Sophia’s POV

It was our ninth wedding anniversary, but Damon Steele came home with his pregnant mistress.

For nine years, he had treated me like I was the moon itself. He sent me rare moonflowers, kissed my hand in front of executives and investors, and swore I would always be his only one. And now? He stood proudly beside another woman, her swollen belly framed by his possessive arm like a trophy.

"She's sensitive right now," he said casually, pulling her closer as she leaned into him with a smug smile. "No repeated meals. She needs someone with her when she sleeps. Move your things to the guest villa."

My body stiffened. "A-Are you kidding me, Damon? You expect me to move into the guest villa like some castoff because of your mistress?"

His eyes narrowed. "I wasn't asking, Sophia. Do it."

"No." My teeth clenched as I pointed at Natalie. "You got your secretary pregnant, and now you bring her here? On our anniversary? The audacity, Damon. No way."

"I said do it, Sophia."

His voice dropped, cold and commanding — the same tone that made boardrooms fall silent. My chest tightened, but I refused to back down.

"I'd rather leave," I said quietly. "I'm done. Goodbye, Damon."

He thought I would stay and serve his mistress? Never. I had packed weeks ago, the moment I received the video of him and Natalie leaving a hotel suite together.

Damon scoffed and walked toward me, flicking his hand dismissively. "You want to leave? Fine. Throw your little tantrum. You'll come crawling back in three days, begging like the pathetic has-been you've become."

Soft laughter echoed behind him. Board members. Senior staff. People who once treated me like the queen of the Steele Group.

Too bad for them.

The car my cousin sent from Norththorn Holdings was already waiting outside.

I retrieved my bags and headed toward the door without looking back.

"Leave the Moonstone bracelet," Damon suddenly ordered. "Give it to Natalie."

My breath caught.

I tightened my fingers around the silver bracelet my late grandmother had given me. It was the only thing I had left from her… the only thing that had comforted me through weeks of betrayal.

"No," I whispered, tears slipping down my cheeks. "Not this. Anything but this."

Damon snorted, pulling Natalie closer. "Don't make this difficult, Sophia. She likes it."

I could have fought harder. I could have refused. But my hands were already trembling, my strength draining away.

Slowly, I walked toward Natalie.

With shaking fingers, I unclasped the bracelet and fastened it around her wrist.

"Take care of yourself," I murmured softly.

But the moment the clasp clicked shut, Natalie gasped. A thin red line appeared across her pale skin.

"W-What did you do to me?" she cried, clutching her wrist as she collapsed. "Did you hurt me on purpose?"

"What? No!" I stared, stunned.

Damon reacted instantly, rushing to her side and lifting her into his arms as if she were made of glass. Then he glared at me, his eyes filled with fury.

"What did you do to her, Sophia? Are you that jealous?"

"I didn't do anything…" My hands trembled midair.

"Call the doctor! Now!" he barked, then turned back to me coldly. "You. Clean this up. Every last piece."

My gaze dropped to the shattered bracelet on the marble floor.

I knelt and began picking up the broken pieces. The sharp edges cut into my palms, but I welcomed the pain.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. Once. Then again.

Blood stained my hands as I pushed myself up and met his eyes.

"Is that enough, Damon?"

His expression remained cold. "The person who used to protect you is gone. Who are you pretending for now?"

My chest tightened. "Why don't you just divorce me, Damon? If you hate me this much, end it."

He let out a low, amused laugh. "Why would I? You'll come crawling back anyway. And divorce is troublesome."

Something inside me finally went quiet.

I gathered the last broken pieces, threw them into the trash, washed the blood from my hands, picked up my bag, and walked out.

This time, I didn't look back.

Sophia’s POV

I thought I was finally free.

But I hadn’t even reached the estate gates when two security men stepped out of the shadows. Before I could react, they grabbed me by both arms like I was some runaway asset.

“We have to bring you back, ma’am. Mr. Steele’s order,” one of them said. “He needs your blood.”

My stomach dropped. “What? No—let me go!”

I struggled, more from instinct than strength. My heart was already racing, like it knew something was wrong before my mind could catch up.

“Why would he need my blood?” My voice cracked. “Why is he doing this?”

