There are circumstances that are beyond my control and I didn’t want you to have to live in a life where you weren’t happy every second of the day. It broke my heart to hear you talk about Nicholas. But if you think he will be a better man for you, I cannot change that.
I love you Sophie. You may not know this but the day you told me you loved me was the happiest moment of my entire life. And when I found out you were pregnant it made me the proudest I have ever been. Please name our daughter Winter, and yes, I know we will have a girl. I know that you will be the perfect mother for Winter and Jacob.
Please do not try to find me. Contact Ella and let her know what has happened. She will get you access to all of my accounts.
Your ever loving,
Max
Sophie broke down on the floor with uncontrollable sobs. She didn’t know what to do. What was the meaning of his letter? Had he left her? Because she had told him about Nicholas? Nicholas meant nothing to her. She wished she had never brought him up. She had just been so jealous talking about Alexis. She wanted him to feel the same pain and hurt that she had and now she had driven him away. She screamed into the floor and cried. She struggled to get up when Jacob started crying. She held the baby to her chest and sobbed. “Oh Jacob,” she whispered. “What am I going to do?
She looked at her watch and realized that she was going to be late for her doctor’s appointment. She sighed and sat on the couch. She was too depressed and sad to go anywhere. “I can’t leave the house today, Jacob. That’s okay with you, right?” She closed her eyes and allowed her tears to run down her face at their will.
After a few hours, she decided to call Ella. She didn’t really know what to say to her now. They hadn’t had a good talk in years. But Ella didn’t answer her phone. Sophie sighed. She really just needed someone to talk to, the last couple of weeks had been crazy and she felt like she might lose her mind. She looked at the text message from Nick and bit her lip. She knew that she shouldn’t call him, but she also knew that it wasn’t his fault that she had dragged his name into her conversation with Max. He seemed like a nice enough guy and she just needed a friend to talk to right now. She dialed his number without thinking and held her breath as she waited for him to answer the phone.
“Hello?” Nick’s voice was cautious.
“Nick, it’s me, Sophie.” She spoke slowly, wondering if he had already forgotten who she was.
“Sophie. It’s good to hear from you.” He paused. “Can I help you?”
“I just wondered if you were free to talk.” Sophie’s voice was soft and hurt. “But if you’re busy.”
“No. I’m not busy. I just wasn’t sure if there was a reason why you were calling me?”
“No real reason.” She laughed. “I just wanted to say hi.” She wanted to slap herself across the face; he wasn’t even interested in her. He barely wanted to talk to her. What a fool she had made of herself.
“We can meet up for an early dinner, if you want.”
“I don’t know.” She sighed. “I have the baby.”
“Can your fiancé or friend take care of him?”
“No.” she sighed. “No, I don’t think they can.”
“Oh?”
“I can’t get in contact with either of them.” She laughed hysterically.
“It’s okay, Sophie.” Nick took a deep breath. “Why don’t we meet up now, before we don’t get another chance, you can bring the baby with you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” He coughed. “I’ll meet you at our spot in Central Park in an hour.”
“Sounds good. Thank you, Nick.”
“No, thank you, Sophie.” He paused. “I’ll see you soon.” He hung up and crossed his fingers praying that Sophie didn’t speak to Ella before she came to meet him.
**
Sophie tried calling Ella and Maxwell one last time before she went to meet Nick but there was still no answer. She bundled Jacob up and got up the stroller that Max had bought earlier in the week. She arrived just as Nick was sitting down and he jumped up when he saw her and gave her a big hug.
“Hi,” she said softly and gasped as she saw the bruises on his face. “Oh my, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” He gave her a lopsided smile. “I fainted last night.”
“Oh no.” She touched his face softly. “You must have fallen hard.”
“I did.” He paused. “But I deserved it.”
“Oh Nick.” Sophie looked at his face and felt empty inside. She had made a mistake coming here. Somehow she had found another lost soul and she didn’t know how to fix him. She didn’t think that she could.
“So you should know that you’ll probably hate me by tomorrow.” His voice was pained and he couldn’t quite meet her eyes.
“Why?” She looked at his bloodshot eyes and felt a tinge of something akin to fear.
“You have to believe that I didn’t know who you were, when I first met you.”
“What are you talking about?” She leaned towards him, heart beating fast.
“When I met you, Sophie, I thought that maybe my luck had changed. I thought that maybe you would see the real me, the me that doesn’t really to come out in New York.”
“I thought I did see the real you.” She was confused.
“You did. When we played Frisbee and drank hot chocolate I thought that all of my dreams had come true. I couldn’t believe that someone as lovely as you would give me a chance.”
“You’re a handsome and nice man, Nick.”
“I’m not a nice man.” He pulled out his tie. “Sophie, I’m Max’s shrink.”
“Wait, what?” She looked at him in shock.
“I didn’t know who you were until yesterday. I figured it out. It all made a weird sort of sense.”
“I don’t understand.” She looked at his face and grimaced. “Did Max do this to you?”
“No.” He paused and exhaled. “I was with Ella.”
“Ella?” She clutched her heart. “Oh my God. What have you done to Max and Ella?”
“What are you talking about?” He looked at her panicked.
“I haven’t seen or heard from either of them since yesterday.” She slid away from him and looked at him like a stranger she was scared of.
“I swear to God, Sophie, I didn’t do anything.” He grabbed her hands.