When You Loved Me, I Was Gone

Chapter 5

The screech of brakes tore through the empty street.

Colton turned toward her, his brows drawn tight. "Has anyone ever told you there's a point where you need to stop?"

Sofia stared at him for a beat, then let out a cold little laugh. "Who was supposed to teach an orphan that?"

Her answer only made him look more annoyed. He started the car again, and neither of them spoke for the rest of the drive.

At the hospital, the doctor asked a few basic questions. Sofia did not bother hiding anything. "I have acute leukemia," she said flatly. "Just give me something to stop the bleeding."

Standing beside her, Colton's expression faltered for just a moment. He muttered, "Unbelievable," and turned to leave.

Inside the exam room, the female doctor looked from one of them to the other, clearly confused. "This isn't funny. Let me run some tests first."

Sofia lifted her eyes and met hers evenly. "Doctor, what kind of i***t would lie to her husband about being terminally ill while sitting in front of another doctor?"

The doctor fell silent.

Sofia sighed. "Hematology on the thirteenth floor. Dr. Wyatt Spence is my attending physician. I can't take random meds, so I'd appreciate it."

That was the moment the doctor realized Sofia had not been joking. She was seriously ill. And her husband did not believe her!

It was nearly midnight by the time Sofia finished her medication, recovered enough to leave, and made it back to the villa.

She had expected the living room to be dark. Instead, every light was on. And Colton, who never waited for her, was sitting on the sofa, going through files.

For a second, Sofia thought she had stepped into the wrong house. She turned away and headed upstairs without a word.

"You don't see me?" Colton asked from behind her.

Sofia took a breath and looked back. "Good night, honey." Then she started toward the guest room.

Colton spoke again from the sofa, "Rivka has a child."

Sofia stopped and turned. "Whose kid is it?"

He went silent for a moment, then said with visible restraint, "Mine. She gave birth three years ago."

She clicked her tongue. "You should probably get a DNA test. I spent three years sleeping with you and never got pregnant, so something about that seems off." She left him with that and did not look back.

Colton gave a short, disbelieving laugh. He thought it was off too.

But for some reason, part of him had wanted to say it anyway, if only to see whether he could get under Sofia's skin.

Later, in the guest room, Sofia lay in bed after washing up, staring into the dark while the words kept playing over and over in her head. 'Rivka has a child.'

She had looked perfectly calm downstairs, but inside, everything was in ruins.

She had loved Colton for so many years that, if she hadn't learned to pretend she was stronger than she felt, she might have ended her life long ago!

Too much hurt rose up at once, too much bitterness, too much anger. Sofia forced herself to close her eyes and sleep.

Then the mattress dipped. She opened her eyes just as Colton leaned over her, his sharp, beautiful face coming slowly into focus.

Sofia lifted her hand to slap him, but he caught her wrist and pinned it over her head before she could land the blow. His breath was warm against her skin.

Whatever else was true, Colton had spent the last three years learning exactly how her body responded. It did not take long before Sofia had no strength left to fight him.

The night stretched on. The room grew hotter and hotter.

By the time her ragged breathing finally quieted, Sofia lay limp with exhaustion, and Colton lifted her into his arms and carried her to the tub.

"See? There are easier ways to handle you. I guess this is what you like best."

The second he finished speaking, Sofia grabbed him and dragged him straight into the water with her. Then she climbed into his lap and looked down at him with a dangerous smile. "Is that right? Then let's find out who breaks first!"

By morning, Sofia's lower back felt like it had been broken in two! She had no one to blame but herself!

The next morning, the phone rang again. Colton was already gone from the bed beside her.

Sofia sat up and answered. "Go ahead."

It was the private investigator she had hired to look into her past. "Are you really not coming? About the DNA match. Their flight leaves at three this afternoon."

Sofia's hand tightened slowly around the sheets. She stared out the window, but her vision had worsened enough by now that everything outside looked softer than it should have. After a long silence, she answered quietly, "No. Let it go. This is better."

At three that afternoon, Sofia went back on her decision and headed to the airport anyway.

Using the photos the investigator had sent her, she found the old couple waiting near their gate.

She stood partly hidden behind a pillar and watched them. There was something so gentle about them, so ordinary and warm, that it made her want to laugh at herself.

If she had never been lost... If she had grown up in that kind of home... Maybe she would have been happy.

She was still standing there, lost in that thought, when she saw her attending physician, Dr. Wyatt Spence, jogging over to them. He stopped in front of them and greeted them warmly. "Mom. Dad."