Sophia’s POV

The divorce agreement was written after I accidentally lost my baby. During that time, I couldn’t even look at Elijah’s face without thinking about our baby. The pain was unbearable, so I believed divorce was my salvation. Looking back, preparing the divorce agreement was not a mistake, now that leaving was my only option.

My hands shook as I held the papers in my hand. I could hear Morgana’s voice outside. “Sophia!” she called in a sharp tone. She probably heard me come in and was now wondering where I was.

Quickly, I hid the divorce agreement and washed my face in the bathroom. That’s when the door swung open. I dried my face with a towel and looked at my mother-in-law.

She responded with a cold gaze. She immediately instructed me to do the housework, her tone full of disdain.

As I began my chores, she stood there taunting me. “Elijah told me not to ask you to deliver things in the future,” she said with a scoff. “You can’t even be relied on for such a simple task.”

Her words cut deep. “When you first came to our house pregnant, it was okay that you couldn't do anything,” she continued. “Then you had lost your baby and you had to spend months recovering and regaining your health. Now you can't even deliver a document, so what's the meaning for Elijah of having you as a wife?"

Her words were like daggers, each one piercing my heart. And then, in a cruel twist, she added, “My son would be better off with Serena. She's prettier, smarter, and she even managed to land a job at his company! Unlike you... You can't even perform simple housework that well.”

Sure enough, she already knew that Serena worked at Elijah's company. She asked me to deliver the papers today just to make a fool of me.

The room felt suffocating, the burden of her words pressing down on me. I felt utterly alone, realizing that no one had ever been on my side.

I clenched my fists, struggling against the wave of tears threatening to spill. Sweeping the floor became a mechanical task, a facade to hide my turmoil. The repeated humiliations and frustrations drained me of the energy to fight back or explain myself yet again.

I don’t deserve this, I thought sourly. It’s time for me to escape, to save myself.

With bitter tears streaming down my cheeks, I rushed to my room and grabbed the papers I’d hidden. Staring at me from the front page were the words: Divorce Agreement.

I’ve had enough. Flashbacks of how Elijah and Morgana had been treating me filled my mind. Despite my efforts to be the dutiful wife and daughter-in-law, I’d always seemed invisible to them.

I’ve been obedient, helpful, and hardworking… But no one cares. Not even my own husband.

I’m nothing to him. He doesn’t love me and he never learned to. That’s the most painful of all.

My heart tightened. His indifference cut deeper than any overt cruelty could. And now, with Serena back in the picture, their attention gravitated toward her. I felt more isolated than ever.

This is the last straw! I must get out of here, or I’ll lose my sanity!

That evening, I hadn’t realized I’d already fallen asleep when I heard the bedroom door open. Something made a loud, clattering noise. I quickly sat up and saw Elijah staggering toward me. He mumbled something about a dinner party as he plopped on the bed and started sliding his fingers down my bare arm.

I hastily moved backward, giving him a look of disbelief. He reeked of alcohol and was obviously drunk. If he wasn’t, he would have just ignored me and gone straight to bed.

“Hey, playing hard to get, aren’t you?” he said in a slurred manner, his bloodshot eyes becoming more intense. Then without warning, he leaned forward and kissed me on the lips.

I didn’t have time to react, though, because he suddenly started unbuttoning my oversized nightshirt.

“When did Serena start working at your company?” I asked him coldly.

He shrugged, but didn’t stop what he was doing. “Not sure. Probably recruited by HR.” His lips traveled down my neck, accompanied by his tongue, as he went to unbutton the last one on my shirt.

“Serena is such a talented addition to our team,” he remarked with admiration.

Jealousy and pain gripped my chest. I couldn’t believe he was saying all this while undressing me! I knew then that he still had feelings for her.

“You know,” he said, oblivious to my disappointment, “she's even outperforming many of the senior colleagues who've been with the company for years.”

Even as we locked eyes, there was something in his gaze—a kind of infatuation—that he never seemed to exhibit when it came to me.

He’s probably picturing me as her! I thought with disgust. I was so disappointed in him, and didn’t want him anywhere near me.

But when I pulled away, he threw me an irritated look. “What’s wrong with you?” he asked, taken aback that I was saying no to his advances unlike before.

I didn’t answer. He narrowed his eyes at me. “You’ve been down in the dumps for months now! I thought you’d snap out of it, but you’ve only gotten worse. It’s depressing to even see you.”

I cringed at his words, the searing pain crushing my heart. He couldn’t even see how my spirit was being shattered because of him.

“Maybe it’s because of the baby we lost…” he mused. Sliding his fingers down the surface of my cheek and then my neck, he added in a drunken slur, “Why don’t we just make another baby?”

