Sophia's Point of View
"She is unaware of what is truly happening."
The words sear in my thoughts like poison. Nicholas believes I'm foolish. He believes I'm merely his assistive little secretary who schedules hotel reservations and doesn't inquire.
Perhaps it's time to demonstrate to him just how mistaken he is.
I gaze at my computer display, yet I fail to notice the emails or the calendar. All I perceive is red
Red anger. Red hurt. Red rage that fills every part of my body.
He used me. Not just as his secret girlfriend on the side. He used me to plan his real romance with Alexandra. He made me buy roses for the woman he actually loves.
And he laughed about it. "Sophia took care of everything just like I knew she would."
Like a good little dog who does tricks on command.
My hands ball into fists.I feel like walking into his office and hurling his coffee cup against the wall. And I feel like shouting out in the building for everyone to understand the type of person Nicholas Blackwood truly is.
However,I couldn't do this by this time. Initially, I must understand the reality. Everything.
I glance over at Alexandra in the office. She's typing on her computer, appearing serene and attractive. Her golden hair sparkling under the fluorescent lights. The red dress she wore for lunch matched her flawlessly. She appears to be a woman who recently enjoyed a lovely romantic dinner with the man she cherished.
Because that's exactly who she is.
Does she know about me? Does she know that Nicholas kisses me too? Or does she even think she's the only one he kisses, just like I thought I was the only one too?
I need to find out about this .
At three thirty, Alexandra stands up and walks toward the bathroom. This is my chance.
I wait two minutes, then follow her.
The restroom is vacant aside from Alexandra. She is positioned in front of the mirror applying lipstick
The same lips that kissed Nicholas at lunch. The same lips that probably whispered sweet things to him while I sat here working.
I lock the door behind me.
Alexandra looks at me in the mirror. "Oh, hi Sophia. Busy afternoon?"
Her voice is friendly and normal. Like we're colleagues sharing the restroom at the same time. Like she didn't know that my entire life was falling.
My voice sounds strange. Too calm. Too quiet.
"I know the feeling." Alexandra caps her lipstick and turns to face me. "Nicholas has been assigning everyone a lot of additional tasks recently."
Nick. She pronounces his name as if it holds no significance. I observed how excited she was when she expressed it. I notice the smile that reflects like fear at the edges of her lips.
"On the subject of Nicholas," I speak deliberately. "I have a question for you."
"Sure. What is it?"
I inhale deeply. After I pose this question, there's no turning back. As soon as I learn the truth, everything will transform.
"Since when have you been intimate with him?"
Alexandra stops moving. Her complexion turns ashen beneath her immaculate makeup. The amiable facade fades, revealing something different beneath. Terror. Remorse. Fear.
"What are you saying?" she murmurs.
"I viewed the text messages," I respond
"I know about lunch today. I know about tonight at the hotel."
Alexandra's lips part and shut like a fish struggling for oxygen. She clutches the rim of the sink to balance herself.
"Sophia, I can clarify"
"How much time?" I say again. My voice is becoming louder. More furious.
Alexandra surveys the bathroom as if she's searching for a way out. However, there is no place to go. Only her and I, with the truth looming between us like a bomb ready to detonate
"Six months," she finally admits.
Six months. The same time Nicholas started our secret relationship. We began at precisely the same moment.
"You believe you're unique, don't you?" I speak. "You believe he has feelings for you."
"He really loves me!" Alexandra's tone becomes protective. "You don't grasp what we share."
"What do you have as a group?" I chuckle, yet it resembles weeping more. "Would you like to find out what you possess collectively?" There is a man who tells identical lies to a pair of women. Perhaps even more.
"That isn't correct." However, Alexandra no longer appears to be confident.
"He's calling you baby," I say. "He brings you to upscale dining places." "He kisses you as if you are the sole woman in existence."
Alexandra nods slowly. "Yes. He does all of those things."
"Well, guess what? He does all of those things with me too."
The words struck Alexandra like a blow. She stumbles backward until her back collides with the bathroom wall.
"Not at all," she whispers. "That cannot happen."
"It's highly likely." I have been in a relationship with Nicholas for half a year. The identical six months you possess. Every night you believe he's at home longing for you, he's with me. "Whenever he says he loves you, he's expressing the same to me."
Alexandra descends the wall until she finds herself seated on the floor. Her costly gown gathers around her like spilled red wine.
"However, he stated..." She halts and glares at me with large eyes. "He mentioned that I stood out."
Special. He said the other women in the office were just employees."
"Other women?" My heart stops. "What other women?"
Alexandra realizes what she just said. Her hands fly to her mouth.
"Alexandra." My voice is deadly quiet. "What other women?"
She moves her head side to side. "I never intended to express that." "I spoke incorrectly."
"Actually, you did not." I lower myself to my knees in front of her. "Who is Nicholas having an affair with?"
Alexandra begins to weep. Genuine tears that spoil her flawless makeup. "I believed I was the only one," she cries. "He assured me I was his sole interest."
"Who else?" I grab her shoulders. "Tell me!"
"Maya," she whispers.
The world tilts sideways. Maya. Smart, professional Maya who handles business development. Maya inquired about my well-being this morning when she saw me at Alexandra's desk.
"Are you certain?"
"I spotted them together last month." In his office during the late hours. They were... She gulps forcefully. "They were exchanging kisses."
Three females. Nicholas is seeing three women simultaneously
Three women who all think they're special. Three women who all believe his lies.
I settle on the chilly bathroom floor beside Alexandra. We both gaze at the wall quietly.
"How were we unaware?" Alexandra inquires at last.
"Since he excels at this," I say. "Since he understands how to make each of us feel as if we're the sole one that counts."
"However, we are not."
"No. We're not."
We sat there for a few more minutes. Two women who thought they were rivals discover they're actually victims of the same man.
"What should we do next?" Alexandra inquires.
Before I respond, someone attempts to open the bathroom door. The handle rotates, yet the door remains shut since I've secured it.
"Hi? "Is anyone inside?" It is the voice of Maya.
Alexandra and I gaze at one another
Maya. The third woman. The one we didn't even suspect.
"We should let her in," Alexandra whispers.
"Are you certain?"
"If she is experiencing what we are experiencing, she has the right to know the truth as well."
I rise and move towards the entrance. My hand suspends above the lock briefly. As soon as I open this door, Maya will get involved in this chaos. A piece of our collective sorrow.
However, Alexandra is correct. Maya has a right to understand what type of man she has been seeing.
I unbolt the door and swing it open.
Maya is positioned in the corridor appearing impatient. Ultimately. I truly have to" She halts upon noticing our expressions. "What's the matter?"
You both look terrible."
"Come in," I say. "And close the door behind you."
Maya steps into the bathroom. I secure the door once more.
"What is happening?" Maya inquires. She glances between me and Alexandra. "Why are you two in tears?"
"Maya," I say softly. "We have something to ask you." "We nee
d you to be entirely truthful."
"Alright." Maya folds her arms. "What is that?"
"Do you have a relationship with Nicholas?"
Maya's face goes white. Then red. Then white again.
"How did you know?"