Intrigue

Chapter 94

Sophie's POV

Malcolm and I watched Sean walk out and close the door behind him. He turned to me, looking very distressed. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"What for?" I asked.

"For coming into your home and arguing with your brother." He exhaled. "I can't help it. I can't stand how he keeps saying that he's sorry."

"He is," I murmured. I felt sorry for Sean. He'd come to see me and ended up in another confrontation.

"It won't change what he did to me, Sophie." Malcolm closed his eyes briefly, then reopened them, looking at me. "Even when I heard him tell you he loves you... how he said it, the words he used... so many memories." His eyes lined with tears, which he blinked away rapidly. "I'm gonna go." He started making his way to the door.

I followed him. "Thanks for coming," I said. I felt sorry for him, too. He could deny it all he wanted, but he still cared. The way he'd spoken to Sean confirmed it.

"Take care, Soph." He turned to me. "Are you going to be okay, with Cole coming over?"

"I'll be fine," I smiled. I'd given Cole the silent treatment for a day and a half, but I was with him for a reason, so I could no longer ignore him now. So when he'd wanted to come over, I didn't say no.

"Bye," Malcolm offered a brief smile and opened the door.

I waited for him to leave and made my way to the bathroom, to make myself look better in front of Cole. It would have been different if it were Jeremy.

I ran a brush through my hair, and rubbed concealer on my nose and under my eyes. Then I changed into a white Louis Vuitton turtleneck sweater with a black neckline, and dark blue jeans.

The doorbell rang after a few minutes and I exhaled, making my way to the door. I opened it and behind it stood Cole, wearing his signature suit, this time in charcoal twill, with a dark blue tie and slick black shoes. He had stubble today; it was a rarity not to see him clean shaven.

"Hello, my darling," he said to me in his deep voice.

I resisted the urge to gag. "Hi." I offered a sarcastic smile. I still wasn't going to let him off so easily about the way he'd contacted the paps.

"Are you okay? I came to look for you at the office and your assistant said that you're sick," he said. He made his way inside the house. He stopped in the living room.

"Yeah, I have a cold," I mumbled.

He arched an eyebrow. "Exposed yourself too much, have you?"

"Yeah, on the media," I replied tetchily, trying not to think too much about the night out on the porch. I put my hands around myself, trying to shield myself from the cold I was feeling.

Cole smirked. "Still on about that?"

I glared at him. Still on about that? What had happened had happened the previous day, and what he'd done had been evil, although minimal when compared to other things he'd done. And he had no idea what the repercussions had been for me.

"You don't get to make decisions for the both of us, Cole," I told him with the same glare.

He stepped closer to me, a smirk on his lips. "You're only the boss at work, Sophie. Don't treat me like I'm just your employee when we're together." Behind his look I could see that he was getting annoyed.

"Don't treat me like I'm some sort of trophy," I muttered back.

"I wouldn't if you weren't." Cole smiled at me. I scowled, choosing to ignore his comment, and made my way to the kitchen. He followed me. "Here, I got you dinner." He placed a bag on the table. I glanced at it. It was from an expensive restaurant which I remembered he'd liked ordering from.

"Thanks." I offered another sarcastic smile. "You can put it in the fridge, I've eaten."

He looked surprised. "You cooked?" he asked. He knew I couldn't cook to save my life. Might come handy if I want to poison him one day.

"No, Jeremy did." I met his eyes. I watched him frown.

"Oh. Well, not surprised, that guy is not good for anything other than being a housewife." Cole smirked again. I didn't react to his cruel jab at Jeremy. It was always the way he spoke about him, and to him. "Was he here?" he looked around, as if trying to see if he'd been here and left a trace. He didn't look too happy about the prospect of Jeremy having been in my house.

"No, Sean was."

"Oh." Cole just looked amused now. "So I just missed him. What a pity."

Yes, because I told him to leave, idiot. I didn't answer. I started making coffee.

"So how did he take the news about you and I?" Cole asked. His eyes gleamed.

I resisted the urge to scowl at him again. I shrugged. "He was okay," I answered. I watched as he looked at me in surprise.

"Really?"

"Mhm. Do you want coffee?" I said, acting nonchalant.

He glared at me now. "Whiskey." He leaned against the counter, folding his arms. "So is he seeing anyone? Sean."

"I don't know." I set about making coffee, trying my best to ignore Cole.

"Hmm." Cole seemed thoughtful for a few seconds.

I rolled my eyes. What an idiot. I poured him two shots of whiskey in a crystal glass and added ice. Maybe he'd suffocate in it. I handed it to him without a smile.

"Thanks, babe." He smiled at me. I waited to see what his next comment would be.

"You said he's living with Jeremy, right? Knowing Sean, he's probably already shagging him, like he used to."

I met his gaze. "In that case, good for him." I offered my sweetest smile.

"Hmm. Anything goes, I guess." I could tell that Cole was doing this to try to see how I'd react to it. Because he'd done it even in the past. He had always been suspicious of the way Jeremy treated me. Always wanted to see if there had been more to our way with each other than just being childhood friends and the bridge to Sean. His suspicions had been right after all, but luckily for me he'd never found out.

He pulled me to him now, holding me to him, whiskey glass in his other hand. He didn't kiss me, but just looked at me. "I don't want to catch your cold," he said.

I shrugged. "So just leave," I replied.

"Nah. I want to be with you. Just no kissing," he answered, lifting an eyebrow.

"No sex, then." I pushed him away from me. What an animal. He looked back at me in a blend between surprise and amusement.