The realization crushed her. It felt like a heavy blow to her chest. She clutched her heart. It was painful! She had never felt her heart ache like this before. A fog seemed to cloud her vision, making it hard to stay on her feet.

No! How could she be a stand-in? But Ashlyn couldn’t hold back her cry. Tears ran down her cheeks. Her mind struggled to take it all in.

Downstairs, the conversation continued.

Sophia moved closer to Khalid and took hold of his tie. “Or do you still think of me and want me back?”

Ashlyn couldn’t hold herself together anymore. She collapsed, shaking uncontrollably.

But just then, a loud thud echoed from downstairs.

Sophia stood up abruptly and shoved Khalid onto the sofa. Then, with a teasing smile, she lifted his chin with her delicate fingers. “Since you can’t seem to get over me, why don’t we relive old times?”

Her words were like knives, slicing straight through Ashlyn’s heart. How had it come to this? Ashlyn could barely process what she was seeing. Her hands trembled as she gripped the railing, her breath unsteady.

From her vantage point upstairs, she had a clear view of the two figures sprawled on the sofa below. And the moment she saw them, tears burst from her eyes—uncontrollable and raw.

The man she had loved for so long was entangled with a woman who looked exactly like her. And worse—they had a past.

A storm of emotions crashed through her—anger, hurt, betrayal. But years of restraint, of upbringing and pride, held her back from acting on impulse.

L€$? ￠t?€я? ?η ?@lи?νεl?.c?m

Downstairs, Khalid suddenly sat up. His expression shifted in an instant—from indifferent to ice-cold. With a sharp glare, he pushed Sophia away. “Sophia, we’re over. Don’t cross the line.”

Sophia, however, remained unfazed. She still wore that same smirk, seductive yet mocking. Leaning in closer, she tugged at his tie. “Cross the line? You didn’t seem to mind back when you were in my bed.” Her words dripped with amusement, but the warmth in her smile was hollow.

Khalid’s gaze darkened. He yanked her hand away and rose from the sofa, looking down at her with an ice-cold expression. “I don’t know how you managed to stay here. But if you try to harm them, I won’t let you get away with it.”

Sophia’s eyes flickered, her smile thinning. But she didn’t move. Instead, she leaned back against the sofa, her posture elegant. “Ashlyn only sees your gentle side, doesn’t she? She probably has no idea what kind of man you really are. Should I tell her? Let her see your true colors?”

Khalid’s expression turned even colder.

Sophia chuckled softly, eyes glinting with something dark. “I wonder how she’d react if she knew. After all, you—”

.

.

.