THE MEN IN MY LIFE
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SOPHIE’S POV
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It was a sight for sore eyes to see Caleb again, he had been gone for some days since our night together. I know I sometimes say hurtful things and most times it wasn't from a place of being spiteful. According to my mother, she says I should learn to weigh my words before saying them because it is impossible to take the hurtful things I said back.
Well, it doesn't take overnight to change, and since Caleb left for almost a week I knew my words must have hurt him deeply. Whatever happened between us that night wasn't his fault, we should blame the alcohol, shouldn't we?. Well after a week of me worrying about him even though I vehemently denied that I was to my parents who kept asking about him, I heaved a sigh of relief when he came home, I also noticed other things. He looked breathtaking in his slightly faded brown shirt and blue jeans. His skin had a smooth perfect tan and his lean legs matched his body which appeared more masculine and athletic, he was picture perfect.
I wondered if he had always been this handsome or for some reason I was just noticing it. He had an aloofness to his gait and also a sparkle in his eyes. I had seen this look before, where? I tried to remember. Then it came flooding back, almost choking the life out of me.
FLASH BACK……………………..
It was the first week of summer and the flowers had started to bloom again, it was a beautiful array of color spheres as Sophie walked home from her day job at a firm where she interned. She loved the smell of blooming flowers and enjoyed the fresh air on her skin. Lost in her train of thought she had bumped straight into the lean frame of a man who appeared to be talking on the phone at the time.
“Sorry,” she muttered after the collision and continued walking away.
“Sophie.” The man called out minutes later to her surprise, she hardly knew anyone in this part of town except for her work colleagues and how did he know her name. “You dropped this.” the stranger handed her her card.
“Thank you” she had not realized that she dropped her word identity card when she bumped into him.
“Mark” he extended his hands
“Sophie.” she took the offered hands
“Do you stay around here?” he noticed her hesitation and continued. “I just moved into the block last week.”
Sophie didn't know what to make of the information, however, she understood the feeling of being new in a town or street so she answered “I stay around here.”
“Good.”
“Okay, I have to continue home. Nice meeting you.”
“The pleasure is mine too,” he replied.
With nothing more to say, she walked on, to her home. He hesitated for a moment then ran to meet her “can we have coffee together, maybe you can show me around.”
She was not sure but she agreed, after all, no one had asked her for a date since almost a year living here, she wondered why though. "Sure." She answered
“Is 7 pm okay for you?" He said, watching her intently.
"Yes." She would have some time to freshen up before the date.
There is a problem, though,” he said
What again, Sophie thought. She hated time wasters.
“I don't know any coffee shops, it's barely been a week since I got here.”
“Is that all?” she sounded irritated
“Yes, but you can choose your favorite shop, I know I would like whatever you like.”
“Seriously.” This guy doesn't play fair, she muttered to herself.
“I mean what I said, you would surely have an exquisite taste.
Smooth talker, she liked him already. “There is a coffee shop, at the back of the street, we could meet there.”
“Susan's cafe, ” Mark replied
“Yes, I thought you just said you didn't know any coffee shops.
Mark laughed, “I wanted you to choose, but I swear that's the only place I know.”
“7 pm then,'' Sophie said and left him there. She knew he was watching her until she bent to the other corner of the street.
They met for coffee, which led to more dates, and soon they were engaged. Mark came from a wealthy family like Sophie, but his family lost their wealth after a wrong business move and they struggled to survive. Unknown to Sophie he already knew who she was and about her family wealth and wanted it so badly.
But as their marriage got closer he realized that the Fernandez patriarch and matriarch had made it impossible for an outsider to have access to their wealth. He knew it was too late to stop the wedding, as the wedding plans progressed he met a wealthy widower almost twice his age. They eloped on his and Sophie's supposed wedding day.
Heartbroken Sophie faced her business and it thrived beyond her imagination but most nights in the quietness of her room, as the frogs croaked and the crickets chirped, she cried herself to sleep
PRESENT DAY………..
I hated remembering the past, it was like a taboo to me. It made me vulnerable, angry, sad, and unworthy. I also hated the idea of love, to what end. Another heartbreak?. For the past 7 years, I have survived and been on my own with no hassles, no feelings, no attachment to anyone, just simply loving myself. You might wonder if I was celibate, the answer is of course no. I had male friends too and amongst them, I had a favorite Dennis and ours was a friendship of mutual benefits, no strings attached.
But after all these years as I saw Caleb walk into the house, my heart fluttered, I felt butterflies, but I refused to give in, I could not afford to. Ours was a contract marriage and once I became heir to the family business, the contract would be terminated. I seem cold when I put it this way but it is what it is.
I also had reasons to be happy to see Caleb back home. I intend to finally announce my multi-million dollar contract with Delacroix to my family and watch David and his wife Ella reel in jealousy. I would always be grateful to Caleb for his support in winning the content.t. That's a given and also reason why I waited till he came home before making the announcement
From what my parents had told me my uncle David was having a hard time securing deals and the ones he had in the past, he was mysteriously getting them canceled. Seems as though someone was trying to make things miserable for him, after all, he had stepped on many toes and might be reaping the consequences now.