In the fifth year of her marriage to zillionaire Alexander Stone, Sophia attended her triplets’ school science fair.
The teachers had prepared a “fun genetics project.” Every family received DNA kits, and today the results were displayed on a large screen. It was then a single line of text stole the air from Sophia’s lungs.
Father: Alexander Stone. Mother: Courtney Hartman.
Then another certificate crashed onto the screen-an assistant’s tablet glitching, spilling a hidden clause for all to see.
Surrogate: Sophia Lane. Compensation: $2.5 million.
The hall went silent before the whispers erupted.
“Surrogate? A hired womb?”
“Oh my god so that is why a billionaire like Alexander Stone married an orphan from nowhere!”
Laughter rippled through the hall. Parents leaned closer, pointing at Sophia as though she were dirt beneath their shoes.
“N-no… it must be a mistake.” Sophia staggered back, vision blurring. Her body shook but her voice steadied with the force of a vow. “This isn’t true. My husband loves me. He would never..”
Her heels cracked on the floor in a frantic rhythm as she fled before collapsing into her car, knuckles white on the wheel as she drove to the hotel where her husband was having an ‘important’ meeting.
At last when she reached the suite, a slow, mocking laughter drifted out freezing her blood in place.
“Courtney, brother Alexander has been planning this night for months.” a friend laughed in admiration.” The helicopter, the banquet, the flowers flown in from Paris- since the day your divorce was finalized. He even delayed Sophia’s abdominal surgery, ignoring her discomfort just so it wouldn’t interfere with tonight’s celebration.”
“Alexander, I shouldn’t let you do all this.” Courtney whispered, her voice soft as silk. “All those years ago you knew I couldn’t face pregnancy, so you placed my eggs in Sophia’s womb and let her body suffer what mine never could.
Now that I am back again, what if she knows the truth and hates me?”
Sophia’s hand flew to her mouth. She staggered, as if lightning had struck her chest. She waited…waited for Alexander to deny those words.
Instead, came his calm voice, almost gentle, but each syllable split her apart.
“All these years she lived lavishly while you suffered. Now that you are under my protection, whatever you lost, I will give back tenfold. As for Sophia…” he exhaled faintly, like dismissing a trivial matter. “What is there for her to be angry about? She has my name, my roof, my wealth. That is her compensation.
Delaying her treatment by a week won’t kill her.”
Laughter followed. “Back then we used to joke that Alexander would never win you and we were right. Heartbroken, he went and married that poor girl who resembled you instead.”
Courtney’s lips curved in a soft, knowing smile. “Everyone, please… Alexander and I are only childhood friends…afterall the real Mrs Stone is still Sophia.”
“Now, is she?” A sharp laughter sliced through the room. “Tell us, Alexander. how long will you keep playing house with a surrogate nanny? She was never your first choice…or is it that you have actually fallen for her?”
Sophia’s chest tightened as she felt like a dagger was being twisted in her heart.The silence stretched long, choking her. Every second pressed like a weight against her ribs.
Then Alexander spoke, his tone flat, unshaken.
“This was never about love. It was a contract, a transaction, nothing more.”
Sophia clutched her mouth in horror, bile rising her throat. It was at this moment her phone vibrated and she barely answered with trembling fingers and blurry eyes.
“Mrs. Stone.” The doctor’s voice was heavy with regret. “We regret to inform you that due to the delay in your surgery, a cancerous tumor has developed in your ovaries.”
“You don't have much time left.” The party, the laughter and the satisfied smile on Courtney’s face…everything faded into nothing.
In that instant Sophia’s entire world came crashing down, a tear dribbling down her eyes.
“All these years I have been a fool in your love…not anymore.”
——
The snowstorm bit into her skin, freezing her to the bone, yet Sophia felt nothing, her body numb trembling in shock.
Minutes bled into hours as she sat crumpled on the ground, water dripping from her hair, mingling with silent tears until the sobs tore free, raw and gut-wrenching.
Five years ago, her brother gambled away everything. When the debt collectors came, they gave her parents two choices-money or flesh. Without hesitation, her parents handed over their only daughter, trading her to a man old enough to be her father just to keep their son’s name clean.
She still remembered the stench of his breath as the man tried to kiss her and ripped off her clothes, the way her mother’s voice outside the door urged her not to resist.
