3. THE UNSPOKEN TRUTH

SOPHIA

A knot twisted in my stomach as I stood outside Victor’s hospital room. My hands trembled, and my voice quivered, but I couldn’t hold back. “But, doctor, I am his wife,” I insisted, desperate for him to understand.

The doctor frowned, his lips pressing into a thin line. “It doesn’t matter right now,” he replied curtly. “He’s agitated because of you. He cannot be in such a state.”

“Who’s agitated?” a sharp voice cut through the hallway. I turned to see Victor’s mother, Evelyn, her eyes narrowing as she approached.

The doctor quickly explained, detailing what had happened in the room. Before I could respond, her hand lashed out, the slap echoing through the sterile corridor. My cheek burned as her voice dripped with venom. “Listen to me, Sophia. On no account should you tell Victor that you’re his wife. Do you understand? I forbid it.”

I stood frozen, my head spinning from the sting of her words and her hand. She didn’t wait for an answer and walked into Victor’s room, slamming the door behind her. A moment later, Isabella emerged, her face a perfect picture of calculated distress.

Her forehead bore a faint bruise, and the moment my father and Olivia saw her, they shot to their feet. “What happened, darling?” Olivia cooed, rushing toward her.

Isabella pointed a trembling finger at me. “She did it.”

My father’s face turned crimson, his rage bubbling over as he stormed toward me, his hand raised to strike. Instinct took over, and I stepped aside at the last moment. His momentum sent him stumbling, and he fell face-first onto the cold hospital floor.

A low groan escaped him as he writhed in pain, unable to rise. I stared at him without an ounce of pity. Three years ago, I might have cared. But not now. I had learned the hard way that his love was conditional, a performance meant to secure his own gains.

I thought of the day I overheard Victor’s mother in a fit of rage, shouting that she had paid my father an exorbitant sum to marry me off to her son. It had been like a slap in the face.....worse than the one I’d just received. Suddenly, the smiles, the kindness, and the so-called love made sense. They had used me, and when I was no longer of value, they discarded me.

The realization had crushed me at first, but I stayed. For Victor. Not the man they saw as a lifeless body, but the man I had fallen in love with as I cared for him day after day. His silent presence had been my anchor, his stillness my refuge. I couldn’t leave him then, and I wouldn’t abandon him now.

Doctors arrived with a rolling bed, whisking my father away as he groaned in pain. Olivia followed, her heels clicking furiously against the floor, and Isabella joined them, leaving me alone in the hallway once again.

When Victor’s mother finally emerged from the room, I took a step forward, determined to see him. But before I could move, two bodyguards appeared out of nowhere, blocking my path.

“You’re coming home,” Evelyn barked, her tone brooking no argument. I wanted to resist, to fight, but her glare bore into me like a dagger.

I allowed her to drag me back to the estate, knowing it was pointless to resist. Once we were there, she leaned in close, and warned. “You are never to tell Victor the truth. Do you understand? If you even think about it, you’ll regret it.”

I nodded, my face blank. “Yes, ma’am,” I said, my voice devoid of emotion.

But inside, I was raging. I had made up my mind. The moment Victor came home, I would tell him everything. No one.....his mother, Isabella, or anyone else.....was going to stop me.

Days passed. Then a week. Victor never returned. I asked the bodyguards for information, but they refused to answer. The house became my prison once again, and my hope began to waver.

I heard through the whispers of staff that my father had suffered a stroke after his fall at the hospital. A part of me felt nothing but indifference. He had treated me as a commodity, a transaction, and now karma had caught up to him. "He deserved it," I muttered to myself, brushing the thought aside.

And then, one morning, I heard the sound of tires crunching against the gravel driveway. My heart leapt as I ran to the window. There he was, stepping out of the car, tall and commanding. My husband!

He looked different....healthier, stronger, impossibly handsome in a tailored suit that hugged his broad shoulders. His dark hair was neatly styled, and his piercing eyes seemed to hold the world in their gaze.

But my gaze shifted, and I saw her.....Isabella. She stood beside him, her hand brushing against his arm as though she belonged there. My stomach churned, but I refused to let it deter me.

My heart swelled with joy and determination. This was my moment. I wouldn’t let anyone take it from me.

I didn’t think. I didn’t hesitate. I burst out of the house, my feet barely touching the ground as I ran toward him. The cool air stung my skin, but I didn’t care.

Tears streamed down my face as I threw myself into his arms, wrapping him in a desperate hug.

"Victor!" I sobbed, holding him like he was the lifeline I had been waiting for all these years. For a brief, blissful moment, I felt his warmth, his strength.

He stiffened, his hands gripping my shoulders as he pushed me away gently but firmly. His eyes, wide with surprise, met mine. "You?" his voice was cold and unfamiliar.

Before Isabella could open her mouth, I blurted out the words I had kept locked in my heart for too long. "Yes, me. I am your wife, Victor. I am Mrs. Sophia Sinclair."