[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":9},["ShallowReactive",2],{"viewer-data-260311FB68BF-2":3},{"id":4,"number":4,"name":5,"content":6,"isLocked":7,"price":8,"hasRead":7},2,"Chapter 2: The Ice Melts in an Instant","\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">After she finished speaking, she shot Benjamin a look, then her head dropped, and the room fell silent.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">It was like I was the bad guy here.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"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!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"What, is the father not here?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I flashed Sophia a smile.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I’m not one to just sit back and take it.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">My parents split when I was young, and my elderly grandma raised me.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">With no one in my corner, I grew some serious fangs early on.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I learned the hard way that you gotta fight for everything yourself.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Show even a sliver of weakness, and people will take a mile.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Sophia probably didn't see that coming. The bluntness, I mean.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She blinked, stunned for a sec, then mumbled, \"The father... he...\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She trailed off, unable to string a sentence together, acting like I’d just kicked her puppy.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Enough!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">A roar ripped through the air. Benjamin.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Nora, don't push it!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He snarled, teeth gritted, right at me.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Benjamin had never yelled at me before. Ever.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">And it was for another woman.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">But why? Why yell at me?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The emotions I'd been bottling up finally found a weak spot.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">A single tear broke free, trailing a hot path down my cheek.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">A flicker of panic crossed Benjamin's face. He started to move towards me, but Sophia snagged his arm.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I'm so sorry for causing an argument! This is all my fault!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">With that, Sophia spun around and walked away.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Benjamin's face snapped back into that hard, fierce mask.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Are you happy now?!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He didn't even glance back as he stormed after Sophia.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I just stood there, watching them disappear like ghosts.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">What just happened?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I was supposed to surprise him.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">But he forgot.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He forgot to ask me, \"Nora, what's the news? What's the big surprise?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Everything had flipped.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He left with someone else.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He left me.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">And our kid.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I refolded the report in my hand, slid it into my bag, and headed for the office.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">As expected, Benjamin wasn't there.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">My assistant slid a proposal across my desk.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I blankly stared at the words \"Stewart & Morgan Media\" on the cover.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I’d asked Benjamin once why 'Morgan' was in the company name.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He hadn't even met me when he founded it.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">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.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Maybe it was fate, agreed upon ages ago...\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Only now do I get what he was seeing that day.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Sophia Morgan.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Nora Collins.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">So, he'd been playing me the whole time.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Sophia's cascading waves of hair flashed in my mind.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I remembered once, I'd straightened my long, wavy hair.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I'd grinned at him, \"A new hairstyle feels so refreshing!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Benjamin had frowned, almost imperceptibly. \"Wavy hair suits you better.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">From that day on, I kept my hair wavy.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Looks like I've been playing dress-up as someone else's substitute for three whole years.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">All the affection I thought I'd seen all these years was like thin ice on a warm day, melting away in an instant.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">It was all a sham.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I swiped the tear from the corner of my eye.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">At least it’s not the absolute worst-case scenario.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Benjamin might not have showered me with love, but hey, I've got cash.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Remember that girl from nine years ago, the one who rocked up to school in threadbare clothes?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Because she fell for someone way out of her league, she started this whole silent, epic crush.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">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.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She wanted him to notice her. To love her.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">But, life took a turn,\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">and instead of love, she got… well, money.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">And honestly, having money isn't so bad either.\u003C/p>",false,0,1774272933052]