"No, I did everything for you! For our family! You don't know the real truth!" Sophia held her fists tight, still lying."What do you mean?" My father's voice was rough and angry. He was getting tired of this.Sophia shook as tears ran down her face. "Dad, I saw Ava with another man before she was going to marry Marcus," she said with a shaky voice. "I saw her with Dominic Moretti, and she looked much happier than when she was with Marcus."Michael's jaw got tight while James's face went white as he remembered something. "Do you think we're stupid enough to believe your lies—""Brother, what if Sophia isn't lying? Don't you remember that day when Dominic left his important business meeting just for Ava? I followed him and saw him taking care of her. At that time, they looked like more than friends."My father stopped and thought. "Sophia, are you telling the truth?""Yes, father! Why would I lie to you? My sister even met Dominic after her divorce. Those twins... I'm not sure if Marcu
Sophia's phone buzzed loudly, cutting through the heavy silence. Her hands shook as she grabbed it, seeing Marcus's name on the screen. Her heart was beating so fast it hurt."Marcus?" Her voice came out like a whisper. Her face was white as paper. "Please come back. Where are you?""I'm exactly where I should be. I'm going to get my wife back. I'm not coming home, Sophia. You need to pack your Louis Vuitton bags and get out of my penthouse by tomorrow. When Ava comes back, I don't want her to see your face."Sophia couldn't breathe. Tears started falling. "What are you talking about? We're supposed to get married today!""Marry someone like you? Did you really think you could become the lady of the Moretti empire just by sleeping with me? If I hadn't been so stupid, I would never have kept you around!""No, Marcus! Please don't—""I'm going to make your life hell, Sophia. This is just the start."The wedding dress felt heavy on her shoulders. The Cartier jewelry around her neck felt
It was the wedding day, I wasn't there to see it happen, but I heard about Sophia's wedding day from my friend Erica later. She told me everything.Sophia stood at the altar in a beautiful white Vera Wang dress, covered in tiny crystals that caught the light. The church was filled with white roses and golden ribbons - no expense had been spared."Sophia, this necklace has been in the Harrisson family for five generations," my biological mother Sarah Harrisson said, placing the diamond necklace around Sophia's neck. "Even though you weren't born to me, I think of you as my only daughter."It hurt to hear that, even through Erica's retelling. When I got married to Marcus Moretti three years ago, Sarah wouldn't even buy me a simple dress. But for Sophia, she'd bought everything - the venue, the flowers, even hired a famous wedding planner. My twin brothers Micheal and James had gifted Sophia a mansion in the hills as a wedding present.The guests filled the fancy ballroom, waiting for th
The phone slipped from Marcus’s hand, landing on the couch. He stared at the wall, his mind racing. I was there at that party?To think that I had heard everything that he said that day made Marcus's mind spin.He reached for the Macallan whiskey bottle to soothe the pain in his heart yet my crying image flashed before his eyes. Panicking, he quickly grabbed his phone and dialed my number.I was sitting in my small apartment, staring out the window at the gray sky, when my phone rang. The sound made me jump. I hadn't expected anyone to call, especially not him."Hello?" I answered, my voice barely above a whisper."Ava... please listen to me." Marcus's voice came through the speaker, rough and broken.My heart clenched. Even after everything, hearing him say my name still hurt. "What do you want, Marcus?"I could hear him breathing heavily on the other end. "The manager from Star Villas just called me. How... how did you buy that place for my birthday? I never gave you any money. You
My so-called father, who sat right next to Michael, ignored the hurtful words and instead looked at me with disgust. His chosen groom for me was twenty years older than me and had been married three times before. All his wives had died mysteriously.I made tight fists under the table, trying to ignore their cruelty. Right now, I couldn't afford to react - not here, not now. But the stress, combined with the morning sickness I'd been fighting all week, was becoming too much to handle.Dominic's deep, rich voice started to sound far away. Halfway through the business meeting, a wave of nausea hit me hard. My ears started ringing, and my vision became blurry. Without saying a word, I stood up quickly and rushed out of the conference room, my hand covering my mouth."How rude! Why have you hired such a foolish girl who doesn't even know how to behave? Even though she's my daughter, I'm ashamed—""Mr. Harrison, you have a bad habit of speaking out of turn," Dominic's voice cut through the
Marcus felt his teeth clench with rage as he saw Dominic - his older brother from their father's first wife - standing there looking at him with disgust. For now, he could only swallow the insult as Dominic watched his shameful mistake."What? What did you just say?" Marcus's grandfather asked coldly, his face turning red with anger."It was a mistake... I'll say sorry to Ava," Marcus said quietly."Say sorry?" The old man's voice was sharp. "Are you out of your mind, you stupid boy? You destroyed Ava's life and brought this shameless woman into our home!"The grandfather got a headache just looking at the cheating couple."Are you really going to marry this girl?" Sophia jumped when the old man asked her directly. Her eyes went wide when Marcus slowly nodded after a long pause."You think having a baby will fix the damage you've done?""In the end, it's my child... I can't abandon them," Marcus said, making the room feel ice-cold.The old man's voice became low and scary. "Sign this