CHAPTER 4

Sophia’s POV

“Aaarrgghh! I so hate that guy for doing this to you!” Kayla hissed. “If I had known he’d treat you like that, I wouldn’t have allowed you to even come near him during our grad celebration! And I wouldn’t have kept pushing you to hook up with him, no matter how gorgeous he was!”

Being the daughter of Raven Media’s renowned CEO, Kayla Davis always hung out with high society. She saw Elijah a lot at parties since they belonged to the same circle. We also all happened to attend Fairview University where Kayla and I had majored in Interior Design. Hence, she not only knew Elijah but Serena too. 

“You should have seen them at the party last night!” she cried out, causing some people to give us a dirty look. Lowering her voice, she leaned forward with a repulsed look. 

“They didn’t even care that I was there! They were just… Aaahhh! I really couldn’t take it, so I went over there and gave them a piece of my mind. I told them they ought to be ashamed of themselves!”

“Oh, wow,” I uttered in disbelief. “But it’s over now, Kayla. I’m doing my best to move on.”

Kayla was still fuming. But then, she eventually smiled and leaned over to squeeze my hands. “I’m always here for you, Sophia. You know that.”

“Thanks so much. I’m really grateful to have someone who really cares about me,” I responded with a fluttering heart.

“Well, you’ve always had my back even in high school. So now it’s my turn to return the favor.”

Kayla and I became best friends during our freshman year in high school. We came to know each other well when we first worked on an art project together. We’d hit it off at once, and the rest was history.

“Anyway, I can see that Elijah never loved you and he doesn’t deserve you, Sophia,” she went on. “So what are you planning now?”

“Well, I’ve been giving it some thought…” I began, suddenly feeling excited for the future. “A few weeks ago, I applied for this postgraduate program at Goldwell Institute of Art in France—”

“You did not!” she interrupted me, her lips turning up into a huge grin. Suddenly, she jumped up from her seat and gave me a hug. “This will surely be your big break!”

I laughed. “I haven’t been accepted yet, you know.”

“Oh, but you will be!”

Kayla’s enthusiasm was so contagious that I could already picture myself studying there, exploring France, and enjoying myself.

But then, my mood suddenly changed again when I heard my phone ringing and saw Elijah’s name popping up on the screen. I froze up.

Kayla’s eyes narrowed when she saw it too. “Go ahead and answer it. See what he has to say.”

As soon as I accepted the call, I heard Elijah’s sharp tone of voice on the other end. “You filed for our divorce, and now your family wants money from me?! Unbelievable!”

“Wait, what do you mean?”

“You know I’m busy in the office, then here comes your brother with another excuse for needing financial help! He had the nerve to barge into the conference room and disrupt our meeting!” Elijah railed angrily. 

I felt mortified and helpless. “I’ll talk to Troy.”

“Good. Make sure he doesn’t come back again ever.” Then he hung up. 

I was so shocked that I couldn’t speak for a while. My family's constant demands for money had reached a tipping point. No matter how many times I tried to set boundaries, they continued to use me and abuse Elijah. It felt like I had no control over the situation, and it was greatly upsetting. 

“Sorry I have to go now, Kayla,” I said, bravely deciding to act immediately.

She nodded in understanding and we said goodbye. 

I immediately rushed to the house where my adoptive mother and brother had moved to after Tom Bennett, my adoptive father, died. He’d left me the original house where he’d taken care of me like his real own child. 

But the rest of the inheritance had been taken by his wife and son. They’d bought a bigger house and I never heard from them again. Not until they learned of my marrying a wealthy man in the famous Sinclair clan. 

Brenda was certainly not pleased to hear what I had to say. “What the hell did you say?! You divorced Elijah, the billionaire CEO of Sinclair Realty Group?!! Are you out of your mind?!!”

Behind her, my brother Troy looked as if he wanted to punch the wall. 

“It was never going to work out,” I said, trying to maintain my composure. “Just please stop bothering him. We’ve cut our ties. You can’t ask for money from him anymore.”

“Oh, man!” Troy exclaimed with frustration. 

Two years ago, after I married Elijah, Brenda and Troy came back and pretended like we were a tight-knit family.

At first, Elijah was kind and understanding of their needs. But when he noticed how abusive they had become, always asking for money, he became impatient and angry. 

One time, they even borrowed money in my name and never paid it back. It had become one of the reasons why Morgana was so angry with me. 

“Did you fight? Maybe you can still fix it!” Brenda said, looking desperate. 

Troy scoffed. “When I went to his office, I saw him talking to this beautiful, sexy blonde. I’m guessing there’s a third party involved! People who don’t know better would think that woman is his wife!”

I could feel my heart rate increasing. In my head, I could picture Elijah and Serena sitting very closely in the office. 

“She’s the reason for your breakup, isn’t she?” Troy said, looking smug. “I knew it! I never trusted that guy from the very beginning. He’s probably been hooking up with different women since you got married!”

I wanted to make him shut up, but I just stood there, wanting to burst into tears. 

“Unfaithful asshole,” Troy added, shaking his head in disbelief.