Sophia's Past

Alyssa frowned a bit. "You scared that once he gets his memory back, he'll kick you to the curb?"

"Kick me to the curb?" Sophia let out a wry little laugh. "Nah, I think he'd straight-up want me dead."

All because she went ahead and had the kid he never wanted.

"No way. You gave him this adorable little boy. Even if it's not merit, it's gotta count for something."

Sophia just smiled, saying nothing.

She figured she was kinda twisted, getting this weird rush watching Ethan scoop up Buddy for cuddles and tosses in the air.

Alyssa stubbed out her cigarette. "You never should've gone after Ethan in the first place. High society? Not exactly easy pickings."

"With your looks and that fancy degree, put in some real grind, and you could've built something solid on your own..."

Grind?

Sophia asked herself that in her head.

Wasn't she grinding hard enough already?

But did grinding even pay off?

Those dark memories flooded back like a wave.

Her mom vanished not long after she was born, and her dad handed off the few-month-old her to his brother and sister-in-law while he chased leads.

For years after, Dad hustled jobs and hunted for Mom, wiring money home now and then but never showing his face.

The village kids ragged on her nonstop—fatherless brat, no mom, total wild child.

Then at seven, word came that Dad had died in a worksite accident.

She was straight-up orphaned, no safety net left.

Uncle and Aunt didn't just pocket his fifty-grand death benefit—they turned on her too.

In that dank, gloomy little shack.

She never got a full meal, but the chores? Endless.

Aunt's pinching and yelling, Uncle's booze-fueled rages, and that slimy stare from her cousin.

Little by little, her head got all warped.

She turned cunning, a pro at lies, sweet-talking whoever—demons or saints. Even when Aunt ripped into her, she'd paste on a smile.

Some days, she'd hate herself for it. But hey, it was survive or bust.

Back then, she bought the line: smarts change everything. Hit the books hard, break free from the crap.

But after acing into the top high school, Uncle and Aunt cut her off cold, forcing her to drop out.

She dug in her heels—kept going to class, scrounged trash after school to flip for cash.

With seed money, she hustled as a middleman, peddling off-campus stuff to the boarders.

Things started looking up, her grades still crushing it.

Until she hit seventeen.

Home for break, she overheard Uncle and Aunt plotting in the dead of night: drug her out, sell her off to some creepy old bachelor.

Her blood turned to ice, chills ripping through her.

She thought about the cops, but shot it down quick.

No hard proof—cops would just give a slap on the wrist, and she'd end up right back there.

Then? Beatings for sure, maybe locked up. No escape.

After wrestling with it, she bailed early.

Next morning, she swiped the packet of drugs meant for her, slipped it into the food, and knocked the whole family out cold.

Grabbed every last bill from the house and bolted to a strange city.

Scraped by in the big leagues, tough as nails.

But fate loved screwing her over.

Every time she caught a glimmer of hope, bam—gut punch.

Here, she dealt with cons, backstabs, side-eye, trash talk.

She got it: looks alone, no muscle to back 'em up? That's a curse too.

No amount of hustle fixed that.

Later, through Alyssa, she scored a fake ID off the black market—Sophia, bumped her age up three years.

Dig as deep as you want, it checked out flawless: overseas grad, trust-fund kid.

From there, she owned the role.

Started her game.

Ethan wasn't her first mark, but he was her first guy.

Sophia owned her messed-up morals, the gold-digging vibe. So what?

She'd clawed her way up with schemes and stories, life getting sweeter by the day.

A few years back, linking arms with the Blackwoods? Unthinkable.

"Sophia?" Alyssa waved a hand in front of her face. "Earth to you? Drunk already?"

"Not drunk." Sophia knocked back the rest of her wine, picking up where she'd left off.

"No what-ifs about it. Rewind time, I'd still pick this path."

Because Buddy was the one bright spot in her mess, the choice she'd never second-guess.

***

Sophia got home.

Passing the kids' room, the door ajar, laughter spilling out.

She paused, peeking through the crack.

Ethan had Buddy corralled in his arms, whispering something in his ear.

Buddy, in his jammies, waved a shiny new toy plane like crazy, all hyped.

Anna sat on Buddy's other side, holding out a slice of cake to his mouth.

"Come on, Buddy, one more bite."

Buddy chomped it down, then wriggled free, zooming the plane model around.

"Airplane's taking off!"

In the cozy nursery, the three of them together—it looked for all the world like a perfect little family.

Sophia's eyes locked on that cake in Anna's hand, a flicker of irritation tightening her features.

Bedtime was closing in, and these two were feeding the kid cake?

She shoved the door open and strode right in.

Buddy spotted her and lit up. "Mommy!"

Sophia flipped her face to sunshine, dropping to her knees to catch her flying son. "Hey, little man. How come you're still up so late?"

"Daddy and Anna were playing with me, and they got me a toy. Look, Mommy."

He beamed, showing off the plane.

The room was stuffed with pricey toys already.

Sophia couldn't believe a basic model plane had bought the kid off.

Man, kid, you're way too easy.

She ruffled his hair soft. "Did you say thanks to Anna?"

"I did."

"Good boy."

"Hee hee." Buddy puffed up proud.

Sophia scooped him up, turning to Ethan. "Seeing you two bonding like this? Makes my day."

"But Buddy's little, so stuff like cake—keep it light, especially before bed."

Her tone stayed all warm, eyes sparkling, zero blame.

Ethan blinked, caught off guard. "Sorry, didn't think it through."

Sophia stepped closer with their son, grinning easy. "No apologies needed. You're just getting the hang of dad life—bound to miss a beat here and there. But you're killing it."

She glanced down at Buddy. "Wanna hear a bedtime story from Mommy and Daddy together?"

Buddy's eyes went huge. "Yeah!"

Sophia looked up, her gaze soft and inviting on Ethan. "It's getting late. Let's head to bed and crash."

Ethan nodded. "Sure."

Anna got sidelined completely, her nails digging deep into her palm.