Secrets That Bind | Book I

26 // for his eyes only

///

yes, i changed the title of the book and the cover!! and tbh, I'm happy with it. i feel like this is more fitting with the vibe i'm going for. i tried having a book cover that would be similar to the other mafia books on this app, but I didn't like it, so I said, "fuck it," and changed it and now I'm happy. anyways, enough chit chat--let's get into the story!!! enjoy lovelies!

///

𝘈𝘯𝘢𝘺𝘢

"Guys," Sophie yells so that she can be heard over the loud music blaring through the speakers. "I think I'm gonna break up with Samuel—"

"What?" Liv shrieks as she slams her drink down on the small circular wooden table we're all leaning against. "Break up? What happened?"

Sophie glances at me, the sparkles of her eyeshadow and highlight glimmering under the neon strobe lights of the club that we're in. It's been a while since the three of us have been able to go out and have a proper girl's night. Normally, we'd hang out at someone's apartment and order takeout and call that a girl's night, but it's nice to dress up every now and then.

Taking a sip of my wine, I lean over to wrap my fingers around Sophie's. "Did something happen?"

She shakes her head before averting her gaze to the drink in front of her. "Nothing happened. It's just..." She looks up and shrugs, "I don't feel the same about him like I did when I was in high school. I see him more like a friend than anything else."

Liv wraps her arm around Sophie's shoulders and pulls her into a side hug before resting her head on top of Sophie's. Liv has a good five inches on Soph—she has a few inches on me as well—and when it comes to hugs, no one does it better than Liv.

Soph wipes a stray tear as she rolls her eyes. "I don't know why I'm crying. I knew I had to break up with him for months, I've just been pushing it off because I didn't wanna hurt his feelings."

With Liv still resting her head on Soph, her gaze connects with mine before her lip curls into a pout. Following her lead, I slide over and wrap my arms around Soph as well. The three of us stand like that, no words exchanged between us as we watch people's gyrating bodies on the dance floor.

After a while, I reach over for my wine glass and take a sip of Chardonnay. "You guys were together for what? Ten years?" Lifting my head so that I can look at Soph with a small frown. "Didn't you start dating Sam when you were fifteen?"

She nods her head, her gaze on the dance floor. "We've been together for twelve years. I don't count our random breaks in college as time apart because those only lasted for like two weeks."

I nod my head. "That's a long time, Soph. Obviously, it's not gonna be easy to move on even if you don't have romantic feelings for him. And bringing in Angelo—I mean, you two have a kid together!—it's not easy to walk away from a relationship like that, no matter how much you've outgrown him."

Liv nods her head. "The routine you two have with Angelo—I mean, you're still gonna have to keep Sam around because he's your child's father—it's not gonna be like other breakups where you can easily keep the guy out of your life."

"I know," Soph says as she leans forward, leaning her head on her hands. "Sorry for bringing the vibe down," she says as she lifts her head up moments later.

I shake my head with a frown, waving her off. "Don't even think for a second you have to apologize."

Liv nods her head. "But since we are at a club, let's go dance." She clasps her hands together, "Please! Please!"