Chapter 124 A stranger's hand
Melissa Pov
“Who hurt you?” Sophia asked quietly.
I looked up at her through swollen eyes. “What?”
“Someone hurt you.” Her expression was soft. Understanding. “I can see it. Someone broke your heart.”
Fresh tears spilled down my cheeks.
“He killed my father,” I whispered, rubbing the tears off my cheek but it just kept falling.
Sophia went very still. “What?”
“The man I love. He killed my father, he killed my—ahhh.” The words sounded insane. Like something from a nightmare. “Twenty years ago. And I didn’t know. I didn’t know and I fell in love with him and I…”
I couldn’t finish. Couldn’t voice all the things Gavin and I had done together. All the ways he’d touched me. Claimed me. Made me his. All while knowing he’d murdered my father. Was it really that much fun playing with our lives? And was my mom even any better?
“Oh, honey.” Sophia’s arms tightened around me. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
“He lied to me.” My voice broke. “About everything. Our whole relationship was built on lies and guilt and he really is a terrible man. So so terrible-”
Another sob cut me off.
Sophia pulled me closer, letting me cry into her chest like a child.
“Men are monsters,” she said softly. “All of them. They take and take and take, and they never think about what they’re destroying.”
Something in her tone made me think she was speaking from experience.
But I was too lost in my own pain to ask.
The car continued driving. I had no idea where we were going. I didn't care.
Sophia’s hand kept stroking my hair in a soothing rhythm.
“You’re going to be okay,” she murmured. “I know it doesn’t feel like it now. I know it feels like the world is ending. But you’re going to survive this.”
“I don’t want to survive it,” I whispered. “I want to go back. To before I knew. When I was happy and in love and everything made sense.”
“I know. But you can’t go back. None of us can.” Sophia’s voice was sad. “All we can do is move forward. And sometimes moving forward means burning everything down and starting over.”
I pulled back slightly to look at her. “What?”
She smiled. Gentle and almost pitying. “You’ll understand soon enough.”
The car slowed down and then stopped.
“We’re here,” the driver said.
Where was here?
Sophia helped me out of the car. We were in front of a building I didn’t recognize. Expensive-looking. Modern. Definitely not anywhere I’d been before.
“Come on,” Sophia said, guiding me toward the entrance. “Let’s get you cleaned up. Get some water in you. Then we can figure out what to do next.”
I let her lead me inside because I didn’t know what else to do.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
Probably Gavin. Or Diana. Or Jason.
I didn’t check.
I didn't care.
Let them feel even a fraction of the pain tearing me apart from the inside.
Sophia led me into an elevator. We rode up in silence.
When the doors opened, we stepped into a hallway lined with expensive art.
She unlocked a door and guided me inside an apartment that was all clean lines and modern furniture.
“Sit,” she instructed, pointing to a plush sofa.
I sat.
She disappeared into what I assumed was the kitchen and returned with a glass of water.
“Drink,” she said, pressing it into my hands.
I drank. The water was cold. It hurt going down my raw throat.
Sophia sat beside me, close but not touching.
“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked gently.
I shook my head. “I don’t even know where to start.”
“That’s okay.” She reached over and took my hand. Squeezed it. “You don’t have to talk. Just… sit here. Breathe. That’s enough for now.”
I looked at her. She was being so kind. So understanding.
And I didn’t even know her.
“Why are you helping me?” I asked.
Sophia’s smile was sad. “Because I know what it’s like to be destroyed by a man you love. To have your whole world collapse around you.” Her thumb brushed across my knuckles. “And because no one helped me when I needed it. So I’m helping you.”
Fresh tears welled up. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” she said cryptically.
Before I could ask what she meant, my phone buzzed again.
And again.
And again.
Sophia reached over and gently took it from my pocket.
“Let me,” she said.
She glanced at the screen. Her expression didn’t change, but something flickered in her eyes.
“It’s him, isn’t it?” I whispered. “Gavin.”
“Yes.” Sophia turned off my phone. “But you don’t need to deal with him right now. Right now, you need to rest.”
She was right.
I was so tired. I was going to faint very soon if I didn't rest. And the banging headache wasn’t even making it easy. Everything felt terrible and I just wanted my panda.
“Come on,” Sophia said, standing and offering me her hand. “Let’s get you to bed. You can stay here tonight. Tomorrow, when you’re stronger, we’ll figure out what to do.”
I took her hand and let her lead me to a bedroom.
She helped me out of my shoes. Found me something comfortable to wear. Tucked me into bed like I was a child.
“Sleep,” she said softly. “I’ll be right outside if you need anything.”
She turned off the light and started to leave.
“Sophia?” I called out.
She paused in the doorway. “Yes?”
“Why did you say I’d understand soon enough? About burning everything down?”
Even in the darkness, I could see her smile.
“Because, Melissa,” she said quietly, “sometimes the only way to survive is to destroy the thing that’s destroying you.”
Then she closed the door.
And I lay there in the dark, in a stranger’s apartment, and wondered what she meant.
I wondered if I was strong enough to do it.
To destroy Gavin the way he’d destroyed me.