Chapter 2

"You're not some clueless rookie, and you're definitely not a pampered heiress like Olivia. You're a seasoned professional—I know you can handle everything alone," Charles said matter-of-factly.

"Charles, don't be so tough on her," Olivia jumped in.

"Sorry, Sophia," she whispered, giving me those big, innocent eyes. "Charles is usually pretty gentle. But when it involves me, he gets all worked up and can seem a bit cold."

Honestly, Charles had always struck me as cool and aloof. Gentle seemed not even in his vocabulary.

He'd only shown me tenderness once. It was back in college—some thugs cornered me, and he swooped in to save me.

Just at that very moment, I fell for him, head over heels. Then I started chasing after him, day and night, making a total fool of myself.

I truly believed my love would eventually melt his icy heart.

Then, after I got back from a business trip and our company was about to go public, Charles blindsided me—he actually proposed.

He said after everything we'd been through over six years, he wouldn't let me down and would finally give me the happy ending I'd been dreaming of.

Right then, I thought I had made it and his walls had finally come down for me.

Turned out, he wasn't some aloof guy at all. Instead, he was already the perfect, caring husband—just not to me.

I forced a bitter, sarcastic smile, my emotions a total mess. I couldn't understand what I'd been holding onto for six years.

Just then, Olivia stepped forward and said, "Charles and I already have a child together. Love isn't about who came first—it's about what's real.

"Please step back and let me have him, okay? My child needs his dad."

Suddenly, I felt like the other woman.

Charles held the baby close. "You don't need to apologize, Olivia. This is all on me."

He looked at me. A flash of guilt crossed his eyes, but what I saw most was cold determination.

"Sophia," he began, "proposing to you was just a knee-jerk reaction. I felt like I owed you so much, and I thought marriage would fix everything.

"I figured if I gave Olivia the kid and gave you a wedding ring, we'd be even. But the truth is, the moment Olivia showed up, I knew—she's the only one I want."

Olivia's eyes filled with tears, staring at Charles like he was her entire world.

My heart shattered into a million pieces right then and there.

I let out a bitter laugh. "Seriously, Charles? We've known each other for ten years, been together for six—and now you're saying you've just been settling?"

Now that the company was about to hit it big, he chose to toss me aside.

Little did he know, I'd been the one keeping his company alive, using the Foster family's connections behind the scenes.

I'd poured everything into securing deal after deal for him.

I wanted to see how his company would survive without me.

I unclenched my fists, struggling to keep my tears in check as I stared at him. "Fine. If that's what you want, let's call off the wedding."

Charles laughed in exasperation, his handsome features showing not a hint of remorse.

"You said it yourself. Don't just stand there—get out of my house. Now," he snapped.

Olivia looked at me with a fake sympathetic expression as she said, "Charles, it's snowing heavily outside. If you kick her out now, where can she go?"

With the baby in his arms, Charles turned to Olivia, his voice soft. "She's an orphan. If nobody had helped her back then, who knows where she'd be—probably begging on the street. But that doesn't mean she gets to lose her mind on me.

"We were never in the same league to begin with. All these years, I've been the one putting up with her—she's just some poor girl. If I hadn't stooped down and given her a chance, she'd never have gotten anywhere near me."

Charles and I had known each other for ten years. Before the Foster family took me in, I was just an orphan, bouncing between foster homes.

But I never told Charles the fact that the Fosters found me—I planned to share everything after we got married.

But he just never gave me that chance.

I guessed to him I was just nobody—all these years, I never really mattered.

Olivia looked at me, fake sympathy mixed with total condescension. "Maybe you can go find a decent hotel and get some rest. Even if Charles can't stand you, I still feel like I owe you.

"Charles and I are getting married in a month. Will you come and wish us well? I really need your blessing."

Olivia wasn't even trying to hide it—she was straight-up humiliating me right there.

"Oh, really? Congratulations. Finally got yourself promoted to wifey status," I sneered, my sarcasm razor-sharp.

Charles snorted, "She can come or not—whatever. Olivia, you don't need to stoop to this for her."

Feeling sorry for Olivia for lowering herself to me, Charles gave me an ice-cold look. "Sophia, you're too broke. You're not in my league. Don't waste another second on me."

He acted like he was terrified I'd cling to him.

Honestly, my love for him had already died the moment he walked away at the wedding.

Charles looked down at me, all high and mighty.

He smirked, "You stuck around for six years, so I'll throw you 3 grand—call it payment for your time.

"You'll never land a guy like me again. Pack your stuff and get out. Never show your face around me again, and don't even think about messing with me and Olivia.

"People like you don't belong in my world. And don't you dare tell anyone we were ever together—don't drag my name through the mud."

Kicked out with nothing but my suitcase, I trudged into the freezing cold. The wind stung down to my bones, slapping me awake.

Just then, a low-profile black luxury car pulled up right in front of me.

A tall, impossibly handsome man got out, quickly walked over, and held a black umbrella over me.

I looked up at him, my eyes welling up. My voice trembled as I called out, "William."