NovelNext Chapter 23: I'm Pregnant
Chapter 23: I'm Pregnant
The moment Ethan Foster appeared, Sophia Williams' eyes flashed with bitter irony, as if she'd expected this all along.
Ethan's face was pale. He saw the mockery in Sophia's gaze but lacked the strength to explain himself.
"I can't let you marry him, Sophia," he murmured, his handsome features twisted in unmistakable agony. "You're my wife, the woman I love most. I won't stand by and watch you become his!"
His voice grew unsteady, laced with something darker, resentment.
"I've admitted my mistakes. For you, I'd give up everything. But why must you be so cruel? Do you have any idea how it feels to see Lucas holding you in those photos every single day?"
Sophia stiffened, her gaze drifting to the walls. A chill seeped into her bones.
The room was plastered with photos of her and Lucas. In just a month, they had covered every inch.
Her expression darkened. She hadn't realized Ethan could be this unhinged.
"Ethan, enough. How long will you keep deluding yourself? We're over."
"We're not!" His eyes burned crimson as he lunged forward, dropping to his knees before her. "You're my wife! As long as I haven't signed the divorce papers, you'll always be mine!"
Sophia fell silent. Her wrists were bound, the room's bright lights obscuring whether it was day or night outside. Only the faint howl of wind reached her.
Had he taken her to the outskirts of the city?
Did he plan to keep her here indefinitely?
"Lucas has probably called the police by now. He knows it's you. If you don't want to face charges, let me go. Once they find us, you won't escape consequences."
Ethan scoffed.
After being tormented by Sophia and Lucas, did he even care about the police anymore?
"Sophia." His fingers traced her face, the softness he'd dreamed of anchoring his fractured mind. "Save your breath. This place is untraceable, even Lucas can't find us. We have all the time we need to talk."
"Talk about what?" She almost laughed. "Your affair? Or how you kidnapped me to play out some twisted fantasy?"
His throat tightened. "You can't tell me you feel nothing. Fifteen years, have you forgotten everything I've done for you?"
Sophia closed her eyes.
Of course she remembered.
She remembered Ethan rescuing her from the rooftop, shielding her from every storm, even taking a bullet for her.
That was what made his betrayal so vicious.
A man who claimed to love her deeply had still chosen another woman's embrace.
Wasn't it laughable?
"Stop romanticizing the past, Ethan. The moment you cheated with Emily two years ago, whatever we had died."
"Every time you beg now, it's just another knife in my chest. It only proves how foolish I was to stay with you."
"We're done. I don't love you anymore."
Her quiet words drained the color from his face.
He staggered back, vanishing for days, only reappearing to deliver meals.
Sophia ate without protest.
She was pregnant now. The child needed nourishment.
But the endless waiting frayed her nerves.
Lucas must be frantic with worry.
When Ethan returned one evening, he carried old videotapes, their wedding footage.
Back then, their smiles had been bright with naive hope.
Simple. Pure.
Like foolish lovers who believed they'd walk through life together.
Ethan slumped beside her, hollow-eyed. "We were happy then."
"I regret it all. How could I let a woman like Emily destroy us?"
Sophia kept her eyes shut, too exhausted to look, too resolved to care.
Her heart had moved on.
Yet Ethan cupped her face desperately. "Look at us. Don't these memories mean anything to you?"
When she didn't respond, his breathing turned ragged.
Suddenly, he pinned her down, his gaze feverish with possession.
A monstrous thought took root.
If they were bound by blood, by a child, maybe she'd remember.
Maybe it was Emily's pregnancy that ruined everything.
Then he'd give Sophia a child of their own.
Just as his lips descended, Sophia turned her face away.
Undeterred, he whispered her name like a prayer.
Then, at the breaking point, she spoke.
"I'm pregnant."
"With Lucas's child."