Page 39 of Obsessive Love

I pat Jericho's shoulder as I walk past him, hoping he doesn't get too much of a badgering for speaking out of hand, and I leave the room as quickly as I can before I hear another word about Sophia come out of that man's mouth.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Sophia

"You're looking really well, darling. I hope that means that your new husband is treating you right," my mother says as she watches me shove another forkful of spaghetti into my mouth.

"She's looking well because her husband is quite literally never around. Therefore, she's not stressed out or having to fake anything."

My mother looks at Jaylen and frowns.

"He's never around?" she asks, looking between us as we continue to eat. We shake our heads in unison, too busy eating to reply with words. "Well, I assume he's busy with work and everything."

"It's not like it matters, Mum. We both understand that this marriage is a farce and there's nothing between us, so he can work all day, every day if he wants to. It won't make a difference to me," I tell her, shrugging.

From my peripheral vision, I see Jaylen push away his plate of food and check his watch again for the fifth time in the past hour.

"You got somewhere to be, Jay?" I ask, turning to him with raised brows, wondering what he's not telling me.

"We do, yeah," he says, waiting for my mother to take his plate over to the sink before he leans forward to continue speaking to me in a hushed tone. "Kaleb's told me he wants us back at Jericho's by eight."

"We have a curfew now?" I scoff, shaking my head. "There's no way we're going back by eight. Imagine the smug look on his face if we listened to his orders like a pair of little bitches."

"Soph, you know I'd usually agree with you, but he wants us home so that he can guarantee you're safe all night whilst he and Jericho are busy doing some business shit. You know what that means, right?" he asks with a mischievous smile on his face.

"We'll be alone in the house and have a chance to snoop around," I whisper, glancing over at my mother as she places the now-clean plate on the drying rack.

He nods, confirming that I've put the pieces together.

"I thought you didn't want to sneak around anymore?"

He rolls his eyes and scoffs. "They're basically telling us to, by informing us that they're going out all night. I can't get caught if they're not there."

"Okay, let me finish off this plate of spaghetti and then we'll go."

"Darling, that's your third plate. If you eat any more, you're going to make yourself sick," my mother says as she walks back over.

She cringes as I exaggeratedly eat another mouthful.

"Don't judge me. I haven't had an appetite for the past week, leave me alone and let me eat in peace."

Her brows furrow and she watches me with questioning eyes for a few moments before shaking her head and busying herself by flicking through the magazine in front of her.

It's two minutes to eight when we pull up in the driveway and as Jaylen parks the car, I stare out the window, watching Leo, Jericho, and Kaleb load up the back of the car with multiple black cases and duffel bags.

"Wondering what's in there?" Jaylen asks, humour laced in his tone. I nod, keeping my eyes on Kaleb as he zips up his black jacket. "Probably just weapons and supplies, nothing exciting."

"Weapons and supplies?" I echo, glancing at Jaylen.

"Yeah. They said they're out all night, following a lead or something, so I think it's safe to assume they're going after some of the Garcia family. Therefore, they'll need weapons and supplies."

I look back at Kaleb, watching as he loads the last few cases into the car, and a pang of worry courses through me.

"Honestly, Soph, I don't know why you look surprised," Jaylen says, chuckling. "Our family is exactly the same. It's just like when me, Dominic and your dad used to go out. Also, Kaleb is basically the enforcer for the Rossi's, so if he's going anywhere with them, then you know they expect it to be dangerous and messy."

"I guess I never really thought of it like that," I mutter. I slowly get out of Jaylen's car with my stomach in knots as I think about Kaleb and Jericho putting themselves in a dangerous situation tonight. I'm surprised by my own reaction and confused as to why I seem to be so worried about two men that I shouldn't care less about.

When I close the car door, Kaleb turns and his attention lands on me. His eyes scan my body from head to toe and a smallsmile graces his face as his eyes work their way back up. I ignore the butterflies that swarm inside my stomach when his eyes meet mine and I refuse to acknowledge the warmth that seeps through my bones when he walks towards me and lightly strokes his thumb against the palm of my hand.

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