In that instant, Sophia turned and shattered the window, shards slicing her arms as she bolted barefoot, half in her nightdress darting through alleys until the sound of pursuit blurred into the storm.
At the crossroads, blinded by rain and fear she stumbled straight into the path of Alexander’s black sedan.
“Please… don’t let them take me back.”That night she had clung to Alexander desperately, half-mad with shame and longing for rescue.
“Get her out. We are leaving,” he said flatly, yet as the headlights swept over her beautifully innocent eyes, it made his chest tighten.
It was at that moment he pulled her inside and leaned close, his breath warm against her ear, his voice laced with command.
“I don’t do charity.” he said coldly, his fingers tightening on her wrist. “Funny. You almost remind me of someone…I will mold you into her shadow until I forget the difference.”
“If I walk away, they will devour you. If I claim you, no one dares touch you. Choose wisely-do you want to be mine, or their prey?”That night humiliation stung her bones but as she was about to turn away she noticed the crest on his ring.
It was the same emblem she had seen on the gates of the mansion she used to stand outside of, wearing a suffocating teddy bear costume, her tray of candies melting in the sun.
Her lips trembled as she realised that he was none other than the glorious young master of the mansion who used to dash outside, pressing coins into her palm, buying every candy so she could go home early.
The same boy who once slipped her, his own sandwich through the iron bars, whispering “One day, you won’t have to live like this.”
Alexander Stone.
The dazzling prince of her childhood… and now, the man asking her to be his woman.
“…I agree.”
That day she had willingly become his woman and vowed to love him with all her heart.
He caught her wrist, pressing his lips to the place where her pulse fluttered wildly. The kiss was soft, reverent, as though she mattered.
For the next five years she poured her heart and soul for Alexander Stone only to realise today that she was a mere baby making machine he brought with money, to be used until it broke.
When Sophia finally staggered home, her gaze fell upon the tiny shoes neatly lined up at the entryway. She had polished them every night without fail- the triplets were everything she had left now.
“Mom’s home!” The children rushed only for Sophia to crouch down kissing them, smiling faintly through her exhaustion. The next moment little Ethan toddled over with a steaming teacup.
The first sip burned slightly bitter, but she forced a smile. Moments later, her chest tightened, her limbs weakening as a violent convulsion seized her body. The cup crashed to the floor.
The boys fell to their knees beside her, hands patting her face as if soothing a toy. Their voices were small and practised.
“Mommy, Aunt Courtney said-if sleeping pills don’t work, we can try something stronger next time.”
“Sorry, Mommy, our family doesn’t need a foolish housewife like you.” another mumbled, delivering the words Courtney had taught them. “Now that she is back, she will put you in your place.”
Sophia’s chest heaved, vision swimming as her children’s cruel words echoed as she was on the verge of losing consciousness.
“Fine” she spat using the last of her strength. “Keep the title. Keep his name. Call her what you what- Mrs. Stone, mother. Take it all.”
She let go of the claim she had carried like a chain. For the first time in a long while, something snapped inside her- freedom of having nothing left to lose.
She was done being the perfect wife and mother, this crown of lies- she will rather throw it away!
Chapter 2
Sophia’s eyes fluttered open to see the sterile white of the hospital ceiling above. A shadow fell across her bed, and for a heartbeat she thought it was Alexander, only to see the doctor looking at her with sympathetic eyes.
“Mrs.Stone. We tried everything but couldn’t save the baby…last night you bled in your husband’s car and miscarried.”
Sophia stared at her blankly. “Baby?” My lips quivered. “I… was pregnant?” Her fingers gripped the sheets, trembling.
The doctor hesitated. “The sleeping pills you ingested were too potent and could have caused permanent brain damage. That, combined with your terminal illness… it was too much for the fetus.”
“Sophia” It was at this moment the door swung open and Alexander stepped in with a bouquet of lilies in his hand smelling of funeral flowers.
“You are awake. Don’t worry, I am here.” His thumb brushed across her face making hope spark weakly inside her. Maybe, just maybe, he would hold her when she told him.
“Alexander… I..I need to tell you that I had a miscarr-”
“You are overthinking it.” He silenced her with a sigh, sending the doctor away.
