Beautiful Pain (34 page)

“
I don’t understand why this never happens to me! So what are you going to do? You guys have only a few weeks left together, right?”

Sophia swallowed hard, playing with the fork.

“
I’d rather not talk about it here. I haven’t made my decision yet,” she sighed.

“
I know Harry, if he loves you then he won’t let you go. It’s as simple as that. From outside he is tough and never shows his emotions, but on the inside he is sensitive and protective. Before his mother got ill he used to come to me for tutorials, he wanted to go to Uni. He was really focused and wanted to stay away from trouble.”

“
Tutorials?” Sophia repeated, thinking about Harry’s aspirations. She didn’t want to think about Harry’s feelings towards her. She was in love with him, but he still hadn’t told her how he felt about her.

“
Yeah, he wanted to go back to college to up his grades. Then he started reading all these classics books. I have quite a collection, as I am doing English Literature, but I always thought that Harry didn’t like reading. When I asked him about it, he just said that he was bored and enjoyed reading.”

Chapter Thirty Five

“
Harry and books? I’ve never seen any in his room.”

“
He stopped coming when his mother got ill. I think he kind of shut away his dreams and stopped thinking about the future. Please don’t mention this because he is going to be angry.”

“
Don’t worry, I won’t.”

“
Harry has a lot of potential but he also has a lot of responsibilities,” muttered Eve. Sophia felt guilty that she was complaining about the way her parents had treated her; at least she could study, whereas Harry never got that chance. The waiter brought the main course so Harry came back to his seat and gave her a sneaky kiss. He looked relaxed and happy. Sophia wondered how he was able to deal with all of his problems. He was much stronger than she judged him at first.

As the dinner progressed Sophia realised that Caroline and Eve knew a lot more about Harry than she did. Sophia instantly felt connected with the O’Donaghue family. They were all relaxed with each other, Sophia didn’t feel any pressure and there were no expectations.

She remembered her own family gatherings where everyone was trying to impress one another. She hated it when her mother pointed out that her cousins were always better in everything. Her parents never praised her or made her feel good about herself. Sophia wanted to be a part of Harry’s family. His mother looked so much happier being around the people that she loved. She laughed and cleaned her plate, even ordered a dessert.

As the evening ended Caroline asked for Sophia’s number and promised to take her out for a girly night. Before Sophia left, she whispered in her ear, “He is in love with you. I can always tell, it’s the way he is looking at you. I just wanted to let you know that this sort of love comes only once in a lifetime. If you decide to throw it away you will never be truly happy again. You will never experience it with someone else.”

Sophia looked at Caroline, completely shocked and not sure how to react.

“
Come on, Sophe, get your beautiful ass in,” shouted Harry, pulling up in front of the restaurant. Sophia wanted to ask Caroline if she’d ever experience the feelings that she was talking about, but Harry was already pulling her towards the car.

“
What about your mum?” she asked, realising that Barbara was still talking to Claire outside.

“
Aunt Claire will give her a lift. Mum said that I should take you for a drive,” he chuckled, staring at her with those beautiful brown eyes.

“
We can go to Vanessa’s apartment , she is working and her boyfriend is probably out.”

“
And what are we going to do in her empty apartment ?” asked Harry, grinning.

“
I don’t know … we can always think of something,” she joked, blushing.

“
Come on, beautiful, I can certainly think of a few things.”

That night Harry made Sophia forget that she only had two weeks left with him, she forgot that she still had to make a decision about her future. She didn’t think about how they’d broken every possible rule. Harry kissed her and carried her into the bedroom with gleaming desire in his eyes. He undressed her and brushed every inch of her flesh with his lips. His touch comforted her, made her feel special and loved. When he stroked his fingers over the scars on her stomach and thighs she felt healed. She closed her eyes and allowed him to take control. They made slow, tender love for a few hours, making her come over and over until she begged him to let her sleep. Sophia’s heart was beating through her veins, locking every precious second with Harry in her memory. She fought with the demons that had been haunting her since she could remember. He took away the pain and replaced it with pure, sensual, and irresistible love.

***

On Saturday morning Sophia opened her eyes, feeling that she slept well. Her entire body was sore but pleasantly happy. The morning sun was pouring into the room and the rays from the sun were dancing around on the carpet. She’d slept well and she touched the other side of the bed, finding it empty. She blinked rapidly and looked at the clock; it was half past twelve and there was a note on the side table.

Went to check on Mum, will be back in a few hours.

Miss me already?

Prince Charming

Sophia smiled and stretched her arms above her head, running her finger over her arm and remembering Harry’s touch on her skin. She could still smell him on the clean sheets. She yawned loudly and got up. Sophia thought about Caroline’s words. Was Harry truly in love with her?

