“He’s four months old.” She closed her eyes. “I gave him up for adoption.”
“You what?” Max felt a headache start to come on and he rubbed his temples.
“I didn’t want to be a single mother and I knew you didn’t want a kid,” she paused, “then. So I left and I stayed in Winterside and had the baby and gave it away.”
“Who has the baby?”
“An older couple.” She bit her lip. “But they realize they are too old for a baby and want to give him back.”
“What?” Max’s voice rose. “Please tell me this is another one of your dirty tricks, Alexis.”
She turned and looked him in the eye. She brushed her hair back with her long fake nails and her words came out coldly. “You screwed me over for that whore, Max. We were supposed to get married. Well guess what? Your precious Sophie is getting a delivery right about now. You see I told that old couple that baby Jacob’s dad, yes they named him Jacob, was going to take care of him from here on out. And so they are taking him and his stuff to your apartment now.”
Max watched the words tripping out of her mouth with delightful spite and he wanted to slap her. But he knew that was what she wanted. She was a sadomasochist and enjoyed being hurt. In fact, she couldn’t get off without being spanked most of the time. He had wondered at the time what had made her as f**ked up in the head as him but he hadn’t cared enough to ask. She’d been a body, willing and able and that was all that had mattered.
“When are they taking him?” He frowned and pulled out his phone to see if Sophie had called him as yet.
Alexis looked at her watch and smiled. “Five minutes ago.”
“You’re a bitch.” His words were cold and filled with distaste.
“You never complained about that before.” She grabbed his hand. “We can still make this work, Maxwell. Please. I need you.” She stared into his eyes beseechingly.
“Are you sure he’s my son?”
“If he’s not yours, he’s Franks.” She stared into his eyes. “So let’s just say he’s yours, unless you want to have a conversation with him?”
Max looked at her with hatred and then he felt sorry for her. She was a mess. And there was nothing he could do to help her. “I’m sorry, Alexis. I have to go now.”
“I want to see Jacob.” Her words stopped him cold, as he was about to walk away.
“What do you mean?” he hissed.
“I’m still his mom. I want to be able to see him every now and again.” She looked at him with tears in her eyes. “We made him together, Max. You may not love me, but he is a part of both of us.”
Max closed his eyes and counted to five before answering her. “Alexis, there has never been and will never be an us. If Jacob is mine, you will have nothing to do with him.” He slammed his hand down on the table and stood up. “I’ll call you in a few days. Do not contact me before then.” And with that, he hurried out of the store and tried calling Sophie again, with his stomach in knots. He felt panicked and tense; everything was falling apart already. Her phone rang and rang and she didn’t answer and Max contemplated hitting a bar before going home. But he knew that wasn’t the answer. He needed all of his wits about him when he got home. He had to let Sophie know that he didn’t know about this child and that he loved her. He needed her to know that she was his everything. He loved her more than life itself and he couldn’t survive if he lost her. He couldn’t tell her that Jacob may not be his though; he didn’t want her to know about the sex clubs. Or his past life. And more importantly, he didn’t want to become involved with Frank Phillips again.
Chapter 4
Sophie
All the lights were off when Sophie got home. She was surprised that Max wasn’t home as yet but she guessed that work had gone later than he thought. She kicked off her shoes and went and settled on the couch. She stared out of the window at the gray sky and felt that it reflected the gloom in her heart. She just wasn’t happy. She missed Ella and she felt alone. Maxwell was her true love, that she knew, but she still couldn’t stop thinking about him and Alexis. The other woman had struck a chord in Sophie and she couldn’t stop thinking about the two of them together. It gnawed on her late at night as she slept in his arms and listened to him sleep. Had Alexis done the same thing as well? Had Alexis loved him so much that it hurt when he wasn’t around?
She was interrupted from her silent reverie by a knocking at the door. She jumped up eagerly. “I’m coming, Max.” She ran to the door assuming that he must have left his keys at home or in the office. “You’re home late,” she cried out as she opened the door but it wasn’t Max who was sitting there waiting for her. “Oh hello?” She smiled at the older couple standing in front of her; the man was holding a baby boy and they studied her face intently.
“Hello.” The lady smiled at her, she appeared to be in her fifties. She looked frazzled with unkempt grey hair and huge bags under her eyes. “Is Maxwell Van Harkel home?”
“No, he’s not home yet.” Sophie paused and smiled again. “Can I help you? I’m his fiancée, Sophie.”
“Oh, so you’ll be the mother then?” The man smiled at her and his eyes crinkled as he took in her gentle persona.
“Well, yes.” She waved them in. “I’m going to be a mother. Did Maxwell tell you?”
“No, we’ve not met Maxwell yet.” The lady followed her into the apartment. “Alexis told us to come.”
“Alexis?” Sophie frowned. What was going on here?
“Jacob’s birth mother.”
“Jacob?” Sophie looked at the couple in confusion.
“This little one.” The lady nodded down at the baby in her arms and sighed. “Thank you for agreeing to take him. We thought we would be able to take care of a baby, but it’s just too much. We’re too old and well, Larry had a stroke last year and I don’t want him stressing out.”
“Why do you have Alexis’s baby?” The words sounded robotic coming from Sophie’s mouth.
“I’m her old nanny you see, I agreed to help her. We didn’t formally adopt him, so there won’t be any problems. You won’t have to do any paperwork seeing as Maxwell is the father.”
Sophie felt the air rush out of her body and she leaned against the wall in shock. She felt lightheaded and closed her eyes. Maxwell was a father? “Sorry, are you saying that Maxwell and Alexis had a baby and this is him?” Sophie’s voice was stilted and the couple looked at her in dismay.