They didn’t answer. They just dragged me back inside.

---

The next thing I knew, I was strapped to a hospital chair inside the estate clinic. Cold metal bit into my wrists. My whole body felt exposed, helpless.

And then I saw him.

Damon.

Standing there like he wasn’t about to ruin my life.

“You really brought me back for this?” I laughed bitterly. “To drain me?”

He didn’t even blink. “Stop being dramatic. You’re helping. Be useful for once.”

“Useful?” My throat tightened. “So that’s all I am to you? A walking backup supply?”

“You always make everything emotional,” he said flatly. “It’s exhausting.”

I let out a shaky breath. “Says the man using his wife as a blood donor for his mistress.”

His jaw tightened. He stepped closer, gripping my chin. “Careful.”

“Or what?” I snapped. “You’ll throw me away like you already did?”

For a moment, something flickered in his eyes. Then it was gone.

“Start the extraction,” he ordered.

The needle went in.

Thick. Sharp. Wrong.

Pain shot up my arm, deep and burning, as the machine pulled blood from me. I bit down hard on my lip just to stay still. I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing me break.

But my body trembled anyway.

“Sir,” one of the medical staff hesitated. “She’s already weak. If we take more—”

“She’ll survive,” Damon cut in. “She always does.”

Always does.

Like I wasn’t a person. Just something that kept going until it didn’t.

The room tilted slightly. My vision blurred at the edges.

And then I heard it.

A cough from the other room.

Soft. Delicate. Practiced.

“Natalie needs more,” Damon said immediately.

I froze. “You’re serious?”

He didn’t even look at me. “She needs it.”

That was it. That was all I was worth.

A bitter laugh escaped me even as tears burned my eyes. “So I’m just a spare part to you now?”

Another cough. Louder this time.

“Damon…” her voice called weakly.

And just like that, he turned away.

He left me there.

Half-drained. Still strapped in. While he walked to her.

I stared at the ceiling, swallowing the scream building in my throat.

“Continue,” he called back. “Double it.”

The staff hesitated. “Sir, if we go further, she might not—”

“I said continue.”

The words hit harder than the needle.

I turned my head slightly, barely able to speak. “You’re killing me for her.”

He finally glanced back. Cold. Detached.

“She needs it more than you do.”

Something inside me cracked quietly. Not loudly. Not dramatically.

Just… permanently.

---

When I woke up again, I wasn’t in the chair anymore.

I was on a cot.

A thin blanket over me. My body heavy, like it didn’t belong to me.

Mr. Rowan sat beside me, looking like he hadn’t slept.

“You’re stable,” he said softly. “For now.”

“For now?” My voice came out rough. “That sounds reassuring.”

He didn’t smile.

Something in my chest tightened.

“What is it?” I asked.

He hesitated. Too long.

Then he lowered his gaze. “There was… a complication.”

My hand moved instinctively to my stomach.

And I already knew before he said it.

“I’m sorry,” Rowan whispered. “The baby didn’t survive.”

The world stopped.

“No,” I said immediately. “No, that’s not—no.”

My breath broke. My hands shook as I tried to sit up, but my body refused to cooperate.

“No,” I repeated, louder this time. “You’re wrong.”

But Rowan didn’t argue.

That silence was worse than anything.

Something in me snapped cleanly.

I threw the blanket off and stumbled off the cot, nearly collapsing as I reached the door.

“Damon!” My voice tore out of me. “Damon, you killed my child!”

The hallway echoed with my scream.

But he wasn’t there.

Of course he wasn’t.

I laughed once—broken, sharp, empty.

He was probably still with her.

Still choosing her.

Even now.

My knees gave out. I hit the floor hard, but I didn’t feel it.

“I’ll make him pay,” I whispered, shaking. “I swear I will.”

Rowan crouched beside me, trying to steady me. “You need rest.”

I shoved him away. “Don’t touch me.”

My voice cracked on the last word.

Then everything went quiet.

Not my pain.

Not my grief.

Just… me.

Something colder was forming underneath it.

I looked up at Rowan, my voice barely steady.

“Prepare my discharge papers,” I said. “And give me every record you have.”

A pause.

Then I added, quieter—

“I’m done being his wife.”