“About last night, I have already spoken to the children and it was nothing serious. Just a childish joke with the wrong medicine. They didn’t know those pills would make you have internal bleeding.
Now that you are fine, there is no need to blow this out of proportion and make them suffer.”
Sophia’s entire body shook violently. “They had suffered? And what about me?!” Her voice rose startling Alexander who brushed away a strand of her hair before gently taking her in his arms.
“You’re strong enough to handle it.” he murmured.”Accidents happen so I am asking you to let it go for me..for the family’s sake.”
The room spun. The child she had lost wasn’t even acknowledged yet the ones who had murdered it were shielded like treasure.
Sophia vaguely recalled how gentle Alexander’s eyes had been that night years ago.
The elders of the Stone family had been pressuring them, urging her to “do her duty” but Alexander had brushed them off and held her gently saying:
‘I can’t let you suffer like that Sophia. Pregnancy is too hard to go through again and again. Let’s try IVF. One time. You won’t have to bear repeated cycles of pain.”
Back then, she thought he was saving her and when the doctor confirmed she was pregnant, Sophia wept with joy. Even when the morning sickness made her deathly sick or her body swelled with stretchmarks carrying three lives inside her simultaneously she never complained.
She nearly died giving birth, her blood soaking the sheets, yet she smiled through it all-for him, for their children.
And now her sacrifice was nothing but dust.
A sharp pain twisted in her chest and she sputtered a mouthful of blood staining the white sheet.
“Sophia!” Alexander’s voice thundered as he held her collapsing body. His arms tightened around her trembling frame..
“Doctor!” His roar rattled the sterile corridor. “Get your best team here now!”
For a fleeting moment, Sophia illusioned herself to believe that she mattered. Like she was his world as his thumb brushed away the blood from her lips.
Her breaths came shallow and broken. For a fraction of second she wanted to believe that even a small part of the kind boy who was her childhood prince was somewhere there.
It was at this moment Alexander’s phone rang.
Courtney.
Alexander’s eyes flickered, torn for a moment before he picked up the call.
“What? …You sprained your ankle?” His jaw clenched. “Stay there. I am coming.”
He glanced once at Sophia, still gasping in his arms and said to the nearest doctor, voice clipped. “Take good care of my wife. Don’t let anything happen to her.”
And with that, he gently laid her back and strode out, his steps quick and urgent but not for her… for Courtney.
Hours bled into each other before Sophia’s condition finally stabilized. The room was quiet except for the faint hum of machines.
It was then her phone chimed with a notification.
Photos of Courtney sitting intimately on a man’s lap with a glass of champagne in hand, lips curved in a victorious smile. Her caption seared across the screen:
[Once he left a deal worth millions because I got scratched. After five years, it’s still the same. The place in his heart will always be mine.]
Below the photos were comments from Alexander’s childhood friends who she had always treated like her own brothers, from organizing a surprise birthday party to cancel the doctor’s appointment to cook for them personally.
[The best couple. How can a country bumpkin compare?]
[We are waiting for the grand wedding.]
[The house in X street worth millions, of course he would buy it just for his princess.]
Sophia felt numb. In the blurred background stood the mansion she had only ever seen from afar, decorated with roses the year she became Mrs. Stone.
She remembered Alexander’s low whisper against her hair that night: “A home for my lovely wife.”
Yet she had never once stepped inside. Each time she asked, Alexander had smiled faintly.
“Not ready yet. The time isn’t right.” Now she knew why.
Without crying like in the past, she merely liked the post and even went as far as to comment.
[Congratulations] It was at that moment the entire chat completely quietened down immediately.
All this time she had truly suffered because of unnecessary feelings thus without hesitation she dialed the number of the most dangerous man in the city.
“I was foolish in the past and saw wrongly. Please help me file for divorce.” she whispered into the phone, voice hoarse. “And don’t mention custody. The children were never mine.
In return, this body that you always desired, I will give it to you.”
Chapter 3
On the day of her discharge, Sophia expected to return home quietly.
But instead of heading toward their villa, the driver stopped outside a brightly lit amusement park.
“Madam, Mr. Stone is waiting for you.” Sophia froze.The bright colors, the laughter of strangers, all of it felt jarring to her still-weak body. She shook her head. “No. Just take me home.”
Before the driver could answer, Alexander’s tall figure appeared by the car. He opened the door himself, his hand gripping her wrist with quiet force.
