Chapter 375
11.A LOVE Repoгn
“Henry?” I stared at him in disbelief. “What are you doing here? Where’s Alexander?”
Henry sat calmly in the chair beside my hospital bed, looking unusually disheveled. His normally immaculate suit was wrinkled, and stubble shadowed his jaw. Despite his appearance, those piercing eyes remained as intense as ever.
I tossed back the covers, determined to leave. “I’m getting out of here.”
“Stop right there.” Henry’s voice cut through the room like ice. “Looking for Alexander? You won’t find him.”
I froze mid–motion, my heart plummeting. “What did you do to him?”
Henry’s face remained impassive.
The thought of Alexander suffering because of me was unbearable. After everything he’d done–rescuing me from those reporters, bringing me to the hospital–he didn’t deserve to be caught in Henry’s crosshairs.
“What did you do to him?” I repeated, my voice rising with panic.
“What did I do to him?” Henry leaned forward, his voice deceptively soft. “That depends entirely on you, Sophia. If you behave and come with me, he’ll remain perfectly fine.”
The implication was clear: my cooperation for Alexander’s safety.
My face flushed with anger as I clenched my fists. “This is between us, Henry! Alexander has nothing to do with this!”
I was trembling with rage. Every time I tried to move forward with my life, Henry appeared like a storm, destroying everything in his path.
“Is that so?” A cold smile played across his lips. “Fine then. I won’t touch him. I’ll deal with you instead.” His tone shifted suddenly. “Since you’re clearly well enough to be this upset, you can come back to Maple Grove with me. Billy’s waiting there.”
I opened my mouth to refuse, but Henry cut me off.
“Billy is at Maple Grove,” he repeated, emphasizing each word.
My shoulders slumped in defeat. Using our son as leverage was low, even for Henry.
But I had no choice–Billy needed me.
“Fine,” I muttered through gritted teeth.
The ride to Maple Grove was excruciating. I stared out the window at the passing city lights, trying to ignore Henry’s presence beside me. My mind was racing with thoughts.
The news about Sam and me was everywhere online. The entire world now believed I had married Henry only because he resembled my dead lover.
These accusations painted me as calculating and heartless–a gold digger who had used Henry as a replacement.
Truthfully, I couldn’t deny there had been a moment when I first noticed Henry’s resemblance to Sam.
But that feeling had disappeared almost immediately. I could always tell them apart, not just their faces, but everything about them.
Sam was warmth and light. Henry was ice and shadow.
I had fallen in love with Henry for who he was, not who he resembled. But in doing so, I’d betrayed my promise to Sam–that I would never love another.
We had sworn to love only each other forever. And I had broken that vow.
The silent car journey stretched on, each mile bringing us closer to Maple Grove–a place I’d once called home for over six years.
Once, I’d loved that house, believing it was my sanctuary, my final destination.
Now it represented everything I’d lost.
As we pulled into the driveway, Henry finally broke the silence.
“Don’t worry about what’s online. I’ll handle it.” His voice was low, barely audible. Then he added, “But about this replacement thing… don’t you owe me an apology?”
I hadn’t planned to apologize. After all, I’d only seen him as a replacement very briefly at the beginning.
But his persistent pursuit of me was likely because of this apology.
Taking a deep breath, I decided to give him what he wanted. “I’m sorry if the whole replacement thing hurt you. I apologize for that.”
Henry’s expression softened slightly, so I continued, “I’m truly sorry for using you as a replacement, Mr. Harding. It was wrong of me. I promise nothing like this will ever happen again.”
For a moment, Henry looked almost relieved–until I added, “Now that I’ve apologized, can you please stop pursuing me and Billy? You’ve got what you wanted, so there’s no need to keep bothering us, right?”
Henry’s expression transformed instantly. His face darkened, eyes narrowing to dangerous slits. “Sophia, I’m giving you one chance to repeat what you just said.”
He was literally grinding his teeth, clutching my shoulders tightly. He shook me hard, my head snapping back and forth until I felt dizzy and nauseated.
When I finally broke free from his grip, I shouted, “Yes, I mistook you for Sam at first, and that was wrong! But I quickly learned to see you as completely different people–I never confused you two again!”
I was breathing hard now, unleashing years of bottled emotions.
“Even when I caught you with Isabella, I didn’t say anything! I only filed for divorce after you cheated during our marriage! These are separate issues–don’t mix them up! If I had been embracing and kissing Sam during our marriage, would you have tolerated it? The reason I divorced you was because you disappointed me completely. It had nothing to do with Sam! Don’t you understand that yet?”
I paused, my chest heaving. “Henry, I’ve said what I needed to say. Whether you understand or not is your problem. I just want us to part ways cleanly. Please, can you just stay out of my life?”
The last words came out as a whisper, barely audible even to myself.
Henry’s eyes were red–rimmed as he responded, “How can you say it has nothing to do with Sam? Don’t you love him? If Sam were still alive, you never would have married me, would you?
I had already started walking toward the house to find Billy, but his words stopped me cold.
I turned slowly, meeting his gaze with a desolate expression, my eyes filled with unspeakable sorrow.
“Yes,” I admitted quietly. “If he were still alive, I never would have married you.”
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Without another word, I covered my face with my hands and ran from him, tears streaming down my cheeks.
This was the first time Henry had directly discussed Sam with me, and my reaction had been more intense than either of us expected.
Left alone, Henry stared at the back of his hand where his nails had dug in so deeply they’d drawn blood, his eyes cold and empty.
That night, Henry sat motionless in his study, chain–smoking until the ashtray overflowed with cigarette butts.
Hour after hour ticked by as he waited for a call from James, desperate for results.
He had done something truly despicable.
And this matter was incredibly important to him.
As the first hint of dawn crept through the windows, his phone finally rang. Henry’s hand trembled as he snatched it up.
“How did it go?” he asked, his voice hoarse from smoking all night.
James was breathing heavily on the other end, his words coming in spurts: “The paternity test results are in.
