LOGINHe liked schedules that ran on time, meetings that ended with decisions, and problems that could be solved with clear numbers and cleaner strategies. Emotion had never been useful to him. It slowed people down, clouded judgment, and made them weak at the exact moment they needed to be precise. That was why he told himself, as he stood alone beside the floor-to-ceiling window of his office, that he was not distracted. He was simply keeping informed. The city stretched beneath him in layers of glass and steel, but his attention kept slipping back to the tablet on his desk. Sophia’s image stared up at him from the screen, again and again captured in one of the photographs that had circulated the day before. She had been standing beside Adrian Bennett in a way that had irritated him more than it should have. Not because the photo was scandalous. Not because it suggested anything improper. It was worse than that. She looked calm. Alive. There was a softness in her face that Dam
He sat alone in the dim light of his study room ong after the house had fallen silent, the only sound being the slow ticking of the clock that now felt louder than usual, almost irritating.As he stared at the screen in front of him where Sophia’s image remained frozen beside Adrian Bennett.Smiling faintly in a way he hadn’t seen in a very long time, not even once for him, and his fingers tightened slightly around the edge of the tablet before he finally set it down as if it had burned him.Leaning back in his chair with a controlled breath that didn’t fully settle his thoughts, because something about that image refused to leave his mind.The way she had looked relaxed, present, alive in a way she never seemed inside his own home, and that realization unsettled him more than he wanted to admit.So he stood abruptly and walked toward the window, loosening his cufflinks as he stared out at the city lights below, telling himself repeatedly that it was irrelevant.That it didn’t matter
Chapter 13: A Step Toward HerselfThe sleek glass building of Bennett Fashion House stood proudly against the morning skyline, its polished exterior reflecting the sunlight like a promise of new beginnings. Sophia stood quietly near the entrance, clutching the strap of her handbag as uncertainty filled her heart. For several moments, she simply stared at the building, unable to take another step.Lily walked beside her and gently nudged her shoulder."You've been standing here for five minutes," Lily said with a teasing smile. "If you keep staring at the building, people might think you're planning to buy it."Sophia let out a nervous laugh before lowering her gaze."I don't know if I belong here anymore," she admitted softly.Lily folded her arms and looked at her seriously."You belonged here long before you became Mrs. Kingsley," she replied. "Today isn't about Damian. It's about Sophia."Sophia remained silent.Taking a slow, steady breath, she lifted her head and looked at the e
Damian returned to the Kingsley mansion later than usual, the heavy gates closing behind his car with a dull mechanical sound that echoed faintly through the quiet estate, and as he stepped out into the night air he immediately noticed something different.Not visually at first, but in the absence of something he could not quite name, as if the house itself had exhaled and never breathed in again.He loosened his tie slowly as he walked inside, his footsteps steady against the polished marble floor.But the silence that greeted him felt unusually sharp, almost unfamiliar, and for a moment he paused near the entrance, scanning the dimly lit hallway as if he expecting movement but didn't come.His gaze drifted past her toward the staircase where Sophia used to appear quietly whenever he came home late.Sometimes waiting, sometimes pretending she wasn’t, but always there in one form or another, and now the space felt too still, too empty, as if something had been removed without permissi
The night air was sharp against Sophia’s skin as she stood near the edge of the sidewalk, the city lights stretching endlessly behind her like a quiet ocean of gold and glass.She had just stepped out of Lily’s gallery when the sound of a car engine slowed behind her.A sleek black vehicle came to a smooth stop at the curb.Sophia didn’t need to see the license plate to know who it was.The rear door opened.Damian Kingsley stepped out.He didn’t speak at first.Neither did she.The distance between them felt smaller than it should have, yet heavier than ever.A faint breeze passed through, lifting a few strands of Sophia’s hair, but she didn’t move to fix them.Damian’s eyes stayed on her face, unreadable as always, but there was something different this time, something sharper, more focused.Finally, he spoke.“Get in the car,” he said calmly.Sophia didn’t move.“I’m not going anywhere with you right now.”That answer made something tighten briefly in his jaw, though his expression
The apartment was small, warm, and filled with the comforting scent of something home-cooked.Unlike the Kingsley mansion, there was no marble, no chandeliers, no long corridors echoing with silence.Just life.Real, imperfect, lived-in life.Sophia stood by the kitchen counter, rolling sleeves up her arms as she helped Lily stir a pot of soup. The steam rose gently between them, softening the edges of the room.“You’re doing it wrong,” Lily teased lightly, nudging her shoulder.Sophia gave a faint smile. “Then teach me properly.”“That’s the problem,” Lily said with a playful sigh. “You always used to say that in your mansion, you had chefs for this.”Sophia paused for a second.Then she chuckled quietly.“I think I forgot how to do simple things.”Lily glanced at her carefully. “Or you were never allowed to do them.”The words lingered.Sophia didn’t respond immediately. Instead, she focused on stirring the soup a little slower, as if grounding herself in the motion.The last time s