“Don’t make a scene. Come with me.” he said, his tone brooking no refusal.
“My secretary mentioned that you booked this entire park for children’s birthday party. Since Courteny happens to share the same date, I thought it better to celebrate together. It’s livelier that way.”
Sophia’s skin burned with fury the moment she heard those words. Five years ago she had begged Alexander to let the babies stay nine months in her womb but he had cut her off. “Seven months is enough. Deliver them now.”
For the sake of the babies, she had bitten her tongue, believing there must be some medical reason and nearly died, her body torn. It was only now she realised that It wasn’t an accident. It was all so that the triplets shared their birthday with Courteny.
Absolutely shameless!
Alexander took her inside and gestured toward a corridor. “Wait for me in the private room. I will bring the kids after they finish their ride.”
At first Sophia had a strong urge to walk away but she stopped herself. She needed irrefutable proof that could give her solid grounds to secure her divorce quickly.
Reluctantly, she stepped forward.. But just as her hand touched the door, muffled sounds reached her ears- low gasps, the rustle of clothes.
She froze.
For a moment, she thought she had taken the wrong turn. But through the crack, she saw Courteny with two strange men, their shirts torn open amidst rough breathing filling the air.
Courteny leaned lazily against them her lips red, her neck covered in fresh marks, as if she hadn’t even bothered to hide them.
Sophia’s chest tightened.
She turned on her heel to leave but a hand shot out from inside, dragging her violently in.
The next second, the door burst open. Alexander strode in with the children.
They saw Courteny collapsed to the floor, shaking at Sophia’s feet. Her clothes were all torn, exposing more than she intended.
"Mrs Stone! I was wrong! I will never dare touch what belongs to you.” Sophia’s heart stopped.
She wanted to speak, to explain, to shove the world’s cruelty away but Alexander’s icy gaze pinned her like a bird in a cage.
“Mrs Stone please take me to the hospital, the pills you forced in my mouth to make me surely get pregnant…after all the men are done abusing me… I… I can’t let them…! I will rather die!”
Tears streamed down Courteny’s face, her voice barely a whisper as she rushed to Alexander and collapsed in his arms trembling.
“Alex, I only came back because my ex-husband abused me… please don’t let these men take advantage of me.” In between the tears Sophia saw the small smile forming on Courteny’s lips and her entire reasoning snapped.
“I took advantage of you?” Sophia asked, her voice low.
“You even ordered them to film it and post it online… I was wrong to post pictures with Alexander.”
Alexander’s jaw tightened. His gaze shifted from the camera whizzing in the corner to Sophia, disbelief hardening into icy fury.
“Shutup!” Sophia raged “It was Alexander who told me that you will accompany us when we reached here! How could I know it beforehand unless I am some magician!”
Unexpectedly before she could speak anymore, the triplets pointed at Sophia, their childish voices unusually firm.
“Mom is bad!”
“Yes, it is mommy who said that there would be a great show today! How could we have known she would hurt Aunt Courteny? It was… it was Mom!”
The men in the room froze and then, almost simultaneously, they bowed deeply.
“Mr Stone! It was her indeed! If we had known Miss Courteny was your woman, we wouldn’t dare touch her even if we had a hundred guts!” One of them fumbled, then produced a small recording device.
A chilling voice played through the speaker Sophia’s unmistakable tone, calm and commanding:
“Make sure she suffers. Don’t let her walk away. Record everything.”
Sophia’s eyes widened as she looked at the trap which was so intricately planned to ruin her before a small miserable smile covered her features.
“All this effort to ruin me… just for a title? What a snake you are-”
“Pa!”
The slap landed with a shattering crack, the sound ripping through the room like thunder.
Sophia hit the ground hard, the taste of iron spreading in her mouth.
Courteny who was crying till now suddenly quietened with a ruthless smile as Alexander stood above Sophia glaring fiercely.
The moment Sophia turned to look at him with blood trickling down her lips, her eyes completely blank as if her entire being was dripping with horror, Alexander stilled, his hand still raised in the air, a strange sense of guilt covered his senses.
“So at the end you believe her? If someone were to see, they might think that she is your real wife while I am the mistress!”
Alexander’s gaze turned icy. “So this is how low you will go?” His voice was calm, but every word cut deeper than steel.
