Chapter 3

It turned out that there was nothing more painful than seeing your greatest fear finally become reality. That was what Sophia learned as she sat on the floor of Adrian's home office. She had no idea how long she had been crying.

Maybe a few minutes or maybe an hour. Maybe even longer. She no longer cared.

It felt as though time had stopped and the world had stopped. Everything had stopped.  Everything except the pain that continued to consume her.

Adrian's phone was still beside her and the screen was still on. And the messages were still there, stabbing her heart over and over again.

"I miss you already."

"Last night was perfect."

"When are you telling your wife?"

Wife.

Not Sophia and not her name. Just a wife.

As if she was nothing more than an obstacle in their lives. A problem that needed to be removed. She closed her eyes and wiped away her tears. She didn't know which hurt more. The fact that Adrian had cheated on her or the fact that it had been going on for so long because what she had read was not a one-night mistake.

Not a careless decision and not a moment of weakness. It was a relationship and it was clearly serious. Slowly, she placed the phone back on the desk. She didn't want to read anymore. She didn't want to discover more details.

What she had already seen was enough to destroy everything.

She stood up. As she looked around her husband's office, memories suddenly came rushing back. Memories that once made her smile. Now, they only made her cry.

Seven years ago, they were newly married. Back then, they lived in a small condominium unit. There was no mansion, no luxury cars, no multi-million-dollar contracts but they were happy.

She remembered how Adrian would wrap his arms around her while she cooked. How he would pretend not to know how to do simple things just to make her laugh. How he would tell her that his day never felt complete unless he saw her.

Back then, Sophia had been the center of Adrian's world. And Adrian had been her entire world but everything changed when his company started growing.

At first, she understood. More meetings, more business trips and more responsibilities, that was normal.

She supported him and she was even proud of him but as Adrian became more successful, he slowly drifted away from her. There were fewer date nights.

Fewer phone calls and fewer hugs. Until one day, it felt like there was nothing left. She couldn't even remember exactly when it happened because it disappeared little by little.

Like a candle slowly burning out. Until one day she woke up and realized she was alone in her own marriage.

Sophia blinked and returned to the present. Somehow, remembering the happy moments hurt even more because it made her realize just how much she had lost.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. The sound was familiar and only meant one thing, Adrian was home.

She froze and for the first time since learning the truth, she didn't know how to face him. She didn't know if she could pretend. She didn't know if she could look at him without thinking about the other woman.

A moment later, she heard the front door open and then footsteps approaching.

Quickly, she wiped the tears from her cheeks. She didn't want him to see her crying. She didn't want to give him that satisfaction. A few seconds later, Adrian appeared at the office doorway. He stopped the moment he saw her.

"Soph?"

His eyes moved to her and then to the phone on the desk. The color immediately drained from his face. He looked frozen and silent. And in that silence, Sophia got the confirmation she needed.

Adrian knew. He knew he had been caught.

"Don't you have anything to say?" she asked quietly.

Her voice was soft, but every word carried pain and Adrian didn't answer right away.

"Sophia..."

She let out a bitter laugh.

"'Sophia' is all you have to say?"

His jaw tightened and he couldn't even look at her properly and somehow, that hurt even more. An innocent person would argue. An innocent person would explain. An innocent person would defend themselves but Adrian remained silent. And the guilt was written all over his face.

"How long?" she asked.

He said nothing.

"How long, Adrian?"

He let out a long sigh and at that moment, her heart shattered even more because she knew he could no longer deny it. Not anymore.

"A few months."

It felt like she had been slapped. A few months? For how many months had he made a fool of her? For how many months had he pretended nothing was wrong? For how many months had she gone home alone while another woman waited for her husband?

"You're lying."

Her voice was quiet, but every word cut like a blade. Adrian's eyes widened slightly.

"I know you, Adrian." Silence filled the room once again. "That wasn't a few months."

Still, he said nothing and that was all the answer she needed. She had thought it would take time to find proof. Apparently, it hadn't. Maybe that was for the best. Tears streamed down her face again. This time, she didn't bother wiping them away. Let him see her pain. He deserved to see it.

"Why?"

That was the only question she asked. She didn't scream. She wasn't hysterical. She wasn't angry. Just one simple question.

Why?

Why wasn't she enough? Why did he have to find someone else? Why destroy seven years of marriage? But Adrian's answer destroyed whatever remained of her heart.

He sighed. Then he finally looked at her. His eyes were cold as if he was tired. As if he felt nothing at all.

"I don't know if I love you anymore."

Sophia's world stopped and she couldn't hear anything. It felt as though even the air had abandoned her.

As though all the light around her had disappeared. The only thing she could hear was the sound of her own heart breaking because sometimes the truth hurts more than any lie.

And at that moment, Sophia realized something. It wasn't the affair that broke her. It wasn't the other woman. It wasn't even a betrayal. It was the fact that Adrian Gonzaga had stopped loving her a long time ago.

And she had been the last person to know. For the first time in seven years of marriage, Sophia felt like she no longer had a husband.

And perhaps… she hadn't had one for a very long time.