On the other side of the city , Sophia Ruben walked briskly swaying her hips from left to right. Her body-con dress hanging to her perfect body like they're meant for each other. The gentle breeze blew her hair as she walked exposing her shiny forehead that was initially covered by bangs. She thinks parking her car at the gas station close by and walking down to her destination was the best idea, that way no one would have a clue that she was ever here. Not like she really cared, not anymore. The usual guilt she would feel walking down the street was not there anymore, Instead she felt a wave of relief wash through her.
Behind the dark sun glasses she wore were her puffy eyes, she had indeed been crying. She had cried for so many reasons but one obvious one made her sad the most. It would have been easier if she has close friends or even family members that lived closer, all her friends are also Hank's friends making it hard for her to go to them.
Even in her tough woman era , she would not deny the loneliness that engulfed her soul which leaves her no option but to run back to the only one that listens to her.
She made a U-turn and stopped when she got to the front of a tall building, she hesitated but rang the door bell after giving it much thought. The familiar feeling of rebellion washed through her leaving a nostalgic taste at the tip of her tongue.
She shook her head in disapproval , even if she did not care she still has some dignity left.
"I should not be here" She thought and immediately started walking back.
Almost immediately the gate creaked open making her stop in her tracks.
"You haven't even been here for five minutes Princess" a familiar voice spoke.
She turned gently and there he was smiling as usual. His ocean blues eyes scrutinizing her from head to toe. The last time she saw him was the day she had specifically warned him to stay away from her. Hank had gone through her phone and had seen everything. He was supposed to be her account manager but she got carried away by his charms even though she swore that cheating on her husband with him was just an act of rebellion. Deep down she knew it was way more than that, they both knew. And even until this moment , staring down at each other , tension rose up between the both of them as it felt like they were both fighting the urge to do something crazy.
Philip cleared his throat in an attempt to distract himself from this ridiculously beautiful woman that he had missed so much, if he doesn't say something , he might end up doing something silly like kiss those inviting lips.
"I need to leave" Sophia sighed trying as much as possible to avoid his challenging gaze.
"Stay!" He said gesturing towards the open gate . "You did not come all the way here to sightsee"
She laughed softly "what if I did?"
He stretched his hand out and she took it without hesitating.
He led her into the large compound pulling her into the familiar walkway.
Nothing much has changed in the house except for the new paintings that hung in the hallway.
Her heart raced drastically as they got into the extremely wide living room, the house was usually quiet . He had vowed that he wasn't going to get married or have children, he didn't own pets either. If Sophia didn't know better , she would have concluded that he was a dangerous person but having him in her corner had made her realize that a book should not be judged by the cover. He cares about her and that's all that matters.
"Wine or coffee?" He asked as he watched her closely.
"Wine please.." Sophia forced a weak smile as she walked closely behind him to the in-house bar across the living room.
"I missed you" he grinned as he filled her glass up with her favorite white wine.
"Hmmmm…" Sophia smiled.
"No no don't get me wrong please….." he laughed "it's just like telling a good friend you miss them"
"Okay and ?" She gave him a teasing look.
"I know we messed up princess but I can't help it….." he shook his head.
"I'm married…" she shrugged.
"You were married when we kissed…..you were married when we…."
"Philip?" She rolled her eyes cutting him off.
She did not need him to remind her that she cheated on her husband.
"But you were not married when we became good friends" He continued not minding her piercing gaze .
"You never made advances at me when I was single" she scoffed.
He shrugged "I realized my feelings for you rather too late."
"Why are we having this conversation?" Sophia asked as she filled up her wine glass again.
"Because you did not give us the chance to princess" he smiled .
He was always smiling , showing set of extremely white teeth and cute dimples. She remembered how she had told him off after Hank went through her phone totally forgetting that she made the first move.
How embarrassing
"He wants a divorce" She said finally breaking the silence.
Philip looked up from his iPad surprised at Sophia's sudden outburst.
"This morning I woke up to Hank handing over divorce papers for me to sign."
"Did you sign ?" Philip asked quietly.
Sophia shook her head in a dramatic way " I didn't sign , he left the house angry".
Her mind replayed how mad Hank had been when she refused to sign the divorce papers. She had yelled at him accusing him of choosing his girlfriend over her. It was so unfair , life seems so unfair but a part of her blames herself because she had brought this upon herself.
"I hope you would not go about blaming yourself though" Philip said patting her hands. He knows her too well.
"Why not ? If I did not cheat….. maybe Hank would not have turned out this way, he would not have seen the need to chase younger girls around" She blurted out.
"What if he had always been this way and you did not just know? I mean what if he had always cheated, even before..." Philip paused as fresh tears rolled down Sophia's cheeks.
"What should I do? I'm so confused" her shoulders shook as she sobbed quietly.
Is it really the end of her marriage? She could not believe it.
Philip just watched her , anger washing through his entire body as she cried. He was mad at her for reasons he did not know, he was mad at Hank for making her cry , most importantly he was mad at himself for letting her slip through his fingers. He never planned to get married or start a family , he would not want to have her to himself for his own selfish reasons. Hank looked promising, he looked like he would give her a better life and love but he is not so sure about that anymore.
He pulled her into his embrace letting her pour out all her emotions on his chest. No matter what happens, no matter where life takes them , she was still his Princess Sophia.