The Choice I Made

Arthur stood in the open doorway, his attention fixed on us. His eyes moved from my face to Alexander’s hand holding mine before settling on the bag hanging from my shoulder.

“I told you to step away from him, Sophie.”

My fingers tightened around Alexander’s. I wanted to put some distance between myself and Arthur, but stepping away from Alexander would mean obeying another one of his orders.

Arthur left the doorway and walked down the garden path, stopping several feet away.

“What exactly do you think you’re doing out here at this hour?”

“I think it’s obvious,” I replied.

His gaze dropped to my bag. “You’re leaving?”

“Yes.”

He turned towards Alexander. “What are you doing on my property?”

“Sophie contacted me because she needed help leaving,” Alexander answered.

“And you thought that gave you the right to come here in the middle of the night?”

“She asked me to meet her.”

“You were warned to stay away from my wife.”

“I remember. But she contacted me herself. I didn’t force her to come outside, and I haven’t forced her to leave with me.”

Arthur gave a humourless laugh. “You expect me to believe this has nothing to do with you interfering in my marriage?”

“You can believe whatever you want about me. Sophie is standing here because she made a choice.”

“This is between my wife and me.”

“Then let her speak.”

Arthur’s attention returned to me. His presence still made me nervous, but I couldn’t allow that fear to make my decision for me.

“Come inside, Sophie,” he ordered.

I shook my head.

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“I heard you.”

“Then come inside.”

“No, Arthur.”

His expression changed. I had refused him before, but rarely to his face when he was standing there demanding obedience.

“You were told to remain in your room,” he said. “Instead, you packed your belongings and arranged to meet another man behind my back.”

“I waited until I could leave without attracting attention.”

“You planned this?”

“I had to.”

“You’re my wife, Sophie. If you had a problem, you should have waited for me to deal with it.”

“I’ve been waiting, Arthur. I’ve waited while you accused me of things I didn’t do. I’ve endured your cousin’s threats and your father’s assault. How much longer did you expect me to stay in that house?”

His expression hardened. “I told you I would deal with it.”

“You said that after I told you what happened. But you didn’t tell me what you were going to do, and you didn’t give me any reason to believe I would be safe while you handled it.”

“What exactly do you expect me to do? Throw my father out of his own house? Have Julian arrested? Do you think these things can be settled in a few hours?”

“I don’t expect you to settle everything in a few hours. I expected to feel safe in the place where I live, and I haven’t.”

Arthur looked away briefly, pressing his lips together. “You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into by leaving with him.”

“I know what I’m leaving behind.”

“And you think Alexander is going to take care of you?”

“I didn’t ask him to take care of my life. I asked him to help me get out of here.”

Arthur turned towards Alexander again. “You seem very interested in helping my wife.”

“I’m interested in helping someone who asked me for help. What happens after tonight is her decision.”

I was grateful Alexander hadn’t made promises about what he could offer me. I barely knew him, but he understood that helping me leave didn’t give him the right to decide what happened next.

Arthur stepped closer, and I instinctively drew back. His gaze moved to my face before settling on my bag.

“You could have spoken to me before doing this,” he said. “You could have given me the opportunity to handle the situation without dragging another man into our marriage.”

“You found out about the letter, questioned me about Alexander, and told me to stay in my room. You didn’t ask what I needed. You gave me another order.”

“I was trying to prevent this from getting worse.”

“For whom?”

He didn’t answer.

I shifted the strap of my bag, wincing as it rubbed against the bruising on my upper arm. I was still frightened of Arthur, but I wasn’t going to let him turn my decision to leave into another order I had to obey.

“Do you understand what leaving with Alexander means?” he asked. “You’re walking away from your marriage with another man. You know what people will say.”

“I understand.”

“You’ll be giving everyone a reason to question you.”

“People have questioned me since the day I married you. I can’t spend the rest of my life trying to satisfy people who don’t care what happens to me.”

“And what happens when you discover he isn’t what you think he is?”

“I’ll deal with that when it happens.”

“You barely know him.”

“I know that I asked him for help, and he came. That’s more than I can say for the people in this house who were supposed to protect me.”

Arthur looked unsettled, but it didn’t erase the months of cruelty or make me forget how often he had used his position as my husband to control me.

“Put the bag down,” he said.

“No.”

“Sophie.”

“I said no.”

Alexander’s hand loosened around mine. When I glanced at him, he was watching me rather than Arthur.

“Do you still want to leave?” he asked quietly.

I looked at Arthur. I remembered his orders to remain in my room, his accusations over Alexander’s business card, Mr Oliver’s hands forcing me against his desk, and Julian dragging me into the storage room. I also remembered the sketchbook I had packed and the drawings I had kept hidden. My art was one of the few things in my life that still belonged to me.

I didn’t know what awaited me beyond the estate. I didn’t know where Alexander would take me or how I would manage once I was away from the only home I had known since marrying Arthur. But staying meant accepting that nothing would change simply because Arthur had finally heard the truth.

“Yes,” I told Alexander. “I still want to leave.”

He nodded and waited for me to move.

Arthur’s face hardened. “If you walk out of here tonight, don’t expect me to pretend this never happened.”

“I haven’t asked you to.”

“You’re making a mistake.”

“Perhaps. But it’s mine to make.”

His attention shifted to Alexander. “You will regret involving yourself in this.”

Alexander remained calm. “I haven’t asked you for anything.”

“You should understand that this isn’t finished.”

“I understand that Sophie wants to leave.”

I stepped slightly ahead of Alexander. I didn’t want him speaking for me, and I didn’t want Arthur believing that threatening him would change my mind.

“You may still call me your wife, Arthur, but you no longer get to decide where I belong.”

For a moment, Arthur said nothing. Then he stepped directly into our path, forcing us to stop.

“You think walking away will make you free of this family?” he asked. “You have no idea what I’ve already discovered about the letter you sent.”

My stomach tightened.

“What are you talking about?”

Arthur glanced at the bag on my shoulder before looking back at me.

“Your plan to leave isn’t the only thing I know about, Sophie.”