"Sophie," I groan, throwing myself backwards onto the plush mattress of the bed. Unlike in Sophie's old mews house, the new townhouse allowed for the walk in closet to be large enough to accommodate all of Sophie's clothes. That wasn't necessarily a good thing. "I don't see what was wrong with the first dress you put on."
Sophie froze as she admired the latest dress. "What's wrong with this one?"
"Nothing, Soph." With a sigh, I force myself up from the bed and walk to the wardrobe door, pressing my palms to the upper part of the doorframe. The dress Sophie wore was beautiful, but then again, my fiancée could wear a bin liner and still look utterly gorgeous. I still wasn't sure exactly what had gone down between Sophie and Jasmine, but if Soph was taking this long to choose a dress, then it had to have been a major argument. "Look, whatever is going on between you and Jasmine, I'm sure it can be fixed. So, pick a dress, put it on, and let's go. Samuel and Jasmine are waiting for us at the restaurant."
"Restaurant?" Sophie screeched. She pulled the dress from her shoulders and let the dark fabric pool at her feet. In just her underwear, she turns to me and frowns. "Which restaurant?"
Apparently, the name of the restaurant was enough to send Sophie into a spin, which then put us twenty minutes further behind schedule. When I text my brother to let him know, Samuel replied that they too were running behind. Something to do with crazy women that can't choose what to decide. I could sympathise with his situation.
Thankfully, once Sophie had chosen her dress and kissed both Alife and Hetty goodbye, we finally began making our way to Garbo's, some fancy restaurant in Mayfair that Samuel said that Jasmine had been raving about. I didn't know it personally, but I had it on good authority that it was the hottest place in town at the moment. It was the kind of place that people would be on a waiting list for months to dine at, not that a detail like that would stop someone like Jasmine Gough.
During the journey to Garbo's, Sophie fidgeted endlessly, playing with the tassels of her white dress. Ever since Wednesday, Sophie had been in a foul mood and most of her attitude was directed towards Jasmine, her closest friend. I knew that it had all started because of something Jasmine had said about my sister and from there, it escalated. However, when I asked Sophie about it all, she would huff out a long sigh, fold her arms over her chest and pout as if her life depended on it.
"Sophie, will you please stop looking so... like this," I say, unable to think of a decent adjective for how Sophie's face was currently set. I could have said that she looked as if she'd just chewed on a swarm of bees, but I don't think she would have appreciated that. Although, from how Sophie glared at me, I don't think she truly appreciated any advice from me. Grasping her hand in mine- mainly to reassure her, but also to stop her from wringing her dress- I lean across the backseat of the town car and trace my nose along her jawline. Knowing Sophie, she wouldn't be able to resist that move. "Let's just go to dinner, you and Jasmine will apologise to each other and then we can fill you both in on what happened at today's suit fitting. How does that sound?"
"It sounds great," Sophie said, emitting a slight moan when my nose tickles the tender spot near her ear. Knowing what I was doing, Sophie brings her hand up to my forehead and pushes me away, giving me a narrowed eye look. "Except for the middle part. I wasn't liking that so much."
"What happened to being mature about it?" I quiz her, smirking with the knowledge that I was using her words against her. Sophie Clément talked a big game but she hated it whenever someone turned the tables on her. Seeing her raise her fist, I could sense that she was about to punch my shoulder but my quick reflexes made sure to block her hand before pulling her closer to me. "No sadism outside of the bedroom, Clément. That's off topic, though. God knows what happened between you and Jasmine, but I'm sure you can get over-"
"She talked shit about you!" Sophie suddenly yells. After a beat passes, Sophie pulls her hand from my hold and turns to the window, her eyes gazing on the early winter evening. A groan passes her lips and she shakes out her head with a silent scream. To me, it looked more like Sophie having a seizure of some kind, but having seen her act this way before, I took it to mean that she was simply having a mini mental breakdown. When it passes, Sophie snapped her head back at me and blinked her eyes shut. "Jasmine was going to town about Evelyn, saying that she was boring and domineering and that you and Samuel couldn't do anything for yourselves if she was around. Then, because she was on a roll, she decided to bitch about your parents. Granted, most of the stuff she said about your mother was spot on, but not for your dad.
"And then!" Sophie threw her arms up in the air, narrowly missing smacking me in the face. "She brings Arabella into the mix, which was more a reflection of her opinion about your brother than you. But of course, why would Jasmine stop there?"
I frown. "Is this where she talked shit about me?"
