Sophia holds Adams hand strongly as she watches her son's tomb. The memorial took place at the local cemetery, a week after their loss. There was no body, but an empty small casket. The epitaph simply read:
James Lancaster: Always Loved, Never Forgotten
Sophia wipes a tear from her eyes. Her mother, stands by her side trying to hold back her tears. It was a small private memorial. Only Adam's and Sophia's immediate family were present. Sophia could feel her heart healing slowly. Seeing the simple but true words on the tombstone made her smile. She knows that the baby will now know how much he was loved, and how much he was going to be loved if he was allowed more time. Organizing this memorial gave her some closure. God Giveth, God Taketh Away. Who was she to argue against it?
They make their way to Sophia's parents' house, who were hosting a dinner in James' honor.
"Thank you," Sophia whispers as she holds Adam's arm tightly. Her husband held her every night. Now she knows how lucky she truly was.
Adam gives her a smile.
Sophia smiles back knowing that words will only be moot. They learned so much from each other in these hard times that she feels like they have become closer. They now know more of each other than they knew themselves, and they both knew how far they were willing to go for each other no questions asked. Sophia feels safe, he was there to love her and protect her, and there isn't much she fears when he's by her side.
She suddenly feels his arm become tense. He comes to a halt, and squeezes her hand strongly. His eyes fixed on something ahead. Sophia follows his gaze and her heart drops.
Daniel and his wife are walking towards them, hand in hand. As if everything was just a horrible nightmare.
"Stay here," Adam says quietly but firmly.
Sophia freezes in place, memories clouding her head. But she forces herself to move when she realizes that Adam's angrily meeting them halfway.
Her parents walk past Daniel clueless about the incident. Mayor Smith covered his son's attempt saving their reputation, and Sophia didn't have the heart to tell them how her miscarriage really happened.
She rushes behind Adam before he does anything dangerous.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Adam says lividly as he approaches them. Valerie turns to her husband confused.
"I just want to pay my respects..."
"Don't you dare," Adam interrupts harshly. "You think you can hide what you did? Your wife doesn't know what kind of a monster she married?"
"Daniel? What is he talking about?" Valerie asks worriedly.
Daniel ignores her. "I didn't know she was expecting."
"And if you did then you would've just walked away, huh?"
Sophia could see Adam's intention, his hand curled into a fist, a vein on his forehead is now very visible. "Adam please," she whispers as she stands between Daniel and him.
"You think that just because you are the Mayor's bastard you can do what you like?!" Adam screams trying to reach for Daniel, but Sophia's in his way.
"No, stop, stop, Adam, calm down please," Sophia begs laying a hand on his chest firmly. But he seems so enthralled to insult Daniel, Sophia grabs his face and forces him to look at her. "Adam please calm down."
Adam locks eyes with Sophia and his breathing slows, his shoulders relax, his sanity returns slowly.
"Sophia forgive me, I didn't know you were expecting, I wasn't myself, I..." He stops short as Sophia turns to him, eyes cold and sharp with hate.
"Daniel, what in God's name are they talking about? What do you have to do with Sophia's miscarriage?" Valerie asks completely puzzled.
Sophia turns back to Adam, and he's watching her with softened eyes, she wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him into her arms, he embraces her strongly and sighs deeply into her neck, Sophia can tell he is suffering as well, but he was too busy with taking care of her, he hasn't had the time to mourn.
Ò Ò Ò
As Sophia and Adam walk inside the Willis' house, Adam disappears unnoticed.
"What happened back there?" asks Mrs. Willis once they settled down in the library? She caught a glimpse of the conflict leaving her very concerned.
"A minor disagreement with Mr. Smith," Sophia replies.
"It didn't seem minor."
Sophia shrugs not wanting to get into any details. The door opens and she turns rapidly expecting Adam, but her father walks in instead.
"How are you doing?" he asks sweetly taking a seat beside her.
Sophia gives him a smile. "Better. Have you seen Adam?"
Mr. Willis nods. "He needed some time alone, I let him in your bedroom."
"Oh." She's torn between going to him or letting him be. But she's worried. After witnessing his anger towards Daniel, and his sadness as he looked into her eyes, as if he was unable to keep it inside much longer, she worries he has gone to a dark place and she's too late to help him out.
She stands decidedly and walks upstairs without a word to her parents, all her thoughts on her husband. She knocks on the door quietly. There's no reply. She knocks again, ear perched on the door listening for any sound. She decides to open it finding it unlocked which motivates her to walk inside. The familiar room now seems like a stranger's. The floral patterns of her bedsheets seem so childish now.
"Adam?"
He's sitting on the bed, his back turned, and his slouching figure makes him seem small. He doesn't seem like he even heard her come in. She walks slowly towards him and sits by his side. He looks up startled. "Hey."
"Are you alright?"
He turns to her, his eyes holding on to so much pain, she wishes he could just let it all out. "I should've been there." He finally speaks, he looks down at the wooden floor. "After our date, I went back to work and did absolutely nothing. I could've gone home with you, I could've protected you."
She brings a hand on his back encouragingly. "Adam, you arrived, you were there, and I'm extremely grateful."
He shakes his head unconvinced. "It wasn't enough. That bastard hurt you and he's walking the streets as if he did not do a damn thing. I should've killed him when I had the chance."
