Chapter 1

At the company outing, I'd had a bit too much to drink.

A few male colleagues offered to give me a ride home, but I ended up getting into William Reese's car.

Unlike the other guys, he didn't try to flirt or impress me, and besides, his place was actually on my way.

But as soon as I got home, I saw someone tagging me in the company's massive group chat.

[Sophia, how does it feel riding in someone else's husband's car?]

[Aria saw you two leave, and she was so shaken up that she got hit by a car and landed in the hospital. You'd better pray she's alright.]

*****

I was totally thrown off. William was someone's husband?

Swear to God, I had no clue he was married.

[Who is Sophia Howell?]

[I'm telling you, she's only been at the company for a month and already got all the guys interested in her. She's something else.]

[I don't buy that nothing is going on between her and William. So many guys offered her a ride, but she chose William. And his wife was standing right there, watching.]

I hadn't been at the company long, but since I was pretty and easy to get along with, a bunch of guys tried to get close to me. I didn't pay them any mind.

But William was different. He wasn't much of a talker, but he always seemed to be there when I needed help, and gave me the impression of a reliable senior. I did have some fondness for him, but only as a friend so far.

I was about to say we were just friends when someone dropped a bunch of photos in the chat.

They were all from William's feed, and every single post had me in it.

There were shots of me laughing, looking serious, eating breakfast, and even showing up at work.

No one would believe we were just friends after seeing those.

But why had I never seen any of those posts?

Then I checked who sent the message. It was Robert Russo. It seemed like he worked with Aria Fletcher.

Aria was in sales too, but with a company this big and me being the new girl, I hardly knew her at all.

The next day at work, everyone I used to be friendly with suddenly acted like I was invisible.

When I sat down at my desk, the girls on my team kept sneaking glances at me, like they were trying not to be obvious.

Lexie Davis said, "Sophia, don't worry. We know it's not like what she said..."

I tried to give her a smile, but when I turned around, I accidentally swiped a glass off my desk. It was smashed to pieces on the floor.

It was like a slap in the face to Lexie's innocence.

William gave me that glass when I forgot my water bottle on my first day at work.

On my desk, there was the coffee William brought me that morning, and the cactus he always watered for me.

"Sophia, can you come over for a minute? There's something I need to talk to you about," William called out.

I turned and saw him standing off to the side, nervously rubbing his hands, looking uneasy.

I trailed after him to the stairwell.

William said, "I'm sorry for the mess I dragged you into. But I really do like you."

I didn't give him the usual friendly face. Instead, I put some space between us, and my voice was cold as I said, "You like me? Yeah, I know I'm easy to like, and there are lots of guys who are into me. So, what makes you any different?"

William replied, "It's not the same. They're just into your looks, but I'm drawn to the fire inside you. You're nothing like the other girls."

I gave a little scoff, staring at him. "Every woman out there is one of a kind. If you think I'm so special, what about your wife? Wasn't she special to you once, back when you first fell for her?"

"Me being great isn't a reason for you to cheat. That's your own choice, not mine. So don't pull me into your drama."

William looked completely confused. "So you did have feelings for me, right? Is it just because I'm married? I could leave her for you, if that's what you want."

Just then, I caught sight of a coworker walking by with a cup of coffee.

I was so done with this. "Even if you got divorced, I still wouldn't be into you. It's not about morals. It's just you. You'd better set the record straight."

With that, I turned and walked away.

William didn't try to stop me. When I got back to my desk, my coworkers were all giving me side-eye.

I asked Lexie what was going on, and she quietly sent me a screenshot.

It was from a private group chat I wasn't even in.

[I just saw Sophia telling William to leave his wife. Talk about awkward.]

[His wife's still in the hospital, and she's pulling this? Does she have any shame?]

[I told you, she's always all dolled up, smiling at everyone. She's totally fake.]

Now, even the way I dressed and smiled was being spun into something sketchy. It was just normal stuff, but because they hated me, they twisted everything.

I could only message Lexie: [William will explain everything soon enough. The truth will come out then.]

After that, I was on edge, feeling like all eyes in the office were glued to me. Even people I didn't recognize from work kept passing by the doorway.

At noon, William finally spoke up: [Sorry, it's all my fault. Because of me, two women got hurt.]

[But I really do like Sophia. Please, wait for me. Once I get divorced, we'll be together.]