There was no answer. Only silence pressing in from every corner.
She fell back onto the bed, the mattress dipping beneath her weight.
The chandelier above blurred.
She blinked slowly.
For a moment, she shut her eyes tightly, as if darkness could quiet the storm in her head. But it didn’t. The thoughts only grew louder.
After a few seconds, she opened them again and stared up at the ceiling. She shifted, sitting up again. Her knees bent at the edge of the bed, her legs dangling over the side, toes barely brushing the floor. Her hands rested limply at her sides, fingers slightly curled into the sheets.
“He’s running away from me now that his girlfriend is back in his life?”
The thought stabbed deep. Her fingers curled into the bedsheet, creasing the fabric.
“He didn’t even try to explain the rumors about him and Celia…” she whispered into the silence.
Her throat tightened painfully.
“Does he really not care at all?”
But there was no one there to hear her.
Just then, her phone buzzed sharply against the bedside table.
The sudden sound made her flinch. She turned her head toward it, her heart thudding. For one foolish second, hope flickered in her chest.
She grabbed the phone quickly. Her heart pounded as she looked at the screen.
Unknown number.
She swallowed the disappointment and opened the message.
‘Did you see the photographs in the news? I’m sure you did. They’re all over the internet. Magnus and I look so good together, don’t we?’
Her fingers trembled around the phone.
Celia?
Before she could even process it, another message came through.
‘Do you want to know what we did in that hotel room together? You should know, right? I’d hate for you to imagine the wrong things.’
Her breath hitched.
Another message.
‘Why don’t you meet me tomorrow? Hotel du Lac’s guest Restaurant. I’ll tell you everything. 11 AM.’
Sophia’s face was cold with anger.
Instead of replying, she locked her phone and let out a soft, humorless laugh.
“Unbelievable.”
She tossed her phone onto the bed beside her.
Morning couldn’t come soon enough.
