Her Divorce, His Downfall (Sophia and Damian) novel Chapter 173

Chapter 173 Blood and Proof

Damian’s fingers dug into her skin with brute force, grinding against her body. Every move was rough, desperate, almost feral. In that moment, only one voice echoed through his mind.

He needed to see for himself. He needed to confirm whether she’d actually slept with Julian last night.

Even if it meant treating her like this. Even if she’d hate him for it. He had to know the truth with his own eyes.

The collar gave way completely. Two–thirds of her skin lay exposed before him.

Smooth, flawless, untouched. Nothing marred her skin except the fresh red marks on her neck, the ones he’d just left.

One more pull and the last barrier she was clutching over her chest would come away.

No hickeys. No marks. No trace of anything. Nothing.

Damian stared at the unblemished skin of her back, his mind going blank.

He froze in place, his emotions careening from heaven to hell and back again like a runaway roller coaster.

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11:38

From the peak of anguish to a flood of overwhelming relief, he felt like the whiplash alone might drive him insane.

His suffering was no less than hers.

She’d lied. She’d said all of that just to hurt him, or to make him give up on her.

Julian had never touched her. She still belonged to him. She was Damian’s, and his alone, from head to toe.

“Damian, what is wrong with you now? You’re a bastard!”

Sophia had no idea why he’d suddenly ripped her clothes. She recoiled in terror, arms locked tight across her chest, her body quaking with rage and humiliation. Her eyes were red and brimming as she broke down.

“I’m begging you. Please just let me go. What did I ever do to you to deserve this?

“I’m not Sophia anymore. I’m Julian’s fiancée. You can’t do this to me. Just pretend I’m already dead. Is that so hard?”

“No. You’re right here in front of me, alive and breathing. How can you be this heartless to me?”

Damian refused without thinking. He looked down into her bloodshot eyes and felt his chest constrict. “Sophia, I will never38

let you go.”

A bleak smile crossed Sophia’s face. Nothing she said could break through his obsession.

It was like punching a brick wall padded with cotton. The sheer helplessness was suffocating.

Seeing the despair pooling in her eyes, Damian’s heart sank. He didn’t dare push her any further.

Damian pulled her nightgown back into place and carefully fastened each button, his voice raw with sincerity. “Sophia, I know you don’t trust me right now. And I know nothing I do can undo what I put you through.

“But I’m asking you, please, give me a little more time. Once I’ve uncovered the full truth, I will make Isabelle pay. I will give you an answer you can live with. I know your engagement to Uncle Julian is fake.

“I also know you came back to take revenge on me and Isabelle. I don’t blame you for that. As long as it makes you feel better, you can do whatever you want to me.”

His fingers lingered on the last button. After securing it, his voice dropped to barely a whisper.

Please. Don’t shut me out.”

11:38

“What goes on between Julian and me is none of your business.” Sophia swatted his hand away, planted a foot on his chest, and kicked him off the bed. “Stay out of my life.”

“You really think he’s genuine?” Damian stumbled but caught himself. A predatory smile, cold and bloodless, curled across his lips.

“You think Uncle Julian is some noble, untouchable saint? You think a man builds a shipping empire that massive in Northern Europe, in waters that chew people up and spit out the bones, by being merciful and compassionate?”

He stepped closer, voice dropping further.

“Let me tell you something. He keeps a team in Northern Europe whose sole job is to make his problems disappear. These people can fight, they can kill, and they can make someone vanish without a trace. One of them is a woman who’s been at his side for ten years. She followed him all the way from Europe back to New York.

“She’s been through rigorous training. She’s stunning. She’s a weapon he forged with his own hands, and one of his most capable lieutenants. Right now, she’s been planted next to me as a mole, put there specifically to drive a wedge between us,”

Damian leaned in until his lips were beside her ear, and the last 4/6

11:38

words came out ice–cold.

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