After She She Stopped Loving Him

That night, after Charles had finished fooling around with Sophie, he stood by the bed, straightening out the wrinkles in his suit.

When he was undressed, he’d give Sophie anything she wanted. But once he put his clothes back on, he turned back into the high–and–mighty CEO of Sinclair Group.

Remembering what Yolanda had said, Sophie grabbed his sleeve. “Charles, I mentioned before that I wanted the lipstick endorsement for Magnifique Cosmetics, right? I checked, and the current spokesperson is Joelle. Honestly, she’s nothing special. How could she possibly outshine me?”

The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy.

Sophie had never seen him like this before; her heart sank. She swallowed, forcing a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Did I say something wrong, Charles? I’ve seen her photos. Could you help me get the Magnifique Cosmetics endorsement? 1-”

He slowly removed her fingers from his sleeve and leaned in close, studying her face. “Sophie, did someone say something to you?”

Sophie put on her most convincing act, her eyes growing teary. “Charles, I just can’t stand being outshined by someone who’s clearly not as good as me. It’s been eating away at me.”

He patted her cheek lightly, a faint smile in his voice. “Don’t say such silly things next time.”

Sophie’s face instantly drained of color, her fingers curling into a fist. “What do you mean?” she asked, her voice barely steady.

“Be good, and there’ll be plenty of resources coming your way. But if you’re not, I can replace you anytime,” Charles said as he straightened his tie and grabbed his suit jacket. “I’m heading out.”

Sophie couldn’t even muster a smile, she just stared helplessly as he walked away.

As soon as the door closed behind him, she hurled a pillow across the room, tears streaming down her face.

She’d insulted Charles’s wife right to his face before, and he’d never cared. But just bringing up Joelle made him turn cold in an instant. Tessa hadn’t lied–Joelle was the one he cherished a lot in his heart.

Sophie pounded the bed beneath her. They’d just been tangled up together, and he could flip the switch like that. She’d never seen Charles act this way before. It was like he’d turned into ice, shutting her out completely.

Her face twisted with rage; she snatched up the business card she’d salvaged from the trash. It was Tessa’s

contact info..

it. Charles was truly heartless. She’d been chasing some ridiculous fantasy of rising to the

card so hard her knuckles turned white, before

7:45 Thu, Sep 11

Chapter 41

hadn’t even made it far down the road when his phone buzzed–it was Yolanda. She said softly, “Charles, things have taken a turn for the worse with William. Can

until she was ten. William, the director, wasn’t in great shape, but he still looked after a few of

working herself

that night, she rushed straight to the hospital and was

William was like the grandfather she never had. She’d never known real family love in the Grant or

herself to stay strong, clenching her fists to keep them from trembling, and waited until William

doctor pulled off his mask. “We caught it early this time, but William doesn’t have much time left. He needs

leaned back against the wall, her hand limp at her side. “Please let

worry, William is at the top of the donor list. As soon as we find a match,

nodded, forcing a weak smile. “Sorry

few kids gathered around the bed. They were all orphans from the orphanage, and they’d lived

was middle–aged. He and his wife had run it together

why isn’t Mr. Bennett waking up?” one of the

if Mr. Bennett never wakes up?” another

These kids were the ones who’d called 911. If they hadn’t, William might not have made

good, okay? I’ll have someone take you all home. Mr. Bennett is going to be fine, so don’t stay here and disturb his rest. Once he’s better, he’ll

kids took turns hugging her

Yolanda

7:45 Thu, Sep 11

Chapter 41

his eyes. “Yolanda,

in by the Grant family, she brought Charles to the orphanage. William liked him right away, and back when Athena