Chapter 1

Sophia's POV

“This way ma'am,” The Uber driver I had ordered said, gently guiding me to his car as people brushed against me without apology.

I didn't mind it though since it was my fault. I was standing in the way and gazing around the airport like an excited child. 

I had just landed in my city and I was happy because it was the first time I was ‘seeing’ it in three years. Technically, I had been there until three months ago when I had to go to Germany for retinal surgery because of my blindness. The operation had been successful and I could see again.

“Should I take that too,” The driver said pointing at the package in my hand. I snapped out of my thoughts to see that he had deposited my luggage in the trunk and wanted to do the same to my package.

“No, thank you. I'll hold on to this,” I said entering his small Prius car and straightening my gown. It would have been easier if I had sent for my Tesla car but I couldn't exactly do that.

The package was a birthday cake for Ethan, my fiancé whom I wanted to surprise. I hadn't told him I was coming and I could only imagine how happy he would be by the good news of both my arrival and the successful operation.

The last three years hadn't been exactly easy as I had to cope with the sudden loss of vision and all the stigma that came with it. I had bumped into a lot of things before I got the layout of my house.

I had almost forgotten what colour looked like and I watched the landscape with a renewed interest while humming a song under my breath.

The minutes sped by and we soon arrived at the sprawling monolith that was my house. I was in such a hurry that I almost tripped after paying the driver and getting down. Apart from the fact that I was eager to see Ethan, it was also because of the weather. The clouds had gone dark and it had started raining.

As usual, none of my neighbours were around to see me come in. We lived in the upper class part of the town where the residents spent more time flying around the world than living in their luxurious houses.

I regretted declining the driver's offer of assistance earlier on as my clothes were already soggy and sticking to my skin by the time I dragged my luggage and package past the gate to the front door. 

“Hmm, Ethan is already back from work,” I said aloud to myself as I saw his car in the driveway. I opened the door with a sigh and was met with the greatest shock of my life. 

Ethan was on the couch with a strange woman and they were locked in such a passionate kiss that they didn't notice me come in. 

My first instinct was to rush at them but I stopped myself when Ethan eyes met mine and there was no guilt in them. He just covered the woman's mouth and then turned his attention to her neck.

I held back tears as I saw her arch her back from the pleasure. He still thought that I was blind which was why there was no reaction from him even though I was there.

“Sophia?” He said feigning surprise and suddenly looking my way. His voice was rough and hoarse, like he’d been using it in ways I didn’t want to think about. “What are you doing here? You weren’t supposed to come back yet.” 

He put a finger to his lips for the benefit of the other woman but she shrugged and mouthed the words with a knowing smirk: Relax. She’s blind. She can’t see what we’re doing.

I swallowed down the bile rising in my throat. I had to stay calm. If he realized I could see, everything would fall apart. My mind went straight to my mother. She was in a private hospital and her treatment and safety were dependent on Ethan’s money and influence. If he decided to cut us off, I didn’t even want to think about what would happen to her.

So, I smiled.

It was the hardest thing I had ever done.

“I wanted to surprise you,” I said softly, tilting my head as if I were searching for his voice. “It’s your birthday.” I lifted the cake slightly, though my hands trembled so badly I thought I might drop it. “But… Ethan, your voice…it sounds strange. Are you sick?”

“Yeah. I caught a cold,” he lied smoothly. “There’s medicine on the coffee table. Can you grab it for me?”

I turned toward the coffee table, forcing myself to fumble slightly, as if searching blindly. My fingers brushed against something cool and plastic—not medicine, but a box of condoms.

My breath hitched. Ethan had never been careful with me. He had always said there was no need.

I pressed my lips together and forced my hands to stop shaking before picking up the box. My voice remained steady as I held it out to him. “Here.”

Ethan barely hesitated before taking it from me, pocketing it without a word. “Thanks, babe.” His tone was so casual I was surprised by the ease of it. How long had he worn this mask, pretending to love me while his heart clearly belonged to someone else.

He scooped her up from the couch like she was nothing and headed for the master bedroom. For the first time since I came in, I took a proper look at her. She was a blonde too and her figure was just like mine which I found insulting. What more could he be finding from her that I couldn't give him?

“You should rest, Sophie. You don’t want to get sick too. We’ll celebrate tonight, okay?”

With that parting statement, the bedroom door clicked shut behind him and I heard him lock the door. 

My legs gave out beneath me and I collapsed onto the floor, my dress clinging to my skin, the rainwater seeping into the Persian rug. My fingers dug into the fabric of my dress as I tried to breathe, trying to hold myself together.

How did it come to this?

I didn’t know how long I sat there.

Minutes. Hours. It all blurred together. At some point, I forced myself to my feet as I moved like a ghost toward the bathroom. I needed to wash off the rain, the filth, the feeling of his betrayal clinging to my skin.

As I entered the bathroom, the first thing I saw was a small, crumpled box in the trash bin.

I gasped and struggled to steady my trembling fingers as I reached for it and my entire body turned to ice as I confirmed my fears.

I stared at the two pink lines on the pregnancy strip noticing that it had been used fairly recently.

The implication hit me as I sat on the toilet seat to absorb the shock of what happened. The lady with Ethan was pregnant.