The Man Who Destroyed Me Is Now Begging to Mend Me 7

Lucas’s black Bentley pulled out of the underground parking garage, but Sophia was still lost in thought about those intense eyes. There was something familiar about them, though she couldn’t quite place where she’d seen them before.

Lucas’s voice broke the silence. “Did you follow me here? What are you so concerned about?”

“What?” Sophia asked, snapping back to reality.

Keeping his eyes on the road, Lucas tried to explain. “You know how my friends are-they never think before they speak. Don’t take their words seriously. There’s nothing going on between Emily and me.”

‘If there’s really nothing between them, why was he being so protective? He only rushed me out because he was worried I might cause a scene and embarrass Emily,’ Sophia thought.

“Sure,” Sophia said, her voice laced with sarcasm. “You and Emily are completely innocent.”

“I’m trying to explain myself here,” Lucas said, his patience wearing thin. “Do you have to be so sarcastic?” Her ungrateful attitude was beginning to irritate him.

He remembered how she used to soften at the slightest reassurance. Now, it seemed her patience had worn

thin.

“Understood,” Sophia said, her tone flat. “Is that all?”

“I’ve been clear from the beginning-you are my wife, and that won’t change. But if you want this marriage to work, you need to drop your little tricks. I won’t play these games.”

Sophia stayed quiet, struck by his assumption that her mention of divorce was merely a plea for attention.

Her silence tightened the air between them. “Don’t become someone I resent, Sophia,” he said with a frown, his voice low.

A faint, bitter smile touched her lips as she turned toward the window, shutting him out completely.

Sensing he had pushed too far, Lucas eased his tone. “I had your things moved back to our room. If you want to stay with me, just say so. There’s no need for all this.”

Sophia was left speechless.

*****

As the car came to a stop in the courtyard of Nightfall Estate, Sophia stepped out. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the cherry blossom grove in the garden.

The sight sent a sharp pang through her chest. She forced her gaze away and continued into the villa.

Inside, the decor had been completely redone. The new style, with its unmistakable resemblance to the Evans residence, clearly revealed who had overseen the renovations.

She moved through rooms that felt entirely alien to her now, but she kept her thoughts to herself since this was no longer her home.

Wendy looked surprised when she saw Sophia. “Mrs. Westwood, you’ve returned. Have you had your supper?”

Sinking into the plush pink sofa, Sophia answered quietly, “Yes, thank you.”

Wendy offered a tight smile before retreating to her quarters to make a hurried phone call to Helen, reporting the unexpected arrival.

Helen had never approved of Sophia, whom she saw as a plain nobody not good enough for her son. The infertility diagnosis hardened Helen’s resolve to rush the divorce so Lucas could marry someone worthy of giving her grandchildren.

The news of Sophia’s sudden return after her dramatic departure kept Helen tossing and turning all night.

Lucas had been certain Sophia would confront him about the complete makeover of their home.

He stood ready to smooth things over, but she walked through the rooms without comment, her silence leaving him more unsettled than any argument would have.

“If the decor isn’t to your taste…” Lucas moved to sit beside her, his arms beginning to encircle her.

Sophia reached for a throw pillow, tucking it between them as she shifted away from his embrace.

The gentle rejection stung, though Lucas reassured himself that this was the same woman who had always adored him.

“It’s true. I prefer my original choices,” she said calmly. “Can you have everything returned to how it was?”

The warm, elegant furnishings had vanished, replaced by the overwhelming pinks that Emily favored—a transformation that had turned their home into something resembling a kitschy boutique hotel.

Lucas shifted uncomfortably. “Let’s not make a big deal out of it. You’ll get used to the way things are around here.”

A faint, knowing smile curved on Sophia’s lips as she met his gaze.

That smile never failed to get under his skin. “Try to see it from her perspective, Sophia,” he said, his voice tightening. “After everything she’s been through these past three years, all Emily wants is to feel like she belongs.”

A wave of exhaustion washed over her. It was like talking to a brick wall. “I know,” she said flatly.

“You have your entire family backing you up,” Lucas shot back, his patience clearly wearing thin. “But Emily? She has nobody else. Is it really so hard for you to be a little more compassionate?”

“Funny,” Sophia replied, her tone icy. “I was under the impression my adoptive parents were still very much

alive.”

Besides, the Evans family had never once ceased to think about Emily throughout those three years.

They made trip after trip to Felarica to celebrate Emily’s birthdays and attend her parties.

They even missed Sophia’s wedding to Lucas because of her.

A single social media post from Emily, complaining of her loneliness in Felarica, was all it took for them to drop everything and fly to her side.

“Now that you’ve made it out of that dead-end town, you should be the last person to let Emily sink into it,” he

shot back.

As Sophia looked at him, the last glimmer of hope in her eyes vanished.

She knew well enough to stop mentioning divorce. To Lucas, it was just another act-proof that she was the same desperate woman the world thought her to be.

If she couldn’t get through to Lucas, she was going to find another path.

Now, with her infertility diagnosis, she knew Helen would be far more impatient to act on this news.

Sophia retreated to the master bedroom. Her possessions had claimed their space, with her clothes occupying half of the vast closet.

A sense of normalcy had finally settled between her and Lucas, the kind that belongs to a husband and wife. But it was a fragile peace, already beginning to fray.

Lucas was still in the living room when Emily returned.

The air around her carried the sharp tang of liquor. Her face was deeply flushed, and she swayed slightly as she walked.

He was at her side in an instant, his hand gently steadying her.

“You’ve had far too much to drink,” he murmured, his brow furrowed with worry. “This isn’t good for you. I don’t want to see you like this again.”

Emily turned into him, her arms finding their way around his neck. “I couldn’t help it,” she whispered, her voice thick with drink and emotion. “It’s the only thing that dulls the ache.”

Sensing her legs might give way, he simply gathered her into his arms. “Wendy,” he said to the housekeeper who had appeared, heading for the stairs. “Would you bring up some electrolyte water for Emily?”

“Understood,” Wendy replied.

Playing the part of the drunken mess, Emily clung to Lucas and sobbed into his chest. “I’ve always regretted it,” she cried. “Letting my pride push you away was the biggest mistake of my life.”

A long-buried tenderness tugged at Lucas’s heart.

“Let’s try again, Lucas. I’m not going to make the same mistake twice,” she whispered, tilting her face up to his.

Just as their lips were about to meet, the master bedroom door swung open, and the sudden movement

startled the couple in the hallway.

Sophia stood in the doorway in her pajamas, watching them with a completely expressionless face.

Lucas instantly snapped back to reality, and a rare look of panic flashed across his handsome face. “Sophie, Emily is drunk,” he said quickly. “I’m just taking her back to her room.”

Still draped around him, Emily met Sophia’s eyes over Lucas’s shoulder. The tears were gone, replaced by a cool, triumphant smirk that held no trace of intoxication.

Sophia’s mouth curved into a humorless smile as she replied, “Yes, and you’re drunk too.”

Without another word, she stepped back and slammed the door, the turn of the lock echoing decisively

behind her.

The idea of sleeping next to Lucas made her blood boil. She honestly didn’t trust herself to lie beside him all night without her rage getting the better of her.

Mark