Chapter 9
1031 Words
Sophia’s POV
When James got home that night, Sophia welcomed him the way she always did, with a warm smile and a gentle hug. She wrapped her arms around him, resting her cheek against his chest. That was when she noticed a different scent on him.
A woman’s perfume that has a sweet floral scent.
Her smile faded for only a second. She pulled back slightly, studying his face, searching for something, guilt, nervousness, anything out of place. But James looked the same and was calm.
James said to himself, “I just hope she isn't suspecting anything”
Sophia said nothing.
James was relieved when she didn't say anything. “Thank God she didn't notice,” he said to himself.
She told herself it was nothing more than a coincidence. Perhaps a coworker had leaned in too close. Maybe a friendly side hug at work. She pushed the thought aside and continued with her evening as if nothing had happened.
Sophia was twenty-eight years old, she was five feet seven, with blonde hair that framed her face and a softly pointed nose that gave her a gentle elegance. She was a mother of two kids Lily and Linda, her entire world wrapped up in their laughter and small hands. She balanced motherhood with ambition, working as one of the top executives at Ashford Global, one of Walter’s powerful companies.
Walter, Nathan’s father, had always believed in family. No one was ever left behind. That belief had opened doors for Sophia, and she had worked hard to prove she deserved every one of them.
The next night, James came home late again.
As usual, Sophia welcomed him with a hug. And again, the same scent lingered on him.
The same perfume.
This time, her heart sank.
She didn’t react. She didn’t ask questions. She smiled, stepped back, and watched him head toward the bedroom to shower. Only when she was alone did she finally whisper the thought she had been avoiding.
“I need to find out who he’s having an affair with.”
The words felt heavy, bitter on her tongue.
The following day, Sophia made a decision.
She closed early at the office, something she rarely did, and drove straight to James’s workplace. She parked across the street, her hands gripping the steering wheel as she waited, watching the building with a mix of fear and determination.
She didn’t know what she would find.
But she knew one thing for certain.
She was done pretending not to notice.
When Jame’s car drove out of the company's parking lot, Sophia quickly turned on her car and followed him behind at a careful distance, keeping enough space between them to avoid suspicion.
Her heart beat steadily, her eyes fixed on his taillights as they moved through familiar streets.
James stopped at a supermarket. Sophia slowed and parked farther away from him, watching as he got out of the car and headed inside.
She waited inside her car watching, hands resting tightly on the steering wheel, pretending to check her phone while her attention never left the entrance. Minutes later, James returned with a few items, placed them in his car, and drove off.
Sophia followed again.
This time, he didn’t make any unexpected turns. He drove straight home.
When James arrived, the front door barely had time to open before Lily and Linda ran towards him, their voices filling the house with excitement. He lifted them easily, smiling as they spoke over one another.
“Where’s your mum?” he asked gently.
“She’s not back yet,” one of them replied.
James nodded and carried them inside.
A few minutes later, the front door opened again. Sophia walked in calmly, setting her bag down as if nothing were out of place.
James turned to her. “Where have you been?” he asked casually.
“I had a lot of work to take care of today,” she replied smoothly. Then she looked at him and added, “How was your day? Hope it went well.”
“Yes,” James said. “It went well.”
As she stood close to him, Sophia breathed in quietly. There was no perfume this time, no lingering scent on him.
Inside her mind, clarity settled in.
“I knew I was right,” she thought. “I just need to dig deeper to find out who she is.”
Sophia didn’t sleep that night.
She lay beside James, her back turned towards him, listening to the steady rhythm of his breath sound. He slept easily, too easily, for a man with secrets. Her eyes remained open, fixed on the darkness, replaying every detail she had noticed, every lie that had slipped too smoothly from his lips.
The perfume.
The supermarket stop.
The way he has been avoiding her eyes lately.
She knew now. Not everything, but quite enough.
By morning, she had made a decision.
At work, she moved as she always did, focused, efficient, respected. No one at Ashford Global would have guessed that behind her calm looks, a quiet storm was building inside her. She waited until the office buzzed with routine, then pulled up James’s schedule on her tablet. Meetings. Lunch break. A gap in the afternoon.
That evening, as James showered, Sophia stood alone in their bedroom. Her gaze fell on his phone, left carelessly on the nightstand. For a long moment, she simply stared at it, her heart pounding so loudly she was sure it would give her away.
“Just one look,” she told herself. “Just enough to be sure.”
She reached for it.
At the same time, across the city, Natasha sat in her car, smiling at her own reflection in the rearview mirror as she typed a message.
Him: Are you home?
Her: Almost. I miss you.
She sent it and laughed softly.
Back in the bedroom, James’s phone lit up in Sophia’s hand.
A message preview flashed across the screen.
“I miss you.”
Sophia saw the message, her breath caught.
Behind her, the bathroom door creaked open.
And in that moment, phone glowing in her hand, footsteps approaching.
- Writer
