My Ex's Enemy Became My Husband

Chapter 1: The Betrayal Sophia's POV The bouquet of white roses felt heavier than it should have. Maybe it was because I had spent almost an hour choosing them. Or maybe it was because today was finally the day everything would change. I looked down at the flowers and smiled. Ryan loved white roses. It was a small thing. Something most people would never remember. But I remembered everything about him. The coffee he liked in the morning. The songs he played when he was stressed. The way he rubbed his forehead whenever he was thinking too hard. The way his eyes softened when he looked at me. I remembered the promise he made two weeks ago. The night he took my hand, looked into my eyes, and asked me to be his wife. I still remembered how my heart had raced. How I had cried. How I had said yes before he even finished asking. Today was supposed to be the day we told our families. The day we made our future official. .. I parked outside the Laurent family estate and took a deep breath. The place looked exactly the same as it always did. Beautiful. Expensive. Perfect. Ryan had brought me here many times before. I knew every corner of the garden, every pathway, every tree. This was where he had kissed me for the first time. This was where he told me I was the only woman he could ever imagine spending his life with. I smiled at the memory. I really believed him. That was the cruelest part. I walked toward the entrance, holding the bouquet carefully. The front door was slightly open. Strange. "Ryan?" I called. No answer. I stepped inside. The house was quiet. Too quiet. I frowned. Maybe everyone was outside. I followed the sound of voices toward the garden. And then I heard her. Emma.My younger sister. Her laugh floated through the open doors. My steps slowed. Why was Emma here? She knew today was important. She knew Ryan and I were supposed to announce our engagement. I stepped closer. Then I heard Ryan's voice. "I don't know how I'm supposed to tell her." My heart tightened. Tell who? I moved behind the door, confused. Then I saw them. Ryan was standing with Emma near the garden fountain. His back was facing me. Emma was crying. And his hands were holding hers. My grip tightened around the bouquet. "No," I whispered. It couldn't be what I thought. Ryan would never... Not him. Not the man who held me when I lost my grandmother. Not the man who promised me forever. Emma wiped her tears. "You love me, Ryan." The words hit me harder than anything else could have. Ryan didn't deny it. He looked down. And that was when I knew. The world around me became strangely quiet. I couldn't hear the birds. I couldn't hear the wind. I could only hear my own heartbeat. "How long?" My voice came out before I could stop it. Both of them froze. Ryan's face drained of color. "Sophia..." I stepped into the garden. The bouquet suddenly felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. "How long?" I asked again. Emma looked away. Ryan opened his mouth. Nothing came out. That was enough. A painful laugh escaped my lips. "Three years together, Ryan. Three years. And you can't even answer me?" "I'm sorry." The words I had feared finally came. Sorry. Such a small word for something that destroyed everything. "When?" I demanded. He swallowed. "Three months." Three months. My chest tightened. Three months of lies. Three months of him kissing me goodbye in the morning while loving someone else. Three months of me believing we were building a future together. "You proposed to me two weeks ago." Ryan closed his eyes. "I know." "How could you?" My voice cracked. "How could you look me in the eyes and promise me forever when you were already choosing her?" "I didn't mean for this to happen." I stared at him. "That's what people say when they want forgiveness without taking responsibility." Emma stepped forward. "Sophia..." I looked at her. The sister I had protected my entire life. The sister who always seemed to want whatever belonged to me. My clothes. My attention. My achievements. Even my happiness. "Don't." My voice shook. "Don't pretend you care." Her expression changed. "You don't understand." "No, Emma. I understand perfectly." Ryan moved between us. "Stop." I looked at him. Even now, he was protecting her. That hurt more than anything. "Did you plan to tell me?" His silence answered. I laughed bitterly. "When? After you married her?" "Sophia, I was trying to find the right time." "The right time?" I stared at him. "You already chose her. The only thing you were waiting for was the moment that would make you feel less guilty." Before he could