They hadn’t talked about their feelings, but Sophia didn’t have to think twice about how she felt about him. It was too late, she was in love and the ache in her heart started when she realised that he wasn’t with her this morning. She found her phone lying on the floor. The screen was cracked. She didn’t remember dropping it. She tried to switch it on but the phone was damaged. She brushed her teeth and tried to put her head in order. She put some clothes on and marched to the kitchen, feeling hungry. She was surprised to see Vanessa and Timothy sitting at the table having breakfast.

“
Morning,” sang her best friend. Tim smiled.

“
Morning all. I can’t believe that I slept so long today,” she said. “Have you seen Harry this morning?”

“
He got up, made us breakfast, and said that he was going to be back soon,” giggled Vanessa. “Tim doesn’t do that for me.”

“
You are already spoiled, Vanessa, and breakfast in bed would just be doing too much,” muttered Tim, but he winked at Sophia when Vanessa turned to find the juice in the fridge.

Sophia looked under the plate; he’d made her scrambled eggs.

“
So what are you both of you up to today?” Sophia asked.

“
I finally got a day off, so we are just going to go to the beach. Do you fancy coming along when your lover boy comes back?”

“
Beach, yes that sounds good.”

Hearing a loud knock, they all turned towards the door. Vanessa arched her eyebrows with surprise.

“
Would he be here so quickly?” muttered Sophia.

“
He can’t stay away from you,” joked Vanessa.

“
I will get it then,” she offered.

She was still in her pajamas when she unlocked the door. She smiled, thinking that Harry had come back early because he already missed her. That smile was instantly wiped off her face when she saw her father standing at the door. He wasn’t alone either, Mason was behind him.

“
Dad?” she breathed, feeling as if the air was trapped in her lungs. Blood rushed to her ears. Her father narrowed his eyes, scowling. He was dressed casually in jeans and a navy jumper. He didn’t say anything to Sophia; instead he stormed into the apartment , and Mason followed him.

“
Mason, what are you doing here?” she managed to ask, feeling as if her whole body was rooted to the spot.

“
In the kitchen,” muttered Mason sounding tense. His normally soft voice was now low and raspy.

Sophia pushed her numb legs and followed her father and Mason.

“
I need to have a private chat with my daughter,” ordered Nassa looking at a shocked Vanessa, who was glancing from Nassa to Mason, unsure of how to react. She knew Sophia’s father well and she knew that there was no point questioning his orders.

“
Of course,” she muttered and took Tim to her bedroom, giving Sophia a surprised look.

“
Why are you here, Dad?” Sophia repeated once Vanessa was out. Her throat had gone completely dry and dread crept over her shoulders. He was angry; his jaw was tightened and this wasn’t a good sign. Something was wrong otherwise he wouldn’t be here.

“
When you told us that you were going to Belfast I started worrying. I wasn’t sure if you were going to cope with being on your own, especially after what’s happened in the past.”

He paused and scratched his head. Sophia was staring at Mason, who deliberately wasn’t looking at her. Panic shot through her body, attacking her veins and filling her stomach like the hot, thick lava that spread through a volcano.

“
This is the past, Dad, I haven’t hurt myself since I ended the therapy,” she said through pursed lips.

“
I hired Mason to follow you, just to make sure that you were all right,” he added, sounding tired. Sophia thought that her mind was going to burst into a million pieces. Mason’s name was rolling through her brain. She looked at Mason who finally met her eyes. She saw pain and regret before he looked away, embarrassed. The world around her spun and she felt like she was falling down, the earth opened and it was sucking her in. Her father’s voice flooded around the room and anger erupted inside her heart. She wanted to walk up to him and stab him with a knife until he couldn’t make a sound. “At first everything was going good. You were going into work, staying with Vanessa and not getting into trouble. Then Mason called and mentioned that he saw you with one of your clients on the street outside probation. One thing led to another and you got involved with that criminal.”

“
Harry is not a criminal,” she whispered, calculating her next move. The fury made her dizzy and incapable of feeling the betrayal. She couldn’t believe that her father would do this to her and Mason had been using her all this time.

“
He is dangerous, and if anyone from Probation would have seen you then your career would have been destroyed. I called you a few weeks ago warning you to stop this silly romance, but you didn’t want to listen.”

This was really happening; her father hired Mason who pretended to be her boyfriend so he could spy on her. Her pulse throbbed and her mind screamed to tell him to go and fuck himself.

“
I love this man and I am going to quit the job so that no one finds out.”

Her father twitched and narrowed his dark eyes, exhaling sharply.

“
You are going back with me to London right now before anyone starts sniffing around,” barked Nassa, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“
I am not going anywhere. I am a grown woman and I can do what I want!” she yelled, fighting the tears.