Chapter 4
797words
He assumed, like all men who understand women poorly, that I just needed some placating.
Just like Mina, whose tantrums dissolved with a few sweet words and empty promises.
Instead, he found half-packed suitcases on the floor, clothes and personal items strewn about.
The scene looked like I'd been interrupted mid-packing and simply vanished.
He pulled out his phone and called me.
No answer.
A strange anxiety crept up from his gut, spreading through his chest.
Where could I have gone in my injured state?
Refusing to confront the implications, he bombarded my phone with messages.
"Sophia, where are you? I'm home. Come back now."
"Are you at a hospital? How bad are you hurt?"
"Look, I know you're upset. Mina's just young and naive. Don't be mad. We can talk when you get home, okay?"
While his desperate texts piled up, I was at the international terminal, checking in for my flight with Simon.
"You've butchered your nail like that, and I still have to lug your suitcase?" Simon grumbled.
Despite his complaints, his eyes sparkled with barely contained happiness.
He placed my bag on the conveyor, then plucked the buzzing phone from my hand.
"Last chance to change your mind," he said seriously. "Once we're gone, there's no coming back."
Without a moment's hesitation, I nodded. "I'm ready."
"Stop with the 'senior brother' crap already."
"It's just Simon now."
With a casual flick of his wrist, he sent my phone sailing into a trash bin by security.
One year later.
Felix Foster had been having a rough time lately.
A trading company called "Sinclair Enterprises" had appeared from nowhere, snatching his most lucrative contracts.
They offered better terms, operated above board, and systematically stripped away all the legitimate businesses he used for money laundering.
His cash flow was strangled, forcing him back to riskier ventures like smuggling.
His investigators found only that Sinclair Enterprises had overseas backing and impeccable credentials.
Until today, when an invitation arrived from Sinclair's founder.
Felix and Mina walked into the private dining room of the city's most exclusive restaurant.
The moment his crew spotted me, whispers erupted behind him.
"Holy shit, it's the boss's wife!"
"Thank God she's back! Maybe things will turn around now!"
"After what happened? No way she's coming back..."
Hearing his men's reactions, Felix's carefully maintained composure cracked.
I watched the emotions war across his face—longing, guilt, anger, fear—each fighting for dominance.
Simon smiled lazily as he draped his arm around my shoulders.
"Mr. Foster, meet my wife, Sophia."
Felix's eyes turned to obsidian. "Sophia is MY wife."
He shoved Mina's hand from his arm and strode toward me.
"Sophia, where the hell have you been? I've torn this city apart looking for you!"
I stepped back, avoiding his outstretched hand.
Felix froze, confusion and anger warring in his voice.
"I've had men searching everywhere! And all this time you've been with HIM?"
Mina's eyes darted nervously as she plastered on a smile and moved to embrace me.
"Sister! I've missed you terribly! Felix has been absolutely lost without you! How could you just—"
CRACK! My palm connected with her cheek with surgical precision.
She staggered back, hand flying to her face in shock.
I'd struck her with enough force to leave a mark, yet my lips curved in a serene smile.
"Patience, Mina. We'll settle all our accounts—for playing the homewrecker, and for framing me as the traitor."
Her cheek bloomed crimson as she turned tear-filled eyes to Felix, silently begging for intervention.
Felix didn't spare her a glance.
"Sophia, there was never anything serious between Mina and me. She was just... a distraction. Now that you've had your revenge, will you come home?"
As he watched Simon's possessive stance beside me, his voice took on an unfamiliar note of desperation.
His dismissive words ignited Mina's fury.
Her sweet facade shattered as she rounded on Felix like a cornered wildcat.
"What the FUCK do you mean 'distraction'?!"
"You sleep with a 'distraction' every goddamn night?!"
"You told me you hated how cold and unfeminine she was! You said you LOVED me!"
"You promised to marry me once the divorce went through! I've waited a YEAR for you to make good on that promise!"
Mina's accusations exploded like grenades in the tense room.
The crew exchanged glances, some smirking, others looking away in secondhand embarrassment.
Exactly as I'd anticipated.
"I invited you here today to ask when you're planning to finalize your divorce," Simon interjected smoothly
"After all, I'm rather eager to make an honest woman of Sophia myself."
Simon's tone was light, but each word was calculated to cut deep.
"Never." Felix bit out each syllable, his face darkening to a dangerous shade.