answer, Emma spoke. "I'm pregnant." Everything stopped. I looked at her. Then at Ryan. His expression changed instantly. Concern. Fear. Love. Everything I had wanted from him was now directed at her. "No." The word left my mouth quietly. Emma frowned. "What?" "You're not pregnant." Her face changed for a second. Only a second. But I saw it. "I would never lie about something like that." I almost laughed. Almost. Because I knew my sister. I knew exactly what she was capable of. I remembered the scholarship interview she sabotaged because she couldn't stand me succeeding. I remembered the countless times she cried to get what she wanted. I remembered every single moment I had protected her, and every single moment she had used my love against me. "Yes, you would." "Sophia!" My mother's voice suddenly came from behind me. I turned. My parents stood there. And from their expressions... They had known. My heart sank. "You knew?" Nobody answered. My mother sighed. "Sophia, please." Please. That word again. The word people used when they wanted me to accept pain quietly. "Please what?" I looked at her. "Please understand? Please forgive them? Please step aside?" My mother looked at Emma. "Emma is going to have a child." "She isn't." "Sophia." My father's voice was firm. For once, he wasn't taking my side. "Enough." I stared at the people in front of me. The people I thought were my family. My mother stepped closer. "Ryan can give Emma the stability she needs." I felt my heart crack. "And what about me?" Nobody answered. Because maybe they had never thought about that. Maybe I had always been the daughter who could survive anything. The one who didn't need protecting. I looked at Ryan one last time. He looked broken. But not broken enough to choose me. That was the answer I needed. I placed the bouquet on the table beside me. The roses suddenly looked ridiculous. A symbol of a love that didn't exist anymore. "I hope you're happy." My voice was barely a whisper. Then I walked away. Nobody stopped me. I didn't know where I was going. I just knew I couldn't stay there. The moment I stepped outside the gates, the tears finally came. I tried to hold them back. I failed. Three years. Gone. My family. Gone. The future I had imagined. Gone. I walked down the street, my vision blurred. I didn't care where I was going. I just needed to get as far away as possible. Away from Ryan. Away from Emma. Away from the parents who had chosen my sister over me without a second thought. I wiped my face, but the tears kept coming. I didn't see the person in front of me until it was too late. I collided with someone. Strong hands caught my arms before I fell. "Careful." His voice was calm. Deep. Steady. I looked up. A man stood before me. Tall. Dark-haired. Wearing an expensive suit that probably cost more than I made in a year. His gray eyes studied me carefully. He didn't look annoyed. He didn't look impatient. He looked... concerned. "I'm sorry," I whispered. He looked at my tear-stained face. "Are you alright?" I laughed bitterly. "Do I look alright?" He didn't answer. He just reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief—white, monogrammed, impossibly soft. He handed it to me. I stared at it. "I'm fine," I said, even though I clearly wasn't. "You're crying," he said simply. I looked away. "It's nothing." He didn't push. He just waited. And for some reason, that broke me more than anything else. "Today was supposed to be the best day of my life." My voice cracked. "I was supposed to announce my engagement." He didn't interrupt. "And instead," I continued, "I found my fiancé proposing to my sister. And my parents told me to accept it because she 'needs him more.'" The words hung in the air. The man's expression shifted. Something dark passed through his eyes. "Sophia," he said slowly. I froze. "How did you know my name?" Something flickered across his face. He was silent for a moment. Then he said, "I'm Damien Laurent." I frowned. "You... you're Ryan's cousin?" A pause. "Yes," he said quietly. "Ryan is my cousin." I felt my head spin. Ryan had told me about him countless times. About how cold he was. About how much he hated him. And here I was, talking to the man he hated the most. I quickly turned to leave. "I... I should go," I blurted, taking steps forward. "Sophia, wait." I heard him say.And for some reason, my body stopped moving. Then he stepped closer. Close enough that I could smell his cologne— something expensive, something that didn't belong in this moment of ruin. 'I have a proposal for you,' he said quietly. 'One that might actually benefit us both.'”