Chapter 110 One Hundred And Ten
The arrival hall buzzed with the usual hum of movement—rolling suitcases, distant announcements, families reuniting with warm embraces. But Austin felt none of that warmth.
He stepped through the sliding glass doors of the airport in the city Antonia now called home, his jaw tight, sunglasses hiding the storm brewing in his eyes.
She moved here.
With her baby.
To be closer to Kennedy.
The thought burned like acid.
He spotted Sofia before she spotted him. She stood near the pickup lane, her sleek black SUV parked behind her, phone in hand, her red heels clicking impatiently against the pavement.
When her eyes finally met his, a slow smile curved her lips.
“Austin,” she greeted, walking toward him as though she hadn’t been the one who planted the idea that brought him here. She kissed the air beside his cheek. “You made it.”
“Obviously,” he replied flatly.
She studied him for a second longer. He looked different. Harder. Leaner. The carefree charm that once made women swoon seemed replaced by something darker.
Good, she thought.
She took his suitcase handle before he could protest and led him toward her SUV.
They drove in silence at first.
Somewhere out there, Antonia was settling into her new life. Somewhere out there, Kennedy was probably playing the hero, stepping in as protector, as provider.
As father.
Austin’s fingers curled into fists on his lap.
Sofia broke the silence. “So… what changed your mind?”
Her voice was casual, but her eyes flickered toward him briefly before returning to the road.
“You were pretty clear on the phone that you weren’t interested in playing games.”
Austin gave a humorless chuckle.
“This isn’t a game.”
Sofia arched a brow.
“Then what is it?”
He turned his head slowly to look at her.
“I want Antonia.”
There was no hesitation.
No shame.
No disguise.
Sofia’s lips curved again, satisfied.
“I suspected as much,” she said smoothly. “But I’d like to hear you say it properly.”
Austin leaned back against the seat, staring ahead at the road stretching before them.
“I was more into her than I let on,” he admitted. The words felt strange on his tongue, but they were true. “But her absence just made me realize that I didn't want to lose her.”
Sofia said nothing. She knew better than to interrupt a wounded ego unraveling.
Austin exhaled slowly, then shook his head, a faint smirk tugging at his mouth.
“She's everything Ruth wasn't.”
“And Kennedy?” Sofia asked carefully.
At the mention of his name, Austin’s jaw hardened.
“Kennedy always interferes.”
His voice dropped, thick with resentment.
“Every woman I’ve ever been serious about… somehow he shows up. And they end up with him.”
Sofia glanced at him.
“Like Ruth?”
That name hung heavy in the car.
Ruth.
Kennedy’s late wife.
The woman who had once shattered both their worlds in different ways.
Austin’s expression darkened further.
Austin let out a sharp breath.
“I won't sit and watch it happen again.”
He stared out the window, watching buildings blur past.
“In college, Ruth and I were practically inseparable. I was about to propose. Then Kennedy swooped in with his perfect gentleman act, his deep conversations, his wealth.”
His hand slammed lightly against his thigh.
“She chose him.”
Sofia pulled into her gated driveway and parked the SUV.
She turned off the engine but didn’t unbuckle her seatbelt.
“So this is about pride?” she asked softly.
Austin’s gaze snapped to her.
“No.”
It wasn’t.
Not entirely.
He leaned forward, elbows on his knees.
“When I found out Antonia was pregnant… I didn’t know what to feel.”
His voice lowered.
“I was already falling for her, and finding out he was carrying another man's baby didn't change how I felt.”
Sofia watched him carefully.
“But when Lucy told me she moved here…” he continued, eyes flashing, “with her son… to be closer to Kennedy—the same Kennedy she had ran away from...”
He swallowed hard.
“That’s when it hit me.”
Hit him like a train.
The jealousy.
The fear.
The unbearable idea of Antonia looking at Kennedy the way she once looked at him.
“I can’t let that happen,” Austin muttered.
Sofia’s lips parted slightly.
“You can’t let what happen?”
“Him stealing her.”
His voice was low and dangerous.
“Again.”
Sofia finally unbuckled her seatbelt.
“If you want her, you’ll need more than jealousy.”
Austin stepped out of the car without replying, slamming the door harder than necessary.
Sofia followed him inside the house.
Her home was immaculate—cream walls, marble floors, minimalist decor. Cold. Controlled. Just like her.
Austin dropped his bag near the couch and walked toward the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city.
“She moved here for him,” he said quietly.
Sofia crossed her arms.
“Or she moved here so her son could know his father.”
The correction hung in the air.
Austin stiffened.
“Doesn’t matter,” he said finally. “I’m here now.”
Sofia stepped closer.
“And what exactly is the plan?”
He turned to face her.
“I’m going to remind Antonia who I am.”
There was a flicker of something in his eyes—determination mixed with something dangerously close to obsession.
“She had something real with me,” he insisted. “She just doesn’t realize it yet.”
“And Kennedy?”
Austin’s lips curved into a slow, confident smile.
“Kennedy has always played the noble hero.”
He shrugged lightly.
“Let’s see how noble he stays when I start fighting back.”
Sofia studied him.
“You’re willing to go to war for a woman?”
Austin’s expression didn’t waver.
“He made this a war years ago.”
Silence fell between them.
Sofia moved to pour two glasses of wine, handing one to him.
“You should know,” she said carefully, “I want Kennedy for myself.”
Austin took the glass but didn’t drink.
“You can have him, and keep him far away from Antonia.”
He walked toward the balcony, pushing the glass doors open. The night air rushed in, cool against his heated skin.
Sofia stepped beside him.
“And if we're not able to separate them?”
Austin’s jaw clenched.
“That's not going to happen.”
“You sound very sure.”
He finally took a sip of wine, eyes scanning the skyline.
“She cared about me once.”
His voice softened, just slightly.
“And I know she still does.”
Sofia watched that softness with interest.
It was new.
Dangerous.
Because obsession fueled by regret was far more powerful than simple jealousy.
“This why I called you,” she said, "I need you to use whatever you can to get her away from Kennedy."
His lips curved into a cold smile.
“I won’t step aside this time. I promise you, Antonia would be mine.”