The Secret He Uncovered

“Your plan to leave isn’t the only thing I know about, Sophie.”

I tightened my hold on the strap of my bag as Alexander remained beside me, his hand still wrapped around my uninjured hand. Arthur stood directly in our path, his attention shifting between us as though he was still trying to understand how I had reached the point of leaving his house with another man waiting to take me away.

“What else do you know?” I asked.

Arthur’s eyes settled on mine. “Julian saw you give an envelope to one of the maids. He told me about it. When I questioned her, she admitted that you had asked her to pass it to the driver for delivery to Alexander Kane’s office.”

My stomach tightened at the mention of the letter. I had assumed the maid would carry out my request without attracting attention, but I hadn’t considered that Julian might have seen me hand it over or that he would use the information against me. I had been so focused on finding a way out of the estate that I hadn’t thought about how easily someone could discover what I was planning.

“So you know I contacted him,” I said.

“I know you went behind my back to arrange help from another man.”

“I needed help getting away from this house.”

Arthur’s expression hardened. “And you thought you could arrange that without my knowledge?”

“I wasn’t asking for your permission.”

Alexander’s hand remained steady around mine, but he didn’t interrupt or attempt to answer for me. I was grateful for that because this conversation belonged to Arthur and me, and after everything that had happened, I needed to be able to speak for myself without someone taking over.

Arthur looked at the bag on my shoulder. “You had already decided to leave before tonight.”

“Yes.”

“And you were going to disappear with him?”

“I was going to leave with someone who offered to help me. There’s a difference.”

“Do you expect me to believe this has nothing to do with him?”

“I don’t care what you believe anymore.”

His jaw tightened. “You are my wife, Sophie.”

The words used to make me feel trapped, but tonight they only reminded me of everything that marriage had cost me. “You keep saying that as though it gives you the right to decide what happens to me, but being your wife never stopped your family from hurting me. It never made you listen when I told you I was afraid.”

Arthur’s gaze shifted to my bruised wrist, and although his expression changed for a moment, I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

“You should have come to me,” he said.

“I tried living under your roof. I tried keeping quiet, and I tried doing what you wanted. When your cousin dragged me into a storage room, I had to fight my way out. When your father assaulted me, I locked myself in my bedroom because I didn’t know who else I could turn to.”

“I know what Julian did.”

“You know because I showed you the marks he left on my body. And you only found out about your father because you finally asked me the right question.”

Arthur looked away briefly before returning his attention to me. “I would have dealt with them.”

“When? After something worse happened?”

“I can handle my father and Julian. You don’t have to leave tonight. Give me time to put things right.”

I almost laughed, but there was nothing amusing about his promise. Time was what I had been giving him since I married him, and I couldn’t keep waiting for him to become someone I could trust.

Alexander shifted slightly beside me. “Sophie has made her decision. I’m not going to force her to stay, and I’m not going to make it for her either.”

Arthur’s attention snapped towards him. “This is a matter between my wife and me.”

“She asked me for help,” Alexander replied calmly. “I’m giving her that help. What happens next is her choice.”

I looked at Arthur, making sure he understood that my decision had nothing to do with being persuaded by Alexander. “I am choosing to leave.”

Before he could respond, a voice came from the side entrance.

“Arthur? What’s going on?”

Elena stood in the doorway, wearing a silk robe over her nightdress. Her gaze moved from Arthur to Alexander before settling on me and the bag over my shoulder, and I watched her expression change as she realised what she was seeing.

“Are you actually leaving?” she asked.

I didn’t answer immediately. Seeing her brought back the conversation in Arthur’s study, when she had demanded that he acknowledge her publicly. She had returned to the mansion expecting to claim the place she believed belonged to her, and now I was standing outside with a bag, preparing to leave the life she and Arthur had chosen.

Elena stepped onto the garden path. “Arthur, why is she with him?”

“Go inside, Elena,” Arthur said without looking at her.

She ignored him and turned towards me. “Sophie, are you seriously going to make a scene in the middle of the night?”

“I don’t want a scene. I want to leave.”

Her eyes narrowed. “And you’re leaving with Alexander Kane?”

“I’m leaving because I don’t want to live here anymore.”

Elena looked at Arthur, apparently waiting for him to stop me. When he didn’t move, her expression became uneasy.

“You can’t just walk away from your marriage,” she said.

“I can walk away from a house where I don’t feel safe.”

For once, she had no immediate reply.

Arthur took another step towards me. “Sophie, put the bag down. We can discuss this inside.”

“No. I’ve already made my decision.”

“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

He stared at me, and I could see the frustration building in his face. Part of me still wanted to retreat because I remembered the consequences of defying him, the threats and accusations, and the way he could make even an ordinary conversation feel like another test I was destined to fail. Yet I had packed my clothes, my documents, my sketchbook and the few things I could carry. I had asked for help because I wanted a chance to live differently, and if I turned back now, I didn’t know when I would find the courage to try again.

Alexander released my hand and carefully lifted the strap away from the bruised part of my upper arm without touching the injury. Then he stepped back and waited, leaving the decision entirely to me.

I took a breath and stepped forward, but Arthur moved as if to block me again. I stopped before he could close the distance.

“Don’t,” I said quietly.

His eyes fixed on mine. “You’re really choosing this?”

“Yes.”

“You have no idea what awaits you outside this estate.”

“I know what awaits me if I stay.”

For several seconds, nobody spoke. Elena remained near the entrance, watching us, while Arthur’s hands curled at his sides. He hadn’t completely blocked the path, leaving just enough room for me to pass, and although he looked as though he wanted to stop me, he didn’t touch me.

I walked around him, with Alexander falling into step beside me as we crossed the garden towards the side gate. I could feel Arthur watching us, and I heard Elena say his name behind us, but neither of them followed. The path seemed longer than I remembered, perhaps because every step took me farther from the rooms where I had spent months trying to make myself invisible.

When we reached the gate, Alexander opened it and waited for me to pass through first. I crossed the boundary, leaving the estate behind me with no certainty about what would happen next. I was still frightened and still carrying the bruises from what I had endured, but at least I was no longer standing inside the place where those things had happened.

A dark vehicle waited a short distance away. Alexander opened the passenger door, then stepped back to give me room.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Somewhere you can rest. It’s a separate residence, not my home. You’ll have your own space, and nobody will come in without your permission.”

I studied his face, trying to understand what he expected in return. I had spent too long in a house where kindness always seemed to come with a price, and I wasn’t ready to assume that accepting his help meant I owed him anything.

“You don’t owe me anything,” he added. “We can discuss the practical arrangements tomorrow. Tonight, you need somewhere safe.”

I climbed into the vehicle, placing my bag beside me. Through the open gate, I could still see the distant lights of the mansion, where Arthur and Elena remained under the same roof with the life they had chosen waiting for them. I turned away from the sight as Alexander got behind the wheel, then looked down at my hands and noticed that my fingers were trembling.

The road ahead was unfamiliar, and I had no idea what kind of life I would find there. For now, I only knew that I had finally left the Martins’ estate.