Chapter 42

I watch as Isabella excuses herself and stands up. Normally, I wouldn’t have paid her any attention, but the fact that she left mere minutes after Sophia did set off alarms in my head.

My instincts screamed at me to follow her. Sophia’s words about Isabella had been gnawing at me, twisting my thoughts into knots. I needed answers—especially after the way Isabella had been acting all evening.

The excitement she’d shown about attending this event had evaporated the moment she realized Sophia was the one hosting it. That Sophia wasn’t the failure she’d assumed.

Everyone else seemed fine—Sebastian had even danced with a few women. Nathan, despite the longing glances he kept throwing at Amelia, appeared content now that she’d joined our table.

But Isabella? She was different.

Slowly, I rise from my seat, ignoring the questioning looks from the others.

Outside, I find Sophia and Isabella standing face to face, locked in a silent battle of wills. They’re so absorbed in each other that neither notices me.

"Do you really think founding the Hope Foundation makes you special?" Isabella sneers.

Sophia exhales, exhaustion lining her voice. "I don’t have the patience for this, Isabella. Move."

Watching them, a sickening realization creeps over me.

I’ve been wrong. So fucking wrong.

"You’re nothing, Sophia," Isabella spits. "No amount of money changes that. We all hate you—especially Ethan."

Sophia doesn’t flinch. "Are you done? Because all I hear is the same garbage you’ve been spewing since you came back." She steps forward, but Isabella grabs her wrist—hard.

I see red.

Sophia yanks her arm free before I can intervene.

"Ethan is mine," Isabella hisses. "Stay away from him. Don’t start thinking you’re his equal now."

Sophia’s expression darkens. "How many times do I have to say it? I don’t want him. You can have him. I don’t fucking care."

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut.

"Liar!" Isabella snaps. "I saw him follow you to the balcony. You ruined us once—I won’t let you do it again."

Sophia scoffs. "Is that why you lied to him? Why you play the victim while painting me as the villain? Did you tell him you were the one who started both fights?"

My hands clench into fists.

I didn’t know that.

Isabella had sworn Sophia attacked her unprovoked. And like a fool, I believed her.

"It doesn’t matter," Isabella says smugly. "Ethan will always choose me over you. He loves me. You mean nothing to him."

I close my eyes, the weight of my mistakes crashing down on me.

How many times had I taken someone else’s word over Sophia’s? How many times had I punished her for lies?

Sophia laughs bitterly. "Pathetic. You claim to love him, yet you manipulate him. What kind of love is that?"

Before Isabella can respond, Sophia adds, "What do you think will happen when Ethan finds out you lied? When he hears what you said about Liam?"

Every muscle in my body locks.

Liam.

If there’s one line no one crosses, it’s involving my son.

"He’ll never know," Isabella says confidently. "Because he’ll believe whatever I tell him. That’s how much he trusts me."

"A trust you’ve broken a thousand times," Sophia fires back. "Ethan is the last person I’d defend, but even he doesn’t deserve to be blindsided by the woman he loves."

She tries to leave, but Isabella grabs her again.

"Let go," Sophia warns, her voice icy. "Or I’ll have security throw you out like I did with Olivia and Penelope."

Enough.

I step out of the shadows. "That won’t be necessary. I’ll handle this."

Both women whip around. Sophia pulls free and walks away without a backward glance. Isabella pales, her eyes wide with panic.

"How long have you been there?" she whispers.

"Long enough," I growl. "Now. Tell me the truth. Lie to me, and I swear you’ll regret it."

She swallows hard.

"Did Sophia slap you two weeks ago?"

"Y-yes."

"Why?"

Silence.

The girl who couldn’t stop running her mouth earlier is now mute.

"Answer me!" I roar.

She flinches. "B-because…"

Tears fill her eyes, but I don’t care.

"Because I told her to keep Liam on a leash," she finally chokes out. "That I wouldn’t let him ruin us… and if I had to, I’d send him away to boarding school."

The world tilts.

I believed her. I defended her. I went to Sophia’s house and screamed at her—all because of Isabella’s lies.

Now I understand why Sophia hit her.

She was protecting Liam. Just like I would.

The woman in front of me isn’t the kind, gentle girl I fell in love with. She’s vindictive. Cruel.

"We’re done," I say coldly.

"W-what?"

"The only reason I’m not making you pay is out of respect for our past. But no one—no one—threatens my son."

"Please, Ethan!" She grabs for me, sobbing. "This was our second chance!"

I push her away gently. "Maybe. Maybe not."

I walk away, her cries fading behind me.

This time, her tears don’t move me.

Because my head is a mess.

I can’t claim to love her when my ex-wife consumes my thoughts. When the idea of Sophia with someone else drives me insane.

I thought I felt nothing for Sophia.

But what if I’ve been wrong all along?