Sofia'sPOV
His mouth crashed onto mine before I could even breathe.
No warning. No hesitation. Just… heat. Heat that made my heart stutter and my head spin.
I stumbled backward, my fingers automatically curling into his shirt like my body had decided it didn't care what my brain thought. The hard lines of his chest burned through the fabric, and the faint smell of his cologne — warm and dark — made my stomach do flips.
The door clicked shut behind him, and somehow that sound felt louder than my own heartbeat.
"Khalid—" I tried to say, but my voice broke against his lips.
His hands came up to frame my face, holding me still, like if he let go, I'd just vanish into thin air. The kiss deepened — at first slow, like he was testing me, then sharper, hungrier, like he already knew my answer.
Every thump of my heart seemed louder than the last. My mind was screaming at me to stop this, but my body… oh no, my body was a traitor.
His thumb brushed my jaw so gently it hurt, and he leaned his forehead against mine. His voice dropped, low and rough.
"Stop me now… or I won't."
I didn't move.
And that was all the answer he needed.
The next thing I knew, he swept me up into his arms like I weighed nothing. My breath caught — maybe from the sudden movement, maybe from him. The bed was only a few steps away, but it felt like we were falling, both of us, into something dangerous. Something I couldn't escape… and didn't want to.
---
The mattress dipped under me, and Khalid hovered above, his eyes locked on mine like he was trying to read every thought I'd ever had.
"You drive me insane," he said, his voice a growl that sent shivers through me.
"You're… not exactly easy to live with either," I managed to say, though my pulse was racing so fast it felt like the words tripped over themselves.
He smirked — that infuriating smirk — but it didn't reach his eyes. "And yet… here we are."
His fingers traced down my arm, slow and deliberate, leaving goosebumps in their wake. The air between us thickened, stretching into something that felt alive. His lips found the curve of my jaw, moving in unhurried kisses that made my breath catch.
The warmth of his touch seeped right through the thin fabric between us. My hands found his shoulders — not to push him away, but because I wasn't sure my knees, or my will, could hold me up anymore.
"Khalid…" I whispered. I didn't even know if it was a plea or a protest.
He didn't answer with words. Just a kiss — deep enough to steal the last bit of resistance I thought I had. The world outside faded until there was nothing left but the sound of his heartbeat against mine.
And then… everything blurred. Warmth. Shadows. The dizzying feeling of being completely lost… between heartbeats.
---
I pulled the blanket tighter around me like maybe it could hide me from him, from myself. Khalid looked completely unbothered — sitting against the headboard like a king who had all the time in the world.
"Stop staring," I mumbled, staring at the wall.
"I'm not staring," he said, his lips twitching. "I'm appreciating."
I groaned. "Khalid—"
"What?" His tone was pure innocence, but that look in his eyes was anything but. "You're my wife. I'm allowed to look. Or…" his eyes trailed over me in a way that made my face heat up instantly, "…should I pretend I didn't just find out you blush in places I didn't even know could blush?"
My face burned. "You're impossible."
He chuckled low, the sound dangerous in a different way. Reaching over, he tugged the blanket away from my face. "You're cute when you're shy."
"And you're annoying when you're smug."
"Good." He leaned closer until his breath tickled my ear. "I plan to be very smug for a long, long time."
I pushed him back, but I was smiling. I hated that I was smiling. He noticed — of course he did — and his grin got even wider.
Yeah. I was never going to win with this man.
---
City A
Clarisse's perfectly manicured nails tapped against the glass coffee table. The sharp clicks echoed in the tense, expensive silence of the living room. She had been waiting all morning after Sabrina called her in a trembling voice saying it was "urgent."
When the door finally opened, Sabrina stepped inside. She looked pale, like all the blood had drained from her face, and her hands clutched her handbag so tightly her knuckles were white.
"What's this nonsense about you being sick?" Clarisse demanded immediately, her voice slicing through the air. "Don't tell me you're—"
Her words cut off as Sabrina tossed something onto the table.
A pregnancy test.
Two faint pink lines.
Clarisse froze. "You're pregnant?"
Sabrina swallowed hard. "Yes."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop. Clarisse's eyes narrowed. "And whose child is it? Don't tell me—"
"It's Zayn's," Sabrina blurted. The words tumbled out, sharp and unstoppable.
The room went silent. The maids froze in place. The clock on the wall ticked, loud and steady, like it was counting down to an explosion.
Clarisse's wine glass slipped from her hand and shattered on the marble floor.
"You're telling me…" Clarisse's voice shook with fury. "That you're carrying the child of the man your stepsister was supposed to marry?"
Sabrina's lip trembled, but she lifted her chin, eyes glistening. "I'm telling you the truth."
"And besides," she added, "Sofia is already married to Khalid."
The words hung in the air like smoke, poisonous and heavy.
Clarisse's perfectly composed image cracked in an instant. Her jaw clenched, her hands curled into fists, and the mask of the elegant socialite slipped, revealing something sharper.
"Do you have any idea what you've done?" she hissed. "Do you know what this will do to us? To me?"
Sabrina's voice trembled, but there was a stubbornness under it. "I didn't plan this. But I'm not going to hide it either."
Clarisse stepped closer, her heels clicking against the marble. "You're going to fix this. I don't care how — but you will."
Sabrina stood her ground. "No. For once, I'm not cleaning up someone else's mess. I'm living with mine."
And just like that, the fragile threads holding their family together began to unravel.