The Billionaire’s Payback

Sophia POV "Wow, you're back way earlier than I thought." I totally stopped in my tracks, keys in my hand, as I walked into our place. I could hear Ryan’s voice from upstairs. My heart did this little happy dance like, what a surprise! I wrapped up the conference way ahead of schedule, caught an earlier flight, and thought a chill night together could be what we needed. “Yeah, I… wrapped things up quicker than I thought,” I shouted back, forcing a grin he couldn’t see. “Thought I’d pop in and surprise you.” Silence hit me like a brick wall. Kinda weird. Usually, the place was alive with sound music, the TV blaring, and the city noise filtering in through our windows. But today, it felt super quiet. I dropped my handbag and took a deep breath, trying to shake off the creepy vibes creeping up my back. “Ryan?” I called out again, starting to head up the stairs. “I’m up here,” he replied, sounding kinda far away and almost bored. I hesitated, gripping the railing. Something felt off, but I brushed it aside. I wanted to think everything was cool, that the weird tension between us lately was just a phase, a little bump we could get over. As I climbed, I heard another voice a girl’s voice. It was kinda faint, but I recognized that laugh anywhere. I halted halfway up the stairs, my heart racing. No way, it couldn’t be. I had to be imagining things. Pushing myself forward, I got to the top of the stairs and strolled down the hallway. The door to our bedroom was slightly open. My fingers were shaking as I reached for the handle. “Ryan?” I swung the door open, and time froze. Ryan was there, half-naked in our bed. But he wasn’t alone. Cuddled up to him, her head on his chest, was my sister, Lily. She looked up when she heard the door, and instead of the shock or guilt I was expecting, she just grinned. “Hey, Soph,” she said, like I just walked in on a casual hangout. “You’re back early.” My breath hitched, and my hands went ice cold. “What the hell, Lily?” My voice cracked, barely above a whisper. “What are you doing here?” Ryan didn’t even blink. He just stared at me, and the look on his face it was like I was the one crashing some boring little moment. Like I was the intruder in my own damn life. “Guess we’re finally gonna chat about this now,” he mumbled, sitting up and swinging his legs over the bed. He didn’t even try to cover up as he reached for his pants. I stood there, staring at them, my brain racing to catch up. “What the hell is this?” I demanded, even though my voice sounded shaky and desperate. “Ryan, how could you?” He shrugged like it was no big deal. “It’s been going on for months, Sophia. Thought you’d figure it out by now, but I guess you’re that clueless.” The word hit me like a slap in the face. My fists were tight, and I could barely catch my breath. “Months?” I echoed, feeling the anger bubble up through the numbness. “All this time…?” Lily yawned, stretching out like a lazy cat next to him. “Chill out, Soph. It’s not like you guys were all lovey-dovey or anything.” I felt like I just walked into a weird alternate universe. “You’re my sister!” I snapped. “How could you pull this on me?” She just rolled her eyes like it was no big deal. “Oh, please. You’ve been so wrapped up in work that you didn’t even notice what was going down. It’s not like you even cared about him anymore.” Her cockiness made me wanna puke. I looked over at Ryan, hoping like really hoping he’d show even a smidge of guilt, some sign that this wasn’t as brutal as it looked. But he just stayed cold and distant. “Look, there’s no use dragging this out,” he said, reaching for the nightstand. I watched like I was in some out-of-body experience as he pulled out a crisp, folded paper. He tossed it at me, and it fluttered down to the floor right in front of me. I stared at it for a hot minute before bending down. Divorce papers. My name was already printed all nice and neat at the top. “You… you actually planned this?” Ryan nodded like it was the most obvious thing ever. “It’s over, Soph. You knew this was gonna happen.” My vision got all fuzzy, but I held back the tears. Not in front of them. I swallowed hard and tried to keep my voice chill. “I thought we could work it out.” Ryan sighed, clearly over it. “Fix what? The lack of sparks? The never-ending distance?” He shook his head. “I’ve been done for ages.” I felt the tears burning behind my eyes, but I refused to let them spill. “And Lily? You thought being with my sister was the answer?” Lily shrugged with a smirk. “It just happened. You weren’t around, and Ryan needed someone to hang with.” The betrayal cut so deep, I could feel it in my bones. “You’re insane,” I whispered. Ryan stood up, slipping on his shirt. “I’ll be out by the end of the week. You can keep the place. Whatever.” I stared at him, my heart racing. “You’re really going through with this?” He didn’t even think about it. “Yeah. No point in pretending anymore.” Lily shifted, sitting up in bed with a smug look on her face. “And I’m not going anywhere. Ryan’s crashing with me.” The rage boiled over. I crumpled the papers in my fist. “Get out. Both of you.” Lily scoffed. “Oh, come on. You can’t just kick me out.” Ryan grabbed his keys from the dresser. “Let’s just bounce, Lily. No need to make a scene.” She hesitated, glancing between us. For a second, I thought I saw a hint of doubt in her eyes. “Soph…” Lily’s face turned hard, and she shrugged. “Fine. Whatever, your loss.” Ryan bolted for the door without even looking back. “We’ll sort the details out later.” I didn’t say a word. I just couldn’t. I just stood there, watching them bounce, the door clicking shut behind them, leaving me all by myself in the chilly, empty silence of what used to be my life. I hung out there for what felt like forever, my eyes glued to the door, hoping for something anything to make sense. I looked down at the divorce papers, the words getting all fuzzy as tears finally started to gather. But I wouldn’t let them spill. I bit my lip till I tasted blood, squeezing that paper tighter in my fist. “This ain’t over,” I mumbled to the empty space. “This is just the beginning.”