3. Done pretending
Sophia's Pov:
After tucking Lily into bed, I quietly returned to our bedroom.
The lights were already off.
Adrian was lying on his side of the bed, his back facing me, already asleep—or at least pretending to be.
Without making a sound, I slipped under the blanket and lay on my side, staring at the dark ceiling above me.
The room was silent.
But even in the silence, I could smell it.
That sweet cherry perfume.
Vanessa.
The scent clung to Adrian’s shirt, to the sheets, to the air around us.
Once, it had only been a perfume.
Now it felt suffocating.
Every time I smelled it, my chest tightened.
My stomach turned.
It was the scent of another woman slowly taking everything from me.
I closed my eyes, but the ache inside me only grew heavier.
I had no one.
My parents had died when I was young.
I had entered this marriage believing that maybe, after Lily was born, Adrian would soften toward me.
That perhaps one day he would stop seeing me as a burden.
That maybe we could become a real family.
But five years had passed, and nothing had changed.
I stayed.
I stayed for Lily.
I gave my entire life to raising our daughter while Adrian built walls between us higher and higher.
And now even Lily was slipping away from me.
The memory of my confrontation with Adrian came rushing back.
I had begged him to keep Vanessa away from Lily.
I told him that if this continued, I would start picking Lily up from school myself.
So the next day, I did.
I arrived at the school gate early, determined to reclaim at least that small part of my daughter’s life.
But when Lily saw me, her little face fell.
“Mommy, where’s Daddy?” she had asked.
“I came to pick you up today, sweetheart,” I told her with a smile.
Instead of happiness, she looked upset.
“But I wanted Daddy and Vanessa to pick me up.”
Her innocent words had pierced straight through me.
I had smiled through the pain.
“Lily,” I said gently, “Vanessa is not good for you.”
She frowned and shook her head.
“No, Mommy. You’ve never even met her. She’s so pretty and she smells like cherry candy. Daddy said she is just like a mommy to me.”
The memory made my eyes sting even now.
Just like a mommy.
I had gone to Adrian that night, heartbroken.
But he hadn’t cared.
“Sophia,” he had said coldly, “it’s not like we were ever a real couple.”
I remembered staring at him in disbelief while he continued.
“And if Lily likes Vanessa, what’s wrong with that? It’s actually a good thing.”
A good thing.
As if my daughter replacing me was a good thing.
Tears slipped silently from the corners of my eyes as I lay there in the darkness.
Everything felt so heavy.
So suffocating.
I wanted to leave.
I wanted to escape this life, this pain, this humiliation.
But how?
I didn’t work.
I had left everything behind five years ago.
The last thing I had done before marriage was an internship during college.
That life felt like a distant memory now.
I had forgotten what independence even felt like.
At some point, exhausted from crying, I fell asleep.
---
The next morning, I woke up with swollen eyes and a pounding head.
After freshening up, I went downstairs to the kitchen.
James and Mary were already there preparing breakfast.
“Good morning, Mrs. Whitmore,” they said warmly.
I gave them a small smile.
“Good morning.”
Helping them in the kitchen had become part of my routine.
It gave me something to do.
Something to feel useful.
Once breakfast was almost ready, I went upstairs to wake Lily.
She was still half asleep as I helped her get ready for school.
I was combing her hair when her phone rang.
The moment she saw the name on the screen, her face lit up.
“Hello, Vanessa!” she said excitedly. “Good morning! I am missing you. Can you pick me up today?”
The brush froze in my hand.
A sharp pain stabbed my chest.
I forced myself to speak calmly.
“Lily, sit still or you’ll be late.”
She glanced at me and must have noticed something in my face because she quickly told Vanessa she would call later.
Then she sat quietly while I finished braiding her hair.
A few minutes later, we went downstairs for breakfast.
Adrian was already seated at the table, drinking coffee.
Lily climbed onto her chair and smiled brightly.
“Daddy, can we stay with Vanessa tonight, please?”
Adrian paused and looked at me before replying casually,
“Ask your mommy. If she says yes, then maybe.”
I forced a smile.
“Lily, I was planning to take you shopping this evening, and then we could have dinner together.”
She frowned immediately.
“No, Mommy. Please! I want to sleep over with Vanessa.”
I tried to stay firm.
“You’re too young for sleepovers, sweetheart.”
“But Daddy will be there,” she argued. “Daddy already does sleepovers with Vanessa, so why can’t I?”
My hand froze around my glass.
Adrian looked sharply at her.
“Lily, who told you that?”
She pouted innocently.
“Vanessa did. She said that you stayed with her last weekend and then took her to that movie.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“That’s different,” he said flatly.
I sat there in stunned silence.
I had known Adrian spent weekends with Vanessa.
But hearing Lily talk about it so casually—
Hearing that another woman had involved my daughter in their relationship—
It was too much.
“Please, Daddy,” Lily said, tugging at his arm. “Convince Mommy. I want Vanessa.”
I slowly stood from the table.
My vision blurred with tears, but I refused to let them fall.
“Okay,” I said, my voice trembling. “You can stay with her tonight.”
Lily’s face lit up.
“Really?!”
I nodded.
“And call Vanessa to pick you up. I want to talk to Daddy.”
She jumped down from her chair and hugged my legs tightly.
“Thank you, Mommy!”
Then she looked up at me with worried eyes.
“Are you sad, Mommy?”
I forced a smile and shook my head.
“No, sweetheart. If she makes you happy, then enjoy your time.”
Satisfied, Lily ran upstairs to get her bag.
The moment she disappeared, silence filled the dining room.
Now it was just Adrian and me.
He looked at me with confusion—or maybe annoyance.
I couldn’t tell.
But for the first time in years, I didn’t care.
Because today, I was finally going to speak.
I was done being silent.
Done pretending.
Done letting him decide how much pain I should tolerate.
I looked straight at him.
And for the first time, I wanted him to understand—
I was not something for him to use and discard whenever he pleased.