Author’s Note:

This is the conclusion of the story. Just a fair warning, there are no sex scenes. I intended this to be a longer chapter, or several more chapters, but life got in the way. In the end, this felt like the best ending to me for Sophie’s story. Also just wanted to thank those who reached out and let me know how much they enjoyed the story and looked forward to the ending. It always means a lot to hear from you, so I hope you enjoy.

*****

Sophie woke the next morning, and was surprised not to see Brandon at the table. Only her mother was home, having the usual inane argument with her personal chef. Sophie sat down and poured a bowl of cereal.

“Where’s Brandon?” Sophie asked, as her mother came into the dining room.

“Oh, he had to leave early, I’m sure he will be around later,” Jessica replied to her daughter, betraying no emotion. “Anyway, I have to go into the studio this morning.”

“So early, didn’t you get in late?” Sophie inquired.

“Oh, we need to do some re-shoots, you know how these things go,” replied Jessica, turning to leave and smirking to herself. She was ready to put part 1 of her plan into motion. “See you later, dear,” Jessica said to Sophie as she left.

“Ok, bye,” said Sophie. That was weird, she thought, but quickly forgot about it. She was supposed to meet Diego this morning anyway. He had asked for help in picking a dorm at NYU. As she got ready to leave, her cell phone rang. It was Brandon.

“Sophie, I need to see you this morning. Meet me at the Starbucks at the top of the hill,” Brandon said.

“Why can’t you just come here?” Sophie asked.

“I just can’t right now, but I need to talk to you,” he replied. Sophie agreed and hung up the phone. What Sophie didn’t know was this particular Starbucks was a favorite hangout for photographers, including one who had just been given a tip about a scandal involving a famous star and her daughter.

Sophie arrived and spotted Brandon in the corner. She went over to talk with him.

“I don’t have much time, is something wrong?” Sophie asked dismissively. Increasingly, she realized she only liked being with Brandon for one thing. She really didn’t have the desire to be spending more time talking with him.

“Sophie, I want to tell your mother about us. I want us to be together,” said Brandon, grabbing Sophie by the hands.

“Are you nuts!” Sophie replied incredulously, pulling her hands away. “We can’t do that. I thought this was just fun.”

“It’s more than that for me now, isn’t it for you?” Brandon asked. “We can make it work.”

“How do you figure that?” replied Sophie. “Look, I think this has gone too far. Maybe we should slow things down.”

“I have to go, just think about it,” Brandon said quickly. This was really making him nauseous, so he just wanted to do what Jessica asked and get out of here. He got up, and as part of the plan, kissed Sophie on the lips and walked away.

Sophie was stunned that he would kiss her in public like that. There were in the corner and no one appeared to notice. She left to meet Diego, puzzled over what to do. This appeared to come out of nowhere; she didn’t think Brandon had any interest in a real relationship. Sophie certainly didn’t, and realized this needed to end before her life blew up.

Unfortunately for her, she didn’t notice the photographer across the street taking pictures of Brandon and Sophie as they talked. Her life had already been blown up, she just didn’t realize it yet.

After meeting with Diego, she went home and prepared what she wanted to say to Brandon to end things. Only, he didn’t show up that night, or the night after. Sophie attempted to ask her mother casually what happened, but she was evasive. ‘Maybe they actually broke up,’ she thought. It only made her more determined to end things with Brandon, whenever he did try to contact her.

But that call never came. Instead, a few days later Jessica walked into her room with a magazine in her hand. She dropped it on the bed, and Sophie looked at the cover in horror. Under the title “Star’s Daughter Steals Her Boyfriend,” there were two pictures: one of Brandon and Sophie holding hands, the other of them kissing.

“Mom, I can explain…” Sophie began…but Jessica cut her off.

“No need, dear, I know all about your little affair with him,” Jessica replied to the horrified face of her daughter. “Who do you think tipped off the tabloids?”

“What…why…” Sophie sobbed.

“Oh dear, you need to toughen up. This is going to be a good lesson for you,” Jessica started. “You’ll just have to weather the paparazzi for a few weeks, then everyone will forget this, and you will be set in this town. You should be thanking me.”

“What, for ruining my life!” Sophie shouted. “How could you do this to me!”

