Chapter 3: The Call That Changed Everything
706 Words
The wedding was forgotten.
The betrayal was forgotten.
Nothing mattered anymore.
Sophia sat in the hospital waiting room, staring blankly at the white walls around her.
Her wedding dress was wrinkled.
Her makeup had long since been ruined by tears.
Across from her, her mother sobbed quietly.
Hours had passed since her father had collapsed.
Hours of waiting.
Hours of fear.
Finally, the doctor’s office door opened.
“Sophia Carter?”
She jumped to her feet.
“Yes.”
The doctor gestured for her and her mother to enter.
The expression on his face made Sophia’s stomach drop.
Doctors only looked like that when they had bad news.
Very bad news.
“Please sit down.”
Sophia gripped the edge of the chair.
“Just tell me.”
The doctor sighed.
“Your father suffered a severe cardiac episode.”
Her mother’s hand flew to her mouth.
Sophia felt her chest tighten.
“Will he be okay?”
“For now, yes.”
For now.
Those two words terrified her.
The doctor opened a file.
“We’ve discovered significant damage. Your father needs surgery.”
Sophia’s heart sank.
“What kind of surgery?”
The doctor explained the procedure.
The risks.
The recovery.
Then he mentioned the cost.
Sophia stopped hearing everything else.
The number echoed in her mind.
It was more money than she earned in several years.
Her mother started crying.
“We don’t have that kind of money.”
The doctor lowered his eyes.
“I understand.”
Sophia felt sick.
The wedding venue had been paid for.
The deposits were gone.
Her savings were nearly empty.
And now Ethan was gone.
Along with all the plans they had built together.
“We’ll find a way,” Sophia whispered.
But even she didn’t believe it.
⸻
An hour later, she sat alone in the hospital cafeteria.
A cup of cold coffee rested untouched in front of her.
Her phone buzzed.
She hoped it was good news.
Instead, it was a message from Ethan.
Please talk to me.
Another arrived seconds later.
I’m sorry.
Then another.
Olivia means nothing to me.
Sophia laughed bitterly.
Nothing?
He had destroyed her life for someone who meant nothing?
She blocked his number immediately.
A second later, another message arrived.
This time from Olivia.
You always get everything. It’s my turn now.
Sophia’s hands trembled with anger.
Without reading further, she blocked her sister too.
For the first time in her life, she felt completely alone.
Then her eyes landed on something sticking out of her handbag.
A black business card.
Alexander Blackwood.
His private number.
The billionaire’s words replayed in her mind.
“If you change your mind, call me.”
Sophia stared at the card.
No.
This was crazy.
Marrying a stranger?
A billionaire she barely knew?
Absolutely not.
Yet she couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Her father needed surgery.
Bills were piling up.
Her future had fallen apart in a single day.
And Alexander had looked at her as though he already knew she would eventually call.
As if he had been waiting.
Sophia shoved the card back into her bag.
She wasn’t desperate enough.
Not yet.
⸻
Across London, on the top floor of Blackwood Enterprises, Alexander stood beside a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the city.
Rain tapped softly against the glass.
His assistant entered the office.
“Mr. Blackwood.”
Alexander didn’t turn.
“How is her father?”
“The hospital confirmed he needs surgery.”
Silence.
“And Sophia Carter?”
“Still at the hospital.”
Alexander nodded.
His assistant hesitated.
“Do you really think she’ll call?”
A faint smile appeared on Alexander’s face.
For a man who rarely smiled, it looked dangerous.
“Yes.”
“You seem very certain.”
Alexander looked down at the phone on his desk.
Waiting.
Patient.
Certain.
“Because sooner or later,” he said quietly, “everyone reaches a point where they have no choice.”
At that exact moment, miles away, Sophia opened her handbag again.
And stared at his card.
End of Chapter 3
Next Chapter: Sophia loses more than she thought possible when a shocking phone call from work leaves her unemployed, pushing her closer to Alexander’s offer.
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