After One Night

Episode 4

~Sophie’s POV

“How dare you lie against him?” my mother seethed.

I looked at her, my heart breaking. She didn’t believe me again.

I held my cheek, my skin burning from the slap, but the pain in my heart was worse. I blinked back tears and looked at my mother, my voice shaking with disbelief.

“So you’re really going to believe that animal over me?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

My mother’s nostrils flared. Without hesitation, she raised her hand and slapped me again. Harder. My head snapped to the side.

“How dare you call my husband an animal?” she hissed.

I turned slowly, my eyes stinging with unshed tears, and locked eyes with Edward. He smirked, completely unfazed, like he knew this would happen. Like he was enjoying it. My chest heaved with rage. I shifted my gaze to Caroline, my so-called stepsister. She lowered her head, refusing to look at me. Guilt? Maybe. But she stayed silent, and that was enough to tell me where she stood.

I let out a bitter laugh. “You know what? You can have him,” I spat, looking straight at my mother. “You and your disgusting husband can have this house. I don’t want anything to do with either of you.”

I pushed past my mother, not hard enough to make her fall, just enough to clear my way. She gasped, but I didn’t care anymore.

I stormed to my room, my mind racing. My hands shook as I grabbed my bag and shoved in whatever clothes I could find. I didn’t care what I packed, I just needed to leave. I couldn’t breathe in this house anymore. I wouldn’t survive another night under the same roof as Edward.

Zipping up my bag, I threw one last glance at the room I had once called mine. It didn’t feel like home. It never had.

Without saying another word, I walked out.

My mother didn’t stop me. Caroline didn’t speak. Edward just sat there, watching me like a predator who had won.

I walked out the front door, slammed it shut behind me, and marched to the street. I didn’t know where I was going, but I knew where I couldn’t stay.

I hailed a cab with shaking hands. The driver pulled up, and I slid into the backseat, barely able to get the words out.

“Greenish estate,” I gave the driver Nathan’s address, my voice barely steady. He nodded and started driving while I stared out the window, my vision blurred with tears.

By the time we got to Nathan’s place, my hands were still shaking. I paid the driver and stepped out, dragging my bag behind me.

I knocked on the door, and within seconds, Nathan opened it. His eyes widened in surprise. “Sophie?”

The moment I saw his face, everything I had been holding in broke. I burst into tears.

Nathan didn’t ask questions. He just pulled me into a tight hug, letting me cry on his shoulder. After a while, he guided me inside and sat me down on the couch.

Between sobs, I told him everything. About Edward. About my mother and my one night stand with a stranger. About how I couldn’t stay there anymore.

Nathan listened without interrupting, his face darkening with anger as I spoke. When I was done, he sighed heavily and squeezed my hand.

“You’re staying here, Sophie. As long as you need. Don’t worry about anything, this is your home now,” he said firmly.

I looked at him, my heart swelling with gratitude. For the first time in a long time, I felt safe.

Living with Nathan was a breath of fresh air. He never pried or judged. Instead, he let me figure out my life at my own pace. I continued my education at the fashion school together with Nathan and started working part-time at a boutique, and for the first time in years, I felt like I had some control over my life.

But life wasn’t done throwing curveballs.

Weeks later, I started feeling off, tired, nauseous, and dizzy. At first, I thought it was just stress, but when the symptoms didn’t go away, I decided to visit the hospital again.

“Sophia, congratulations,” the doctor said, smiling as though he had just delivered the best news ever. “You’re pregnant.”

My heart stopped. Pregnant? No. That couldn’t be right.

“There must be a mistake,” I stammered.

The doctor’s smile faltered. “We ran the tests twice. There’s no mistake.”

I left the hospital in a daze, clutching the papers in my hand. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I wasn’t ready to be a mother, not like this, not after what happened with Damian.

Back at Nathan’s apartment, I paced the living room for what felt like hours, trying to calm the storm in my mind. I had no one to talk to. My mother had made it clear where she stood, and Edward… I shuddered just thinking about him. But Caroline, she was still better than my mother. She wasn’t innocent in all this, but at least she had never outright hurt me. Finally, I gave in and called Caroline.

“I need you,” I said, my voice trembling.

She came over as quickly as she could after texting her the address to Nathan’s place, stepping inside with a curious look. She had a magazine in her hand, which she casually dropped on the table before turning to me.

“What’s going on?” she asked, concern flickering in her eyes.

I hesitated, my throat tightening. But there was no point in delaying. “I’m pregnant,” I blurted out

.

Her jaw dropped. “What? Sophia, are you serious? How? Who is the father?”

I nodded, sinking onto the couch. “Remember that night I left home? I had a one night stand with a stranger!”

Caroline’s mouth was still hanging open, her eyes wide with disbelief. “Sophia, what the hell are you saying? A stranger? How could you…”

I barely heard her. My heart had started pounding for an entirely different reason. My gaze had fallen on the magazine she had casually dropped on the chair, and right there, staring back at me from the glossy pages, was him.

The stranger.

The man from that night.

Damian.

My breath caught in my throat as I reached for the magazine with shaking hands. The bold headline read: Meet Damian B;ackwood, CEO of Blackwood Designs, the rising giant in the fashion world.

I felt like the ground beneath me had disappeared. My fingers tightened around the pages as if holding on to it would somehow make sense of everything swirling in my head.

Caroline frowned at my reaction. “What’s wrong?”

I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly dry. My voice came out in a whisper. “Caroline… who is this?”

She gave me a confused look before glancing at the magazine. “Damian? He owns one of the biggest fashion companies. He’s filthy rich, but also a complete mystery. Hardly does interviews, no scandals, no drama, just business. Why?”

I couldn’t breathe. No scandals, no drama?

I had just shattered that perfect image.

“Because the father of my baby was none other than him!” I yelled out.

Caroline’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “What?!” She snatched the magazine from my hands and stared at the picture, then back at me as if trying to find a lie on my face. “Sophia, are you messing with me right now? Damian Blackwood? The same Damian Blackwood I’ve been trying to get an appointment with for months? Do you know how impossible it is to even breathe the same air as him? My dad pulled every connection he had, and I barely got a chance to meet him. And you’re telling me you just… what? Slept with him?”

I ran a shaky hand through my hair. “I-I didn’t know who he was, Caroline. I was drunk, I wasn’t thinking! It was just supposed to be a one-night thing, and now…” I gestured towards my stomach, my voice breaking.

Caroline exhaled sharply, rubbing her temples. “This is insane. Absolutely insane.”

I hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Why were you trying to meet him?”

Caroline paused, and I noticed the slight stiffness in her posture. “Business,” she said too quickly, avoiding my eyes.

I narrowed my gaze. “Business?”

She forced a small smile. “Yes, business.you know my dad has connections, and we were hoping to work on a collaboration with him. That’s all.”

It sounded like a lie, but I had bigger things to worry about. I let it go, shaking my head. “What the hell am I supposed to do now?”

Caroline stared at me for a moment before letting out a low whistle. “You need to tell him,” she said.

“What? No,” I said immediately.