"Yep." Sophie bitterly popped the 'p' sound of the word. Sophie's shoulders sagged and she tiredly leant against my side, completely deflated. Even in her 'kick ass' dress, I could sense that she wasn't feeling as tough as she made out she was. Fighting with her best friend was starting to take its toll on Sophie, and I wasn't sure if I liked it. "Daniel, I know that we went through a rough patch back at the start but you and I got through that. We're stronger for it too, but Jasmine doesn't understand that. She keeps reminding me of how much of a wreck I was; she doesn't know that you were having just as much of a tough time with it all."
I gulp, perhaps too obviously, because Sophie shifted slightly so that she was now looking into my eyes. In that instant, all the guilt I had been carrying around for the last few months bubbles to the surface. "Sophie-"
"We're here," she says, cutting me off.
Finally realising that we're at the restaurant, I clamber out of the car and hold out my hand to help Sophie out onto the pavement. I noticed the way her eyes darted around, keeping her eye out for Samuel and Jasmine, but when she didn't see either, Sophie rolled her shoulders back and confidently strode to the door.
Giving Samuel's name to the hostess, we were swiftly shown to a private room, where my brother and his fiancée was already waiting for us. Samuel stood from his seat and came around to greet us, shaking my hand before enveloping Sophie in a hug that she reciprocated warmly. Jasmine, meanwhile, didn't move an inch. Her eyes were still glued to the menu in front of her.
"Well, this is going to be fun," I muttered, pulling out a chair for Sophie. She gracefully took her place at the table, flipping her hair over her shoulder in a show of dominance. Having seen her in action, I personally wouldn't want to get on Sophie's bad side. "Have you been waiting long?"
"Yes."
From his seat beside Jasmine, Samuel tightly shuts his eyes and shook his head. "We only just arrived," he explained. A prolonged, awkward silence ensued, wherein no one spoke but plenty of glares were exchanged between the women. Every few seconds, Samuel would look at me and send me an apologetic smile. "Did you tell Sophie what suits we picked out today?"
"Uh, no, I hadn't yet." Clearing my throat, I set my wine glass down on the table and reached for Sophie's hand, hoping to spread some positivity. Given how tight her grip was, Sophie wasn't receptive. Still, I wasn't daunted. "Each of the guys all tried on a different suit and then we chose which we thought was best. Elias wanted black, Michael thought grey, Samuel was thinking tweed- still a stupid idea, by the way- and Fletch was being amazingly unhelpful. More unhelpful than usual-"
"That's all very interesting-"
"Stop!" Sophie's voice shouted over Jasmine's. Picking up her wine glass, Sophie drained the contents and then set her eyes on the woman opposite. It always scared me how Sophie's blue eyes could go from calm to raging in a split second, especially when the shift in colour was quickly followed by Sophie going on a rampage. "Jasmine, just stop being a bitch to him. I know you hate him, I know you blame him for what happened back in April, I know that you bring up the whole Arabella thing every time you get pissed with him, but you need to stop!"
Hearing Sophie's words, Jasmine turns her glare onto me. "What have you been telling her?"
"Oh, my God!" Sophie threw her hands up in the air. "You're not listening. You never fucking listen! Just so we're clear- you can hate him all you want but you have to know that the reasoning for that is complete bullshit. You hate him for what he did to me but it was my fault. It has always been my fault-"
"Sophie," I say a little louder than needed. "You don't have to stick up for me."
"I'm not sticking up for you," Sophie growls, turning her glare onto me. Thankfully, she soon turns back to Jasmine. "I was the one who fucked it up. I should have told Daniel how I felt and I should have asserted myself more. In those weeks after, I had plenty of opportunities to tell him how I really felt, called him out on his decision, make him see that he was wrong.... I didn't do that. My emotional breakdown then was all my doing. Mine. Not his. And as for Arabella- do you give Samuel as much shit about what happened as you do Daniel? Huh?"
Turning to my brother, Sophie gives him an apologetic smile, but it soon disappears when she faces Jasmine once again. "From where I'm sitting, it wasn't my guy that cheated. And like they say- once a cheater, always a cheater."
"Sam's changed-"
"Has he?" Sophie challenged, her left eyebrow lifting a millimetre. "Do men really change?"
"Yes-"
"Then why doesn't that same rule apply to Daniel?" Sophie continued, the anger becoming more apparent in each word. Each syllable, even. "He didn't do anything wrong! He treats me better than anyone else ever has. He loves me and he will always be my number one pick! You asked me to choose between my friendship with you and my relationship with him-"
"She did?" I asked Sophie at the same moment Samuel asked Jasmine, "You did?"
"Yes," Sophie spat. "She did. That's why we haven't been talking. But I choose Daniel. I will always choose Daniel. And that is why I am marrying him. Because He's Daniel and I'm Sophie, and together we're Danphie. Get on board with that, or get on the first flight out of my town. Your choice, Jasmine. Choose wisely, because I sure as hell know I did."