Chapter 30

CHAPTER THIRTY

ARTHUR

I had to take time off work on Friday because I was too torn apart to function. I managed to force myself into the office on Monday, but I wasn't truly there. I barely remembered the work I did and I would need to check over it later because I probably made a lot of mistakes. I was staring off into space, not even looking at my lunch, when Henry found me. He sat down next to me, chatty and happy like usual, but the look on my face must have tipped him off that something was wrong.

"Hey… You okay?"

I couldn't answer that. I mean, I could, the answer was no, but I couldn't say it out loud. In less than ten minutes, my life had fallen apart spectacularly, and I still hadn't recovered enough to even talk about it. This was my first weekend ever without Sophie. I still didn't know why Val had shown up so late on a Thursday night, but it wasn't like it mattered. She still took away my daughter without an ounce of remorse.

"Come with me."

Henry urged me out of my seat, guiding me with a hand on my shoulder out of the office. I followed blindly, too heartbroken to really care where we were going. When he pushed on my shoulder to force me onto a bench, I barely blinked, folding in on myself.

"Artie, talk to me. You look like someone died. What's wrong?"

It felt a little like someone had. Or that I had. I knew Henry was just trying to be my friend, and I didn't want to push him away, but I didn't want to admit out loud that I lost everything. It hurt too much.

He waited a little while, trying to give me a chance to work up the nerve to speak. That never happened and he let it go, letting out a long breath.

"I suppose this isn't a good time to tell you that my brother loved the demo you gave me. He's going to introduce himself at a show they have this week."

Blinking a few times, I looked over at him. I'd forgotten about that entirely. The news was bittersweet, but I offered Henry a small smile.

"That's great. Thank you for doing that."

Henry's brows drew in tighter. "I thought you'd be more excited. You were practically vibrating last week when I offered. Did something happen with you and your boyfriend?"

The question wasn't meant to hurt me, but it did more than I could readily admit. I actually grimaced and curled in on myself, the pain in my chest burning like fire. I missed him. I missed him so damn much. My divorce wasn't this painful, and I'd been with Val for ten years. But three days without Hendrix was buckling me. I regretted sending him away. I thought it'd make Val change her mind. Instead, I lost Sophie and Hendrix both. And I wasn't ever going to get them back.

Henry didn't ask about it again. He sat beside me, rubbing my back and offering me comfort, until it was time to go back to work. I made it through the rest of the day in a daze and barely remembered the drive home.

When I got the call from Hendrix, I ignored it. It hurt too much to answer him. I wanted to take back sending him away the minute I did, but I knew there wasn't a chance that Val would give Sophie back if he was still around. It felt like I was being torn in two between my daughter and the man I loved. A notification came up that he left me a message and for at least ten minutes, I tried to ignore it. I knew it'd only hurt me if I listened to it. And yet I couldn't stop myself. I put my phone to my ear, listening to his voice, and it hurt so much, I almost missed the message.

"Sophie ran away. I'm with her now at the park and we're waiting for her mom to come get her. I thought maybe you'd want to be here to talk to her."

My stomach dropped to my feet, and I stood frozen for a second before I burst into motion. Hendrix let me know in the message where Sophie was and I headed straight there, my heart thundering in my chest. She ran away. I never thought she'd do something like that. I knew this divorce was hard, and she was upset about what was happening, but I didn't realize she'd reached that level of upset. I rolled through stop signs, barely glancing around for traffic to get to Sophie faster.

I saw them when I parked. Hendrix and another demon were standing, talking to Val, who looked uncomfortable being near them. But my focus was on Sophie. She was standing by Val's side, her eyes on the ground and a backpack at her feet. She looked so upset and it tore at my insides.

Jerking the car into the nearest parking spot, I barely managed to park it properly and shut it off before I was racing to join them.

"Sophie!"

Her head whipped around and she shoved away from Val, tearing across the playground and throwing herself into my arms.

"Oh, sweetheart. I'm so glad you're okay."

She sobbed against my chest, clinging to me in a death grip. I took a second just to hold her, breathing in her strawberry shampoo. One weekend away from her was too hard. I couldn't handle another.

I'd never once fought Val's demands. I was so worried she'd take away Sophie completely that I gave in to whatever she wanted, just to make sure I had my time. But she was going to take Sophie away anyway. I needed to stand up for myself or I'd never see my daughter again.