Without a word, he gestured sharply. The two men in the room were dragged aside, their protests swallowed by the echo of authority.
Alexander stepped closer, his gaze freezing Sophia in place. “Did you strip Courteny… did you enjoy humiliating her?” His voice was low, merciless. “Now it’s your turn.”
Sophia’s chest tightened. She shook her head, voice breaking: “No! Stop it!”
The moment was sudden, unrelenting as Alexander’s hands seized her ruthlessly, the stark sound of clothes ripping filling the atmosphere.
Sophia shivered violently, heart hammering as the hands that once held her with so much love now stripped her bare with angry rough hands that left red marks on her body.
Hot tears streamed down her face as she gasped for breath sobbing hard. “Alexander… what are you doing? Please, don’t-”
Nobody listened as she wailed like a broken doll feeling every inch of her soul being torn away.
His eyes didn’t waver. “You wanted to ruin her dignity… now you will feel it. Every moment. Every shred of shame.”
The camera in the corner whirred, recording every second-her fear, her humiliation, her complete unraveling.
“You wanted a spectacle right? Today I will teach you a lesson you will never forget in your life!”
Chapter 4
Before Sophia could react, Alexander yanked her arms with iron grip, dragging her outside.
Panic surged through her as she struggled, her efforts were useless as she was hauled towards the rusted ‘death’ roller coaster which claimed multiple lives in the past- limbs crushed, bones broken, screams lost to the wind.
“Once, I saved you from molesters, who knew you could use that same vicious method to harm others…going as far as to drug another to make them pregnant!” Ignoring her gut-wrenching protests he strapped her in tightly making the restraints dig into her skin painfully.
Alexander’s cold eyes followed her every movement, hand resting over the control panel like a man about to deliver a sentence without hesitation.
Her heart pounded sharply as she looked towards the children who framed her. She opened her mouth to scream but no sound came; Alexander’s stare had already branded her guilty.
The ride lurched forward violently as wheels screamed, chains rattled and Sophia’s stomach dropped as the world twisted violently around her.
“This is what it feels like to betray me, to destroy trust. Remember this pain. Every bruise -you have earned it!”
Hours passed as Sophia felt the wind tear at her hair, the straps dig deeper into her flesh drawing bruises and the metal frame broke her bones. Blood trickled down her lips from a cut she hadn’t noticed at first.
The children watched from a safe distance, silent, wide-eyed as the woman who had raised them was reduced to a trembling, broken figure on the ride.
"Brother, Mom looks so sad. Do you think we are going too far by doing this?"
"N-No, dad said that we should always listen to Aunt Courteny, if she told us to lie then it must be right? Anyway, mom loves us very much so she will forgive us.”
Alexander never left the control panel. He didn’t shout, didn’t curse. He merely watched as Sophia’s body endure as exhaustion, fear and pain broke her spirit piece by piece.
Finally, when she was on the verge of passing out, soaked in sweat, her lips streaked with blood, Alexander turned off the ride. Sophia sagged against the harness barely breathing, every movement painful, her mind completely broken.
The man who saved her life, gifting her a wedding dress that was the envy of a city. The sweet husband of five years with a flawless record. No scandals, no mistresses, no chaos.
The man who painted dozens of portraits of her and saved her from every criticism completely disappeared from her memory at this moment.
“All your debts, I have repaid them now.” Those were the last words she spoke before passing out.
Three days later, Sophia finally woke up to the faint light filtering through her bedroom curtains. Her body ached in every corner when she blinked disoriented and found Alexander sitting beside her.
His eyes were bloodshot as if he hadn’t slept in days.
The moment he saw her stirring, he came forward gripping her hands with a desperation she had never seen. “Sophia! You’re awake!” he whispered, almost frantic before calling out sharply “Doctor! Now!”
Within moments, the attending physician hurried in carrying Sophia’s diagnosis. His face however was far from normal, worry threading through his features.
“Mr. Stone, for Miss Sophia to go through such trauma, it was luck this time but considering her terminal illnes-”
“It’s nothing.” Sophia interjected quickly, her voice weak but firm. “Just exhaustion.”
The doctor hesitated before looking between them, he saw Sophia’s firm eyes before nodding silently and merely prescribed some medicines before leaving.
