Once Us, Now Dust

Chapter 10

As I finished speaking, Mia's special ringtone blared once again.

Christopher immediately declined the call, but a second later, his phone lit up with a flood of text messages from Mia:

[Chris, honey, everyone online is calling me a homewrecker. You can't abandon me!]

[Chris, your fans are terrifying. They're sending me dead rats and razor blades. I'm on the verge of depression.]

[Honey, you can't ignore me. Your father entrusted me to you before he passed. You swore you'd take responsibility for me!]

[Chris, please…just talk to me, okay?]

[Christopher! Sophia even aborted your child. She clearly doesn't love you. Why are you still clinging to that old hag?!]

With a sharp clatter, Christopher's phone slipped from his hand and fell to the floor. He staggered backward, his face a mix of confusion and disbelief.

"Child? S-Sophia, we had a child?"

He stared at me in shock, his hands gripping my shoulders as a mix of laughter and tears bubbled up.

"Sophia, when...when did we have a child?"

I jerked away from his touch, coldly meeting his gaze, the face countless fans had once adored, now just a reminder of everything I had endured.

"It's gone."

Christopher paused, blinking rapidly. He cleared his throat.

"Gone? What do you mean? Sophia, what does 'gone' mean?"

Tears streamed down his face now, something I had never seen before. This was the same man who hadn't shed a tear when he fractured his ribs doing stunts for a living.

"Sophia, tell me Mia was lying. Just tell me yourself. I'll believe anything you say."

His voice cracked as he reached for my abdomen, desperate.

I stepped back, maintaining a safe distance between us. His presence no longer stirred anything in my heart. I met his eyes, coldly and distantly, as I spoke:

"The child isn't the issue. The divorce is."

His face crumbled as he sobbed, eyes red and full of helplessness.

"Sophia, please, we've been over for a long time."

With that, I turned on my heel, walking toward the door. But before leaving, I tossed one final remark over my shoulder:

"The divorce papers are on the dining table. If you don't sign them, I'll see you in court in three days."

I walked out of the villa, the one we'd lived in for three years, pushing through the cluster of gossip-hungry reporters and the blinding flashes of their cameras.

The villa, once our home, could never be cleansed of the past. It needed to be abandoned completely.

Four years ago, Christopher had bought that place with his first big paycheck and gifted me full ownership. But now, it felt like a prison, so I listed it for sale and bought myself a new studio apartment.

The truth was, Christopher had misunderstood me from the very start. Growing up alone, I had always feared being in an empty house. But now, I wasn't alone.

On the day I moved into my new place, I went to a pet store and bought a British Shorthair kitten, naming him Fluffy.

Somehow, Christopher found out and showed up at my door with a huge bag of cat food.

"Sophia, I know this is all my fault. I've been unclear about my relationship with Mia, and I've let you down."

He looked crushed, his voice low and full of regret.

"I know nothing I say matters anymore, but I'm begging you...please don't divorce me. Sophia, I can't live without you..."