My eyes opened, my gaze sweeping to where I last saw them. Val was headed our way, but I took a second to look at Hendrix. He looked just as broken as I felt, but he forced a small smile and dipped his chin before flying off with the other demon close behind him. I watched him go, my chest aching, until Val stood in front of me.

"What happened?" I demanded.

Her face hardened, objecting to my tone, but I deserved answers. I didn't miss the fact that Hendrix was the one to call me. Val never told me Sophie was missing or that they had found her. I knew without a shadow of a doubt, if she'd had her way, she would never have told me. That much was obvious from the look on her face.

"She ran away. She's fine now. I–"

"No, Val. She isn't." I hugged my crying girl tighter, glaring at my ex-wife. "What part of this is fine? How is her being so upset about what happened that she'd run away fine?"

Val crossed her arms over her chest, her chin lifted defiantly. I didn't understand where this had come from. This wasn't the woman I knew in college. Over time, she'd gotten worse and worse until she was hardly recognizable. This wasn't the same woman who refused to let our little girl sleep in a crib because she was too far from her.

"This doesn't change anything, Arthur. You–"

"Don't start," I snapped. "You want to bring me to court, then fine. I'll be more than happy to provide ample evidence that I'm a good father to our little girl. And I'll make sure to share with them that she is running away on your watch and that you refused to share that information with me. I'm done letting you push me around, Valeria. She's my daughter too. I'm not giving her up without a fight."

Val seethed, glaring at me, but a voice spoke behind her before she could reply. "We're not taking her from you. Right, Valeria?"

I didn't recognize the man behind her. He'd been waiting in the car, but came to join us now that we were talking. He was dressed in a smart suit and his black hair was combed back in Val's favorite style. I had to assume that was her boyfriend. She made me dress and look the same way when we'd been together. But unlike me, this guy screamed money and power. It made me a little nervous, my grip tightening on Sophie ever so slightly.

Val spun around to glare at the man, but he shot her a look and she stayed silent. Giving me his full attention, he offered me his hand. "I'm Lee. I'm sorry I haven't introduced myself sooner. I had an important client at work and I've been busy."

Shaking his hand, I kept my tight grip on Sophie. "You're the boyfriend. Sophie told me."

He nodded. "That's right. Though, I had been preparing to propose this weekend. I've put that on hold for now. I can't in good conscience marry a woman who would tear a little girl away from her father just because she didn't like the race or gender of who he was dating. It doesn't bode well for the future should we have any children ourselves."

Val looked both hurt and angry. I held little sympathy for her, not after what she'd done, but I cared about her once. I didn't want her to be unhappy.

"While I appreciate that, you shouldn't go into a relationship expecting it to fail. Val and I never would've worked out in the long run. That could be different for the two of you."

Val looked up, surprised. "You're… You're standing up for me? Why?"

Rubbing my hand slowly over Sophie's back, I fought with my emotions. I wanted to keep yelling, to tell her off for everything she'd done. But it wouldn't help the situation. I had to stay calm.

"I've always wanted you to be happy, Val. I spent ten years trying to make that happen. It didn't work out with us, but that doesn't mean I want things to go poorly for you now. I just want my daughter back."

Sophie's arms tightened around my neck at the mention of her being taken away. I leaned my head against hers, reminding her I was right there with her.

"Val and I have spent the weekend discussing this," Lee interjected. "I don't think it's right what she's been doing. And because I'm a lawyer, I warned her I'd take her cousin on if she continued. I love her, but I won't let her ruin your relationship with your daughter. If she wants to continue our relationship, she'll need to reevaluate how she treats her daughter's father."

I was stunned that this man was standing up for me. Especially against Val. She didn't look happy about it, but I also noticed that whenever he mentioned ending their relationship, she looked really hurt. She didn't want to lose her relationship with him. I guess she really did prefer a man with a backbone.

Lee looked at her expectantly, and Val sighed. "I won't sue for full custody." She shot Lee a frown before turning to me. "I was going to. I don't like the idea of Sophie around–"

Lee cleared his throat and Val backtracked a little.

"Well, anyway. I'm willing to discuss rearranging the visitation schedule. With planning the wedding and a future family, I'll be busy. I'm sure Sophie would like more one-on-one time with you."