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"Do it"

The article is short Ithis last naht seem like a public interest story to everyone else, to Sophia it’s a bo to fight back, and that she will lose It’s a very gentle, tactful way to warn her to back down He surprises me with that, especially since Sophia is so vicious

_____

The article runs the day before the rescheduled hearing I lift the paper and am surprised at the prominent location The article is small, but Sottero v Stevens has been in the papers on and off for a while now I suppose that’s good, that there’s no way she’llon the couch with the paper He has a cup of coffee in his hand He lifts it to his lips and sips it slowly before asking, "Well? Do you think that orth doing?"

"I don’t know Sophia seems kind of crazy No one else will knohat this e of the paper between ers and look over it at him "What do you want her to do, exactly?"

Cole takes a deep breath and sits at the table The open floorplanroo roo is positioned in between "I want her to drop the lawsuit, but I don’t think that’ll happen" He looks at the black liquid in his"Ya know, I can’t help but notice that you didn’t accept my proposal until after it was confiroing to fight back, they seized my assets, and I lost many of my clients, and then you decided to stick around" He sounds like he can’t believe it He looks atcup in his hand

His tone worries me It makes my stomach clench and twist "Money doesn’t matter to me, Cole You have to know that by now Alloveraway the defensive feeling that’s co over me "I just don’t want it"

"You’re afraid of it"

"Maybe," I say honestly "There’s a duality with money, like you can chose to have ate each other, or at least it seems that way to me So yeah, maybe your money terrifies me a little bit" I look up at him The expression in his dark eyes is difficult to read I can’t tell if I offended or amazed him Funny how those look so similar so as he speaks "That’s part of the reason why I didn’t fight back with Sottero I really didn’t want to I thought I was being likea woman I already shattered I never told Sophia that I was disinherited before I proposed to her I couldn’t, and she had no idea It hit her like a train The ring wasn’t even taken out of the box She slapped it from ave ht I deserved whatever she threay My fortune, all of it was made because she inspired es for that uniform The Tiffany’s box that was battered and locked in his safe I blink these things away They’re his ghosts and I wish they didn’t haunt hi he’d said to me clicks into place He owes her He said it He thinks that he’s indebted to her in a way he can’t repay My ave you your camera?"

He nods "After I ca to do and nowhere to live Sophia thought that I was on an international vacation for four years I didn’t correct her I couldn’t She thought that I had no job because of my status, that I was a playboy like the papers made me out to be" His eyes flick up toabout this, but I wanted you to kno I felt about it I deserved what I got from Sophia, as far as I was concerned I did fuck her over, in a reement to use my name and my disownment made it so I couldn’t respond I deserve this Anna" The way he says it makes my heart ache I slip off the couch and hobble over to hi for answers that he can’t find

I sit in the chair next to him and take his hands in ht and what’s wrong here I hear the guilt in your voice when you talk about her, but Cole, I just don’t see it Even if you led her on to think you were still the heir--which I don’t think you did--it’s been twenty years She should have let it go by now Even if she was burned, it’s unthinkable to stay ht she loved me, Anna," he says, but I can hear it He ravely that you’ll crush me as well?

The thread of insecurity is just that, a tiny string that tugs at Cole’s past and connects to his present I want to snap it I want to cut that thread and let things fall where they ht now, than here with you I’ anywhere And if there’s ever a ti between us, we’ll fix it"

"How?"

"We’ll give it away Cole, this is about us, now I’m not Sophia I want you for you--all of your kinky, sophisticated, sexy self--I want you Nothing will ever change rin at hih "I’d say the sa about you Apparently we both make each other better Isn’t that what love is all about? It see"

Cole ses I hear it in his voice when he speaks, "So, how far do you want to push this lawsuit? You want to just get her to back off or what?"

"Sophia’s reputation is hanging by a thread I think that’ll do the e" I think about Sophia and how horrible she is, how incredible arrogant and bitchy she acts Her clients are leaving her They can’t get away fast enough One spark will ruin what she has left

"Let’s see where we stand tomorrow and decide from there" Cole puts his coffee down and pulls me onto his lap He kisses the side of ht I love every second of it