My Ex's Enemy Became My Husband

Chapter 1: The Betrayal

Sophia's POV

The bouquet of white roses slipped from my hands and fell to the floor.

Beside the bed lay Ryan's shirt, tangled with a woman's dress.

My fingers trembled as I pushed the bedroom door a little wider. My eyes slowly drifted toward the bed.

And then I saw them.

Ryan. My fiancé.

And on his chest was my younger sister, Emma.

For several seconds, I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't even understand what I was looking at.

××××

The bouquet of white roses had felt heavier than it should have, but I hadn't minded. Maybe it was because I had spent almost an hour choosing them. Or maybe because today was finally the day everything would change.

Ryan loved white roses.

It was a small thing. Something most people would hardly remember. But as his girlfriend of three years, I remembered everything about him. The coffee he liked in the morning, the songs he played whenever he was stressed, the way he rubbed his forehead whenever he was thinking too hard and the way his eyes softened whenever he looked at me.

I remembered the promise he made two weeks ago.

The night he took my hand, looked into my eyes, and asked me to be his wife.

I still remembered how my heart had raced. How I had cried. How I had said yes before he even finished asking.

I still remember the way he held me the day I lost my job. He told me not to worry about searching for a job until after our engagement ceremony. I smiled at the thought.

Today was supposed to be the day we told our families. The day we made our future official.

I had parked outside the Laurent family estate and taken a deep breath before stepping out of my car.

The place looked exactly the same as it always did. Beautiful. Expensive. Perfect.

Ryan had brought me here many times before. I knew every corner of the garden, every pathway, every tree. This was where he had kissed me for the first time. This was where he had told me I was the only woman he could ever imagine spending his life with.

I smiled at the memory. I had believed him. I had believed every word.

I walked toward the entrance, holding the bouquet carefully. The front door was slightly open.

Strange.

I pushed it open slowly and stepped inside.

"Ryan?" I called.

No answer.

Maybe he was in his room getting ready. I smiled at the thought and started down the hallway.

The house was quiet. I could only hear the sound of my heels against the floor as I hurried toward his bedroom.

When I reached the door, I raised my hand to knock. Then I noticed it was slightly ajar.

The smile on my face widened. Maybe I could surprise him.

I pushed the door slightly, intending to peek inside.

The room was dim.

At first, I didn't understand what I was seeing.

Then my eyes fell on the clothes scattered across the floor. Ryan's shirt. A woman's dress.

The bouquet slipped from my hands.

My smile disappeared.

My fingers trembled as I pushed the door wider and took another step inside.

My breath caught.

I stared blankly at the clothes on the floor before slowly lifting my eyes toward the bed.

Emma. My sister.

She was lying on top of my fiancé. The sheet was pulled up to her chest.

My eyes stung. I tried to take a deep breath, but it felt as though the room had suddenly run out of air.

Ryan was gently running his hand through Emma's hair, his eyes closed, a faint smile on his face.

A tear slipped down my cheek. Then another.

I wiped them away, but more followed.

"How long?"

My voice cracked.

Ryan's eyes flew open. Emma quickly sat up, grabbing the sheet and pulling it tightly around herself. She didn't even look particularly shaken.

"Sophia..." Ryan stammered. "I... I can explain."

He climbed out of the bed and hurriedly reached for his shorts.

"How long?" I shouted. My eyes never left his face, even as tears continued to fall.

"Sophia, please. Please listen. I—"

"WHEN?"

I cut him off. My voice came out colder than I expected, but I didn't care.

Ryan's eyes dropped to the floor.

"Three months."

My heart stopped.

"Listen, I—"

"Three fucking months?" I cut him off again. I stood there trembling, trying to understand how the man I loved had been lying to me for three months. "Three whole months, and you've been going behind my back, having sex with my sister?"

Ryan couldn't meet my eyes. His face remained lowered toward the floor.

"Sophia, please, just lis—"

"Shut the fuck up, Emma."

My gaze shifted to her.

"Shut the fuck up!"

I tried to stop the tears, wiping my cheeks again and again, but they wouldn't stop.

The sister I had protected my entire life. The sister who always seemed to want whatever belonged to me. My clothes. My attention. My achievements. Even my happiness.

I turned back to Ryan.

"Three years." My voice dropped to a whisper. "Three years together, Ryan."

He finally lifted his eyes.

"You proposed to me two weeks ago while you were having an affair with my sister?" My voice trailed off. "How could you?"

My voice cracked. "How could you look me in the eyes and promise me forever when you were already choosing her?. How could you hold me and promise me you'll help me find a job after our engagement?"

"Sophia—"

"No." I shook my head. "Don't."

I couldn't listen to another excuse. I couldn't listen to him tell me he was sorry. Not when I could still see him touching her. Not when I had walked into this room carrying flowers for the man I thought I was going to marry.

"Sophia."

My mother's voice came from behind me.

I turned around. Both of my parents stood in the doorway.

My mother stepped forward and placed her hands on my shoulders.

"Sophia, you need to calm down."

I stared at her.

"You knew, right?" The question came out quietly.

She froze. And from the way her body tensed, I already knew the answer.

My mother sighed. "Sophia, please."

Please. That word again. The word people used when they wanted me to accept pain quietly.

"Please what?" I snapped. "Please understand? Please forgive them? Please step aside?"

My mother said nothing.

I turned toward my father. He wasn't looking at me.

That hurt more than I expected.

They all knew. They had all known while I was the only person left in the dark.

I let out a disbelief chuckle and walked toward my father until I was standing directly in front of him. He still refused to meet my eyes.

"How could you?" My voice came out as barely a whisper.

No one answered.

I turned around and looked at Emma and Ryan. Then I looked back at my parents. Nobody said anything.

I felt something inside me break.

I dragged my feet toward the middle of the room and picked up my bag. I didn't even remember when I had dropped it.

Then I looked at Ryan one last time. His eyes finally met mine. He looked lifeless. Broken.

But I couldn't bring myself to care anymore.

I stepped closer until there was barely any distance between us.

"I hope you're happy." My voice was barely audible.

Then I turned around and walked away.

Nobody stopped me. Nobody called me back. Not even my parents.

My eyes blurred as I stepped outside the Laurent estate.

The moment I reached the gates, the tears came harder. I wiped my cheeks with the back of my hands, but they wouldn't stop.

I looked back at the estate one last time.

I had walked through those gates believing I was about to begin the next chapter of my life. Instead, I was leaving with nothing.

And somehow, I knew I would never look at that place the same way again.