Alexander exhaled, his jaw tight. Without a word, he picked up a tray of home-cooked food and gently raised a spoon to her lips. “Eat” he said softly, his fingers brushing against hers. “Tell me… how do you feel?”
But Sophia did not respond. Her lips pressed tight, her gaze fixed somewhere beyond the room, past him, past the children and everything as if she was seeing right through them.
It was at this moment the door creaked open and Courteny’s delicate figure stepped in, suitcase in hand.
Her gaze fell on Sophia, who was awake and her lips trembled. “Sophia… I- I am sorry.”
She whispered, acting innocent, her voice barely audible, expecting Alexander to be side with her. “It was all my fault… but Alex” she murmured, eyes glistening. “I had nowhere else to go. You promised I could stay with you…”
“I see… she has already moved in. Then I should move out.” Alexander frowned as he heard Sophia whisper to no one in particular.
“Right now isn’t the correct time. Sophia needs her rest.” The small gleeful gleam in Courteny’s eyes wiped instantly as he said, calm but unyielding.
“Wait outside.” Courteny froze, astonishment flickering across her face, her lips parting as if to argue but no words came. Slowly she casted a resentful glare at Sophia before stepping out and clicked the door shut.
Only two people were left in the room but Sophia knew better than to expect anything from Alexander Stone.
“Whatever happened that day, Sophia… if you apologize to Courteny sincerely, I would let it go.”
Chapter 5
“Courteny will be staying here for a while. Until things settle down, I expect you to do everything to make her comfortable. She has been through enough already, can you do it for my sake Sophia?”
If it had been the past, Sophia would have been horrified, flinching at the command but now… she didn’t care.
“She can stay as long as you wish and I will make her an apology as well.” Sophia said lightly, as though it were a trivial matter.
Instead she dragged her broken body to rise and pushed a document towards Alexander. “Just sign here. I plan to personally oversee a child cancer hospital. That will need your approval.”
At that moment Sophia’s voice was steady, but her knuckles whitened as the biggest turning point of her life was here.
Divorcing Alexander Stone.
Alexander stilled.
Sophia had followed him for years, loving him with a patience that never once asked for repayment. Now her sudden request pressed against his chest like a warning, leaving a faint discomfort he couldn’t name.
“If you don’t want to then forget it. I won’t force you.”Sophia tilted her head slightly, her tone completely detached.
The faint disappointment in her voice pierced him. He immediately grabbed the pen, pressing down hard.
“I was just surprised that you have never mentioned this before. If this is your wish, I will support it fully.”
He signed without hesitation, not realizing he was putting his name on their divorce.
“After years of being husband and wife, this is your first time asking for something and even now it’s for someone else’s sake. You’re still too softhearted, Sophia. I don’t know what made you become so cruel to Courteny but if it's because of those stupid rumors you have indeed disappointed me so much.
In future you have to learn from Courteny and behave like a proper elite young madam. She is the princess of Hartman Enterprises but unlike you she never once use her power to bully others.”
Sophia looked down without a word, blinking away the sting in her eyes. How foolish she was to think she could win his heart if she gave her everything to him.
An hour passed when the door creaked open with the triplets at the other side. Ethan whispered, thinking she couldn’t hear.
“Mom’s so boring, she doesn’t understand anything about cars. She is kind of dumb, the least she could do is read us bedtime stories.”
"She only got lucky once to have us. If we sleep here, she will probably nag again. But still she won’t refuse us.”
“Yeah, she never refuses. Even if we mess up her bed.”
Sophia inhaled slowly, steadying her chest as though the words hadn’t pierced straight through.
“Mom are you okay? we will sleep here tonight!” They giggled bursting into her room with their pillows.
But Sophia’s expression was unreadable. She rose from her bed, the warmth she once carried in her eyes nowhere to be found.
“No need. Go back to your rooms.”
Her tone was flat, without anger… without affection-just a sort of order.
The boys froze, shock flashing across their faces. They weren’t used to their mother rejecting them before.
“B-but-” Sophia didn’t wait. The door closed with a soft but decisive click. For the first time, it was their turn to feel shut out.
It was at that moment a message blinked at her inbox.
[In three days, I will come to pick you up, till then don’t let anyone bully you.] A small smile graced Sophia’s lips. To think the man she once considered her arch-enemy knew her better than the husband who shared her bed for five years.
