3. The Ex-Wife Disappeared

Chapter Three

The hospital room felt like a void. Silent. Cold. The rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor was the only sound, a cruel reminder that she was still here, breathing… while her baby wasn’t.

Sofia lay motionless, her body weak, her heart shattered into pieces so small she wasn’t sure they could ever be whole again. The ache in her chest was unbearable, deeper than physical pain. It was a raw, endless grief, pressing down on her like a crushing weight.

Her hand rested on her stomach, where life still stirred. Two precious souls remained. But it felt wrong. How could she feel the gentle flutters of her surviving children and know that one had been taken?

A boy.

Her son.

Gone.

A sob crawled up her throat, but she forced it back, pressing her trembling lips together. She was too broken to cry. Too hollow.

The door creaked open softly.

“Sofia?”

Daniel’s voice was gentle, hesitant. She couldn’t look at him. Couldn’t face the pity in his eyes.

She felt the bed shift slightly as he sat on the edge, his warmth close but distant enough not to overwhelm her fragile state.

“The doctors said you’ll be okay. Physically,” he added quietly, his voice rough, as though he had been struggling with his own emotions.

Physically.

What did that even mean? Her body was healing, yes. But her heart?

Her soul?

Destroyed.

Her lips parted, but no words came. She wanted to scream, to rage, to sob—but all that came was silence.

“I’m so sorry, Sofia,” Daniel whispered, his voice thick. “I should have stopped him. I knew Chloe was lying. I saw the way you looked at him… how you cared. And I said nothing.”

She finally turned her head slightly, her eyes glassy and red-rimmed. “You knew?”

Daniel flinched but nodded. “I suspected. But he wouldn’t listen. He was so angry… so broken after the surgery. And she knew exactly how to twist his pain. I—I didn’t fight hard enough.”

Her heart clenched tighter. Of course, he hadn’t. Aaron had trusted Chloe blindly. Sofia had trusted Aaron blindly.

And now, here she was.

“None of it matters anymore,” Sofia whispered, her voice hoarse, lifeless. “I lost my son, Daniel. And the man I loved.”

Daniel shook his head. “You didn’t lose him. He threw you away, Sofia. And he’s going to regret it.”

Her fists curled weakly against the bedsheets. Regret? Would Aaron even care? He hadn’t believed her. Hadn’t even let her explain. His words had been so cruel, so unforgivable.

Liar. Manipulator.

He’d tossed her aside like she was nothing but dirt beneath his expensive shoes.

And a part of her had died in that moment.

But the pain wasn’t just grief anymore. No, it was shifting. Changing.

It wasn’t weakness anymore.

It was rage.

Raw, simmering, unforgiving rage.

“He won’t,” she whispered, voice trembling but gaining strength. “He won’t regret it, Daniel.

Because I won’t give him the satisfaction of knowing what he destroyed. I won’t beg for his love. I won’t break for him.”

Daniel nodded, his jaw tightening. “You’re stronger than this, Sofia. You’re stronger than him. Let me help you. Please.”

She met his eyes for the first time since waking, and what she saw wasn’t pity anymore—it was respect.

But she shook her head.

“No. I can’t depend on anyone else. Not anymore.”

And she meant it.

Aaron had taught her that love was dangerous. Trust was dangerous.

“I need to leave this place. I can’t stay here, Daniel. I need… to start over. I can’t be that helpless girl anymore.”

Daniel hesitated. “You’re still healing. And the twins—”

“I’ll heal,” she whispered, her hand moving protectively over her stomach. “But not here. Not near him. I won’t let my babies grow up knowing the man who threw us away.”

Silence stretched between them before Daniel finally nodded.

“I’ll help you disappear,” he said quietly. “I know someone. Someone who can make sure Aaron never finds you again.”

Her heart pounded. Was this the right choice? To vanish? To run?

But what other choice did she have?

If she stayed, Aaron would destroy her. His hate had already shattered her heart.

Now, all she had left was survival.

The next morning, Sofia left the hospital.

No fanfare. No goodbyes. Just Daniel at her side as he handed her a new identity under the name Sofia Laurent.

The paperwork was flawless. A relocation plan to a secluded city where no one knew her past. No one knew her pain.

But as she looked out the window of the private car Daniel had arranged, watching the city fade behind her, she knew this was only temporary.

This wasn’t surrender.

It was rebirth.

She was no longer Sofia Kingston, the naive, trusting wife who had been cast aside.

No.

That woman was gone.

This was the beginning of someone new.

And one day… Aaron Kingston would face her again.

When she was powerful. Unstoppable. And he would beg for what he threw away.

But by then, it would be too late.

Because Sofia Laurent would rise from the ashes.

And this time, she would win.