Chapter 7
1097 Words
Shattered Illusions
The afternoon sun bled through the blinds in thin stripes, cutting across Sofia’s notebook. She sat in the library, staring at words she couldn’t absorb. The guilt of yesterday’s meeting with Scott gnawed at her insides, and the haunting image of the man with the camera lingered in her mind.
“Hey, Earth to Sofia.”
Sofia blinked, looking up to see Linda plop into the chair across from her. With her vibrant curls and oversized denim jacket, Linda carried an energy that always felt like sunshine cutting through a storm.
“You look like you haven’t slept in a week,” Linda said, sliding a latte across the table. Here. Extra caramel. I know you’ll need it.”
Sofia managed a faint smile. “You’re a lifesaver.”
“Mm-hm. So, spill. What’s got you looking like a tragic poem?”
Sofia hesitated. She longed to pour everything out of the forced marriage, the looming shadow of Donald, her stolen moments with Scott, but she couldn’t. Some secrets were too dangerous to share.
“It’s just… family stuff,” she murmured.
Linda arched her brow. “Family stuff doesn’t usually put dark circles under your eyes. "But fine, I’ll let it go for now.” She sipped her drink, then grinned. “Anyway, I heard Jasmine throw a fit in the quad this morning. Something about Scott not answering her calls.”
Sofia’s stomach twisted. “Scott?”
Linda smirked knowingly. “Don’t act like you don’t know him. "Everyone knows Jasmine has claws when it comes to her boyfriend.
The mere mention of Jasmine was enough to sour Sofia’s mood. Jasmine, with her sleek hair and sharp smile, walked through campus like she owned it. She had the confidence of someone who had never been told no and the cruelty of someone who enjoyed reminding others of their place.
Before Sofia could reply, voices drifted from across the library.
“Bro, you got to stop ghosting her,” Adrian said, loud enough for the words to carry.
Sofia froze. She knew that voice.
Scott and Adrian entered the aisle between bookshelves. Adrian, tall and lean with mischievous brown eyes, looked exasperated as he nudged Scott on his shoulder.
“I’m serious,” Adrian continued. Jasmine is fuming. "You’re playing with fire, man.”
Scott’s reply was calm, almost dismissive. “Maybe I don’t care.”
Adrian groaned. “You should. She’s your girlfriend, remember? And she’s not exactly the forgiving type.”
Scott’s gaze flicked toward Sofia, just for a second, before he quickly looked away. That fleeting glance was enough to make Sofia’s pulse stutter.
Linda followed the direction of his eyes, then looked back at Sofia with raised brows. “Oh,” she whispered under her breath. “Now it makes sense.”
“Linda” Sofia started, panicked.
But Linda only smirked, leaning back in her chair. “Don’t worry, girl. Your secret’s safe with me. But you’ve got to be careful.”
Before Sofia could respond, Jasmine herself stormed into the library. Heads turned as her heels clicked loudly against the floor. She spotted Scott instantly, her face hardening.
“There you are,” Jasmine hissed. “Do you have any idea how many times I called you?”
Scott sighed. “I’ve been busy.”
“Busy?” Jasmine folded her arms, her tone sharp enough to cut glass. “With what? Or should I say with who?”
Sofia’s heart stopped. For a terrifying moment, she thought Jasmine might expose everything.
Adrian stepped in quickly, raising his hands. “Hey, chill, Jas. He’s been with me most of the time. "We’ve been working on that econ project, remember?”
Jasmine narrowed her eyes, suspicious, but she shifted her glare back to Scott. “You’re on thin ice. Don’t test me.”
With that, she spun on her heel and left, her perfume trailing behind her like smoke.
The tension lingered in the air long after she was gone. Adrian muttered something under his breath, then clapped Scott on the shoulder. “You’re a glutton for punishment, bro.”
Scott didn’t respond. His gaze lingered once more on Sofia, unreadable, before he finally turned away.
Later that evening, Sofia sat in her room at the mansion, her textbooks spread out on the desk but her mind elsewhere. Donald had been gone all day, a rare reprieve, but his absence felt like the calm before a storm.
Her phone buzzed. A text.
Meet me in the garden. Midnight.
Her chest tightened. Scott.
She should delete the message. Pretend it never came. But her fingers moved almost of their own accord, typing back a single word.
Yes.
The mansion garden was bathed in moonlight, the air cool and fragrant with roses. Sofia slipped through the shadows, her pulse hammering with every step.
Scott was already there, waiting near the fountain. He looked different under the moonlight, softer, less guarded.
“You came,” he said quietly.
“I shouldn’t have.”
“But you did.”
She swallowed hard, her hands trembling at her sides. “This is dangerous, Scott. If anyone finds out”
“I don’t care.” His voice was fierce, raw. “I can’t keep pretending, Sofia." I can’t keep watching him treat you like property while I stand by, silent.”
Her heart ached. “And Jasmine? What about her?”
He flinched, but didn’t look away. “Jasmine was never… this. She was never what I felt with you.”
Sofia’s breath caught. “Scott…”
He stepped closer, closing the distance between them. “Tell me you don’t feel it either. Tell me I’m the only one losing my mind here.”
Her resolve crumbled. She couldn’t lie, not to him. “I feel it,” she whispered.
The words hung between them: dangerous and electric. His hand brushed against hers, tentative at first, then firmer when she didn’t pull away.
For the first time in weeks, Sofia felt alive.
But in the shadows beyond the roses, a camera shutter clicked.
The next morning, Donald slammed a folder down on his office desk. Sofia flinched as the contents spilled across the polished wood. Photographs.
Her. With Scott. In the garden. Their faces too close, their hands almost intertwined.
Donald’s voice was calm, but the calm was far more terrifying than rage. “Would you like to explain this to me, Sofia?”
Her blood turned to ice.
Donald has discovered the photographs, setting
The stage for his dangerous manipulation and tests of loyalty.
- Writer
