Chapter 117

• "Is that what you both want? Are you sure? You can forgive Leon?" Mother follows Sophia as she seats Glenda, her tone wary, sliding her hand around Sophia's arm to pause her as she pulls another seat out and turns her to her with a serious expression. There's deep concern etched on her pretty face. "Don't do this for the sake of your parents or me. We were wrong ever to force you together. To put so much worth on POLO and the future of our family legacy as though you, our children, were not important to us. If that's what this is..." Her expression is crestfallen and not what Sophia expected. There is a slight hint of fear in her eye and something deeper that Sophia can only decipher as genuine worry.
• "No, Mother. It's not. I love him, I always did, and he loves me too.... Before... we were going through the motions and never really tried to be something real. Leon was never on board with us, but now it's different. It's what we both want for ourselves."
• "He always loved you, but we made him resent it. What happened with our little.... it was my fault. I didn't take care of you. I pushed you and made you lose her. I know that, and I couldn't admit it for so long. I don't want to lose you again, Sophia. I don't need you to be together. I just need for you to be alive and happy, wherever that is. A place I can visit and spend time with you and know you're living the way that best fills your heart." She seems genuine, and it fills Sophia's heart and makes her chest ache with words she never expected from her. A lump forming in her throat and giving her pangs of heartache. The mention of Tia, the acknowledgment of wrongdoing on her part too. The love is shining through, and Sophia gets choked up. She needed this more than she ever thought, and she impulsively takes her mother's hand and squeezes it tight.