Page 34 of The Do Over
"Well, you were sure I wasn't going to fail you," Sophie repeated, trying to downplay how pleased she was with the compliments, even though her cheeks were glowing.
"Where's Jack?" Emily asked. "I need to thank him too. He and Sophie were the perfect pair we didn't know we needed."
"Oh," Andrew said, scratching his chin. "He left an hour ago. Or two, I lost track of time."
Sophie was shocked.
"He's gone?"
She did not expect him to say goodbye, but couldn't he have at least waited till the end? So she could see him and get some form of closure?
Andrew nodded.
"He has a company. I'm sure you know. A law firm. But he hasn't been running it for over two years since his wife died. However, he told me that he wanted to go back, and he knew that if he waited any longer, he might change his mind.
"Aidan is also starting a new school on Monday, so he wants a day to get settled before they enter the rush hour period."
"I understand," Emily said. "I'll give him a call later."
"You mean when we are free?" Andrew said teasingly, pulling his wife in for a kiss. "Because you won't have time later, my sweet, sweet Emily."
And…Sophie was done with them. She walked further away from the hall, going through the garden path and past the iron-wrought gate. He just…up and left. Jack Williams, the man who came into her life after so many years, rekindling what she didn't know had been unlit embers in her heart.
It might have just been sex to him, but to Sophie, there were feelings. Feelings that blossomed when he lifted her from the ground during the blackout when they had fun on their little errands. It wasn't love yet, but she knew it wasn't lust.
Lust has gotten her to sleep with men and never calls or picks up their calls again. This was different. This one hurt.
It was what she wanted, though, wasn't it?
She stood outside for twenty minutes or so, trying to compose herself. When Sophie was sure she wouldn't have a visible reaction whenever someone mentioned Jack, she walked back through the gates and into the hall, only to see that commotion was brewing.
And who was the center of it all? Bethany? The annoying, snotty woman looked like she had gotten one too many glasses down her throat and was about to start a fight. She kept throwing stuff, and the remaining wedding guests stood afar and watched her. None of the bridesmaids or the groomsmen, save for Micheal, gave a shit about stopping her tantrum.
Still, at the entrance of the hall, Sophie decided she wasn't going to get involved. Unfortunately, as she turned, she ran into someone carrying a stainless steel tray, and it fell to the ground with a loud clatter, shifting the attention to her.
"Well, well," Bethany's snicker was the first indication that something would go wrong, "if it isn't the bitch I've been looking for. You had the guts to seduce Jack and sleep with him, but it wasn't good enough for you, was it? You must have done something else that made him leave.
"Just like it happened in college! You whore!"
Sophie decided that she wasn't going to give her a reply and had taken a couple of steps out of the building when Bethany ran to her and yanked her hair, pulling her so hard she almost lost her balance.
"Don't walk out on me when I talk to you."
At that moment, Sophie decided she had enough. She didn't say anything that night, but she wouldn't let Bethany go with the last say. She turned around.
"You're pathetic, Bethany. You're sad, inviting yourself to a wedding where no one wants you. My brother, Emily, Jack—none of them told you about this wedding because none of them want you here. But you just had to come, didn't you? With your delusional mind.
"That's why you were seated at the back of the hall. It didn't occur to you that you're a big embarrassment, that's why? Didn't it? No? Well, it should. It is also why, even though you had sex with Jack, he never told anyone apart from Micheal about it. He was so embarrassed he kept it a secret and had you stay in a hotel the entire period. Nobody wants you. Nobody likes you. And if Jack left early, it was definitely to get away from you.
"Not me," she shook her head. And because she was feeling petty, Sophie leaned closer. "Not me, since we stay in Miami. He'll be closer to me than ever to you."
"How dare you!"
Bethany raised her hand, but Sophie had already seen it coming. Her hand was quicker, and it made a cracking sound across Bethany's face, leaving the other woman shell-shocked.
"Yeah," Sophie nodded. "I dare. And if you come after me, that would have just been the icing on the cake."
Then she stormed off. It wasn't a good way to end the day since she promised herself she wouldn't make a scene, but it was the perfect way to end Bethany.
