All Chapters of How I Catfished my Husband and his Girlfriend: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Sophia stared at the floor for a long moment before speaking again.“There’s something else,” she said quietly.Jacob and Lily exchanged a look but stayed silent.“I wasn’t supposed to marry at all,” she continued. “Not officially. Not publicly.”Lily frowned slightly. “What do you mean?”“My father’s family had rules,” Sophia said. “Unspoken, but enforced. I was the illegitimate variable. The liability.”Her tone was clinical.“I wasn’t meant to bind the family to anyone. Especially not someone connected to them.”Jacob’s posture stiffened. “Dominic was connected?”Sophia nodded.“He didn’t know the depth of it. But he worked adjacent. Contracts. Logistics. Quiet money channels. Nothing flashy. But close enough.”Lily’s voice lowered. “So you marrying him—”“Was a violation,” Sophia finished.A calculated one.“I met him at a charity event,” she continued. “He was sharp. Controlled. Ambitious. He didn’t flinch around powerful men.”“And you recognized that,” Jacob said.“Yes.”She ga

Sophia sat very still after that.“When you grow up watched,” she said quietly, “you start to internalize it.”Jacob frowned. “Internalize what?”“The gaze.”Lily understood first.“You became self-monitoring,” she said.“Yes.”Sophia folded her arms loosely, not defensive — contained.“I didn’t rebel as a teenager. I didn’t sneak out. I didn’t experiment.”“Because you were scared?” Jacob asked.“No.”“Because you didn’t know how.”That landed harder.“I didn’t have to test boundaries,” she continued. “Everything I wanted was pre-approved before I wanted it.”The perfect school.The right friends.The curated social circle.Vacations that doubled as appearances.“I thought I was lucky,” she said. “And I was. But I was also… managed.”Lily’s voice was soft. “So when you eloped—”“It was the first unsupervised decision of my life.”Three months.No permission.No oversight.No background checks initiated by her father’s network.Or so she thought.Jacob’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Do yo

Lily tilted her head slightly.“How did you even meet Dominic?” she asked.Sophia let out a quiet breath through her nose.“It started with humiliation,” she said.Jacob gave her a look. “Of course it did.”Sophia ignored that.“When I turned nineteen, I found out my boyfriend at the time — Jace — had cheated on me.”Lily’s expression hardened. “And?”“He got the girl pregnant.”Silence.“He didn’t deny it,” Sophia continued. “Didn’t apologize properly either. Just said he ‘didn’t expect it to happen.’”Jacob muttered something under his breath.“I didn’t cry in front of him,” Sophia said. “I remember that clearly. I walked away first.”“And your father?” Lily asked.“He found out within twenty-four hours.”Of course he did.“He didn’t say much,” she continued. “Just asked if I was embarrassed.”Jacob’s jaw tightened. “Embarrassed?”“Yes.”“Were you?” Lily asked.“No,” Sophia said evenly. “I was insulted.”That answer felt more honest.“My dad felt… responsible,” she went on. “He said

Sophia’s expression changed when she reached that part.Not softer.Just… unguarded.“I booked my flight to Texas fully prepared to be disappointed,” she said.Lily tilted her head. “Meaning?”“I assumed he’d be late. Or distracted. Or not show up at the gate.”Jacob frowned. “Why would you assume that?”“Because decisive over the phone and present in real life aren’t always the same thing.”She had built a contingency in her head.If he was late — she’d stay composed.If he forgot — she’d detach.If he didn’t come — she’d recalibrate.“I was the first person off the plane,” she continued. “I walked fast. I don’t know why.”“You wanted visual confirmation,” Lily said.“Yes.”And then she saw him.“He was standing with a group of guys. Laughing. Relaxed.”Not scanning.Not anxious.When he saw her, the shift was immediate.“He stopped mid-sentence.”Sophia swallowed slightly.“And then?”“He walked straight toward me.”No hesitation.No performance for the crowd.“He kissed me,” she sa

The desert felt different the next morning.Still.Final.They were halfway to Vegas when Sophia picked up her phone.Dominic glanced at her but didn’t ask.“I need to make one call,” she said.He nodded once. “Do it.”She dialed her father directly.He answered on the first ring.“I’m driving to Vegas,” she said. No small talk. No cushioning.Silence on the other end.“I need you to meet me at the house.”Not a request.A directive.Another pause.“You’re making a mistake,” he said evenly.“I’m making a choice,” she replied.The distinction mattered.“You were told the consequence.”“Yes.”“And you’re proceeding anyway?”“Yes.”Her grip on the phone didn’t shake.“I need you to look at me when I do this,” she continued. “Not hear about it afterward. Not receive a document. Not send someone else.”Dominic kept his eyes on the road.“This isn’t rebellion,” she said. “It’s my life.”Silence stretched long enough that she could hear faint engine noise through the receiver.Then:“I’ll be