I couldn’t believe my ears. I knew that whenever he was drunk, he spoke without inhibitions. He was often brutally honest in this state. Hence, he meant every word and that only showed how much he didn’t understand me or the problem we had in this marriage.

My whole body was shaking as the misery and fury I’ve been keeping inside rose to the surface. He doesn’t get it. Or maybe he just doesn’t give a damn.

I was totally pissed off. And that’s when I blurted it out.

“I want to divorce you.”

Sophia’s POV

I could sense his mind reeling from the unexpected news. He opened his mouth as if to say something.

I expected him to respond, to react, to ask questions. Anything at all! But he never said anything.

My heart thumped hard against my chest as we gazed at one another — strangers who’d been forced to live together. I had tried so hard to make this marriage work even after we had lost the baby.

But it takes two to succeed at this, I realized.

“I want a divorce,” I repeated, keeping my voice steady. “I’m serious.”

Slowly he nodded. “Yes, sure,” he answered before getting up and disappearing into the bathroom.

My chest felt like it was about to explode. I pulled my open shirt around me, desperately covering myself up, as I coiled into a fetal position with my head throbbing. A tear dropped down my cheek, and I quickly brushed it away.

This is it. I’m going to be free.

And yet somehow, I didn’t feel that ecstatic. His reaction only confirmed my worst suspicions. Now I know the truth — he never loved me at all. He’s not even upset about the divorce!

I sighed. It’s time for me to move on.

The next day, after eating breakfast on my own, I mustered up all my courage and called Elijah to the study. “We should sign this,” I said without any emotion, showing him the divorce papers.

He sat on the sofa across from me, looking at me quietly. His gaze always made me feel a little nervous, but today was different. I signed the papers and urged him to do the same.

“Elijah, please,” I whispered, making sure my voice wouldn’t break. “Let's end this.”

His face contorted in a horrible expression as he ruthlessly grabbed the agreement from me. But he didn’t sign immediately. He took a long time going over each page while I waited impatiently.

Then his phone suddenly rang. I saw it light up with Serena’s name, making my chest tighten. I can’t believe this woman’s timing!

But Elijah only glanced at it before returning to reviewing the papers. Perhaps he didn’t want to answer it because I was in the room with him.

A myriad of emotions threatened to engulf me. I stood up and positioned myself in front of him with my arms crossed against my chest. “Why don’t you just hurry up and sign those so you can get going? Someone might be waiting for you in the office.”

He glanced at me warily, then took out his pen and signed everything. With an angry grunt, he threw the papers down on the sofa and stormed out of the room.

Watching him go, I was filled with overwhelming feelings — relief, frustration, anger, sadness.

“I’m finally free,” I murmured to myself incredulously.

While I was packing my bags in the bedroom, Morgana suddenly charged inside. In her usual bossy voice, she said, “The morning’s almost over, Sophia! Go do the laundry now.”

With a sarcastic huff, I turned around to face her. “Sorry, but Elijah and I just signed a divorce agreement. I will no longer do any housework for you.”

Her face reddened in anger. I could almost see steam coming out of her ears as she crossed her arms on her chest and scolded me angrily. "You married into our family for two years, no children, and now you want a divorce," she spat out bitterly.

I scoffed, not bothering to respond. It doesn’t matter anymore. I can finally ignore her completely!

But then, almost as quickly as her anger had surfaced, her mood changed. “You know what? It's actually quite nice,” she said, her tone almost mocking. “Elijah can finally marry someone better, like Serina. Every single day that I see you hanging your head in despair, it just makes my blood boil. Anyone would make a better wife than you!”

Her words infuriated me. I wanted to slap away that haughty look on her face, but it would just be a waste of energy. I’m done here. I’m done with all this.

Suddenly, memories flooded back of a time when Morgana had shown kindness, especially during my pregnancy with her grandchild. She had been caring and considerate. However, after I lost my baby, her demeanor changed drastically. She began treating me like a mere servant rather than a member of the family. I could never understand why she became so hostile all of a sudden. Sometimes I wondered if it had more to do with herself than with me.

That afternoon, I went home to where I grew up. As I settled in, I felt relieved that at least I had a place I could call my own. “Luckily I hadn’t sold it,” I muttered, looking around the living room and remembering my adoptive father. This house is the only connection I have left with him.

Night swept in quickly. I was worn out and exhausted. Climbing onto my old bed, I was ready to relax when I received a message from my best friend Kayla.

It showed a secretly taken photo of Elijah and Serena in a club, sitting intimately close and laughing together. A chill ran down my spine as I read the angry message from Kayla:

Damn that Elijah! You have no idea what I saw! Elijah was out partying and flirting with that bitch, which he never did with you! Major Asshole!

My heart sank, anger and sadness clouded my mind as I realized he was indeed getting back together with Serena and flaunting her around.

