Chapter 1: The Broken Dream

While Sophia Harper tightened the strap of her handbag with one hand and balanced the shopping bag with the other, the low sound of the elevator reverberated down the corridor. At this hour, the upscale apartment complex was silent, the type of silence she used to like. But at this point, it simply made her uneasiness worse.

Her shoes clicked quietly on the marble floor as she approached her penthouse's entrance. With a soft click, her key turned as it slid into the lock.

She shoved the door open and yelled, "Jacob?" With the exception of the slightest hint of music emanating from someplace inside, the apartment was abnormally quiet.

Sophia scowled and slowed her pace. There was no longer the familiar smell of Jacob's cologne, just a flowery aroma that she couldn't identify. Her chest became constricted.

"Jacob?" With a stronger voice, she yelled once more. As she stabilized herself, she placed the shopping bag on the kitchen counter and brushed her fingertips on the cold marble.

As she moved down the corridor, the music became louder. The bedroom was the source of it. Her pulse accelerated.

Her breath caught in her throat as she arrived at the slightly open door. She could see movement through the little opening. Her body stopped, unable to stop her hand from pushing the door open, as her mind attempted to make sense of what she was witnessing.

Her heart was stabbed by the sight in front of her.

Another lady got entangled with Jacob—her Jacob—in the blankets. Not just any lady. Camille. Her cousin.

Her mind was having a hard time processing the treachery, and time seemed to slow down. As Jacob leaned above Camille, his kisses sliding over her neck, his wide back glistened with perspiration. As Camille's hands tightened around Jacob's shoulders, her deep, sensual giggle filled the room.

As the globe tipped on its axis, Sophia's stomach roiled and her sickness increased. She couldn't get the picture out of her head: Camille's emerald-green eyes alight with ecstasy, her red hair spreading over the pillows.

"Jacob."

Her words pierced the room like a razor, hardly more than a whisper.

Jacob's head snapped toward her as he froze. With a gasp, Camille's face became pale and she pulled the covers up to hide herself.

Jacob stumbled and stumbled to his feet, saying, "Sophia." His motions were frenetic as he picked up a pair of jeans from the floor. "It's not what it appears to be—"

"Not what it appears to be?" Sophia stepped forward, her voice breaking. A mixture of incredulity and anger swelled in her chest. "Are you really going to use that pitiful excuse to stand there and insult me?"

With her eyes wide with a combination of shame and panic, Camille drew back into bed. "Sophia—"

"Stop it." Camille recoiled at the acerbic tone Sophia used. "You're not allowed to talk."

Jacob's hands were shaking as he reached for her. "Please, Sophia, allow me to explain—"

"Explain?" Sophia flinched as if his touch had burnt her. Tell me how you got into bed with my cousin. In our bed? Her voice raised as the room echoed with the intensity of her agony.

In a distressed tone, Jacob said, "I didn't mean for this to happen." "It was an error—a dumb, dumb error!"

Sophia's chuckle was hollow and cruel, and Jacob winced. "A mistake? Jacob, no. It is a mistake to forget to purchase milk. This—this is treachery.

Her eyes pinched with tears, but she fought the need to let them go. She refused to give them the joy of seeing her shatter. Not right now.

She turned to look at Camille, who was holding the covers close to her breast. Sophia growled, her voice brimming with poison, "And you." "You are my cousin. My relatives. How could you harm me like this?

Although Camille opened her lips, nothing came out. Rather, she bowed her head, her red hair cascading over her face like a veil.

Sophia's eyesight became blurry as she shook her head. "You two are repulsive," she spat.

With her heels banging on the wooden floor, she pivoted and bounded out of the room. Jacob's voice followed her, begging and expressing regret, but she persisted.

Her hands shaking, she snatched up her coat and handbag as she arrived in the living room. She needed to get outside so she could breathe and think.

"Wait, Sophia!" She could hear Jacob's bare boots scuffing the floor as his voice grew closer.

Her eyes were flaming as she whirled around. "You dare not follow me."

Jacob came to a halt, his face disintegrating. "Please. This is something we can resolve. We can resolve it.

"Work it out?" Sophia repeated, her angry voice trembling. "Jacob, you didn't just cheat on me. You destroyed all we had created. Everything I had faith in. This cannot be "worked through."

She seemed indifferent to Jacob's hunched shoulders. Her fingers fumbling with the handle, she turned back to the door. The chilly air from the hallway rushed in as she pushed it open, causing her skin to hurt.

Then she halted.

Her voice was calm and chilly as she looked over her shoulder. "I'll have someone come get my belongings. Don't get in touch with me again.

She then let the door crash behind her and went out into the hallway.

The ensuing hush was deafening.

Sophia's breath came in short spurts as she leaned against the wall. She felt as if she might be crushed under the weight of what she had just seen.

She was jolted out of her reverie by the buzzing of her phone in her handbag. Her hands were still trembling when she took it out.

A SMS message was sent.

from Camille.

"I apologize, Sophia. However, you were never sufficient for him.

Tears flooded her eyes, blurring the words. Her breath caught in a sob as she hung up the phone.

The doors slid open as the elevator dinged. Sophia entered mindlessly, her thoughts whirling.

She glanced at her image in the mirror walls as the doors shut. She saw a stranger staring back at her, with red-rimmed eyes, tear-streaked cheeks, and a pained expression she could not identify.

She had no clue how she was going to rebuild her life after everything had just fallen apart.

The elevator went down, taking her away from the world she had known, leaving only deception and shattered trust in its wake.

But a thought—a glimmer of something she hadn't experienced in years—flitted in her head as the doors opened to reveal the busy metropolis below.

Revenge.