“Please, I didn’t tell you to fuck my boyfriend,” Jessica shot back. “That’s on you. Luckily, you have a mother who knows how to turn these kinds of things to our advantage.”

Suddenly, pendik escort it dawned on Sophie. “The coffee shop, with Brandon, you set all that up…”

“Of course dear,” her mother replied calmly. “I admit at first I was upset at finding you were sleeping with Brandon, but I quickly realized I could use it in a way to further my career. The sympathy for me will be through the roof. It’s going to lead to great roles for me.”

“But Brandon…he was a part of this,” Sophie realized he was a jerk, but she had no idea just how bad he was until now.

“Yes, Brandon cares more about his career than you, dear,” Jessica laughed. “Once I explained that he could use this to re-cement his image as the bad boy of Hollywood, he jumped at the chance. Frankly, his career was much more successful when people saw him for the asshole he is. And it doesn’t get much worse than sleeping with your girlfriend’s daughter.”

“But, what about me?” Sophie asked in horror.

“Relax dear, like I said the next few weeks will be tough, but after that the last part of my plan kicks in,” Jessica began. “We stage a reconciliation for the press, and after that your ticket will be set in this town. You’ll be the bad girl who is making good.”

“Of course, you’ll have to move out, I can’t have you staying here right now,” Jessica explained. “Why don’t we put you up in the Beverly Hilton for a few days, the paparazzi will get some really great pictures of you entering in disgrace.”

“You’re sick…I want no part of your evil plan!” hissed Sophie.

“Well, you’re welcome to go it on your own,” Jessica said patronizingly. “Frankly, I must admit a part of me is proud of you. I didn’t think you could be this bad. We could definitely work with that in the future. But right now, you need to learn a lesson.”

“Stay away from me!” Sophie screamed. She ran up the stairs and packed her things as quickly as she could…she needed to get out of here. There was only one person she knew in town to help her. She placed a frantic call to Diego, who agreed to pick her up. He had just seen the story, but knew there was some sort of explanation. There had to be; the Sophie he knew wouldn’t do something like this.

When Diego arrived, photographers were already at the gate of the Norton mansion, looking for the first picture of the bad daughter. He was able to make his way in, and Sophie quickly rushed to his car, cameras clicking as she moved. Diego floored it upon leaving the house, and eventually they out maneuvered the paparazzi on their motorcycles.

He drove her north, toward Santa Barbara. They figured she could hole up in a hotel there until things blew over. On the drive, Diego finally asked her the $64,000 question. He didn’t want to believe Sophie had done anything wrong.

“I’m so sorry Diego…things just happened…this is why I didn’t want to get involved with you,” Sophie wailed, finally calming down and explaining the whole sordid affair as quickly as she could. Diego just listened, saying nothing.

Finally, after long moments of silence, Sophie asked, “Diego, please say something.”

“I’ll drive you to the hotel, and check you in to make sure no one notices who you are,” Diego said, looking away from Sophie the whole time. “After that, you’re on your own. I just can’t help you anymore. I’m sorry.”

“I understand,” Sophie said quietly. “I never meant to hurt you.”

Diego said nothing else until they reached the hotel. After checking her in under an assumed name, he brought her bags to the room. Despite everything, he still cared for Sophie. She had made a terrible mistake, and had broken his heart. But she was still a person, and someone who was utterly alone in this city now. He knew the vultures would find her here eventually.

“Is there anyone else I can call for you?” Diego asked. “Someone that can help you out?”

“Only my family,” sniffed Sophie. Upon saying that, she looked at her phone. She had dozens of text messages and calls from her father and stepmother back in Pennsylvania. Her father was already on the way out to pick her up; he would be there tonight.

“My father is coming,” said Sophie, sobbing. “He’ll be here in a few hours.”

“I’ll wait with you until then,” Diego said. “You shouldn’t be alone.” In that moment, Sophie realized that Diego was 1,000 times the man that Brandon was. How could she have been so stupid?

Her father arrived that night. Diego left quietly soon after that, leaving father and daughter to discuss what happened. Sophie was so ashamed; while her mother was awful for trying to use this to her advantage, the fact was that Sophie had done plenty wrong herself. In a way, Sophie felt she deserved this horrible fate.

