Sophia
I woke up to the sound of the door opening. Out of impulse, I held my stomach and tried to lift myself up, groaning quietly. I felt like complete trash—no, worse. I had cried myself to sleep on the couch after he left. The sound at the door told me it must be Alexander. I was surprised he came back tonight. Because sometimes, he’d disappear for weeks, even months, after we fought. Not even this time, which involved a divorce, I stood up quickly, ready to open the door for him, but froze when I heard his laughter. My stomach twisted. Alexander never smiles at me, much less laughs. Was he on a phone call? I wondered, as I heard his voice at the door. "Come on, let's get inside." Inside? Was he with someone else, not on a phone call as I'd thought? My heart raced at the idea, silently praying it would not be his friends, they never liked me and they didn't even try hiding it whenever they came here. The door clicked shut, and I heard the squeak of wheels as Alexander pulled in two bags, a bright smile on his face. Something I doubted I would ever bring again on his. "I told you to leave," he said, his smile fading completely as his eyes landed on me and his voice turned cold. "Why are you still here?" I shuddered and sank back into the chair. "Alex... I was waiting for you. Please... you can’t just shove me away," I pleaded, crawling to grasp his arms desperately. “What's going on, babe? I thought you said no one's at home?” a female voice asked from the doorway, followed by the sound of high heels clicking. I turned to look in the direction, but she wasn't coming in, she was still at the door so I couldn't see her. “Just give me a few moments, Zoey. I’ll take care of this.” "Alright, I’ll just grab my makeup box from the car," the voice replied, retreating. Who was Zoey? Why was Alexander bringing her here? He suddenly gripped my arms, making me yelp in pain. “I asked you what the hell you're still doing here?” he whispered, forcing me to meet his darkened eyes. "I... I want to show you something..." I stammered, blindly reaching for the pregnancy report. If I could just show him this, maybe—just maybe—he wouldn’t throw me out with his child. Despite his distant behavior, I know he wasn’t a monster. Not even when I’d quit the ring and became a full-time housewife at his request. “You’re hurting me,” I choked out, tears streaming down my face as the realization hit me. "Is it because of her? You’re divorcing me because of her?" I looked up at his face with my lips trembling and tears streaming down my face. He didn’t respond. Instead, his grip only tightened. “Look Sophia, Zoey’s back... and I can’t push her away. So stop making a big deal out of this and get yourself out while I'm still being nice.” So I’m the one to be pushed away? After three years together, I was being tossed aside like yesterday's trash? More tears spilled from my eyes uncontrollably as I slid from his grasp falling on the floor as though my life had been drained, but then my hand brushed against something. I picked it up—it was the pregnancy report. I held the brown envelope out to him, my voice shaking with desperation, "Before you make me sign it, please just look at this first." He eyed it suspiciously, but he finally reached out to take it. Just then, a voice came from the door. "Babe... you should probably have someone bring my car from the airport," Zoey said, walking closer. Alexander gave a quick nod, turning to her. "Sure, but first you should get rid of that exhaustion by taking a bath..." His phone buzzed in his pocket cutting his words short. "I have to take this," he said, not to me, but to Zoey. My heart clenched, and I slumped back into the floor. My worst fear was coming true. Growing up in the orphanage, I had sworn my child would never grow up without both parents. But now it's crumbling down, my life, everything is becoming my worst nightmare. Once he was gone, Zoey walked up to my side. "Hello… I'm Zoey," she introduced herself with a smile. I crawled to stand up and looked at her, however, after seeing her, I wished I could undo the whole moment. My face was immediately drained of color as I took in her appearance. We are the same height. Her blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders, just like mine. She wore a short red dress that hugged her body. We looked almost identical, even her heart-shaped earrings, was the same pair Alexander had given to me on our wedding day. She was like my duplicate. No... I looked like her duplicate. I am. Only my eyes were different. “Are you surprised?” she asked, raising an eyebrow, as she folded her arms. "Why do we look alike?" I mumbled to myself, finding it hard to come to terms with that reality. "Come