THREE. Even if you're sad, you still have to move on with your life. It doesn’t matter if your heart is shattered or if you're so miserable that you feel like dying, work is still work. That was my reality. I hid everything inside and acted like I was completely fine on the outside. But the truth was, only God and I knew how much I was hurting.
Today was a pretty unusual morning for me. Not unusual because I had a massive fight with Clara or snapped at Lucas. No nothing like that. What made it unusual was that I the CEO of the hotel actually woke up incredibly early at 4:17 AM.
I took a shower, dressed in my usual formal corporate style and put on some simple makeup. I just wore a white button-down shirt tucked into my work pants, paired with the blazer I never missed wearing. But when it came to my hair, I never kept it simple. My hair was naturally beautiful so I always made sure to show it off.
Once I was done, I immediately left the house. This was highly unusual for me because I was the type who loved to sleep in and take my time having breakfast at home before heading to the office. But today, that felt completely impossible after what happened last night.
Thinking back to last night felt like a knife twisting in my chest. It hurts so bad when the person you love treats you that way. The same question kept spinning in my head
Do I even deserve to be happy?
To be honest, I didn't even have the answer to my own question.
Before I knew it, I arrived at The Lane Royal Hotel Empire. The building looked grand even from a distance. When I walked inside, I was the only one there because I arrived way before the employees.
I checked my watch and saw it was only 5:05 AM. There were still three hours before office hours actually started. Since I was the boss and my office layout was huge thanks to the real founder of this hotel, my grandfather had designed the CEO suite to include a spacious private lounge, It had a bed ready if I wanted to sleep or... well, you know what else a private room could be used for.
Exhaustion finally caught up with me. The moment my body hit the mattress I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
I don't think I slept for very long, but when I woke up I felt a warm arm wrapped around me from behind. The mattress also shifted making me realize someone else was lying on the bed with me.
My entire body froze. Was there a ghost in this room? Slowly, I looked down to see whose hand it was. I breathed a massive sigh of relief when I realized it belonged to a human. Turning my head, I was shocked to find Viviana Jane affectionately known as Jane snuggled up against me.
As I sat up, my eyes darted to the far corner of the room. A dark silhouette was sitting on the sofa, bathed in the glow of a smartphone screen. I recognized him instantly.
"Ethan" I whispered.
My voice shattered his concentration. He looked up, a soft smile spreading across his face as he stood up and walked toward the bed. "Good morning. You were sleeping so soundly. Jane and I walked in, and you didn't even notice." Ethan said as he stood up and walked toward us.
He gently pulled the blanket over Jane’s sleeping form, pressing a tender kiss to her forehead before turning his gaze back to me. "Let’s talk outside. Let Jane sleep a bit more."
I just nodded. Honestly, I was jealous of their relationship. The way Ethan cherished Jane made it look like she was his entire world.
The three of us had been friends for a very long time, though Ethan and I had known each other longer. Jane was my only best friend from our university days and she knew everything about my feelings for Lucas. She was the witness to how broken I was, both back then and now. Ironically, I was the one who had played matchmaker and brought her and Ethan together. I was envious of their happiness, yes but more than that I was profoundly grateful that they had each other.
We walked out into the main office space and sat at the sofa lounge. Ethan had already brewed a fresh pot of coffee and breakfast was already set on the table. I looked at the clock it was already 7:30 AM. No wonder my stomach was growling.
Ethan sat on the sofa next to me. He stared at me deeply, as if trying to read my mind. "Eth, I think we should eat first if you want to ask me questions."
He sighed but finally agreed.
After we finished eating. Ethan leaned back, his eyes boring into mine trying to read the emotions I was desperately trying to hide.I sighed, knowing there was no point in dodging him. He would just keep digging until I confessed anyway. "What do you want to know?"
"What did he do to you last night? Don't lie to me or give me any excuses, Sophie. I want you to be honest."
I let out a long sigh and told him everything.
While I was telling the story, I watched Ethan's jaw clench tightly his fists balling up so hard the veins in his wrists looked ready to burst. I reached out, placing my hand over his trembling fist. "Eth, I know you're furious. But I don’t want you doing anything to hurt him."
Ethan snapped, looking at me with eyes blazing with pure rage." Sophie! Are you seriously still protecting him? You're still defending that pathetic piece of shit? Fuck, Sophie you are way too good to let him destroy you like this!" He ran a hand through his hair.
I let out a heavy sigh. "Eth, this isn't about love or protecting him anymore. This is about protecting you and Jane. You need to understand Lucas is incredibly powerful, and he is ruthless. We don't have the kind of astronomical wealth he commands and he has the entire Hayes empire backing him."
I spoke as if I wasn't even a part of the Hayes family. Well, he never acknowledged me as Sophie Elaine Hayes anyway. In his eyes, I was still just Sophie Elaine Lane.
"I know that, Sophie." Ethan argued, his voice thick with worry. "But how much longer can you survive a marriage that’s actively killing you? Even if he refuses to sign the divorce papers, you can just run away from him right?. You can manage this hotel from halfway across the world! I can help you. Anything is better than subjecting yourself to that hellhole every day watching him play house with that cheap mistress. Doesn't that just break your heart even more? Jane and I are worried about you, you know."
"I know, Eth. I get it" I murmured softly. "But I’m staying to keep you guys safe too. I don't want his wrath falling on you or Jane. And I'm doing this for my family for The Lane. This hotel still needs me."
"Have you told your father about this, Sophie?" Ethan asked and his question completely silenced me.
The question struck a painful chord, plunging me into silence. Tell my father? What would be the point? My father didn't care if I existed or not. To him, I was just a pawn a placeholder to ensure the survival of the Lane lineage so talking to him was useless.
"Eth" I said, standing up and breaking the heavy silence. I walked over to my polished, gold-accented executive desk and sat in my leather chair. "I think you should go wake Jane up. It's almost 8:00 AM. She needs to get to her own company and you as my chief advisor have work to do."
Ethan opened his mouth to protest, his eyes defiant but I cut him off injecting pure, unyielding authority into my voice.
"End of discussion."
He froze, the boss-employee dynamic snapping back into place then he nodded and disappeared back into the private lounge to wake Jane.
A few hours passed. I remained glued to my chair, staring at the computer screen reviewing contracts, signing documents and answering an endless stream of emails. Before I knew it, the clock already showed 12:00 PM. It was time for a lunch break.
I slumped back against the plush leather of my chair, completely drained. By now, my pristine morning look was entirely ruined. My hair was thrown up into a messy bun and my white shirt had come untucked from my trousers. I let out a long exhausted groan, closing my eyes and rubbing my temples to relieve the stress.
Tok! Tok! Tok!
"Come in" I said after hearing the knock on the door. not bothering to open my eyes. I assumed it was Emma, my personal assistant bringing in my scheduled lunch.
"What is it, Emma?" I mumbled still leaning back with my eyes shut.
"Emma? Who's that? I'm your husband, darling."
That deep, attractive voice instantly sliced through the quiet room. My eyes snapped open.
There he was. Lucas.
He stood right inside my office, a devastating killer smirk playing on his lips the kind of smile that made my heart race against my own will.
What the hell is he doing here?
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Author's note ~ Thank you for reading, and also to everyone who has liked it. With this, The Golden Cage will be going on hiatus. Thank you.