She tried to begin explaining to her father, but all that came out was, “Daddy I’m so sorry!” She then fell in a heap into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. In that moment, Robert Walsh realized at least a part of the story was true; his daughter had indeed been maltepe escort involved with Brandon Harris. But as she calmed down and explained her mother’s involvement in the story, Robert slowly built up with rage for his ex-wife.

Sophie had screwed up, terribly, Robert realized, and was paying a dear price. But no one deserved this, not even from a stranger, let alone her own mother. Robert cursed himself for putting his daughter into this position. He had been the one to encourage his daughter to make this trip. He knew Jessica was a selfish person, but he never imagined she could sink this low.

After calming his daughter down, and assuring her that while she had messed up he still loved her and would always be there for her, he asked her to stay at the hotel and not answer the door. He had one stop to make before he got his daughter out of here.

Robert sped his rental car right to the beachside mansion. He had only been here a few times, to drop off a young Sophie for some of her ill-fated meetings with her mother. He promised himself this would be the last time either of them stepped foot in this house. But first, he needed to confront his ex-wife.

The paparazzi had abandoned the mansion by the time Robert arrived, allowing him free access. Jessica was holed up with her agents and publicists, figuring out how best to use the story to her advantage. As her butler answered the door, she saw Robert with a murderous look on his normally mild mannered face.

“Robert, you got here quickly,” Jessica started. She was not intimidated by her pushover of an ex-husband. “I assume you know where Sophie is. We could use your help to spin this to all our benefit.”

“I only came here to tell that from this point on, any relationship you had with Sophie is over,” Robert said, holding his rage as best he could. “You will not contact her ever again, we don’t want your money, your gifts, or anything to do with you. From this point on, you are dead to her, and to me.”

“Don’t be melodramatic, Robert. You need us to manage all this. Do you really think you can handle this by yourself!” Jessica scoffed.

“Yes, I do, and I will,” Robert replied. “I know how this town works. After a few days, people move on to the next story, the next scandal. If there is no news to break, the story dies. And right now, the only person they want to hear from is Sophie. And with god as my witness, I promise you that no one will get that interview.”

“What are you going to do, hide out for a few weeks? You can’t afford to do that, eventually someone will find you.” Jessica replied. “It will be so much easier if you just worked with us. My plan will work if you let it.”

“What, your plan to reap all the benefits off your broken daughter. Even I never thought you could sink that low. Calling the paparazzi to set up your own daughter?”

“Look, every situation provides an opportunity. I didn’t tell her to get involved with Brandon, but I might as well use it to my advantage. I’ll have the dumb public eating out of my hands with this for months.”

“Good luck with that, but we don’t need your help,” Robert replied. “We’ll go it alone. Don’t ever contact us again.”

“Suit yourself, Robert,” Jessica said mockingly. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” With that she closed the door. Robert breathed a deep breath, mentally patting himself on the back for not strangling Jessica. He also stopped the recording on his cell phone.

From there, he placed an anonymous call to a tabloid, offering them a free tape of Jessica Norton admitting how she set up her daughter. Suddenly, the story was no longer about the bad daughter, it was about the awful, calculating mother.

Robert returned to his daughter. At first, she wouldn’t open the door until she was sure it was him.

“I took care of everything, sweetheart, now let’s get the hell out of here.” Robert said as he hugged his daughter.

“How, where will we go?” sobbed his daughter.

“We’ll just drive. You always wanted to see the country right? Well this is our chance. Trust me, the story is not about you anymore,” Robert said confidently.

“What did you do?” she asked, tears running down her cheeks.

Robert wiped them away and kissed her forehead. “I’ll explain in the car. Just know that I’ll do anything to protect my daughter.”

As they drove, Robert explained what happened. Even in her current state, Sophie had to smile at the ingenuity of her father. He had completely spun the story around, and now it was set to blow up in her mother’s face.

It didn’t absolve Sophie from her behavior, and she knew that. She had acted terribly, and her mother had every right to be mad. But no mother should ever take it as far as Jessica, no real mother would ever think to do such a thing.

Sophie realized then that her relationship with Jessica was over; they had both done their part to kill it, and now it was best it stayed dead. She knew her mother was resourceful, and would eventually kartal escort find a way to land on her feet. But she wouldn’t be able to do it by stepping over Sophie.

