Chapter 3

Isabella ran out, crying her eyes out.

Lucas tried to go after her, but Margaret blocked his way.

"Why are you chasing her? Sophia's pregnant! That's the Grant family's bloodline!" Margaret barked.

Margaret might despise me, but she's an old bat obsessed with grandsons—having one was her biggest weak spot.

Lucas looked at me, his eyes full of conflicted emotions.

"Are you really pregnant?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"The hospital report is in my bag. Go ahead and check it yourself," I replied, my tone icy.

Lucas dug out the report, his hands shaking.

His reaction wasn't joy.

He was just realizing he was caught in a bind.

But he quickly forced a smile, slid over next to me, and tried to drape his arm around my shoulders. "Babe, why didn't you tell me you were pregnant earlier? It was all just a misunderstanding, Isabella, she..."

I dodged his hand. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Alright, go ahead. I'll make sure the water's just right for you," Lucas said, grinning like nothing ever happened.

In a flash, Lucas was back to playing Mr. Perfect Husband.

That was human nature.

But I knew he was already scheming inside.

He was just biding his time—waiting for the baby to be born, or hoping I'd lose it, so he could finally toss me aside without a second thought.

But lucky for me, and not so lucky for him, that day would never come.

Late that night, I caught Lucas out on the balcony, whispering into his phone.

His voice was so low, I could barely make out a word.

"It's fine, just keep her under control for now... Relax, you're the only one in my heart..."

I rolled over and stared at the moldy patches on the ceiling.

"Lucas, let's see if your liver can survive until you finish this drama."

The days that followed brought a weird, almost unnatural peace to the house.

Margaret stopped hurling insults at me and started switching up the menu every single day.

Of course, it was always the same greasy stuff, but let's be real: it was all for the precious baby she'd been dying to have.

Lucas, meanwhile, started clocking out on time every day, suddenly playing the doting husband.

I wasn't fooled for a second. Lucas and Isabella's messages never stopped, and lately, their conversations were getting downright dirty.

That day, I was eating when the doorbell rang.

It was a delivery.

Turns out, it was a set of sexy lingerie.

Definitely not my size.

The sender? Lucas.

Either he screwed up the address, or Isabella did it on purpose just to gross me out.

I held up those flimsy bits of fabric and just had to laugh.

"What's this?" Margaret leaned in for a look, her face turning bright red. "Oh my, what kind of trash is this... so indecent!"

"Your son bought this for someone else," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

I slapped the shipping label right onto Margaret's forehead. "He sure knows how to spice things up."

Lucas walked in just then, and the fake smile on his face froze instantly. His face went pale, as he'd just swallowed a bug.

"This... this must be some mix-up from the store! I never bought this!" he blurted, his gaze shifty as he scrambled to deny it.

"A mix-up, huh?" I shot back, my voice thick with mockery.

I pointed at the shipping label, smirking at him.

"Recipient: you. Phone number: yours. The note even says 'ship ASAP.' Lucas, are you really trying to say the store not only sent it to the wrong person, but also paid for it for you?"

Lucas was caught off guard, stammering, "I... I don't know!"

My gaze went cold, but my tone stayed casual and almost careless.

"Or maybe you meant to send this to your stray cat out there, but messed up the address and sent it home instead?"

"What are you talking about!" Lucas barked, his face burning with embarrassment as he lunged for the package.

I sidestepped him, whipped out my phone, and snapped a pic of those scraps of fabric.

"Well, since you say you don't know anything about it, and it was just a shipping mistake, I guess this is just some unwanted junk," I said, waving my phone. "I'll throw it up on eBay—might as well recoup a little cash."

"Don't you dare!" Lucas snatched the lingerie and stuffed it into his bag. "Sophia, can't you just let me keep a little dignity?"

"Face is earned, not given," I shot back, my voice cold.

I snorted, "Lucas, let me give you a warning. If you want to mess around, at least cover your tracks. If you wave it in my face again, I'll make you famous at your office."

Lucas gritted his teeth, his eyes flashing with malice, but he kept his mouth shut and stormed off, slamming the study door behind him.

Twenty minutes later, someone knocked on the door again.

This time, it wasn't the delivery guy.

It was two cops.

"Is Sophia Moore here?" asked one of the officers.

I was stunned. "That's me."

"Someone called the cops and said you stole something expensive. Please come with us."

I couldn't help but look toward the study.

Lucas came out, his earlier sulking totally gone, replaced by a smug grin, as if he'd finally gotten what he wanted.

He pretended to be concerned, letting out a dramatic sigh. "Sophia, even if we're getting divorced, how could you just steal someone else's stuff?"

When we got to the police station, I spotted Isabella, crying her eyes out and looking like a total damsel in distress.

"Officer, she's the one! That package had some clothes, but there was also my diamond ring—worth over thirty thousand dollars! She opened the package, and now the ring is gone!" Isabella sobbed, her voice shaking.

Isabella came fully prepared, whipping out a receipt and an insurance form like she'd been waiting for this moment.

"Lucas was right there. He can vouch for it. Sophia opened the package, tried to claim everything as her own, and was even about to sell it," Isabella said, teaming up with him like they'd rehearsed the whole thing.

The officer turned to me. "Ms. Moore, do you still have the package?"

I glanced at those two, putting on their little show, and let out a cold laugh.

If this were the old Sophia, she'd have been slapped with a theft charge and left totally helpless, unable to say a word in her own defense.

If I couldn't show them the ring, they'd pin the theft on me for sure.

That was a huge sum. It could destroy my reputation and, as the one at fault in the divorce, kick me out with nothing to my name.

Lucas really played dirty.

Too bad they underestimated me.

"Officer, I did open the package, but I have this habit—whenever I get a package from someone I don't know, I record an unboxing video," I explained.

Lucas and Isabella froze instantly.

In the video, I unpacked the box step by step, even shook out the pieces of cloth, making sure every loose thread was visible.

The box was completely empty, not a diamond ring, not even a card.

"See for yourselves."

I shoved my phone right in Isabella's face. "Isabella, is this the diamond ring you were talking about? What, is it invisible or something?"

Isabella started sweating bullets, avoiding the officer's gaze. "Maybe... maybe they forgot to put it in the box when they shipped it..."

"Fake police report and trying to frame someone—do you realize how serious that is?" the officer said, his tone icy.

Lucas shot forward like he'd been electrocuted, grabbing the officer's arm. "Officer, we messed up! It was just a misunderstanding!"

"A misunderstanding? What, you think the police station is your personal playground?" the officer barked, face darkening.

In the end, Lucas was all apologies, signed a written guarantee, and got a half-hour lecture before finally leaving with Isabella, both looking totally defeated.

Outside the police station, Isabella was still stomping her foot, tears welling up in her eyes. She just couldn't accept that her scheme had flopped.

I walked right up to her, raised my hand, and...

Smack!

The crisp sound of the slap made people stop and stare.

"Sophia, are you crazy?" Lucas shouted, but he stayed back, not daring to step forward.

"That slap is so you learn not to treat the law like a joke," I said coldly.

I pulled out a wet wipe and cleaned my hand. "Trying to frame me? Next time, make sure you've got all your evidence ready. And one more thing..."

I leaned in close to Lucas, making sure only the three of us could hear. "If you ever try to pull something like this again, I'll print out all the proof of your cheating and hand it out as flyers to your boss and everyone at your office."

People around us were already snapping photos.

Good.

I didn't give a damn about my reputation. All I cared about was whether it felt awesome.