Chapter 10
Sophia’s P.O.V
I took a deep breath, trying to steady my racing heart. For a few moments, I couldn’t even process what he had just said. “You’re probably reading too much into this, I managed to say, trying to brush it off, but there was a tremor in my voice that I couldn’t hide.
“Am I?” He asked simply, his voice soft, but the tone left no room for argument.
I closed my eyes, exhaling slowly. “It’s complicated,” I finally admitted.
Nathaniel didn’t look away. “Then un–complicate it for me.”
I let out a humorless laugh, shaking my head. “It’s not that simple.”
“It never is.” His voice was quiet, but there was something unrelenting in it. Something that told me he wouldn’t back down.
“You don’t know me. You don’t know anything about this situation.”
He didn’t flinch, his gaze steady, and his voice softened, but there was a sharpness to it that made it hard to ignore. “If you really want someone to listen, Sophia,” he said, “I’m all ears. You don’t have to carry that weight by yourself. Whatever it is, I’m ready to hear it. You don’t have to bottle it up.”
I felt my chest tighten. His words were kind, but they also cracked open something inside me, something I hadn’t allowed myself to confront. The past few days had been a whirlwind–everything falling apart, crumbling into pieces, and I didn’t even know how to put it all back together.
I shook my head, trying to hold it all in, but it was like the floodgates opened before I could stop it. The events came rushing in, so raw and overwhelming that I couldn’t hold back any longer.
“My husband…” I started, my voice cracking. “He wants an open marriage. He says he’s just… not happy with me. He’s been seeing someone else, and not just anyone–it’s this woman, Nathaniel, Gabriella.”
My breath hitched as the words left my mouth, each one cutting deeper than the last. “At first, I thought that he’d keep everything outside of our house, but he brought her home…like he doesn’t even care what I think anymore. I don’t even know what to do anymore. I thought we were fine, that we were… stable, despite the open marriage, but now everything’s just… shattered.”
Nathaniel’s expression softened, his eyes meeting mine with an understanding I hadn’t expected. I couldn’t stop myself. I had to keep talking, and had to let it all out. “I feel like I’m going crazy,” I whispered, my voice shaking.
“I don’t know what to think or feel. He doesn’t see what it’s doing to me. It’s like… like he doesn’t even care.” I let out a shaky breath, my hands trembling as I clasped them together in my lap. “I’m not enough. I haven’t been enough for him since I gave birth, and now I don’t know who I even am anymore.”
Nathaniel didn’t say anything at first, just let the silence linger, allowing me to breathe. I wiped my eyes, but it didn’t stop the tears from coming. “I never imagined this would happen,” I choked out, my voice barely above a whisper. “He promised me he wouldn’t do something like this. That he wouldn’t let his affairs affect our marriage…And now… now he’s living a double life, and I’m just… here, left in the dark.”
His voice was gentle but firm when he spoke again. “You’re not alone in this, Sophia. You don’t have to carry this burden on your own. I’m here.”
I let it all out, all the baggage I’d been holding inside, my words pouring out like an unstoppable tide.
Nathaniel drove down the road quietly, his hands resting lightly on the steering wheel, his expression calm and attentive. There was no trace of judgment in his eyes, no impatient flicker of annoyance, just an unwavering focus on every word I said. And I said a lot.
My frustration poured out like a dam breaking–about the lies, the betrayal, the excuses that barely made sense. I didn’t hold back; for once, I didn’t have to. With him, I didn’t need to hide my emotions or worry about being too much. Which was strange since I had only just met him this morning.
“And then he has the nerve to say I’m overreacting, that I need to be more understanding!” I let out a bitter laugh, my hands gesturing wildly.
“Understanding of what? That he brought her into our marriage like it was some kind of casual arrangement? Like I didn’t matter? Like-” My voice cracked, and I pressed my lips together, willing the tears to stay back. But Nathaniel just nodded, leaning forward slightly, his brows furrowed with quiet empathy.
