After she finished speaking, she shot Benjamin a look, then her head dropped, and the room fell silent.

It was like I was the bad guy here.

"A misunderstanding? What misunderstanding? What did I misunderstand this time? Miss Sophia, don't just throw words around. Oh, and by the way, I just heard you tell my husband you're pregnant. Congrats!"

"What, is the father not here?"

I flashed Sophia a smile.

I’m not one to just sit back and take it.

My parents split when I was young, and my elderly grandma raised me.

With no one in my corner, I grew some serious fangs early on.

I learned the hard way that you gotta fight for everything yourself.

Show even a sliver of weakness, and people will take a mile.

Sophia probably didn't see that coming. The bluntness, I mean.

She blinked, stunned for a sec, then mumbled, "The father... he..."

She trailed off, unable to string a sentence together, acting like I’d just kicked her puppy.

"Enough!"

A roar ripped through the air. Benjamin.

"Nora, don't push it!"

He snarled, teeth gritted, right at me.

Benjamin had never yelled at me before. Ever.

And it was for another woman.

But why? Why yell at me?

The emotions I'd been bottling up finally found a weak spot.

A single tear broke free, trailing a hot path down my cheek.

A flicker of panic crossed Benjamin's face. He started to move towards me, but Sophia snagged his arm.

"I'm so sorry for causing an argument! This is all my fault!"

With that, Sophia spun around and walked away.

Benjamin's face snapped back into that hard, fierce mask.

"Are you happy now?!"

He didn't even glance back as he stormed after Sophia.

I just stood there, watching them disappear like ghosts.

What just happened?

I was supposed to surprise him.

But he forgot.

He forgot to ask me, "Nora, what's the news? What's the big surprise?"

Everything had flipped.

He left with someone else.

He left me.

And our kid.

I refolded the report in my hand, slid it into my bag, and headed for the office.

As expected, Benjamin wasn't there.

My assistant slid a proposal across my desk.

I blankly stared at the words "Stewart & Morgan Media" on the cover.

I’d asked Benjamin once why 'Morgan' was in the company name.

He hadn't even met me when he founded it.

I still remember him reaching out, ruffling my hair. His eyes, so deep and held back, seemed to look at me, yet also past me, towards some distant, hazy horizon.

"Maybe it was fate, agreed upon ages ago..."

Only now do I get what he was seeing that day.

Sophia Morgan.

Nora Collins.

So, he'd been playing me the whole time.

Sophia's cascading waves of hair flashed in my mind.

I remembered once, I'd straightened my long, wavy hair.

I'd grinned at him, "A new hairstyle feels so refreshing!"

Benjamin had frowned, almost imperceptibly. "Wavy hair suits you better."

From that day on, I kept my hair wavy.

Looks like I've been playing dress-up as someone else's substitute for three whole years.

All the affection I thought I'd seen all these years was like thin ice on a warm day, melting away in an instant.

It was all a sham.

I swiped the tear from the corner of my eye.

At least it’s not the absolute worst-case scenario.

Benjamin might not have showered me with love, but hey, I've got cash.

Remember that girl from nine years ago, the one who rocked up to school in threadbare clothes?

Because she fell for someone way out of her league, she started this whole silent, epic crush.

To get closer to him, just a little bit, then a bit more, she soaked up all the nutrients, water, and sunlight like a plant after the rain. She grew with all her might.

She wanted him to notice her. To love her.

But, life took a turn,

and instead of love, she got… well, money.

And honestly, having money isn't so bad either.