on, you’ve already guessed it, haven’t you? Although It’s been four years already, he came running back to me as soon as I was in town. Fake will always be fake, no matter how refined it is." She laughed melodically, patting my shoulder. "Your husband, no, your ex husband still loves me after a long time, just a single call that I'm in town he came rushing to me like an infatuated puppy." My head spun. No... it couldn’t be. But could there really be such a coincidence? We had the same hair, the same height... even the dress she was wearing was one of the ones Alexander bought for me. Was everything a lie? Our relationship? Was I just… a substitute for her? "You must be kidding," I laughed almost hysterically with tears streaming down my face as I stumbled back and latched onto the couch to support myself from falling, but in the process, the envelope I was holding slipped from my hands. Zoey bent down to pick it up, but I lunged forward to snatch it. However, I was too slow, or maybe she was too fast as she got to it first, and ripped it open. "You're pregnant?" Her eyes widened in fear when she read the content, "No, you can’t be. This is bad for me." She mumbled. "Give it back!" I snatched it back, stuffing it back into the envelope. But just as I looked up, something hit me in the head, and everything went blurry. I collapsed to the ground, gasping. Zoey raised her foot and stomped on my stomach. I felt the wetness between my legs and on my face as I cried out in pain. "No..." I sobbed, watching Zoey fall to the ground next to me the following seconds. I heard indistinct shouting soon after, “Zoey, wake up... please Zoey... don’t do this to me... please, babe.” I forced my eyes open to see him lifting her up, completely forgetting about me. He had made his choice. My heart broke, my body bled, and I felt myself falling into a dark abyss. All the effort I’d put into pleasing him, changing everything about myself for him—was it all in vain? The realization hit me. My limbs went limp, and my eyelids fluttered closed. Maybe this was it—my end. My death. The last bit of consciousness I clung to began slipping away. But then, I heard a distant sound of the door breaking—someone was breaking the door forcefully, and when the loud crash came, I heard someone calling my name and rushing to my side.Sophia I woke up to the sharp smell of antiseptic, my stomach twisted into nots. My hand flew to my abdomen instinctively, but a dull pain greeted me. Everything felt off—blurry, like I was stuck in some kind of fog. What happened? I tried to think, but nothing came. My body felt heavy, my mind felt even heavier. I forced myself to sit up, but the room spun violently, and I dropped back down, breathing hard. The faint creak of the door made me look up. Someone in a doctor 's lab coat stepped in through the door, her expression was both concerned and hesitant, like she wasn’t sure what to say. “Where… where am I?” My voice came out rough, like it belonged to someone else. “You’re in the hospital,” she said, her tone was gentle but serious. “You were brought in critically injured five days ago. It’s a miracle you survived. Do you remember anything?” Five days? I fumbled through my thoughts, trying to grab onto something, anything. But it was all fragments. I blinked
Leonardo Marquez We were just stepping into the car when Max, my assistant, called out beside me. “Boss,” he said, holding up a phone. “You have a call from the hospital.” I didn’t hesitate. I took the phone from him immediately and answered before pressing it to my ear. The moment I heard the doctor’s voice, the knot in my stomach began to loosen. “She’s awake, she woke up this morning,” the doctor said. I felt the relief flow through me, but it was quickly replaced by a faint unease. “How is she?” I asked, keeping my voice steady, hiding the rush of emotions in them. The doctor’s tone was even, but there was something unmistakable in her words. “She’s... not handling it well. She’s breaking down after learning of the loss of her baby. And her husband not showing up made it even worse.” My jaw clenched, and heat spread across my chest. I had known that bastard wouldn’t show, but hearing it out loud still hit me like a punch to the gut. How could he treat her like tha