Robert drove all night, north to Lake Tahoe. There, Sophie was met with an even bigger surprise. Her stepmother (no, her mother Sophie told herself) and brothers were waiting for her at the secluded lodge. Robert had a lot of time to think on the plane ride here, and called his wife with his plan when he landed. From here, they would drive their way back to the East coast together, as a family.

The Walsh family had a great time on their impromptu vacation. Sophie colored her hair blond so as not be noticed, but during the course of her trip, the story had been completely spun to highlight the duplicitous actions of her mother. No one was really talking about what Sophie did anymore.

Once they returned home, they were several attempts to get interviews with Sophie, but all were turned down. Within a few weeks, everyone had moved on to the next scandal, and Sophie prepared to return to Columbia in a few weeks’ time, her summer adventure quickly becoming a footnote in the Hollywood scandal machine.

Upon returning to school in September, Sophie got some stares and plenty of people coming up to her wanting to know her story. For a while, she was kind of a folk hero on campus, the star daughter involved with the Hollywood bad boy, but even college students quickly moved on to other gossip. It helped going to school in Manhattan, where it was easy to blend in and be forgotten. Over time, Sophie became just another student again.

As Christmas break approached, she received one unwanted phone call, and one visit. The phone call was from Jessica. She expressed her admiration at how Sophie had turned the story on her. It had been a rough few months for Jessica, but she had begun to rebuild her reputation. As always she landed on her feet.

“I know what your father said, but I do hope we can get together again. Maybe you can come out for the summer again,” Jessica offered obliviously.

“I don’t think that would be the best idea. I am truly sorry for what I did to you; no matter our relationship I never should have acted in that manner,” Sophie began. “But I think it’s best for both of us if we no longer see each other. It can only end badly.”

“You’re still my daughter…” Jessica started.

“Let’s face it, you never really wanted a daughter,” Sophie cut her off. “So I’m letting you off the hook. You don’t have to worry about me, I have a great family, and a great life.”

“If that’s how you want it,” Jessica said dismissively. “I won’t beg you, after all this is all really your fault.”

“Take care of yourself Jessica,” Sophie said, using her mother’s given name as she hung up the phone. Sophie felt quite a bit of sadness; maybe one day they could repair their relationship, she honestly hoped so. But Jessica needed to be the one to truly want to repair it now.

The unwanted visit she got was for Brandon, who showed up at her dorm room during finals, begging for forgiveness. He had not fared as well as Jessica, no one really wanted to touch the guy who was sleeping with his girlfriend’s 19-year old daughter. And once things had turned on Jessica, she had no desire to help Brandon in any way; she was too busy repairing her own image.

Jessica had done horrible things, but she had been wronged as well; most people accepted her apologies after a time. Brandon was a different story.

He hoped Sophie would help him repair his image. But in that moment, Sophie no longer saw the confident man who had excited and seduced her. She only saw a scared little boy, and she no longer wanted any part of the world Brandon inhabited.

“There’s nothing I can do for you, Brandon,” she said calmly. “We both screwed up, all three of us really. I just want to move on. You should as well.”

“But, you don’t understand, I think I love you…” Brandon started.

“You don’t love me, you love your career, and you think you can sweet talk me into helping you” Sophie replied as she began closing her door. “I’m sure you and your career will be very happy together without me.”

That was the last time she saw Brandon. It was the worst mistake of her life, but it taught her some valuable lessons. Most importantly, it showed her what real men were. Men like her father, and Diego.

In that moment, she finally resolved to do something she had avoided all fall. Sophie got on the A train to Washington Square Park and walked toward the NYU campus. She had no expectation that Diego would forgive her, but she needed to express to him how grateful she was that he was there for her in her darkest hour.

She arrived at his dorm room, and stood there frozen, unable to knock. She walked back and forth several times, until Diego actually opened the door himself, as he headed out to take his last final before break. Sophie Walsh was the last person he expected to see.

“Diego, can we talk for a minute?” Sophie asked softly.

“I don’t have time, Sophie, I need to take a final,” Diego said curtly, turning away from her. But something made him turn back. “I’ll be done in two hours, if you want to talk then.”