Later that night, Alexander came home late to find the triplets asleep alone, their pillows still clutched tight.
“Why aren’t you in your beds?” he frowned, but they only mumbled that Mom didn’t want them.
Alexander’s steps slowed, his brows drawing together as he turned toward the bedroom but surprisingly for the first time in their marriage the door was locked. He raised a hand, then lowered it again. After a long moment, he left without knocking.
The next morning, Sophia descended the grand staircase of Stone Villa, only to freeze at the sight before her. Courteny stood in the kitchen, damp hair clinging to her cheeks, Alexander’s oversized shirt hanging loosely over her frame. She hummed softly stirring a pot, while the triplets clung to her like she was their mother.
“Mom! Mom! We want you to be our mom!” Ethan cried, tugging at her sleeve.
The moment Sophia appeared, the children froze, eyes wide. Courteny’s lips curved into a mocking smile.
“You still had the guts to crawl here?” Her voice sharp and cruel. “Now that the real wife is here, a cheap woman like should naturally know when to scram! Before I throw you out myself, it would be better if you start looking for other ‘options’.” At best, you will probably end up being a mistress for some old man.”
Sophia’s chest tightened but before she could answer, Courteny’s eyes flicked toward the staircase, panic sweeping through over her delicate features as she dropped to her knees, voice trembling as she changed her tone, tears glistening:
“I-I never meant any harm! I am not a… shameless woman! It’s just… my own clothes haven’t arrived yet. I wore his shirt- I didn’t mean to offend you, Sophia!”
Alexander’s jaw tightened watching the scene and he was about to step in when Sophia laughed softly, freezing him on his spot.
“You start crying even if I breathe the same air. I just came down to pick something to eat but the next thing I know is that you are throwing a tantrum and grovelling at my feet for something I am not bothered about.
Is it that you are truly sick and cry every other second, If it is like that then you should go to the hospital for a proper checkup instead of making everyone believe that I bullied you.”
A stunned silence filled the kitchen. The triplets stared between the two women, wide-eyed.
Courteny did not expect such an answer and naturally looked at Alexander in an helpless expression yet the moment her eyes met his, she froze as his eyes were clouded with suspicion.
Sophia turned around her empty eyes meeting Alexander. “I came here to apologise so you need not worry about her. Miss Hartman, I am sorry. Also please consider this my last favor and stop pushing your luck.”
“T-Then will you return the necklace that you ripped from my neck please? It was my brother’s last gift to me before he went into a coma saving Alexander in a car crash...”
Chapter 6
“What did you say?”Alexander’s voice sank low.
The atmosphere froze instantly, the air thick with suffocating tension.
Who in the country did not know that talking about that accident was the Stone family’s taboo where Alexander lost his father and his sister was kidnapped only to be found dead the next day.
And yet here it was, dragged into the open.
Courteny’s finger trembled as she lifted it, pointing at the jade necklace resting against Sophia’s collarbone.
“This… this belongs to me.”
Sophia’s brows furrowed, “What nonsense-”
The words were barely spoken when the nanny lurched forward and dropped to her knees.
“Mr… I cannot hide it anymore. This morning, Madam ordered the servants to tear Miss Courteny’s dresses. She even mocked her, saying her brother is nothing but a cripple who fell into a coma. And then…” the nanny’s voice cracked, “she slapped Miss Courtney and snatched the necklace, saying "Miss doesn’t deserve such a treasure.”
The words hung in the air like poison.
“I never did it!” Sophia’s lips trembled as her fists balled so tight her nails bit into her palms.
“Enough!” Alexander cut her off, low and cold before his unreadable gaze shifted to the triplets who were watching the entire fiasco wide eyed.
“Tell me the truth. Did your mother say these things?”
For a moment they looked at Courtney nervously before Kevin swallowed hard, his eyes unable to meet Sophia.
“W-we can’t say anything or…or mommy will hit us a lot.”
Sophia staggered back as if struck. “You…is this what she taught you?”
But before she could say more, Marcus timidly pulled up his sleeve, revealing a faint bluish mark on his arm. “See? Mommy hit me… She said if we told Daddy, she would hurt us again.”