One year and half later. I stirred my black coffee, no sugar, and gulped it down in one go. The bitter taste slid down my throat, sharp and unwelcome, but I needed it. I had a long night ahead. My phone buzzed on the table, pulling my attention away from the growing fatigue in my body. I glanced at the screen to see it was Hannah. I picked it up and pressed it to my ear, bracing myself for whatever she was about to say. Her voice came through, she sounded very excited and squealing, making me wonder what had gotten her so hyped. “You won’t believe this!” she practically shouted. That I had to take the phone away from my ear a little bit. I rolled my eyes, my head aching a little as I rubbed my temples. “Hannah, please just get to the point. You know I’m terrible at guessing.” I stated as a matter of factly. She groaned, clearly not pleased with my lack of enthusiasm, but then she burst out, “Your freestyle video had blown up and gone viral on my I*******m! People are losing it,
Sophia De SantosI should have walked out. It would’ve been easier that way because not only was the darkness making my hands tremble unnoticeably, but I was also beginning to sweat. Still, for some unknown reason, my feet stayed rooted to the ground. My hand slipped away from the doorknob as I debated leaving. I was about to ask him a question when his voice echoed behind me again. “How about five bills for sitting here with me? Of course, I won’t demand anything obnoxious from you.” I gulped. The offer was tempting, too tempting really. I needed money, as much as I could get, but I couldn’t help but wonder why someone would pay five hundred dollars just to sit with them. “How about a grand then?” His voice came again before I even had a chance to respond. Turning slowly to face the man, his features still hidden in the darkness surrounding us, I said, “Do you really mean you’re going to pay me five hundred dollars or a grand for staying?” My voice sounded desperate, but the
Sophia De Santos I sprawled on the bed like a lazy starfish, my hand blindly moving around until it came in contact with my phone. I turned it on and drowsily glanced at the screen, only to jump in the next second. God, God, God, what have I done!? All traces of sleep vanished from my face as I glanced at the screen and saw several missed calls and my alarm, which hadn’t gone off because my earphones were still plugged in. I scrolled through my missed calls and dialed the hospital first, my heart thumping in my chest as I unplugged the earphones and threw them somewhere. “Hello, good morning, Nurse Chris. Sorry I missed your calls; my phone was on silent. Please, how’s Ryan? Everything is well… with him, right?” My voice vibrated as I asked impatiently. “I figured you might be busy. Actually, I shouldn’t have called more than once, but I didn’t want you coming to the hospital when the doctor in charge of Ryan’s treatment won’t be available today. He asked me to let you know
Sophia De SantosHow do you react when the man you throw away your dignity in front of, all because of money is in front of you?Especially when you've thought about them earlier that morning before coming here only to find him sitting right there, just a few meters away from you.I suddenly lost my confidence. And my mind turned blank, completely short of words. I hope I succeed in this interview. And maybe he wouldn't even recognize me… but that's impossible, the lights had been so bright last night that I know it's impossible not to remember me, but I can't lose this chance. I need the money... for him. For Ryan.I quickly composed myself and walked towards him, and in turn he gestured for me to have a seat across from him.“And what may I call you miss,” he demanded without looking up from his paper. Evidently showing he didn't care much about this meeting, I mean it's pretty obvious by the way he pretended as if he can't remember me from last night. Since it was like that, I a
Leonardo Sophia had walked out, but her faint scent still lingered in the office, reminding me of memories I didn’t want to face. I watched the door close behind her, keeping my expression neutral, even though my thoughts were racing.She hadn’t signed the contract.I hadn’t expected her to, not today anyway. She was too proud, or maybe just too cautious. But I had planted the seed. And if I knew anything about Sophia De Santos, it was that she would come back.She had to.I leaned back in my chair and rubbed the bridge of my nose. The conversation kept playing in my head. I hadn’t meant to push her so hard, but I couldn’t help it. Seeing her again stirred something inside me, something I thought I’d buried long ago.I closed my eyes briefly, remembering when she first walked into my office. My instinct was to pretend I didn’t recognize her. It wasn't a very good move, but it was necessary. She couldn’t know— not yet.“Sir?”Max’s voice broke into my thoughts. I hadn’t even heard hi
