Chapter 232
Chapter 232
Sophia
I wiped my hands on a dish towel, glancing at the clock above the kitchen island. Any minute now. Lily had been asking about Mia's visit every fifteen minutes for the past three hours, her excitement palpable as she bounced around the apartment. My head was pounding with the beginnings of another migraine, and I silently cursed the timing. Just what I fucking needed today.
"Mom! Is Aunt Mia really coming over?" Lily darted into the kitchen, her blue eyes wide with anticipation, reminding me so much of Blake it made my chest ache.
"Yes, sweetheart. She and Lauren should be here—" The soft chime of the private elevator interrupted me. "That's them now."
Lily squealed and raced toward the foyer. I followed at a more measured pace, smoothing my hair and wondering how exhausted I looked after another night of interrupted sleep with Jasper. God, I probably looked like absolute shit. Why did I even care? It was just Lauren and Mia, not some Wall Street assholes I needed to impress.
The elevator doors slid open, revealing Lauren's polished appearance—crisp white blouse, tailored pants, not a hair out of place despite the workday she'd just finished. Beside her stood Mia, and something about my sister immediately set off alarm bells in my head. Fuck. Not again.
"Oh my God, Soph!" Mia practically bounced forward, wrapping me in a hug that felt too tight, too energetic. She pulled back, her words tumbling out at an unnaturally rapid pace. "Everything is just so amazing right now! My classes are incredible, my new boyfriend is absolutely perfect, and life is just—it's just magical!"
Her eyes were too bright, her movements too jerky. I recognized the signs—I'd seen them before, during her recovery from the kidnapping. My stomach twisted into a knot. Damn it to hell, she was using again. I was sure of it.
"Hey, Lily-pad!" Mia crouched down, her attention shifting to my daughter with alarming speed. "Oh, you've grown at least a foot since I last saw you! You absolutely have to show me your room right now—I bet you've redecorated, haven't you?"
Without waiting for an answer, Mia grabbed Lily's hand and practically dragged her down the hallway, chattering the entire way.
Lauren met my concerned gaze with a subtle nod. We both knew what we were seeing.
"When did she start acting like this?" I asked quietly, my jaw clenched tight.
"In the cab on the way over," Lauren replied. "It was like someone flipped a switch."
Elizabeth appeared from the kitchen, wiping her hands on an apron. "Dinner's almost ready. I've made that mushroom risotto you like." Her eyes tracked Mia's retreating form. "Is everything alright?"
"No, it's not fucking alright," I whispered harshly, making sure Lily couldn't hear. "She's high as a kite. After everything we've been through..."
---
Dinner was beautifully presented, thanks to Elizabeth's talents, but my appetite had vanished. I pushed risotto around my plate while watching Mia dominate the conversation, jumping from topic to topic with manic energy.
"—and then Professor Daniels said my paper was the best in the class, which I totally wasn't expecting because I wrote it in like, one night," Mia gushed, barely pausing to breathe. "Oh! And did I tell you about Jason? He's pre-med and his family has this amazing beach house in the Hamptons where we spent last weekend, and he says I can use it whenever I want, isn't that incredible?"
"That sounds lovely," Elizabeth said kindly, though I caught her worried glance in my direction.
"How long have you been dating Jason?" I asked carefully, trying to keep the accusation out of my voice. God, I wanted to shake her until her teeth rattled.
Mia waved her hand dismissively. "I don't know, like two weeks? But when you know, you know, right? He's talking about introducing me to his parents next month. I think he might be the one."
Lauren choked slightly on her wine. "That's... fast."
"Life's too short to waste time!" Mia declared, her fork clattering against her plate as she gestured emphatically. "I learned that in Mexico. You have to grab happiness when you find it."
My heart sank at the mention of Mexico. Whatever progress she'd made in therapy seemed to have vanished. Shit, shit, shit. We were back at square one, and I didn't have the emotional bandwidth to deal with this now.
