All Chapters of Claimed By The Wrong Brother : Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

CHAPTER 1Sophia's Point of View"Since we have reached a conclusion, please sign here." I pushed the leather-bound file across the mahogany table, forcing my fingers to remain steady even as the air in the private dining room grew suffocatingly thin.I hated these closed-off spaces. The restaurant was high-end, the kind that charged a premium for heavy velvet curtains that muffled the sound of the outside world, but all it did was make my skin prickle with unease.I'd built Hawthorne Supply from a single warehouse contract into a name that mattered in three states, and I'd done it while everyone in this industry assumed I was decoration on Daniel's arm. Every meeting like this one was proof that they were wrong. I'd learned to read a room of men who underestimated me faster than they could finish their first drink, and I'd learned exactly how much of myself I had to armor before I walked in.The walls seemed to press inward, reminding me of every business meeting that had gone sidewa

CHAPTER 3Sophia's Point of ViewI stared at him for a long time. The words hung in the air, completely detached from the man who'd had his hands on my hips twenty minutes ago.I laughed — a breathless, almost manic sound that echoed against the marble tiles."You're joking," I said, setting the cake box down on the island so I wouldn't drop it. "Please tell me you're joking. That's a horrible joke, Daniel, even for you.""I'm not joking, Sophia," he said. His voice didn't rise. It was the same level tone he used when reviewing quarterly reports, when explaining to a subordinate why their proposal wouldn't work. "We've been trying to have children for five years. Every doctor, every treatment, every cycle. It's failed. An open marriage is the only solution that makes sense right now."The laughter died in my throat like I'd swallowed glass. "Daniel, what the fuck are you saying? Is this the surprise? You want to open our marriage?""Yes," he said, nodding once with the same efficiency

CHAPTER 5Sophia's Point of ViewI didn't go to work the next day.By eight in the morning, the light through the curtains felt too bright, too mocking. I stayed in bed until my phone started buzzing, the vibration rattling against the nightstand like an accusation."Clara," I said, my voice thick and dry."Ma'am? Are you on your way? The production team from the Houston plant is already in the conference room—""Handle it," I cut her off, staring at the ceiling molding. "Handle everything today. Cancel my afternoon sessions. I'm not coming in."A long pause. Clara had been my assistant for three years; she knew I didn't miss days. I'd worked through the flu, through my grandmother's funeral, once through a fever of a hundred and two. "Are you sick? Do you need me to call the family doctor?""No. Just take care of the office. Please."I hung up before she could ask anything else. I wasn't sane enough to sit in a boardroom today, to negotiate delivery margins with clients while my marr