One Day As His Sweetheart.

Sophia Sinclair watched calmly as the doctor placed her folder on his desk. For some reason, she couldn't take her eyes off it. Her gaze stayed fixed on the cardboard-brown file, a sick feeling rising in her heart as the Doctor cleared his throat and spoke, "I have some bad news, Mrs Sinclair." The words were gentle. Dr Whitfield had always been soft-spoken, so there was no cause for alarm, right? Still, Sophia couldn't shake the feeling that whatever was in that folder would change the direction of her life. With a shuddering breath, she tore her eyes from the desk and looked up, staring into the doctor's face. The sadness in his grey eyes was unlike any she had ever seen. "From the scans we just concluded, the results show that your womb suffered too much damage from your last miscarriage. I'm sorry to say this, Sophia, but you may never be able to have children again. You're clinically inferti-" Dr Whitfield paused on that word when he saw the expression on her face. Sophia felt like the tiled floor underneath was about to open and swallow her. She wished it would, because maybe then this wouldn't be true. Her voice trembled as she asked, "Is... Is it irreversible?" Dr Whitfield hesitated, and that was enough of an answer in itself. Tears filled Sophia's eyes immediately, but she blinked them back, holding them in as the truth of what had just been said dawned fully on her. "Infertile." The word was ringing over and over in her ears. One word, so small, but so impossible to unhear. Her doctor just told her she was infertile. Dr Whitfield's stare threatened to burn a hole into Sophia's skin, but the sadness in his eyes made the tears brimming in hers sting even worse. As she got off the examination table, a desperate, humiliating thought rolled through Sophia's head. A small voice inside her, sad and tired, asked, "Now what are you going to do to make him love you?" A tear rolled down Sophia's cheek and like a wave, memories crashed into her. Before she married Billionaire CEO Hudson Sinclair, he called her into a meeting room just so he could tell her one thing. "I won't love you." There was a finality to his words, like this was something he'd known since birth. It was a piece of truth he was telling her because he couldn't be bothered to lie. On the night of their marriage, she was still in the white wedding dress he picked out when he said his heart belonged to another woman. Even as his mouth pressed lazy kisses to her skin, his fingers undoing the lace buttons down the curve of her back and yanking off the vintage wedding dress, throwing it carelessly to the side as he got her naked before him, he said it again— that this marriage would exist on paper only. "s*x and appearances, Sophia. That's the only thing this marriage is for. Do you understand that?" Her first time with him had been her first time, ever, and looking back now, she should have taken how good she felt that night as a warning. If the s*x that night was a billboard, it would have read, "Danger Ahead: Beware stupid decisions." Because that's what she had gone on to make. Stupid decisions. Like falling in love with Hudson Sinclair. That was the first stupid decision Then she decided she wanted his love. And finally, she decided to believe if she gave him a baby, she could earn his heart by loving the child he'd made with her. "Sophia..." Dr Whitfield called. Sophia hadn't realized that tears were streaming down her cheeks freely now, but they were and she had no control over them. Eight times. She had gotten pregnant for Hudson eight times, but eight times, something had happened to make her lose the pregnancy. She came to the hospital because her period was late this month, but now she could see there wouldn't even be a need for it. What use was a period when you were barren? Dr Whitfield opened his mouth to say something, but the sound of the door opening interrupted him. A woman with elegantly coiffed blonde hair walked in, pearls hanging off her neck and a scowl on her face. Diane Sinclair looked from the folder on the desk to Sophia, and back again as though she didn't need to open it to know exactly what was inside. Even at the sight of the tears on Sophia's face, nothing in Diane's expression softened. "I take it congratulations aren't in order." "Diane, this is a private discussion," Dr Whitfield said firmly, a warning in his tone. Diane scoffed, "I'm her mother-in-law. I have the right to know how my son's marriage is going, even more than her. It's my family on the line here." Sophia tried to prepare herself when Diane turned to her but with her heart freshly broken from the news, there was only so much she could do. "You had eight chances, you rat. Eight! And you couldn't manage to keep even a single one of them." Diane's face bloomed red with anger. She slammed her hand on the desk, "What kind of woman is that reckless? Huh? What kind of woman loses eight of my grandbabies because of her careless behaviour?" At the sight of the tears rolling down Diane's own cheeks, Sophia felt a place she didn't know existed in her shatter. Hudson's mother had never been kind to her, but that was because she was a secretary, a lowly girl who had married her son instead of the women she wanted. The anger was never directed at her, but at the image she presented standing by Hudson's side. When she had gotten pregnant for the first time, though, there was a moment where Diane's behaviour towards her improved. For the first time, it felt like their relationship could be better, but then Sophia had lost the child, and every child after. Seeing Diane in tears now made Sophia want to sob in shame even as her mother-in-law seethed at her, "Are you trying to end the Sinclair family line? Answer me, you b***h! Slut! Answer me!" "That's enough!" Dr Whitfield barked. Sophia's hands clenched tightly at her sides, a painful throbbing rising at the back of her throat as she fought to hold herself together. Diane wasn't the kind of woman tears made any kinder, and Sophia had learnt that firsthand. What she had more trouble fighting was the feeling of shame crawling up her side. Diane hadn't closed the door when she came in, and in the silence, Sophia could hear the sound of soft giggling coming from the hallway. Her hands clenched tighter and she picked up her bag, swallowing the pain and rage. "I'm going home." Alarm flared in Diane's eyes. Her heels clicked sharply against the floor as she crossed the room and planted herself in front of the door, "You'll go home when I'm finished talking to you!" The sound of footsteps hastily moving down the hallway was clear enough for anyone to hear now and when Sophia looked into Diane's eyes, there was no shame in them. No remorse for what she'd done. Instead, Diane looked proud, the earlier tears and anger gone as she announced, "There's no need for you to return to that house at all. Vivienne is already seven weeks pregnant, and I've found her a place just ten minutes away from the estate. It's only a matter of time before she's the one wearing your ring. She will be his wife. Not some Barren b***h he picked up from the gutters." Sophia stepped past Diane without a word and pulled out her phone from her bag, checking the time and pressing play on the voicemail she'd received thirty-four minutes ago. A male voice flowed from her speakers as she walked. "Mr Sinclair, this is Dr Whitfield's office. I'm returning your call about your wife's results. As requested, I'll have the full report sent to you ahead of her appointment today. Please call to confirm the delivery address." The message ended and Sophia put her car into drive, her heart racing in her chest and her hands clenched painfully around the steering wheel. Hudson already knew. Before she'd come into the hospital, her husband had known the results, and he'd said nothing.