"Aunt Mia, you're talking really, really fast," Lily observed innocently. "Like super-duper fast."
Mia laughed too loudly. "That's because I have so many exciting things to tell you all!"
I caught Elizabeth's eye and subtly tilted my head toward Lily. Understanding immediately, she stood. "Lily, would you like to help me prepare dessert? I made chocolate mousse."
Once they'd left for the kitchen, I leaned forward, my voice low and intense. "Mia, what the hell is going on?"
"What do you mean? I'm great! Better than ever!" Her smile was stretched too wide, her pupils dilated.
"Are you using again?" I asked directly, keeping my voice low but unable to hide my anger. "Because I swear to God, if you're high right now—"
Her expression hardened instantly. "God, Sophia. Always the suspicious big sister. I'm just happy, okay? Is that a crime now?"
Before I could respond with the torrent of words burning in my throat, Lauren jumped in with forced cheerfulness. "Hey, I have an idea! Tomorrow's your last night before heading to Europe, right? We should celebrate—you, me, Mia. Let's go to The Pinnacle. One last girls' night out before your family vacation."
I shook my head firmly, my patience fraying at the edges. "Absolutely fucking not. I have way too much packing to do, plus I need to arrange everything for Lily. And my migraines have been acting up again like a bitch."
"Come on," Lauren pressed. "When's the last time you did something just for fun?"
"I'm not that party girl anymore, Lauren. I can't go back to that life." What I didn't say was that I had no desire to potentially run into Alex or Leon.
Lauren accepted my refusal with visible disappointment, exchanging a knowing look with Mia that irritated me more than it should have. Christ, when did I become the boring one?
---
The following afternoon, I sat on the edge of the play area in our apartment, watching Juliana interact with Lily. I kept a careful distance, every maternal instinct on high alert despite the seemingly benign scene before me. My jaw ached from clenching it so hard, and I had to consciously remind myself to relax.
Lily had proudly shown Juliana the complex structure she'd built with her number blocks, arranging them in what looked like a primitive mathematical equation.
"This is very impressive, Lily," Juliana said, her perfectly manicured finger pointing to the blocks. "You've created a pattern here. Do you see it?"
Lily nodded enthusiastically. "It's a Fibonacci sequence! Daddy showed me."
A flash of something—possessiveness? pride?—crossed Juliana's face at the mention of Blake. I tensed, my hands gripping the edge of my seat. That manipulative bitch. Even in this innocent moment with my daughter, she was mentally keeping score.
"Lily, sweetheart," I said gently but firmly, "this is your time with Grandma Sterling. Why don't you show her the new puzzle you got?"
As Lily scampered off to retrieve her puzzle, I steeled myself for what I needed to say next. I'd been rehearsing this conversation in my head all morning, trying to find the right balance between informative and not giving this woman an inch of emotional ground.
"We'll be traveling to Europe next weekend," I said, keeping my tone even. "Blake will meet us there."
Juliana's perfectly composed face didn't change, but something calculating flickered in her eyes. "I assume little Jasper's health has improved sufficiently for travel, then. He must be recovering well."
My blood ran cold. How the fuck did she know about Jasper's recent health issues? We'd been careful to keep that information private. My heart hammered against my ribs as rage and fear battled for dominance.
"He's doing better," I replied cautiously, fighting to keep my voice steady when what I really wanted to do was scream in her perfectly made-up face. "The doctor cleared him for travel last week."
"After quite a delay, I understand." Juliana smoothed her skirt, not meeting my eyes. "These things can be so frustrating when you're trying to make plans."
The implication was clear. Somehow, Juliana had not only known about Jasper's medical issues but also about the delays in getting his travel clearance. Had she been interfering? The thought made me feel physically ill. That conniving, controlling witch. Was there nothing she wouldn't meddle in?
"I'm simply letting you know that Lily's visitation schedule will need to be adjusted," I said, refusing to be drawn into her mind games. "I've made a list of potential dates when we return."