Terms of Affection

Chapter Two

Sophie stood frozen in the elevator, her mind racing. The doors opened to the lobby, but she couldn’t move. The image of Ethan with another woman, his fiancée, was burned into her mind.

She stumbled out of the building, the fresh air doing little to clear her head. Her phone buzzed with a call from her best friend, Lisa.

“Have you seen it?” Lisa asked.

“Yeah, I saw it,” Sophie whispered, her voice trembling.

“Are you okay? Where are you?”

“I… I don’t know. I’m just outside his building.”

“Stay there. I’m coming to get you,” Lisa said firmly.

Minutes later, Lisa’s car pulled up, and Sophie climbed in, tears streaming down her face. Lisa wrapped her in a hug, letting her cry.

“This can’t be true, right? She asked her friend with tear stricken eyes. “It's a joke, a prank or something.”

Lisa reached out to give her shoulders a gentle squeeze. “It's right there on the news.”

“How could he do this?” Sophie sobbed. “He never said anything about being engaged.”

“I don’t know, Soph. But you need to get away from here, at least for today,” Lisa said gently.

Lisa drove them to a quiet park, where they sat on a bench overlooking a serene lake. Sophie wiped her tears, trying to calm down.

“I thought… I thought he cared about me,” Sophie said, her voice breaking.

“I thought so too. I mean the way he showers you with gifts, expensive sh*ts too.”

“Anyway you need to calm down so we can go for lectures. You know the courses we are taking today.”

Sophie thought about that and decided that her friend was right. There is no use crying over spilled milk.

After all it was just a contract - be his girl for 5 years and then they go their separate ways. But she had gone and fallen in love with him… and that is against the terms.

She broke down and sobbed a little.

“Oh my darling. If you are not up to it, I can take you to my house to rest and I’ll tell the lecturer you're sick,” Lisa added.

“No, it's okay.” Sophie said. “I’ll go to school. I can’t let this stop my life. I just got into my finals and now is definitely not the time to drop school or slack in my studies.”

She went into a nearby store and washed her face in the restroom. Then she reapplied her makeup quickly. It was easy because she was never one to apply heavy makeup anyway.

Few minutes later they were in school and after the lectures of the day they decided to grab some lunch in the school cafeteria.

“Well, if it ain't miss goody goody?” someone said.

She turned around to see the owner of the voice and sure enough it was Emily, the one who is always jealous of her. She tries to compete with her in everything and also tries to pick on her every chance she gets.

Sophie has always ignored her, in fact she only registered her existence when she hooked up with Stan.

“Oh, is it miss ‘you are too poor for me’?” a man’s voice said, laughing. Sophie turned to see Stan.

Think of the devil and he appears.

“Oh come on Stan. Why are you talking like this?” that was Lisa trying to defend Sophie.

“Why are you sticking up for her? Or is it because she gave you some of the gold she dug?” Emily asked her, smiling.

“What?” Lisa who is always ready for a fight wanted to rush to her but Sophie held her back.

“Don’t waste time on her. She is not worth it.” she said, eyeing Emily.

“At least, I’m better than you, gold digger!” Emily shouted at her. There was murmurs and whispers around the room. “Yeah, now the man is tired and has decided to leave you for the real gold.”

Lisa moved again but Sophie stopped her.

“At least I got gold,” Sophie told her. “Unlike you who picks up the thrash I reject.”

Emily’s face turned red. Lisa was laughing as Sophie dragged her out of the room.

“Come on, let’s go have lunch at the restaurant across the road.”

“Girl that was hot, you shut Emily up for good.” Lisa said as soon as they finished their lunch.

Sophie was smiling too. “Though technically Stan and I were never together. He was just pestering me back then.”

“And immediately you said no, he jumped into Emily’s arms,” Lisa countered.

“I was surprised too. As if he was waiting for me to give him a reason to go to her.”

“Bet he won’t sleep easy tonight.” Lisa smirked. “Serves him right. Next time he will think twice before chipping in words in her favor ”

Sophie’s mood changed slightly “he won’t be the only one not sleeping easy tonight.”

“Oh darling. You can stay at my place for as long as you want.” Lisa said as he took her friend’s hands across the table and squeezed in affection.

“Thanks, I appreciate that.”

Just then a group of girls came and sat in the booth closest to them but they were sitting back to them. The restaurant used that arrangement to grant a bit of privacy to people in different booths.

“Vanessa said the engagement will be streamed live on her i********: page.” one of the girls squeaked in joy.

“I would not miss it for anything in the world.” another girl said.

“I always wondered what the billionaire Ethan saw in that plain girl that hangs around him.” the third girl chirped in.

Sophie’s eyes clouded.

The first girl continued “Yes. Vanessa is more his class. She is exactly the type of woman he needs by his side. Not that Sophia or whatever her name is”

“Anyway,” the second girl said, “he probably used her to satisfy his urges till he’s ready to get married.”

“Is that what you think?” the third girl asked them. “I bet she is the user, hanging on to him for what she can get from him.”

“Hmm…you may be right.” the first girl said. “Anyway, thank God he has woken up and chosen substance over flash.”

“More like thrash,” the third girl added, and they all burst out laughing.

Sophie stood up and walked out of the restaurant with tears glistening in her eyes and Lisa rushed out to join her.