Chapter 9 - The Unconditional Surrender
Sophia stepped onto the private balcony overlooking Millennium Park, the autumn wind whipping her hair around her face. Luke followed, closing the glass doors behind them, shutting out the stares and the music.
"You shouldn't have humiliated your mother like that," Sophia said quietly, staring at the distant city lights. "It doesn't change anything between us."
"I didn't do it to win you back," Luke said, his voice thick with emotion. "I did it because she deserved it. Because I was too blind, too cowardly, to see how she treated you for three years."
Sophia looked at him, surprised by the word *cowardly*. Luke Morgan had never admitted a flaw in his entire life.
"I found out about Aura," Luke continued, taking half a step closer, his hands clenched tightly in his pockets. "You built an empire with your bare hands, Sophia. You never asked me for an investment, an introduction, or a single dime. And I was so wrapped up in my own arrogance that I never realized you were standing beside me as an equal."
"I didn't want an empire, Luke," Sophia whispered, her voice breaking slightly. "I just wanted a partner. I wanted to come home to a man who saw me."
"I see you," Luke choked out, a single tear slipping past his defenses, glistening under the terrace lights. "I see you, Sophia. And I will spend every single day of my life proving it to you if you let me."
Sophia looked down at her gloved hands. "You asked me if I killed the baby, Luke. That wound doesn't heal with an apology."
Luke fell to his knees.
Right there, on the cold stone floor of the balcony, Chicago’s most ruthless tycoon knelt before her, his head bowed, his shoulders shaking with silent, wracking sobs.
"I'm sorry," Luke wept against the hem of her gown. "I was terrified. I thought I lost you, and then I thought I drove you to do something that broke your heart. Forgive me. Please, Sophia... forgive me."
Sophia looked down at the man at her feet. The coldness in her chest cracked, just a little.
"Get up, Luke," she whispered softly.
Luke slowly looked up, his face stained with tears, desperate for a shred of mercy.
May you like
Sophia gently removed her glove and placed her warm, bare hand flat against her lower stomach.
"The baby is safe," Sophia said. "I couldn't do it. But that doesn't mean I'm coming back to you."
