Chapter 2
Once I finished, I pushed the divorce agreement back and picked up the one-billion-dollar check.
I didn't even look at them. Not a word.
I turned around, went upstairs, and started packing my things.
Through it all, I stayed calm, almost like I was just a bystander to my own life.
My calmness seemed to catch both Margaret and Charles off guard.
They probably expected me to cry, to make a scene, to demand answers.
But they never imagined I'd react like this.
When I came downstairs with my suitcase, Charles finally stood up, his lips moving like he wanted to say something.
But I didn't give him the chance.
I brushed right past him, not even bothering to spare him a glance.
From now on, he was nothing but a stranger to me.
I pulled open the front door, and the sunlight outside was so bright it stung my eyes.
I held my head high and walked out, one determined step at a time, leaving behind the place I once called home.
Behind me were the two who cut me loose, and ahead of me, a brand new chapter was waiting to begin.
My new life.
And my child's.
The airport announcement blared, urging passengers to board.
I pulled my suitcase through the bustling hall, not once looking back at the city I'd called home for over twenty years.
There was nothing left here worth holding onto.
As the plane took off, the roar of the engines and that strange, weightless feeling wrapped around me.
Looking out the window, the city below kept shrinking until it was just a blur of lights.
Goodbye, Charles.
Goodbye, Margaret.
Goodbye, my foolish past.
Once the plane leveled out, I pulled out my phone and called my best friend, Emily Carter.
"Hey, Sophia, where have you been? I've been trying to reach you all day," Emily's anxious voice came through the phone.
"I'm fine, Emily," I said, my voice steady. "I'm heading to Capitol City for a while."
"Capitol City? Why are you going all the way there? And what about Charles?" Emily asked.
"I divorced him," I said.
There was a long silence on the other end, then Emily practically yelled.
"What? That bastard! What did he do? Just wait, I'm calling a lawyer. I'm going to make him wish he'd never been born!"
I could just picture Emily pacing back and forth, furious on my behalf, and a warm feeling spread through my chest.
"It's okay, Emily. Everything's settled," I said softly. "I just need a change of scenery. Don't worry about me."
I kept the pregnancy and the one billion dollars to myself.
It wasn't weakness; it was my pride.
This was my fight, and I wasn't about to pull anyone else into it.
After hanging up, I turned off my phone, leaned back in my seat, and closed my eyes.
Capitol City, a fresh start.
The unfamiliar air hit me as soon as I stepped off the plane.
Just as I'd planned, I settled into a five-star hotel.
In the days that followed, I started piecing together my new life, step by step.
I reached out to the best real estate agent in town and, with a portion of the money, bought a house with its own garden in a gated community in the suburbs, beautiful surroundings and top-notch security.
I also picked up a reliable, comfortable car.
Then I put the rest in the hands of a professional trust fund and financial advisors.
I wasn't someone who wasted money. I wanted to make it work for me.
This was what the Grant family owed my child, and I was determined to give him a carefree future.
Once everything was settled, I booked my first official prenatal checkup at the best private hospital in Capitol City.
Lying on the exam table, I felt the cold ultrasound probe slide across my belly, and my heart jumped into my throat.
The doctor, a friendly-looking woman, stared at the screen, her brow slowly furrowing.
My heart clenched.
"Doctor, is is there something wrong?" I asked, my voice trembling with anxiety.
The doctor didn't answer right away. She ran the scan again, just to be sure, then looked up at me, her eyes wide with a mix of shock and delight.
"Ms. Bennett, your situation is quite extraordinary," she said.
My breath caught in my throat.
"The ultrasound shows," she paused, searching for the right words.
"There's more than one heartbeat."
Wait, more than one?
Could it be twins?
A wave of pure joy surged through me.
The doctor shook her head, her face lighting up with even more surprise.
"Not two," she said.
"It's four.
"There are four strong heartbeats."
Four?
I was so shocked, my brain couldn't even process it.
Was I really carrying quadruplets?
How was that possible?
The doctor could see how stunned I was, so she turned the screen toward me and pointed at those shapes and dots I had no clue about.
"See? One, two, three, four. All of them are healthy," she said.
Staring at those four tiny lives on the screen, hearing their heartbeats pounding away like a tiny locomotive, my tears just started streaming down, out of nowhere.
Not tears of sorrow, but pure joy, wild excitement, and a shock that felt like destiny itself had reached out and grabbed me.
Charles and Margaret kicked me out for those so-called twins that might not even exist.
But they'd never know that I, Sophia Bennett, was carrying four heirs to the Grant family.
This was fate's greatest reward for me.
No, this wasn't compensation.
This was the greatest gift fate ever gave me and my ultimate weapon.
As I snapped out of that hellish shock, a surge of strength I'd never felt before filled my whole body.
I would bring them into this world, no matter what.
I would make sure they came into this world safe and sound.
And I would raise them into the best versions of themselves.
I wiped away my tears, looked at the doctor, and for the first time in ages, I smiled, a real, genuine smile.
"Thank you, Doctor," I said.
As I stepped out of the hospital, the sunlight in Capitol City bathed me in its warmth and brightness.
I pulled out my phone and checked my bank balance, staring at all those zeros.
One billion dollars.
I smiled.
This wasn't some breakup payout.
This was really just the Grant family giving me an advance on the fortune it would take to raise their four grandkids.
Charles, Margaret, the real game was only just beginning for you two.