Chapter 2

Sophia's POV

Ethan continued slowly,

"You all know how stubborn my grandfather is. He valued Sophia's family background, appreciated how well-behaved she was. He said she was pure and innocent, the perfect choice for my wife."

He paused, flicking cigarette ash, that red glow flickering at his fingertips.

"But she didn't want to marry a notorious bad boy like me, and Grandfather was pressuring me hard. I had no other options."

"So you arranged that whole scene?"

Someone asked.

"Yeah." Ethan admitted it readily.

"I knew she was going to run from the marriage, so I contacted her family's enemies and set up that situation. The knife was angled to miss by two centimeters, the ambulance was already waiting outside. Everything was calculated."

He laughed shortly, the sound devoid of warmth.

"I didn't expect her to actually cry like that when I collapsed, holding me and saying she'd marry me."

Everyone exchanged glances, momentarily speechless.

"Brilliant!" Someone was the first to react.

"That plan not only satisfied your grandfather but made Sophia completely devoted to you. Two birds with one stone!"

Ethan crushed out his cigarette, his voice heavy.

"This stays between us. She's carrying my child now. If word gets to her..."

"Don't worry, which of us would tell?"

"Exactly. This secret dies with us."

"But," someone hesitated,

"Do you really have no feelings for Sophia at all now? She's carrying your child..."

Ethan didn't answer immediately.

After a long pause, he finally spoke, his tone as calm as if discussing something unrelated to himself.

"Lydia lives every day walking on eggshells. I promised to protect her, that I wouldn't fall for another woman."

Inside the rest room, I felt completely frozen, like I'd been cast into hell.

I covered my mouth tightly with one hand to keep from making a sound, the other clenched into a fist, knuckles white.

So that was it.

He conspired with the Hayes family's enemies to kidnap me, nearly having me violated, then appeared at the crucial moment to stage that dramatic rescue.

All his tenderness, consideration, and doting on me, including his supposed reformation, was fake.

Those moments that moved my heart, those times I thought were sweet and happy, were all just an elaborate act he performed.

And the purpose was to protect the woman he truly loved from being mistreated.

He never loved me from the beginning, yet I was foolish enough to be deceived for three years, only discovering today just how many lies he'd woven for me.

Countless emotions surged like a tide, nearly drowning me.

When I came back to my senses, the office outside had gone quiet. Ethan and his friends had left.

I wiped away my tears forcefully, took a deep breath, and pushed down all the anger, resentment, and the dull, knife-like pain in my chest before pulling open the rest room door.

Outside was completely empty.

I left Quinn Corporation and hailed a car to a law firm.

"Hello, I want a divorce."

I found a divorce attorney and said directly, "Please draft a divorce agreement for me."

I was going to divorce Ethan. I would no longer be his tool to protect another woman.

Just then, my phone rang.

It was a call from Ethan.