Sophia’s POV

I was stuck in a hospital bed, still weak and lightheaded. My arms ached from the blood loss, and even sitting up made the room tilt. But none of that came close to what I was really carrying.

Grief.

I had lost my child.

And while I lay there trying to breathe through it, the outside world kept moving without me.

Someone sent me a video. Damon at a gala, laughing like he didn’t have a care in the world. Natalie at his side, his hand resting on her waist like she belonged there.

Another clip came in later—him feeding her cake at a private dinner, leaning in close, making her laugh like she was the only person in the room.

He looked… happy.

Free.

Like I had never existed at all.

When I was discharged, I left alone. No driver. No escort. No message from him. Just a hospital bag in my hand and a quiet, humiliating truth settling in my chest.

I didn’t matter to them anymore.

I shouldn’t have gone back to the estate, but all my things were still there. So I had no choice.

That’s when I saw them.

Right outside the maternity wing.

Natalie looked glowing, like she owned the world. Damon stood beside her, hand resting on her back, casual and familiar.

A nurse walked past and smiled brightly. “Mr. Damon, your wife looks radiant today!”

My stomach twisted.

I didn’t correct her.

I didn’t have the energy to explain anything anymore.

I just turned away.

And then—

“Sophia.”

His voice stopped me cold.

Of course he saw me. Of course he always saw me when I was trying not to be seen.

I turned slowly, meeting his eyes across the polished hallway.

“I didn’t come looking for you,” I said flatly. “I was just discharged. I didn’t know you’d be here.”

Before he could respond, Natalie clung to his arm.

“Babe,” she said softly, tilting her head at him, “let her come with us. I feel bad for her… she gave me blood, remember?”

The way she said it—like I was doing her a favor—made something sharp twist in my chest.

Damon exhaled, then gave a small nod. “Fine.”

Just like that.

Like I was a decision on a schedule.

So I got in the car.

Not because I wanted to.

Because I had nowhere else to go for the moment.

The ride was silent at first.

Until Natalie shifted in her seat, glancing back at me with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“Oh my God,” she said suddenly, almost amused. “I just realized… my underwear is still here.”

My head snapped slightly before I could stop myself.

She giggled.

“Can you believe that, babe?” she added, turning to Damon. “After everything we did in the backseat last week?”

Damon let out a low chuckle, eyes still on the road. “You were reckless.”

“Mmm,” she hummed. “You didn’t complain when you had me on your lap outside the estate. Or when I unzipped you during that drive to the border and kept you distracted the whole way.”

He smirked. “That’s because you make every trip better.”

“And the time you had to pull over because I wouldn’t stop—”

“Alright,” I cut in quietly.

My voice wasn’t loud. It didn’t need to be.

Silence fell for half a second.

Then Natalie only smiled wider, like she’d won something.

I looked out the window instead, forcing my breathing to stay steady.

With shaking fingers, I pulled out my phone and opened the email from Noah.

A flight confirmation.

Tonight. 9 PM.

My chest tightened—not with pain this time, but something almost like relief.

I typed quickly.

Thank you, Noah. I’m sorry I missed the last one.

His reply came almost instantly.

What happened? You can tell me.

My fingers paused.

I could tell him everything. He’d burn the world down for me if I asked.

But I didn’t want more blood in my name.

So I typed:

I’ll explain soon. I just need to get out first.

I stared at those words for a moment before sending them.

Because that was the only truth left that mattered.

I needed out.

Damon noticed the phone in my hands almost immediately.

“You’ve been on that thing the entire ride,” he said sharply. “Who are you talking to?”

“No one important,” I replied without looking at him. “Just reading.”

A beat.

Then the phone was suddenly pulled from my hands.

My body went still.

Not from fear.

From disbelief.

I turned to him slowly.

“Really?” I said, voice low. “We’re doing this now?”

“What’s the passcode?”

I let out a short laugh. “The date we met, Damon. You should remember it. You were charming for about five minutes back then.”

His jaw tightened as he tried it.

Once. Twice. Three times.

Locked.

Natalie leaned in with a soft laugh. “Just give it up, babe. She probably doesn’t even have anyone left to message.”

She looked at me and smiled sweetly.

Like I was already nothing.