Alexander Reins “What's that for?” My eyes darkened with my eyebrows tightly furrowed as I glared at the woman sitting at the opposite side of my car, her red lipstick was vibrantly painting her lips just as i used to like them, heart diamond earrings were in place and her ever shining blond hair was still there, she looked immaculate but there was nothing perfect about this moment. “You think it’s uncalled for?” She shot back, raising her eyebrows, “That woman was practically shoving her cleavage in your face, and you expect me to just walk away?” “She was delivering documents, Zoey.” I said exasperatedly, sighing with frustration. “Delivering a document in a skirt that barely covered her knees? Come on Alex, I'm no fool!” “So you think pouring a hot coffee on my secretary who's happily married with a kid was justified?” my patience snapped as I slammed my foot on the break, screeching the car to an abrupt stop, “What is wrong with you Zoey, can you stop acting like a jeal
Leonardo Marquez “Apparently, Miss Sophia's ex husband, Alexander and his current wife Zoey were in the same resort where miss Sophia is meeting Mr He Bai as I speak.” Max whispered in my ear in the conference room making my eyes widened in surprise.Why is he just telling me this? A frown like a storm covered my face as I motioned to my secretary, “I won't be available till the end of this presentation, see to the end of this and take note of the promising ones. I'll review them tomorrow.” I announced standing up and excused myself from the room.As soon as I got to the garage, Max tried to enter into the driver's seat but I ushered him back after asking for the resort information.I zoomed there so as to prevent Sophia from meeting with that asshole, after all, it'll be traumatizing for her to meet with the man who ruined her,Those types of encounters were not meant to happen, at least not now that she's yet to get to her feet. But who could have thought I wouldn't be entering th
Sophia De Santos My heart skipped a beat when I saw them, Meeting them is inevitable, I know that. But I just hadn't expected it to be so soon, not when I've done all within my power to make sure it never happened. Seeing Alexander again invoked something within me, and that's Anger… and another word, ‘distate’ hatred so deep I could sink my teeth in him where he stood. If not for him, I wouldn't have turned a mess, get myself involved in a marriage of convenience, Neither will Ryan be in the incubator, he would've been healthy. And to see the man responsible for it with his snake, her eyes withholding that same prejudice and mockery she has in them that night. I hold my bag firmly in my hand, my hand clenching hard against the handle as though it's going to be ripped off. Then I walked past him out of the restaurant, even though I could feel his burning gaze on me, but damn him, I don't give any shits about his stare, or the fact that in his eyes was a glimpse of the man
Alexander Reins “Come on Zoey, we're going to a restaurant in this resort, not a night party.” I groaned, closing the newspaper and placed it on a cupboard, as I glanced at my wristwatch. “I have to look good, waiting for just a few more minutes is not going to do any harm. You've been doing it all along anyway, moreover, I've got to do this eyeshadow right.” She rambled from the inside and I huffed in response, leaning back against the chair, We could've just had dinner in our room, just as we've been doing since we came here. However, she insisted on going to the restaurant to have a meal for a reason best known to her, and she has been sitting before the dressing table for over an hour, smearing God's knows what on her face. I can't say I'm starting to regret agreeing to this holiday, it was all her idea to begin with. In contrast to the fact that she always has her way, whether I like it or not.“Why are you all shouting?” She rolled her eyes, grabbing her pause on the table a
Sophia De Santos I spotted Mr He Bai, sitting near the window of the restaurant. Even though I had stayed late at the clubhouse last night, I made sure to get up early and prepare because I wouldn’t risk being late. I'm among the people whose first impression matters a lot to.Taking a deep breath, I walked over to his table, my steps steady despite the nerves in my stomach. I pulled out the chair across from him and sat down, offering a polite smile. “Good morning, Mr He Bai,” I greeted, keeping my voice calm and respectful. “Miss Sophia, if I'm not mistaken?” He raised his eyebrows with a little smile on his lips.“Yes sir.” I answered with a nod, clutching the bag sitting on my lap closer to my chest. I had expected a young man when Mr Marquez said I'll be meeting his friend, so I didn't expect him to be a middle aged man whose eyes squint at the corners whenever he smiles. “Umm sir, I was…” “You don't have to explain much daughter, I saw the video and of course, it was such
