Chapter Six – The Breaking Point
636 Words
The night should have ended on Sophia’s terms.
She had turned the tables on Victoria, won over Alexander’s grandmother, and held her own in a room full of judgmental elites.
But of course, Victoria wasn’t done yet.
VICTORIA SUDDEN ILLNESS:
Just as guests were starting to leave, Victoria let out a soft gasp and pressed a delicate hand to her forehead.
“I… I don’t feel well,” she murmured, swaying slightly.
Alexander immediately turned to her. “Victoria?”
Sophia, watching from the side, resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Oh, come on.
Lucas, standing nearby, smirked knowingly. “How convenient.”
But Alexander wasn’t as skeptical.
Without hesitation, he placed a gentle hand on Victoria’s back. “I’ll take you upstairs. You should lie down.”
And just like that, he left.
He left Sophia standing there, alone.
He didn’t even glance back.
THE INSULT THAT STUNG:
Sophia pretended not to care.
She smiled, made small talk, even charmed a few more guests.
But then it happened.
A group of socialites, clearly Victoria’s loyalists, whispered just loud enough for her to hear.
“Poor Victoria… She must be so stressed.”
“Well, she is dealing with a lot. I mean, suddenly having to share Alexander with someone like her…”
Sophia’s grip on her champagne glass tightened.
She was about to walk away—until Alexander returned, right in time to make it worse.
“Where’s your wife?” one of the guests asked, teasingly.
Alexander, who looked tense from dealing with Victoria, exhaled sharply—and then, without thinking, said the words that would cut Sophia the deepest.
“She can handle herself,” he muttered. “She’s good at making a scene.”
The conversation stopped.
Sophia felt like the air had been knocked out of her.
Laughter rippled through the crowd.
Victoria, leaning against the doorway, smirked.
Alexander’s grandmother, who had just walked into the conversation, froze. Her sharp gaze flickered between Sophia and her grandson.
And Sophia?
She did what she always did.
She smiled.
A tight, practiced smile. The kind that hid everything.
Then, without a word, she turned and walked away.
GRANDMOTHER SUPPORT:
Margaret Kingston wasn’t impressed.
As Sophia disappeared down the hall, she turned to Alexander.
“That,” she said coolly, “was disgraceful.”
Alexander’s jaw tensed. “It’s not what—”
“No.” She cut him off. “For someone so intelligent, you can be remarkably foolish.”
Victoria bit her lip, feigning innocence. “I’m sure he didn’t mean it that way.”
Margaret didn’t even spare her a glance.
Her focus was on Alexander.
And for the first time that night, he looked uncertain
Alexander wasn’t sure why he went to Victoria’s room that night.
Maybe it was the lingering frustration from the engagement party. Maybe it was the way Sophia walked away without a word. Maybe it was just habit—Victoria had always known how to make herself seem like the answer to his problems.
But the moment he stepped inside, he already regretted it.
Victoria was waiting for him, dressed in silk and intentions.
“You look tense,” she purred, handing him a glass from the nightstand. “Drink. It’ll help.”
He barely thought about it.
He should have.
The Trap
The warmth of the liquor hit him too fast.
Too strong.
His body felt heavy, his mind foggy.
Victoria was suddenly too close, her hands tracing his chest, her lips brushing his skin.
“Just relax,” she whispered.
But something was wrong.
His instincts screamed at him to stop, to push her away, but his body wouldn’t respond.
She guided him to the bed, whispering empty reassurances.
But when she leaned down, pressing soft kisses to his jaw, his neck—
- Writer