Sophia holds his hands firmly. "Adam, you did the best you could."
"Look where that got us," he says quietly.
"You are a good man and it will be rewarded."
He shakes his head again and rubs his temples roughly. He can't reply. His shoulders start shaking, and Sophia watches him in surprise. Her own eyes start to water as she holds him in her arms. He digs his face in her chest and holds her tightly like he had never before. She runs her hand through his hair as he lets his pain go. The room is silent, the only sound heard was Adam's quiet sobs. Sophia doesn't let go. She will hold him as long as he needed. This man was truly suffering. The torture of knowing that he could've arrived to her aid much earlier, made him miserable. Sophia hopes he can feel through her embrace, her gratitude and the love she feels for him. She hopes he knows that he does not blame him for anything. He was not guilty of their loss. If there was anyone to blame, it was Daniel Smith. She wishes she could go back in time and refuse him when he asked her to dance. That now seemed like a long time ago.
Adam straightens and pulls away from her arms, she didn't noticed when his cries subsided. She doesn't move, she holds on to her breath not knowing what to say.
Adam cried. Adam Lancaster cried in her arms, Sophia was so focused in her own pain, she had failed to see the pain he was going through, how selfish was she really being?
Neither of them say a word. They sit side by side, Adam takes her hand and kisses it gently, and looks down at her wedding band accompanied by her engagement ring. He studies them quietly, Sophia watches him wanting know what is going through his mind.
"I love you so much," she finds herself whispering.
He looks up as if puzzled by her confession, or more by the timing of it.
"I really do," she replies at his confused look. She brings a hand to his face and presses her lips against his. He doesn't move at first, but as Sophia kisses him gently, he seems to let himself get carried away. He holds the back of her neck firmly, and the kiss becomes more intense. She lays on the bed as he kisses her neck, he runs his hand down her chest, her waist . Sophia closes her eyes enjoying his tender touch, the touch she hasn't felt since her miscarriage, and she really missed it.
A knock on the door makes them come to a stop.
"Sophia? Adam? Is everything alright in there?" comes Mrs. Willis' voice.
They sit up, their faces flushed with embarrassment, they had forgotten where they were at. "Fine," replies Sophia rapidly. "We'll be out in a minute."
They turn to each other, they're feeling exposed, no secrets between them. He offers his arm and she loops hers on his. They share a smile.
Adam was right, they were getting through this.
Ò Ò Ò
Sophia takes a deep breath feeling fulfilled. She runs her hand tenderly down Adam's muscular chest, breathing in his manly scent. She hears his rapid heartbeats and smiles. It's been two weeks since they were together like this and she made sure to take full of advantage of it, leaving them both breathless and content.
The dark room reminds her of their very first night together. He was so gentle but strong at the same time. Every touch, every kiss timed so perfectly making her first time amazing.
"Do you remember your life before marrying me?" she asks suddenly.
"I do, not much to remember though."
Sophia doesn't believe a word. Her life before marriage included studying her wifely duties, piano lessons, buying expensive dresses and sadly, Daniel.
Adam's life included friends, balls, dinners, and flirtatious women encircling him every time he stepped out of a building. She wonders if he misses his old life.
"Remember all your friends from town? What happened to them?"
"I don't have any friends."
Sophia looks up at him in disbelief. "You do, or at least you did at one point. I remember seeing you about town surrounded by friends, everywhere you went they were there."
"You knew who I was before our engagement?" he asks astonished.
"Of course I did! You were a handsome, intelligent bachelor, every girl in town knew of you."
He smirks and tightens his grip around her.
"What happened? I haven't heard from any of your friends since the wedding," she continues. "Did I scare them all away?" she asks coming to a realization. If she's being honest with herself, she was a very dull, tedious girl, and she's not quite sure if that has changed.
He sits up and chuckles. "No, you could never scare anyone away. They weren't my friends, they were acquaintances."
"Don't you miss seeing them?"
Not understanding her sudden interest on his so called friends, he replies, "No. I don't need friends, I've got you."
"But you were so popular," she replies fervently.
"Sophia," he says making her stop. "I wasn't happy. My father believed that popularity is just another way of hiding one's loneliness, and he was actually correct. I didn't realize I was so lonely until I met you. Why do you think I didn't cancel our engagement when you gave me the option?"
Sophia smiles remembering their engagement party, the terrifying feeling she felt when Adam stood in front of the crowd awaiting a great speech. She remembers then the first time she set eyes on Adam Lancaster. She was fourteen, she and Gilda went to the market which is where she saw Adam with his acquaintances at the plaza reading, almost acting the Tales of Don Quixote. Girls watched them captivated by the eloquence of his words, and the sound of his deep voice. She was fascinated by his confidence, but even at her young age, she knew that he would never even look at her.
But now, they had just made love, and he held her so close as if he will never let go. She pulls away and grabs her favorite book from the night side table. She hands it to him, he flips through it confused.
"Read to me."
Adam furrows his eyebrows. "Read to you? Now?"
Sophia nods. "Yes. This is my favorite book, and you are my favorite reader."
Adam chuckles and opens the book to the first page, he kisses her forehead and without any more questions, he starts.
She's not really listening, instead, she positions herself under his arm and closes her eyes, letting the sound of his voice take her away.