Cut-off

“Here, sign it and leave!” he demanded. Sophia stared down at the document tossed at her. ‘Divorce agreement’ she read in her mind. Sophia smacked her lips. ‘He didn’t even wait for a solid week before getting rid of me she thought to herself.

She wanted to believe it was a dream, but that was her reality. Her husband wanted a divorce from her, after two years of marriage. Even if the marriage was based on a contract, it was still a marriage. Noah Milton paced the floor of what was supposed to be he and Sophia’s bedroom, a place she never dared to enter, except on special occasions.

She recorded the look on Noah’s face before speaking, “Noah, your dad just—” Sophia swallowed the next words about to escape her lips as Noah’s icy grey eyes met hers.

Sophia was married to the most influential man in the city. The CEO of Milton group Noah Milton. It would be an honor for any woman in the whole city to be engaged, talk more of married to the most sought out man in all the city, but for Sophia, it was simply a nightmare.

“Did you not hear me Whyte? I said get up and leave,” Noah’s eyes gradually changed colour as his voice remained stern. His icy gaze sent chills down Sophia’s spine. He referred to her by her last name. She doubted her husband even knew her name.

Sophia was Noah’s executive secretary before they got married. It would have been the most beautiful Cinderella story making the headlines. ‘Rich CEO married poor office secretary out of love’, but that wasn’t the case.

A few months after she started working at the Milton group, Noah’s company, her mother fell terribly ill and needed an emergency surgery. Sophia was a hard worker and doubled her effort month after month.

Just when she had finally gathered the courage to ask for a three month advance on her salary, Noah blatantly refused her request claiming she hadn’t worked hard enough to make such a request. Instead of honoring her request, he decided to take advantage of the situation she was in.

He offered her a deal that any woman would have agreed to without complaint, she had to get married to him for two years. In exchange, he would take care of all her mother’s medical bills and her loans. Noah knew how financially unstable she was.

At first she didn’t quite understand it, a wealthy CEO who had captivated the hearts of all the women in the city, it wouldn’t have been exaggerating if someone said Country. If he so wanted he could marry seven ladies at a time without stress.

During the course of the marriage, Sophia understood why the immaculate billionaire needed a wife even though he had a girlfriend.

It didn’t take long before she agreed. The pressure was too much for her to handle, she had no other choice. The doctor threatened to withdraw her mother’s treatment. Looking back at it, Noah was cruel, he would have let her mother die if she didn’t agree to his terms.

Their wedding came as quite a shock to everyone in the office, as well as family and friends. Noah only related with people of high social standing and wealthy backgrounds. Sophia had none of that, she was poor and barely getting by.

“But Noah—” she tried to speak but was cut off almost immediately.

“Don’t you dare address me by my name, remember your place!” he demanded. Sophia gulped hard, “I’m sorry sir.” A stranger, that was what she was to him. Even after two years of marriage he still treated her like a common staff member, she had no place in his house anymore.

“Okay,” she said flatly, pulling the document over and signing it.

“What?” he asked with an arched brow.

“I said okay, I’m leaving.” She stood up from the bed unceremoniously. It seemed like the way she agreed without complaint had gotten him a little upset, his frown deepened.

“Since you want to go that badly,” Noah strode into the walk-in closet, “Maybe I can help you pack.” His intention was to throw her clothes on the floor, but he was shocked when he didn’t find any.

“Don’t worry, I took them out that day.” She explained folding her arms against her chest, a tear escaping her eyes. Noah’s eyes trailed her whole body, “What on earth is fake sympathy for? I know you were only nice to my father because you wanted money. Now that he’s gone you want to continue your manipulation!”

She loved his father so much. Noah’s father treated her like his own daughter. So much so that she slept in the hospital room where he was admitted. He wouldn’t let anyone apart from Sophia get close to him. Sophia’s heart sank to her feet, that was one of the most painful things she had ever heard him say. ‘Fake sympathy? Manipulation? If anything I’m the only one getting manipulated’.

He toyed with her emotions at any chance he got. Some days he was sweet, other days he was unrecognizable. Being with Noah Milton was an emotional rollercoaster, fun at the beginning, scary towards the end.

“Don’t you say that, don’t you dare—” Sophia’s voice was shaky, she didn’t have the words to explain her disappointment. Noah’s eyes reddened and his nostrils flared up. He took giant strides towards Sophia watching as her eyes widened.

Noah held onto her shoulders, pinning her to the bed. “Say that again, say it!” he demanded. Sophia squirmed under him, trying her best to get out of his grip. He examined her expression. Noah saw the growing fear in her eyes and withdrew immediately.

“Leave,” he ordered, pointing in the direction of the door. “You’ve stayed here for way too long.” He rubbed his hand against his forehead. It was something he did when he felt frustrated, “Forget it!” he said after a moment of silence, “I’ll have Thomas send your things to you,” he didn’t even spare her a glance.

“There’s no need for that, I’ll pack my things and be on my way, it will be faster.” Sophia’s remark immediately triggered a strange anger in Noah. She wanted to leave, and fast. He expected her to beg, even though he wouldn’t listen to any of her pleading, he would have at least liked to hear it.

“No!” he shouted at no one in particular.

“I know I’m useless but I think a few bags won’t be a hassle!” she remarked.

“So you’ve finally come to terms with your insufficiency. Your services over the year have been average, you couldn’t even hold a child in your stomach. Leave the city if you may, I can’t have people associating both of us together.”