My Ex-Husband And My Sister

Chapter 2 Sophia's Pov

Outside the ballroom, the cold Manhattan air bit at my skin. But I didn’t care. I just needed to get away from this city.

Tears blurred my vision as I hailed a cab.

“Where to, ma’am?” the driver asked.

“Anywhere but here,” I whispered in a shaky voice.

As I slid into the back seat, the car sped off, leaving the life I’d know like forever behind.

My chest heaved with sobs as I thought about everything but amidst the heartbreak, a spark of anger ignited within me.

They’d taken my marriage and my dignity. But they hadn’t broken me. At least, not completely.

After crying for ages, the cab finally slowed to a stop in front of a modest hotel in a town I barely recognized. I reached into my bag and pulled out a few crumpled bills but the driver shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it, miss. I can tell you need the break.”

I swallowed hard as I blinked back the next round of tears. "Thank you."

Without another word, I stepped out of the cab and into the cold night air. The town was eerily quiet, save for the occasional chirp of a distant bird. I wasn’t sure if I was grateful for the solitude or if it only made the ache inside me more pronounced.

As I walked into the hotel, a part of me wondered if I was really running away from the home I had known all my life but I couldn’t bring myself to think about it.

I had no plan. No strategy.

Just this desperate, aching need to be anywhere but in Manhattan.

The woman behind the front desk gave me a tired smile. "How can I help you?"

"One room for the night," I said even as I hated that my voice was still shaky, hence betraying me despite my best efforts to remain composed.

She handed me a key and I made my way to the elevator even as my mind continued to spin around me.

Was this what I wanted? To disappear? To bury myself in this tiny town far away from everything I had known?

But the truth was clear: I had no choice. I couldn’t go back to the family that had stabbed me in the back without an ounce of remorse.

Not now. Not ever.

As the elevator doors closed behind me, I looked at my reflection in the mirrored walls. The woman staring back at me seemed so unfamiliar—like a ghost of the person I used to be.

I staggered to the bed and for the first time that night, I allowed myself to really feel the raw, jagged pain of betrayal.

After some hours, I was done crying and hiding in a hotel room. So, I grabbed my coat, threw it on over my tired body, and left the room. I wasn’t sure where I was going as I went to the elevators but I knew I was sick and tired of crying over damn traitors who I thought was my family.

The hotel bar I found myself in a few moments later was dimly lit and had multiple lights over it. I didn’t even pause to look around me before I slid onto an empty stool.

The bartender glanced at me with a raised eyebrow and that only filled me with so much irritation.

“Vodka,” I muttered, my voice hoarse from the excessive crying I had done all afternoon. "Double."

After giving me what I wanted and without waiting for him to ask any stupid questions, I downed the drink in one go. The burn in my throat was a welcome distraction from the chaos that had been swirling inside my head.

After a while, I didn’t care that I was already through a bottle and wanted another; I just wanted to feel something else for a change.

The alcohol warmed me and numbed the ache in my chest. It was the only thing that felt good in this nightmare of my life.

My hands shook slightly as I reached for another glass. I was almost done with the second bottle when I suddenly felt a shift inside me. It was as if someone powerful…someone magnetizing had entered the bar.

At first, I did not look up because I was still lost in my glass and in my thoughts but then I heard his voice. I had never heard such a voice before. It was a low, smooth, rich as whiskey voice and it was sharp enough to cut through the haze of alcohol that was in my head. “Rough night?”

It was then I looked up just then even as I felt annoyed at how he was already making me feel.

Until I looked at his face. And my world shook as if I was experiencing an earthquake.

God, he was tall. That was the first thought that came to my mind as I locked eyes on his own.

He was at least towering over me with a full head. He was broad-shouldered and had full dark hair that was slightly messy but in a way that made it look intentional.

His chiseled jawline made him look like someone who just walked out of the page of a Greek mythology book and his eyes…God, his coffee dark eyes felt far too intense for someone I’d just met. They were studying me like they knew exactly what was going on in my head—and that was the very last thing I wanted.

I managed to give him a half-hearted smile even as my lips felt a little too heavy with alcohol. “You could say that.”

The smile he gave me was a knowing one. “Guess I’m not the only one trying to drown their demons.”

Not bothering to hide the bitterness in my voice, I snorted. “Yeah, well. My demons have a hell of a lot more baggage than yours.”

He leaned in slightly, causing me to shiver despite myself. Then he said in that sinful voice of his. “Maybe we can help each other forget for a while.”