Sophia’s POV:
TW: Mention of S/A & Past Trauma.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! I should smack myself in the face right now.
I called him, ‘my love’ not ‘babe, sweetheart’ but ‘my love’. You don’t think there’s a difference? Well, I do, okay? I have never called anyone ‘my love’ until now. I meant to say it in my head and move on but no.
He must think I’m desperate now, wouldn’t he? God, Sophia, you’re a mess. First he saw you at your weakest moment and now this? Oh fuck, does he know I love him, can he tell? I’d die of mortification if he had to find out this way.
I know I have to confess my feelings one day, but can that day NOT be today? I-
“Are you okay?” Ivan asked as he cupped my cheeks lightly.
Right, I got lost in my head. “I’m fine,” I reassured him.
“Look, if you’re not comfortable with telling me, you can just go to bed-”
“No,” I said quickly. I was really going to tell him. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to open up to my therapist about this, but if I was at least going to try, I needed to tell someone I trust. I’m not saying I don’t trust my friends. I do, they are my only family. But it is different with Ivan. I can’t explain it.
That must make me seem like a pathetic, sick-love fool right? But I don’t care anymore. It’s not like I can teach my heart who to love.
I let out a deep breath. “When I was thirteen, I had a private tutor, Mr Brown. Well, I liked him but not in the way he thought. I looked up to him, I didn’t have any adults in my life. Well, my dad was here but absent.”
I paused, swallowing hard as Ivan’s arm held me tighter. “He was my tutor for two years, he taught me most things. Things parents should teach their children. I remember wishing he was my dad instead. And when he started making these little weird gestures, I didn’t understand it but I knew they made me uncomfortable. Until one day, he tried to force himself on me, in my bedroom. He’d almost succeeded but the gardener saved me.”
I said it out all in one breath as memories of that night came flooding in, my chest clenched painfully as tears began to blur my vision. But then I felt Ivan’s warm lips pressed to my forehead and then he moved to kiss my right eyes.
I sniffled and continued. “I felt sad, betrayed, and most of all it broke my heart. I thought, ‘Finally, an adult who cared about me, who didn’t act like I was invisible.’ It broke me.”
Ivan kissed my head gently. “I’m so sorry, princess. I’m so sorry you had to go through all that,” he whispered.
Tears flowed freely from my eyes now involuntarily. “You know what hurt the most? When dad came back and heard what had happened, he…he blamed me,” I laughed bitterly. “I mean… he did punish my tutor though. But he said it was my fault and I may have seduced him the way my mother had seduced him.”
Ivan’s grip on me tightened. “It’s good he’s dead,” he said through clenched teeth. He pulled away and cupped my cheeks with both hands. “I hope you know your father was a bastard and it was never your fault. You should have never gone through that. I wish you had someone who you could trust.”
More tears spilled from my eyes and my body trembled with quiet sobs. For years I kept that incident to myself. Dad had made me feel ashamed of what had happened, so I buried those horrible memories, locking them away until Harry opened them up.
As if reading my thoughts. “Trust me to handle Harry,” he said, wiping tears from my face. “Do you trust me, solnyshko?”
I nod slightly. “Yes.”
“Good, I’ll make him pay for what he did to you.”
“How?” I asked, resting my head on his shoulder. “We’ve seen how he’s gone to ruin my reputation. No one would believe I’m the victim or even send him to prison.”
“Just leave that to me. I’ll never let you fall. I’ll protect you, no matter what.”
Seconds later I fell into a deep sleep knowing one thing for sure… Ivan may not love me but he cares for me.
Ivan’s POV:
6:56 am
I place a gentle kiss on her forehead before moving away carefully to avoid waking her. I needed to get down to business and make sure my plan was ready. After what she’d told me hours ago, I didn’t think there was anything on earth that would make me spare Harry.
I wish I had made her father suffer a little more before killing him. Now I had one more fucker to teach a lesson. Leaving her room, I headed to mine and picked up my phone, dialling Sid’s number.
On the second ring, it connects.
“What’s up?” He asked.
“I need you to gather more evidence on Harry’s dirty dealings, I need the contacts of those he does these businesses with, his partners, every single thing you can find on Harry. As soon as he clears Sophia’s name, we’ll execute my plan.”
“Sure thing, boss. Anything else?”
“Yes, I need you to find one fucker for me. I don’t have his information. I just know he was Sophia’s tutor, Mr Brown. Find him and take him to the warehouse. I’ll let you know if you should do anything else.”
“Okay,” He says and I hung up.
I had a lot of things to do to make things right. Harry’s speech to clear her name would only be the first step to helping Sophia. I am not stupid, I know there’s only a little an interview with Harry could do. That asshole might not even keep to his word and that is why there would be a plan B.