What if she’s collapsed from sadness, like in Pride and Prejudice ?”

“Meg, this isn’t a Regency novel.”

She ignores me. “We should try the back.”

We head around the side of the house and reach the garden gate. Locked .

Meg groans dramatically. “Great. Should I call the police?”

“And tell them what? ‘Hi, officer, we think our friend might be ignoring us’?”

“I don’t know. Maybe they could do a welfare check?”

“She’s fine, ” I insist, rapping my knuckles on the gate. “She’s just . . . sulking.”

Meg taps her chin then eyes the fence like it personally insulted her. “Okay, give me a leg up.”

I blink. “We’re not climbing over her bloody fence.”

“Well, we can’t exactly shout emotional support through the letterbox,” she hisses. “What if she’s face down in a tub of Ben & Jerry’s and her phone died?”

“That’s not a crime.”

“She could be crying into an empty bottle of gin.”

“She likes gin.”

Meg rounds on me. “Why are you being so chill about this? Don’t you care?”

I shrug. “Of course, I care.”

But I don’t move. Because the truth is, I am scared. I’m scared she won’t bounce back. That I broke something in her I can’t fix. That the woman behind that door, my best friend, is in pieces . . . because of me.

“She just needs time,” I say, quieter now. “She’ll call when she’s ready.”

Meg studies me, frowning. “You’re worried.”

“I’m Zoe Heart. I don’t do worried.”

“But you are. You’re scared she’s lying half-dead in there, and then it’ll be too late to undo your ridiculous demand.”

“Ridiculous,” I cry. “She’s shagged my boyfriend.”

“Ex-boyfriend.”

I grab the top of the gate and lift my leg for Meg to give me a hand up. She shakes her head in irritation, crouching slightly and clasping her hands together. “Why did she get fired?” I ask as I heave myself up. Months of Pilates has paid off.

“I have no idea. She’s not answering my calls, remember.”

“I don’t know why you keep sniping at me,” I snap, dropping down on the other side of the gate. “I didn’t see you demanding we all support Ashley when she was shagging Dan.”

“That was completely different,” Meg screeches. “For a start, Dan and I have a child together. We were married for ten years. You and Ric had a fling—”

“For six months,” I cry, unbolting the gate and shoving it open. It catches Meg’s knee, and she cries out, jumping back in surprise. “That’s like ten years for me.”

Meg rubs her knees, her eyes fixed to me but filled with anger. “He was a bed warmer and you know it. If someone richer, prettier, or more muscled came along, you’d drop him like a hot potato and not think anything else of it.” She stomps past me. “You’re just mad he dumped you first.”

I scoff. “That is so not true,” I yell. “I love him.”

“You love yourself. You love the look of being on his arm. You don’t know what love is.”

“Oh, listen to you, missus perfect with her perfect life. Christ, I thought you and Dan were insufferable, but you and Hugo . . .” I grip my head, and fake scream. “And don’t get me started on the whole blended family bullshit.”

“So, now you have a problem with my family dynamics?”

“No. Just how you handle it all so damn perfectly.” My voice is sharp, laced with fury.

“Who the hell befriends the woman who shagged her husband ? Not just shagged but stole him. Right from under your nose. Had a kid with him. And you,” I shake my head, laughing bitterly, “you helped bring that kid into the world.”

“I’m not her friend,” Meg snaps through gritted teeth. “And I couldn’t let her give birth alone.”

“Yes, Meg. Yes, you could. ” My eyes burn with rage. “You could’ve walked out, told her to get fucked. Dan wasn’t there because he’s a dick and that’s the life she chose . . . the life she stole. But no, you had to be you. Too fucking perfect.”

Meg’s jaw tightens, eyes blazing. “You think that was about being perfect? That was me surviving. That was me clawing my way through the mess he left behind.” She takes a breath, trembling with the effort to stay calm.

“You’re right,” she spits. “Maybe I should’ve walked away.

Maybe I should’ve let her scream through labour alone, terrified and broken.

But I didn’t. Because I’m an adult. Because sometimes, being the bigger person isn’t about being good, it’s about not letting bitterness swallow you whole. ”

I open my mouth to speak, but Meg barrels on.

“I looked at her, and I didn’t see the woman who destroyed my marriage.

I saw me. Younger. More na?ve. In ten years, she’ll be where I was.

Hollowed out. Broken. And it’ll be too late to fix anything.

” She swipes at a tear but keeps her voice steady.

“And yeah, I hate her,” she says, her voice low now, trembling.

“Does that make you feel better? I fucking hate her for what she did to my family, but hating her doesn’t bring Dan back.

It doesn’t undo what he did to me.” She looks me dead in the eyes.

“Just like punishing Sofia won’t bring Ric back to you. ”