Chapter 428

“Get lost! All of you, get lost!” Sophia lunged forward, her fingers wildly swiping at the reporters’ faces. In her frantic state, she no longer cared about her image.

The reporters, having gotten what they wanted, quickly retreated. But the storm wasn’t over. Hannah, seething with fury, couldn’t contain herself. She turned sharply to Windsor, her voice icy. “Don’t think that just because you’re divorced, you can do whatever you want.”

She fixed him with a bitter gaze, then spat out, “As long as I’m alive, she’ll never marry into the Bennett family.”

With that, she grabbed Atlas and Caspian, forcing them to support her as they all left the room in a huff.

Edic gave Henry one last contemptuous glance before turning on her heel. Henry, clutching his aching abdomen, quickly followed.

The long, quiet hallway felt suffocating as Windsor and Sophia remained alone, the air thick with tension.

“How… how could this happen? I can’t be pregnant. Why am I throwing up?” Sophia’s voice quivered with panic. Her eyes filled with tears, and she looked up helplessly, meeting Windsor’s cold, unblinking gaze.

“Who’s the father?” Windsor’s voice was as sharp as ice.

Everything had been meticulously planned, but Sophia’s pregnancy—if it was true—was a wrench in his calculations. She couldn’t be pregnant. If she was, it would destroy his plans. And yet, here she was, vomiting uncontrollably. Windsor was furious. The timing couldn’t be worse.

“I’m not pregnant! The doctor must have made a mistake!” Sophia snapped, her panic turning to desperation.

She knew deep down she couldn’t possibly be pregnant. But her body, betraying her, kept rejecting her claims, and the doctor had been so certain. She could almost hear the verdict in her mind: It doesn’t matter how many times you deny it. You’re pregnant.

“No pregnancy? Then why did the doctor say there’s a possibility? Why are you vomiting nonstop? These doctors are professionals, and the Lark family’s doctors never make mistakes. Are you saying they misread it?” Windsor’s voice was low and dangerous. “And what about you and Henry? Why were you so close? Do you honestly think I’ll believe you two are innocent? If you were truly innocent, why would you be that close to him? Don’t think I’m blind, Sophia. I see everything.”

His words hit her like a hammer. He was accusing her of something she could barely comprehend, and yet, somewhere deep inside, she wasn’t sure anymore. What if she was pregnant? The thought gnawed at her. Could the child be Henry’s?

Sophia’s face drained of color. No one would believe me now. Even she was beginning to question everything.

“Well,” Windsor’s voice cut through her thoughts, cold and angry. “Not going to defend yourself?”

Sophia covered her face, her tears flowing freely. How did this happen? she thought, her heart a whirl of confusion and betrayal.

She had always been the glamorous star, the one everyone adored. Every rich girl wanted her autograph; everyone wanted to be her. But now, it was as if the world had flipped upside down. She was drowning, and no one was throwing her a lifeline.

It has to be someone else’s fault, she thought wildly. It’s Odalys—she must have stolen my luck! Why is everyone obsessed with her now? Why is she the one getting all the attention?

Her mind raced, filled with dark thoughts. I have to get her out of the way. If I can just destroy her, I’ll get everything back.

Sophia’s eyes lit up, her desperation pushing her forward. “Windsor, please help me. Get Odalys to meet with me. I need to talk to her. I beg you, please.”

Windsor, however, yanked his arm away from her grasp, visibly irritated. Without a word, he turned on his heel and walked toward the elevator. “Windsor! You can’t leave me like this! You have to take responsibility! You ruined me three years ago—now you’re just going to abandon me?”

Her voice was raw, her anger erupting uncontrollably. “If it weren’t for you, Hannah wouldn’t be disappointed in me, and the Bennett family wouldn’t have turned their backs on me! Why did you come back to the country? Why?”

Sophia’s chest heaved with frustration. If Windsor hadn’t come back, she wouldn’t have been exposed for who she truly was in front of the Bennett family.

Windsor stopped by the elevator, hearing her shouts. He turned to look at her, his gaze filled with derision. “Isn’t it you who came into my study and seduced me? Didn’t you strip down and lie next to me first? You forced me, Sophia. Don’t pretend to be innocent now.”

His words sliced through the air, sharper than any knife.

Sophia staggered back, her legs giving way beneath her. She collapsed onto the floor, staring helplessly at the empty corridor as Windsor stepped into the elevator, his back turned to her.

The silence was deafening. Her entire world felt like it was crumbling around her, and tears poured freely from her eyes. How did it come to this?

She pushed herself up and rushed back to her hospital room, only to find her belongings trashed, everything thrown around carelessly. As she searched the wreckage, she found her phone and opened it.

Her heart dropped as the screen filled with breaking news: “[Sophia the Homewrecker], [Seduces Men and Ends Up in the Operating Room], [Sophia Pregnant: Who’s the Father?], [Don’t Be Like Sophia, Sleeping Around Always Has Consequences].”

Sophia’s hands trembled as she read the cruel headlines. The Twitter notifications flooded in, and she saw her follower count plummeting—from millions to just 200,000, and that number was quickly falling. The worst part? She knew that 200,000 wouldn’t last much longer.

“No, this can’t be happening!” she cried, looking at her phone screen in disbelief. “My fans—they promised they would always support me. How could they just turn on me? I’m being framed! This isn’t me!” Her voice cracked with desperation.

She typed furiously, sending out a tweet: “I’ve been framed! This isn’t my fault. Look at who benefits from this. Open your eyes!”

Her tweet immediately sparked a flood of responses—thousands of comments from people who had once supported her, now attacking her. Her loyal fans were now calling her a liar, a manipulator.

Sophia’s hands shook violently as she stared at the familiar usernames, now filled with vitriol. They were the same people who had once cheered her on, but now, they were her accusers.

Her breath came in ragged gasps as she fell to the floor, clutching her stomach.

“Why is this happening?” she whispered, her voice breaking.

The world she once knew, the world she had built so carefully, was slipping away. And somewhere in the back of her mind, a nagging thought kept repeating: What if I really am pregnant?

I have to find a way to turn this around. Odalys is getting all the luck, all the glory—if I can just steal that from her, I can make a comeback. I’ll show them all, I’ll be the one who wins in the end, Sophia thought.

As she thought of Odalys’ success and glory, she imagined herself in her place. If she hadn’t backed down back then, if she hadn’t feared becoming a widow, if she hadn’t been afraid of being buried alongside him, she would have married long ago. There wouldn’t even be an Odalys in the picture.

But sadly, life doesn’t have “what-ifs” or “regrets.” Everything had already been decided, and that was something she couldn’t escape.

And she hated it.