Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Betrayed
| blinked several times refusing to believe the scene unfolding before my own eyes. Was | seeing things? Had my mind been playing tricks on me? My doubts faded seeing as the longer | stared at the horror in front of me, the more of a reality it had become.
The excitement that | felt rushing over to the highest floor of this building began to dissipate. The papers | held in my hand slowly began to drop in defeat at my side.
“Congratulations! You’re pregnant.” The doctor’s congratulations gradually disappeared only to be replaced by the sound of my crashing, aching heart pounded deafeningly within my ears. My blood, sizzling with anger yet rancid with pain, coursed through my veins as my vision began to cloud up with unshed tears at what had been witnessing.
The scantily dressed red head that | had known all too well had been closely pressed against the chest of my husband of six months as he held her in his embrace. | watched in mortification as he stared down at her in yearning and glee at her return. His ex that jilted him at the alter!
The glass of his office door spared no concealment of their actions allowing me to view in full strife. | should have know that this would happen. That Dante Crawford could love none but himself and his runaway ex- bride.
Blinking away the burning tears from my eyes, | took in a breath despite it being difficult to overlook the compressed feeling in my chest. | pushed open the door determined to break this little scene apart. My one hand clutched my newly found information at my side while the other cleared the way for me to enter.
The nerve of both of them. Neither one of them appeared to be remotely ashamed especially my dear husband but why should he? This was all a contract to him anyways. The clauses of which he could easily violate.
“What on earth is going on in here?” | managed to illicit the right amount of rancor and anger without letting my hurt sI*p through the cracks.
“Ahh, Sophia, | was meaning to sp*ak to you about this but lucky you've arrived in time.” Dante spoke as casually as he could and not like | actually deserved a genuine explanation of what the hell was going on.
| raised a confused brow at him urging him to speak further in hopes that | would receive some clarity.
“| want a divorce.” For a moment | thought that | had misheard him, that those words were a figment of my imagination but it echoed loud and clear through the air.
“A divorce?” | asked, dumbfounded and caught entirely off guard. My gaze darted at the minimal space between Pheobe and him.
| thought he hated Pheobe after what she had done to him. After all the backlash he had to face and the wrath of his father that push him in to this contract, surely it was enough to resent the person who caused this uproar but it would seem that | was wrong.
Pheobe moved from his tight embrace but just enough so that she could place a supporting hand on his blazer clad bicep showing of her candy red nails.
“Pheobe and | are getting back together. She explained a few things and I’ve decided to forgive her.” Dante explained as the woman beside him tried to contain a smug little grin.
| tore my eyes away from her and looked to him. “But we are married.” | reminded him to which he scoffed.
“Only because you trapped me into marrying you.” | stared at him in disbelief. This cold demeanour was not like him but obviously he would believe that | had something to do with the scandal that had us marrying in the first place.
“Dante, please you must reconsider. Do not make such a rash decision.” | begged clutching the papers in my hand. “Il have something to tell you but-“ my eyes darted to Pheobe. “I’d prefer to do it in private.” | prompted not wanting to speak on front of her.
Dante waved his hand through the air dismissing my request. “Whatever it is you have to say you'll have to say in front of Pheobe.” He responded abruptly and for a fraction of a seconds | couldn’t believe that this was the same man I'd known in the past 6 months.
The man | agreed to marry purely because | had fallen for him. The man who | married to save from being torn apart ina scandal. It was not like we lived as strangers. The information in my hand was proof of it.
He was the father of my unborn child but whatever part of me rushed over here in excitement to tell him had been dead. | was never going to mention such a vital thing to him in front of Pheobe who | couldn’t trust at all.
Besides, judging from his change of heart, Dante would probably want nothing to do with this child considering how enraptured he is by the return of his old flame.
“Well?” Pheobe prompted impatiently as she carassed Dante’s arm. “Spit it out.”
“On second thought, | change my mind.” | muttered bitterly.
“Since everything is settled then, | hope you remove yourself from my house before tomorrow morning. | thank you for your help, Sophia, but | won’t be needing it anymore.” | opened my mouth to say something but he went on. “If you’re going to ask about the agreed settlement amount then know that it will be deposited in to your account before the end of the day. To rectify the situation, divorce papers will be sent to you in a matter of days.” He said with finality in his tone and an inpatient look in his eyes.
| tried to swallow the ball in that had painfully formed on my throat. It was still a shocker to me that all of this was happening in the first place.
“Dante, please. You can’t do this to me. Not now and not like this.” | begged, my lower |*p quivering but | refuse to let my eyes shed tears in front of these two.Original from NôvelDrama.Org.
Pheobe stepped forward now. “You heard what he said. Don’t make him repeat himself. Get your stuff out of the house and leave him alone. You've trapped him in a marriage he never wanted and now he’s free.” She emphasised the last word and my nostril flared itching to tell her to stay out of this but it was a losing battle.
Dante has clearly made up his mind and | was not going to sit her convincing him otherwise. Especially not with Pheobe gloating by his side.
| hid the papers at my side and merely nodded before turning around and leaving. What started out as a seemingly exciting day turned out to be my nightmare. | loved Dante from the time | began working as his personal assistant three years ago to having shared a life with him for the past half a dozen months. This was not the Dante | knew but perhaps | never really knew him to begin with.
The little blob in my stomach was all | had now and | would be damned if | jeopardized this also.
As | stormed out of the building, all | could think about was the bitter, conniving way that Pheobe had glared at me. | was never one to scare easily but it was rare for someone to look at me with such evil displayed blatantly on their face.