I turn the steering wheel to the right when the traffic light turns green.

I see Sophia out of the corner of my eye, she has been quiet since we got into her car.

I look in the mirror at some textbooks on the back seat.

"Are you planning to study today?" Sophia turns to look at me. I point to the books, and she understands my comment.

She looks at the books for a few seconds and then sighs.

"I should, but I feel like I haven't slept in months." she replies, hugging herself. I turn down the air conditioning a little, allowing me time to watch her as we get stuck in a little traffic. "Why?"

Her green eyes fill with curiosity. I smile at her.

"I want you to go somewhere with me." I say, laughing when she squints doubtfully. "I won't introduce you to another crazy stepmother, I promise."

Her laughter floods the car, the heaviness in my chest eases a little.

I almost sigh in relief when I see that the little art gallery is still open.

I may have asked Mr. Jones in one of my last calls for advice on where to take... A friend.

I may have wanted to throw myself down the stairs in embarrassment after hanging up.

In a small and very detailed list of places in town I received one caught my eye.

Both Luna and Asher have mentioned occasionally that Sophia really enjoys art, and although that's the reason she didn't decide to study something in that department, it's just one of the many things I still hope to learn about her.

I parked the car, I opened her door, helping her out.

Because of her platform-less sneakers, Sophia has to jump out.

Her smile grows when she sees the sign.

"I didn't know you liked art." she says, approaching the girl at the door, who is handing out the brochures with the itinerary.

"I must admit I've become a fan lately." I say, thinking of the painting Luna painted, a painting that hangs in my house.

We enter the small gallery together, it's not so crowded because they close in a few hours.

We walk through the aisles, listening to the stories of the artists, buying some souvenirs made by them and giving our opinion about some of the sculptures exhibited.

I offer her a iced coffee.

Sophia looks up from a book she bought, one full of poems with illustrations that a short girl with pink hair was selling.

"Thank you." she thanks me, taking her purse off the bench so I can sit next to her.

I approach her, trying to read the poem, frowning as I see that it is a poem a daughter writes to her mother, forgiving her for all her past sins.

I move a little away from her, her eyes following my movements.

"What is your mother like, Young?" Her eyes fill with sadness.

Sophia closes the book, thinking about her words.

My throat closes. I can no longer contain my curiosity.

I know her mother is dead, I know she passed away from a slow, painful illness when Sophia was barely sixteen.

"She wa... She's the most foolish person in the world." her words surprise me enough to make me laugh.

Sophia stares at my smile for a few seconds before smiling tenderly.

"Well, you had to come from someone," I say, her mouth drops open in indignation, but she gives me one of her beautiful laughs.

"My mother always took care of me. She never let me see how hard it was to be a single mother, she never stopped smiling, even when her whole body ached or when she had so few hours of sleep, but she still needed to take an extra shift. When I realized that money was tight, I wanted to get out of my painting classes, but when she found out, she got mad like I had never seen her before. She told me she would take two more jobs if she needed them, but to never give up what I loved most."

I move closer to her, joining my hands with hers. Sophia smiles, not pulling my hands away.

"She sounds like an amazing mother." I say.

Sophia sighs, wetting her lips with her tongue.

"The problem is, she was too good to keep secrets."

Sophia walks out of the restaurant with Oli, the blond offering to walk her to her car.

Asher had to leave quickly, his father needed to discuss a few things urgently.

I play with the straw in my almost empty glass.

When Luna sees Oli and Sophia leave the restaurant she turns to me with narrowed eyes.

I roll my eyes in exasperation, looking forward to this conversation, but not ready at all.

Luna laughs, pouring me some more drink from the large pitcher they brought us with our meal.

"Don't look at me like that, you know I need to know all the details." I smile sideways, watching as the redhead in front of me puts her hands on her chin, waiting for me to tell her everything.

"There's nothing to tell." I fold my arms, leaning back in the chair, trying to put as much space between us as possible.

The girl is intimidating, I must admit.

Now she's the one rolling her eyes.

"Asher's really okay with what happened," she says, as if that will get me talking. "The question here is, why didn't you stop Asher when he told you he was going to propose?"

My brow furrows at the question.

"Why would I stop him?"

"Because you love her." his words leave me silent for a second. "But you already knew that." Luna cocks her head. "You didn't stop it because you weren't sure if you loved her, if you knew, then why?"

"Maybe because I think she deserves someone like Asher."

Someone normal, someone who has no connection to her past, to her present, but who can be someone in her future.

Because, even though I don't quite know what part I'll have in her plan, there's a chance she won't want me after it's all over. Having Ash, the only normal thing after....

Why wouldn't I want something like that for her?

Luna frowns, annoyed by the comment. Not because she thinks Asher wouldn't be a good fit for any, but because she thinks I don't think I would be.

Fuck, I wish I was, for her, I'd be everything I am and what I'm not.

Oli walks into the restaurant, sits down next to Luna, taking one of the last pieces of pizza before shoving it in his mouth.

I entered the office, followed by Silas. The boy had gone out to buy something for dinner.

We sit at a small table away from the computers, enjoying the replay of a game from the next town over on TV.

A window opens on one of the screens, drawing our attention to it.

Silas curses when he sees that they were just about to go to penalties.

He stands up.

"Oh." his voice is alarming enough to make me get up from my seat.

I walk toward him just as he turns around.

"We have a job."

I cover as much of my head as I can with my waterproof jacket.

The rain is pouring down, I have to squint to get a good view from the terrace of the dark building.

I've spent almost twenty minutes in the rain waiting for the fucking car to arrive.

Silas wasn't happy to do this kind of legwork, but he knows how risky it would have been if I had been the person doing the transaction, not when the governor knows who I am.

The job was simple: blackmail him with a scandalous photo, ask him to come to this place with a bag full of money, and that's it.

The photo is not nearly the worst thing the governor has done—a mild scandal that would pass in time, but with the election so close... We'll see how badly he wants to risk it.

I adjust my jacket once more, spotting the black-haired girl sitting at one of the tables in the restaurant across the street.

From where I am, she looks calm, sipping her iced drink. But her eyes are dark, not for a moment taking them away from the building next to me, where a car has just arrived.

I watch as the governor steps out of it, when he opens his umbrella I can only see his shadow thanks to the few street lamps.

It seems like an eternity that it takes Oli's father to return to the car without the bag he was carrying, before he disappears into the heavy night.

The message arrives a few seconds later, confirmation from Silas.

As does the girl's reply.

"You can keep the money."

I frown, looking up to look at her, but she's no longer at the table. I walk as fast as I can down the building, ignoring Silas' calls.

I reach the restaurant, barely approaching to avoid being noticed. When I'm sure she's not there, I enter the restaurant. Not caring about getting everything wet, I walk to the table.

Seeing the small napkin she has left with a message.

A mischievous smile appears on my face.

"I lost the bet, I owe you dinner."