Chapter 2

Damien didn't come home all night.

Sophia sat on the living room sofa, waiting from eight in the evening until three in the morning.

She called him seven times. All went to voicemail.

On the eighth call, someone finally picked up.

But it wasn't Damien.

"Hello?"

It was a woman's voice. Soft and pleasant.

"Are you looking for Damien? He's in the shower."

Sophia's throat felt like someone had wrapped a hand around it.

"Who are you...?"

"I'm Claire Bennett. You're Sophia, right? Damien told me about you."

The woman's voice carried a smile.

"Thank you for taking care of him all this time. Now that I'm back, I won't trouble you anymore."

The call ended.

Sophia stared at her phone screen showing "Call Ended."

She suddenly felt so cold.

Cold down to her bones.

She wrapped her arms around her shoulders and sat on the sofa all night.

The next morning, Damien came home.

A woman stood beside him.

She wore a white dress, her long hair flowing over her shoulders. When she smiled, two shallow dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth.

This was Claire Bennett.

Sophia had seen her photo in Damien's wallet before.

She was even more beautiful in person, more gentle.

"Sophia, this is Claire."

Damien's tone was casual, like he was introducing an ordinary friend.

But Sophia saw the tenderness in his eyes.

The kind of tenderness she'd never seen in the past six months.

"Claire just got back from abroad. She'll be staying with us for a while."

Sophia opened her mouth, but before she could speak, she heard Claire ask:

"Damien, is she your housekeeper?"

Damien paused.

"Something like that."

Those words stabbed into Sophia's heart like a knife.

She stood in the kitchen doorway, still holding the porridge she'd just finished making.

She'd gotten up early to make it for Damien, worried his stomach would hurt after drinking last night.

Now she felt like a complete joke.

"I'll go upstairs and tidy the room."

Sophia kept her head down and turned toward the stairs.

She heard Claire laughing behind her.

"Damien, this housekeeper is quite diligent."

He didn't contradict her.

Sophia bit her lip so hard her nails dug crescents into her palms, drawing blood.

She didn't cry.

Her tears had long since dried up.