He pulled me into his arms, stroking my hair as his lips parted. "Silly girl, why didn't you say something sooner..."

I buried my face against his chest, tears finally breaking free like a burst dam. Six years of pent-up emotions poured out of me.

As I cried, he held me tighter. Benjamin was back.

He held me close, kissing my hair and my tear-streaked eyes.

Drunk as I was, I tried to push him away, but he only tightened his grip.

The next morning, I woke to an empty bed. Benjamin was gone.

For a moment, I wondered if it had all been a dream.

A warm embrace conjured by a woman starved for affection.

My head throbbed painfully from the late night.

Staggering out of bed, I found breakfast laid out on the dining table, a note beside it.

Nora, eat well. I've headed to the office.

I crumpled the note and tossed it in the trash with the untouched breakfast.

He still hadn't explained anything about Sophia.

He was avoiding the real issue, so what was the point of all this devotion?

As soon as I arrived at the office, I spotted Sophia waiting downstairs.

Flawlessly made up, in sparkling heels, her wavy hair catching the sunlight, she showed no sign of being pregnant.

She strutted over the moment she saw me, her demeanor dripping with arrogance.

"Miss Collins, we meet again..."

"We share a character in our names, Miss Collins. Ever wondered why? I've heard that without the luck of your name, Benjamin might not have ended up with you! Thanks for taking care of him all these years..."

She offered a sweet, saccharine smile.

I returned it with one of my own.

"Benjamin is my husband. Taking care of him is my duty. No need for an outsider to thank me. As for you, pregnant and rushing to be the other woman – that must be exhausting!"

Sophia's smile faltered, her expression darkening.

Then, in a flash, she collapsed at my feet, sobbing dramatically.

"Miss Collins, please, have mercy on me and my child! This baby isn't Benjamin's... The father is a scumbag, he abandoned us! Benjamin just pities me, he only wanted to give me a place to stay... Miss Collins, please be magnanimous..."

Before she could finish, a pair of large hands lifted her up. Benjamin had appeared out of nowhere, his tone icy as he chastised me.

"Nora, I've told you countless times, yet you still refuse to believe me! Sophia's child isn't mine. She's in a truly pitiable state. I just... I just wanted to look after her and the child temporarily."

After seven years with Benjamin, I realized how little I truly knew him.

"What if I told you this is all an act Sophia put on, just to play on your sympathies, to make you pity her? Would you believe me?"

I looked up, meeting his eyes, my voice calm.

His gaze flickered with a hint of hesitation.

Sophia shook her head, tears welling up, and collapsed weakly into his arms.

He quickly regained his composure, gently patting her back.

She didn't need to say a word; it was more effective than any lengthy explanation I could offer.

In his eyes, Sophia was an innocent, harmless little bunny—fragile, blameless, incapable of malice.

While I was sharp-tongued, defiant, fiercely independent, someone who would never let herself be pushed around.

I suddenly envied Sophia.

The truth was, I cried easily too.

But if I cried, who would hold me?

My grandmother, my dearest one, had been gone for years, and now Benjamin had his first love back.

I was alone again.

At night, I could only clutch the bedsheet, crying for my own ears to hear.

Whether it was morning sickness or a physical repulsion stirred by the sight of them, a wave of dry heaves suddenly overcame me.

I retched until there was nothing left but bile.

Benjamin watched me with a concerned look.

Putting Sophia aside, he came over and gently patted my back, his voice laced with worry.

"Why are you suddenly vomiting? Are you feeling unwell? Let me take you to see a doctor."