Chapter 1
For five years, I was stationed overseas, and now I was flying back to San Francisco from the London branch.
As I walked out of the airport, I was filled with anticipation. I thought Julian Caulfield would keep his promise and propose to me.
But he was merely standing at the pickup area, his expression utterly indifferent.
"Sophia, I'm sorry."
Before I could sense that something was wrong, he spoke again.
"I was the one who pulled the strings behind that transfer. I deliberately had you transferred to the London branch to make room for Linda and me. She was pregnant back then. I had no choice."
A long silence followed, lasting until I bit my lips hard enough to draw blood.
For five years, I worked from dawn until late at night, pushing myself through every project until I developed stomach problems. Still, I gritted my teeth and carried on.
I had thought he wanted me to advance my career, prove myself, and return to become the new vice president of the San Francisco headquarters.
But it turned out that all of it had been an elaborate lie he had carefully orchestrated.
"You're too ambitious and too forceful," he said. "I was worried you'd hurt her.
"I'm telling you the truth, not because I'm asking for your forgiveness. I just want you to have time to calm down so you don't make a scene." His voice was filled with helplessness.
I took a step back, avoiding the hand he reached toward me, and smiled through my tears.
"Julian, you took something that could have ended with dignity and made that impossible."
*****
Julian's car followed the taxi I was riding in. He flashed his headlights twice.
The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror. "Ma'am, that BMW has been following us. Is he a friend of yours?"
I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth. "No."
"Want me to lose him?"
"No. He knows where I'm going."
The apartment looked just as it had before. There were new advertisements posted inside the elevator. I dragged my suitcase to the door and took out my key, but no matter how I tried, it wouldn't open.
Just then, the door opened from the inside.
Linda Bellrose was wearing a silk nightgown, a three or four-year-old boy in her arms. When she saw me, she froze for a moment before smiling.
"You're back."
The child wrapped his arms around her neck and looked at me curiously.
"Mommy, who's this lady?"
"She's the lady who used to live here." Linda stroked the boy's head and looked at me. "Would you like to come in for a while? Julian said you were coming back today, but I didn't expect you so soon."
I looked past her into the living room.
A wedding photo of the two of them hung on the wall. The sofa had been replaced, and children's clothes were hanging on the balcony.
"This place..."
"It's my home," Linda interrupted me gently. "It has been for five years. As soon as Julian got the deed to the apartment, he had me move in."
The wheels of my suitcase caught on the door frame.
"He said we'd get married after you went to London."
The child was starting to get restless, squirming to get down and play.
Linda set him on the floor, and he immediately ran toward the toy box in the living room.
She leaned against the door frame and looked me over. "You've lost so much weight. London must have been exhausting."
I tightened my grip on the suitcase handle. "Julian will be back soon."
"Why?" She raised an eyebrow. "What do you want from him? Money, or an explanation?"
"I don't want anything."
"Then why did you come back?"
I looked at her perfectly maintained face and suddenly felt sick.
"I came back," I said as calmly as I could, "to take back what belongs to me."
Linda laughed. "What do you still have here? I threw away your clothes ages ago. Julian said your books were taking up too much space, so I sold them. Oh, right. And all those plants you raised are dead."
She paused before adding, "I deliberately didn't water them."
I followed her gaze toward the balcony.
The succulents and pothos had been planted by me with my own hands on the very first day I moved in. They had once covered half the window.
Now, all that remained was cracked, dry soil and stems that had withered into something resembling specimens in a display case.
Five years...
I had thought Julian was paving the way for my career. It turned out those five years had simply been their honeymoon.
"Linda, my name is on the deed to this apartment."
Her smile froze for a moment before she casually replied, "It was transferred when you went to London. It's in Julian's name now."
I turned around and pressed the elevator button, without looking back.
"Fine. Then start packing your things. In one week, this apartment will be back in my hands."
The elevator doors opened. Just as I was about to step inside, Linda's mocking laugh came from behind me.
"Sophia Somerville, don't make this ugly. You have nothing left now. You can't beat me."