Sophia De Santos “What is it?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “Concerning your skating career,” he began, leaning back. “I’ve been thinking about you working with A&D as my wife and a skater. I don’t want things getting complicated at least for you since the public usually has an opinion or another so you’ll start training as soon as possible. That means dropping everything else. And of course, you won’t be signing with my agency, but a friend’s. He’s in town now and wants to interview and test you to know what you're capable of.” I froze, the pen hovering over the paper. What exactly had I just agreed to? Not only do I have to hide my son's existence in the eyes of the public, I also have to drop everything that serves as a means of sustainability. “Can I not…?” “No, miss Sophia, I will be looking forward to seeing you on the weekend.” He said with a little smile. “What for?” I raised my eyebrows. I almost thought he looked so handsome until he began to speak. “Regist
Sophia De SantosWhat the heck have I just done? I stood frozen, staring at the empty road where Mr. Marquez’s car had just disappeared into the night, the sound of his engine fading into silence. Although the cold air bit at my skin, it couldn’t compare to the chill in my chest, knowing I’d just agreed to something that could change everything. Something I wasn’t even sure I fully understood. Considering the facts that I'd promised myself to Ryan. My life was supposed to be dedicated to him, a single parent, focused solely on my child, the only treasure life had given me. But now, I’d said yes to the contract meaning I'm entangling myself in several thick webs. Earlier inside the car, his reaction had caught me off guard, almost as much as my own decision. His eyes had narrowed so much that I could tell he hadn't expected it, “You’re serious?” he asked, killing the engine as he turned to face me with his eyes searching, as if waiting for me to retract my words. However , n
Sophia De Santos I left the hospital feeling like my soul had flown out of my body after seeing Ryan in the incubator, his small eyes tightly shut together, his small body curled up in the glass, he looked so fragile, so sickly it's killing me, If only I hadn't met Alexander, he wouldn't be here suffering because of me. No it wasn't Alexander's fault, it was no one's fault but mine contrary that if only I hadn't hoped and waited for him that night, maybe, just maybe I would have him healthy. He wouldn't have to suffer any bit of this because of me. My shift that morning was in a grocery store. I was responsible for unloading the materials from the truck. I had begged the store owner before she allowed me to do it because she'd insisted it was no work for a woman. Even though both my mental and emotional state required me to do all but work this morning, but my financial state says otherwise. I covered the rest of my shifts till evening, before heading to the last one for th
Leonardo Marquez “You have a date with Miss Hayes today boss.” Said max as I'm about to get into the car. I turned back swiftly and shot him a glare, “Cancel it, I'll not be available.” I said, finally entering the car and shutting the door, he turned to the other side and opened the door sitting beside me. The driver will be taking us back today. After the dealings with the FG corps, I'm beyond exhausted. I never knew Mr Smith would decide to withdraw their proposed collaboration from my company at the very last moment. “Then what about dinner with Miss Annabelle tonight?” “Cancel it,” I muttered, leaning my head against the car seat. “But… Mrs. Marquez specifically arranged this one for you.” “And you're just now bringing this up?” I snapped, opening my eyes to glare at him.
Sophia De Santos I stopped on my steps seeing the black car parked on front of the skating center, this isn't here when I had went inside, and the surprising part wasn't due to the fact that it wasn't here before, but the fact that it looked familiar, but even though it does, I must be overthinking things thinking this belonged to that man, given that I'd ran far enough for him to locate me, he wouldn't ever tried it anyway. Not that I cared anyway.“You're going already?” he raised his eyebrows and mumbled, “Thought you'll be staying longer though.” I looked up to the security guard who'd allowed me an entrance earlier.“Mmn.. yeah, I won't be staying longer, I have some things to attend to. And thank you for letting me in.” I replied smiling slightly.“It's okay ma'am, have a nice day.” I bobbed my head up and down and made for the road walking past the car which took that moment to open and a woman stepped out of it. I guessed right, the car wasn't Alexander's.I hailed a cab ba