1. Divorce Papers

Sophia glanced down at the plate of food before her. Absent-mindedly, she rubbed her abdomen, and let out a soft breath. Hopefully, the presence of a new life between them would tighten their bond.

Hopefully.

The house was silent and uninviting, as usual. She couldn’t wait for Alex to return.

Barely ten minutes later, the entrance door flew open and Alex barged into the house. “Sophia!” He called out to her loudly.

Sophia’s brows pulled into a frown, and before she could answer him he walked into the dining room where she was. His gaze flickered to the meal before her at the same time she noticed the file in his hand.

Alex stopped before her, and she could feel his burning gaze on her.

"Alex..." She started, but her words trailed as he interrupted her harshly.

"Sign the damn papers and get out of my house!"

Alex Carter’s furious voice thundered through the dining room as he slammed a stack of papers onto the table. His towering frame stood tall over her, his rage palpable.

Sophia, who had been quietly eating dinner moments ago, froze mid-bite. Her fork clattered onto her plate as she stared at him in shock. After disappearing for two weeks, this was how he chose to return? Not a word of explanation… Just hostility and a stack of what?

What papers? Her brows pulled together tightly.

Alex brushed his fingers through his hair in frustration. He breathed, feeling completely broken, "How could you?" His voice was thick with resentment. "How did you become the worst, most shameless woman I've ever known in just a few years? Where’s the sweet, modest girl I grew up with?"

Sophia's lips parted, but before she could speak, he cut her off again.

"Save your explanations. Just sign the damn papers and leave! I don’t want to see your face or even hear your name again!"

His words struck her like a whip, each word dripping with venom. He stood rigid on the other side of the table, his glare burning into her.

"Alex… what’s going on?" Sophia’s voice trembled as she was finally able to speak. "What papers? If these are divorce papers, I won’t sign them until you at least tell me what this is about!"

She struggled to stay calm, but the storm in his eyes made her stomach churn.

"You should be the one answering that," he sneered. "What’s going on between you and Finn? And what the hell are these?"

He yanked open a folder and threw it onto the table. Photographs spilled out.

A chill raced down Sophia’s spine and her brows creased into a tight frown. With hesitant fingers, she picked up the top image.

The moment her gaze landed on the content of the picture, her breath hitched and her heart dropped to her stomach heavily.

Two figures lay in bed, wrapped in white sheets. The man’s arms were draped around the woman in an unmistakably intimate embrace. Though partially obscured, their faces were still visible.

Hers. And Finn’s.

Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. How?

A frown curved up her brows as she noticed something, "The woman's face isn't clearly shown, what makes you think it's me?"

"Stop fucking lying to me!"

"I'm not!" She looked down at the phonograph again and pointed it to him.

His gaze briefly dropped down before shifting back to her, he shook his head, "This marriage," he spat, his voice laced with disgust, "was the worst decision my grandfather ever made. What was he thinking? Marrying me to a college girl who turned out to be nothing but a damn cheat? Sleeping around behind my back… with the same guy you swore was just a friend!"

Sophia’s fingers trembled as she clutched the photos, her mind racing.

"Say something!" Alex’s fist slammed against the table, making her jump. Her cutlery clattered loudly against her plate.

Sophia swallowed hard. She needed to stay calm. They needed to talk this through. But Alex didn’t seem interested in conversation, he was more invested in only tearing her apart.

"No one, not even my grandfather, is going to stop this divorce!" He raked a frustrated hand through his dark hair.

Divorce?

What divorce? Why divorce? They could talk things through, Sophia thought.

"I… I don’t understand." Her voice wavered. "I don’t know anything about these pictures. I don’t know when or how they were taken. Why would I sleep with someone else when I’m married to you?"

She reached out instinctively, desperate to calm him down, to make him listen to her and see he wasn't being reasonable at the moment.

"Don’t touch me!" His voice was sharp as a blade, and it tore through her heart, hitting her with a cruel force of nothing but pain. And a reminder of being neglected for months by the same man standing before her.

Alex slapped her hand away. Shock ran through her nerves at his action. Her gaze dropped to her hand and she looked up to see Alex staring down at his hands which he used to hit her.

Alex looked up, and she noticed the slightest burn of regret in his pale green eyes.

Sophia’s breath hitched. Her chest ached as if something inside her had cracked.

The man standing before her wasn’t the Alex she had once known. The Alex who, despite his coldness, had at least been civil. His pale green eyes—eyes that once held the warmth of their childhood memories—now burned with pure hatred.

She felt herself slipping and drowning.

He wasn’t listening to her. She wanted him to, or else how would she explain that these pictures had entirely nothing to do with her?

Her head pounded sharply. Then, something inside her snapped.

"Would you stop acting like a child and listen to me?!" she yelled. "You stormed in here, threw divorce papers at me, and expect me to just take your word for it?!" She shoved the photos back at him. "The woman’s face isn’t even fully visible! How can you be so sure it’s me?!"

Alex dragged a hand down his face, his jaw tightening. For a brief moment, Sophia thought he might actually listen.

But then, he turned on her again.

His finger jabbed toward her face, eyes blazing with even more fury. His usually slicked-back hair was disheveled, like he had run his fingers through it a lot of times before getting here, his breath heavy with frustration. His eyes were emotionless.

Sophia shut her eyes for a beat, inhaling shakily.

She needed to remember that this was Alex Carter. He never looked at her the way a man looked at someone he cherished. His eyes held tolerance at best but never tenderness that she craved, never warmth. He didn't love her.

He never had.

Their marriage had never been more than a contract. A deal made by their families. And though she had foolishly hoped, stupidly prayed, that he would grow to love her, she had been living in a dream.

Alex had always resented their union. He had made that clear from the start.

He hardly ever came home. When he did, he treated her like an inconvenience.

Yet, despite everything, she had loved him. Since they were kids, she had carried that love in her heart. When her father had come to her a year ago, telling her she would marry Alex, she had been ecstatic.

She had hoped that given time, he would see her.

That he would learn to care for her. And learn to love her again.

But she had been a fool.

Because no matter how much she wished otherwise, Alex Carter would always look at her with the same hatred.

And nothing would change that.

Nothing.