Forcing back my tears, I told Kayla:

It’s over between me and Elijah. We were divorced.

Sophia’s POV

“Aaarrgghh! I so hate that guy for doing this to you!” Kayla hissed. “If I had known he’d treat you like that, I wouldn’t have allowed you to even come near him during our grad celebration! And I wouldn’t have kept pushing you to hook up with him, no matter how gorgeous he was!”

Being the daughter of Raven Media’s renowned CEO, Kayla Davis always hung out with high society. She saw Elijah a lot at parties since they belonged to the same circle. We also all happened to attend Fairview University where Kayla and I had majored in Interior Design. Hence, she not only knew Elijah but Serena too.

“You should have seen them at the party last night!” she cried out, causing some people to give us a dirty look. Lowering her voice, she leaned forward with a repulsed look.

“They didn’t even care that I was there! They were just… Aaahhh! I really couldn’t take it, so I went over there and gave them a piece of my mind. I told them they ought to be ashamed of themselves!”

“Oh, wow,” I uttered in disbelief. “But it’s over now, Kayla. I’m doing my best to move on.”

Kayla was still fuming. But then, she eventually smiled and leaned over to squeeze my hands. “I’m always here for you, Sophia. You know that.”

“Thanks so much. I’m really grateful to have someone who really cares about me,” I responded with a fluttering heart.

“Well, you’ve always had my back even in high school. So now it’s my turn to return the favor.”

Kayla and I became best friends during our freshman year in high school. We came to know each other well when we first worked on an art project together. We’d hit it off at once, and the rest was history.

“Anyway, I can see that Elijah never loved you and he doesn’t deserve you, Sophia,” she went on. “So what are you planning now?”

“Well, I’ve been giving it some thought…” I began, suddenly feeling excited for the future. “A few weeks ago, I applied for this postgraduate program at Goldwell Institute of Art in France—”

“You did not!” she interrupted me, her lips turning up into a huge grin. Suddenly, she jumped up from her seat and gave me a hug. “This will surely be your big break!”

I laughed. “I haven’t been accepted yet, you know.”

“Oh, but you will be!”

Kayla’s enthusiasm was so contagious that I could already picture myself studying there, exploring France, and enjoying myself.

But then, my mood suddenly changed again when I heard my phone ringing and saw Elijah’s name popping up on the screen. I froze up.

Kayla’s eyes narrowed when she saw it too. “Go ahead and answer it. See what he has to say.”

As soon as I accepted the call, I heard Elijah’s sharp tone of voice on the other end. “You filed for our divorce, and now your family wants money from me?! Unbelievable!”

“Wait, what do you mean?”

“You know I’m busy in the office, then here comes your brother with another excuse for needing financial help! He had the nerve to barge into the conference room and disrupt our meeting!” Elijah railed angrily.

I felt mortified and helpless. “I’ll talk to Troy.”

“Good. Make sure he doesn’t come back again ever.” Then he hung up.

I was so shocked that I couldn’t speak for a while. My family's constant demands for money had reached a tipping point. No matter how many times I tried to set boundaries, they continued to use me and abuse Elijah. It felt like I had no control over the situation, and it was greatly upsetting.

“Sorry I have to go now, Kayla,” I said, bravely deciding to act immediately.

She nodded in understanding and we said goodbye.

I immediately rushed to the house where my adoptive mother and brother had moved to after my adoptive father Tom Bennett passed away. He’d left me the original house where he’d taken care of me like his real own child.

But the rest of the inheritance had been taken by his wife and son. They’d bought a bigger house and I never heard from them again. Not until they learned of my marrying a wealthy man in the famous Sinclair clan.

Brenda was certainly not pleased to hear what I had to say. “What the hell did you say?! You divorced Elijah, the billionaire CEO of Sinclair Realty Group?!! Are you out of your mind?!!”

Behind her, my brother Troy looked as if he wanted to punch the wall.

“It was never going to work out,” I said, trying to maintain my composure. “Just please stop bothering him. We’ve cut our ties. You can’t ask for money from him anymore.”

“Oh, man!” Troy exclaimed with frustration.

Two years ago, after I married Elijah, Brenda and Troy came back and pretended like we were a tight-knit family.

At first, Elijah was kind and understanding of their needs. But when he noticed how abusive they had become, always asking for money, he became impatient and angry.

One time, they even borrowed money in my name and never paid it back. It had become one of the reasons why Morgana was so angry with me.

“Did you fight? Maybe you can still fix it!” Brenda said, looking desperate.

Troy scoffed. “When I went to his office, I saw him talking to this beautiful, sexy blonde. I’m guessing there’s a third party involved! People who don’t know better would think that woman is his wife!”