A low, agonized growl tore from Sophia’s lips as she stirred in her sleep, her body shifting slightly before her eyelids fluttered open.
A wave of disorientation hit her as she took in the dim glow filtering through the room, cast by the single, flickering lightbulb dangling from the ceiling.
Another growl rumbled from her throat as she slowly pushed herself up from the couch, her muscles aching with protest.
Her gaze swept across the unfamiliar surroundings, confusion clouding her thoughts.
The last thing she rembered was being at ho—safe—until flashes of a phone call with Angel jolted through her mind like lightning striking a darkened sky.
A sharp pain radiated from her skull, drawing yet another growl from her lips.
She clutched her head, fingers pressing against her temples in a desperate attempt to steady herself.
With a shaky breath, she eased herself upright, her pulse pounding with an unshakable sense of unease.
The room was eerily empty—except for the worn-out couch beneath her and her own aching body.
A heavy silence pressed down on her, amplifying the disorientation swirling in her mind.
She blinked, her breath uneven as she scanned her surroundings, trying to place them. But nothing looked familiar.
Had she been here before?
Then, like a dam breaking, it hit her.
Arthur.
The mory surged back with startling clarity—the heated argunt, the tension crackling between them.
She had been adamant, refusing to let him go through with the conference he was so determined to hold.
She had felt, in her very core, that Arthur was crossing a dangerous line. But he wouldn’t listen. He wouldn’t change his mind.
Desperation had driven her to reach for her phone, her fingers trembling as she tried to call Angel. Maybe Angel would understand. Maybe Angel would help.
But before she could say a word—pain. A sharp, blinding pain as Arthur struck her head.
Her breath hitched as she pressed her palm against the throbbing spot on her skull.
He had done this to her. He had left her here.
But why? And more importantly... what was he planning next?
True, jealousy gnawed at her—the thought of her best friend being so close to her husband was a bitter pill to swallow.
But even through that storm of emotions, she couldn’t ignore the innocent life growing within Angel’s womb. She refused to let that child suffer the way hers already was.
The realization of her own pregnancy had struck her just days ago—a revelation that had left her breathless, heart pounding with a mixture of fear and hope.
She had planned to tell Arthur, to share the news in hopes that it might change sothing, might soften him. But never, in her darkest nightmares, had she expected this.
She had tried to reason with him, to convince him that whatever twisted plans he had, this wasn’t the way.
Wouldn’t it be better if he simply stepped back?
If he chose to be the father their child needed rather than spiraling into whatever madness consud him?
But after everything he had done to her, after the cold brutality he had shown, she no longer recognized the man she had once loved.
Arthur was no longer the person she thought he was.
He wasn’t just cruel—he was toxic, dangerous, vile in ways she couldn’t even put into words.
And the way he was fixated on Angel, the obsession burning in his eyes whenever her na was ntioned, sent chills crawling down Sophia’s spine.
What was he planning? And how far was he willing to go?
She wanted—needed—to tell Angel everything, to warn her, to let her know the truth before it was too late.
But Arthur... Arthur had done the unthinkable. The worst betrayal a husband could ever commit.
A sharp ache spread through her chest as she lowered a trembling hand to her stomach, feeling the faint, delicate movent of the baby growing inside her.
The sensation both grounded her and shattered her all at once.
This child was the only piece of Arthur she still wanted to hold onto, the only fragnt of the man she once loved.
But now, as the horrifying reality of his actions sank in, she knew—that man was gone. The Arthur she had once trusted no longer existed.
Swallowing back the anguish threatening to consu her, she forced herself up from the couch.
The cold floor sent a shiver through her body, but she barely registered it.
Escape. That was all that mattered now.
She staggered toward the door, her heart slamming against her ribs as she banged her fists against the hard surface.
"Please! Is anyone there?!" Her voice cracked as she pounded harder, her desperation echoing through the suffocating silence. "Soone, please! I’m trapped! Get out of here!"
Nothing.
No footsteps. No voices. No sign that anyone had heard her.
But she wasn’t giving up. She couldn’t.
She slamd her fists against the door again, ignoring the sting of impact. She shouted until her throat burned, until the room swallowed her cries whole. And still, she didn’t stop.
Because soone had to hear her. Soone had to open this door.
And she refused to be trapped in Arthur’s twisted ga.
Ti stretched endlessly, each passing second dragging Sophia deeper into the suffocating grip of despair.
Her fists ached from pounding against the door, her throat burned from screaming, yet there was nothing—no one.
The silence pressed against her like an invisible force, heavy and unyielding.
A chilling thought crept into her mind.
What if Arthur had hidden her away in a place no one would ever find?
Her breath hitched as the weight of her situation bore down on her.
Guilt clawed at her insides, sinking its venomous fangs deep into her chest.
Was this her fault? Had she ignored the signs for too long, allowed herself to believe in a love that had long since turned to poison?
Her legs trembled, and she finally crumpled to the floor, wrapping her arms around herself as though trying to hold together the shattered pieces of her soul.
"Soone help..." Her voice was barely a whisper now, hoarse and broken.
But the only response was the empty stillness of the room. No footsteps. No voices. No hope.
For the first ti, she questioned everything.
Her love. Her choices. Her entire life with Arthur.
What had it all been for? What had it gotten her in the end?
But just as the crushing weight of despair threatened to pull her under, a sound shattered the silence.
A key.
The unmistakable click of tal sliding into a lock sent a jolt of adrenaline through her.
Her breath caught in her throat as she snapped her head toward the door. The knob twisted, the hinges creaked.
Soone was opening the door.
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