He had teary eyes as he looked at the ground with his voice small, innocent, but his words made Sophia feel like the years spent in raising them..it was all worthless.
“And Mommy called Aunt Courteny a… a CHEAP WOMAN…daddy, what does that mean?”
Sophia’s blood ran cold. “Enough! There is a limit to shamelessness! Teaching children such words… Do you have no fear of retribution?”
“You dare lecture her?” Alexander’s voice lashed like a whip. In one violent motion, he ripped the necklace from her throat.
The chain snapped; jade sliced her collarbone, blood welling in a thin red line.
His eyes blazed, colder than she had ever seen.
“What a filthy woman you are.You disgust me, Sophia.
A woman like you doesn’t deserve to be a mother. I must have been blind to think dragging an orphan out of the mud and marrying her would turn her into anything more than the dirt she came from. And now, look at you. A liar, a damn thief… a fucking stain on my name!”
Sophia stood frozen, the sting in her neck nothing compared to the ache in her chest but this time she didn’t bother explaining nor did she fight back. She saw it clearly now...this was the truth that had always lived in his heart.
Her voice came numb, distant, as if it belonged to another. “The necklace… it belongs to me. It has since childhood…I just wore it today after twenty years-”
“Still lying? Even now?” Alexander’s laugh was cruel, void of warmth.”Not only are you shameless enough to speak disrespectfully of the man who saved my life but also absolutely unfit to raise children! Perhaps that is why… three years ago… you miscarried our child and have been sterile since then!”
Sophia’s ears rang. The words hit harder than any physical blow.
She felt the hollow ache of losing her most precious memory, the life she had carried and loved.
“I have indulged you far too long, Sophia,” Alexander’s voice was cold steel. “Today, you will taste what it means to lose what you treasure most. The black urn she guards like her life-bring it here.”
Sophia’s face drained of all colour.
“No…” She whispered trembling.
The urn was placed in Alexander’s hands.
Sophia's knees almost gave way as she reached out, but before her fingers touched it, he lifted it high and hurled it to the marble floor.
Crash!
The shattering rang through the hall like thunder splitting the earth. Ash and fragments scattered across the tiles.
The sound burrowed into Sophia’s chest, cracking something that had been the last fragile shield around her heart.
Her lips parted, her eyes rimmed in red.. “Alexander… it was your child too.”
She sank to her knees, trembling hands reaching for the tiny gray remnants as if she could piece them back together. Her tears fell unchecked, soaking into the ashes, mixing with the only proof that her stillborn child had ever existed in this world.
In the suffocating silence, her voice was hollow. “You killed the last of him… the last of me.”
“Shut up!” Alexander’s roar shook the walls. His face was twisted with fury, his finger pointing toward Courteny. “Apologize to Courteny!”
Sophia slowly lifted her head. Her eyes glistened, but there was no fear left- only something bitter, broken and defiant.
“Over my dead body… will I bow to a scheming snake.”
Alexander’s face went red with fury. He grabbed her arm and dragged her outside the Stone mansion, everyone watching Sophia’s humiliation as he pushed her to the ground outside the grand gates of the stone mansion.
“Kneel!” he ordered. “Until your mind is right. Until you are ready to apologize. There is no place for you inside the villa!”
The grand doors slammed shut, locking Sophia out of the gilded prison she once called home. Rain poured in sheets, plastering her hair to her face and soaking her to the bone.
Hours passed yet she refused to kneel.
She did not move, did not cry, merely stared at the wedding ring that had chained her for years before finally taking it off and dropping it to the ground as a worthless piece of thrash.
“Goodbye, Alexander Stone.” her voice was soft, but it struck like lightning. She lifted her chin, eyes burning with a fire he had never given her the right to show.
“From now on… we are nothing but strangers.”
It was then headlights cut through the storm and a sleek black car rolled to a stop in front of the gates. Its door opened, and a tall man stepped out, his presence heavy, commanding… dangerous.
Killian Stone- the man whispered about in hushed voices, feared across the country.
The biggest shareholder and the master of the Stone enterprises who threw it all away at the age of twenty
Alexander’s older brother.
He approached slowly, the rain bending to his stride with his gaze sharp enough to slice through steel. Stopping before Sophia, he engulfed her into his hold tightly.
“I am here.” his voice was low, steady, carrying both promise and threat. “To make you mine.”
