After marrying a wheelchair billionaire, ex regretted

Four in the morning. The front door lock clicked.

I hadn't moved from the living room sofa.

Jacob walked into the foyer. He stopped, noticing the lamp I’d left on.

"You're still awake," he stated, loosening his collar.

A heavy wave of vanilla and rose perfume rolled off his jacket. It wasn't mine.

Before I could answer, a second figure stepped through the doorway.

Annie.

She wore a tight pink dress and clutched a white bakery box against her chest. She looked around the entryway, her eyes wide with exaggerated awe.

"Oh, Jacob," she chirped, ignoring my presence entirely. "The ceilings are so high. You didn't tell me it was this spacious."

I stood up. The hardwood floor felt like ice against my bare feet.

"What is she doing here?" I asked.

Jacob sighed, rubbing his temples. "She was upset, Sophia. I brought her here to calm her down. She just wanted to see where I live."

"Where we live," I corrected, my voice dangerously low.

Annie stepped closer to him, sliding her hand down his arm. "He told me he's getting the papers drawn up today. So it’s mostly his house now, right?"

I stared at her. Twenty-one. Flawless skin, bright eyes, overflowing with unearned confidence.

She held up the bakery box, a sickly sweet smile stretching across her face.

"Jacob bought me cake," she announced. "I mentioned I was craving something sweet, and he bought every single blueberry slice they had at the bakery. He’s so attentive."

My stomach turned.

"Blueberry," I repeated.

"Yes," Annie said, popping the cardboard lid open to reveal four messy slices of bright purple cake. "He said you might want some too. To smooth things over."

I shifted my gaze to Jacob. He refused to meet my eyes, opting to stare at the coat rack instead.

"I despise blueberries, Jacob," I said. "They make me gag. You’ve known that for ten years."

He flinched. A tiny, almost imperceptible tightening of his jaw.

"It's just cake, Sophia," he muttered. "Don't make a big deal out of it."

"I'm not," I replied.

A strange, hollow laugh escaped my throat. The sound startled even me. I wasn't angry anymore. The fiery rage from an hour ago had completely burned out, leaving nothing but cold ash.

Annie pouted, leaning her weight against Jacob’s side. "Well, if she’s going to be ungrateful, we can just eat it upstairs. Show me the master suite, baby."

"Annie, maybe we should stay down here," Jacob suggested weakly.

"But I want to see your bed," she whined, tugging on his lapel.

I didn't scream. I didn't throw anything. I simply walked over to the hall closet and pulled out my wool coat.

"Go ahead," I told her, slipping my arms into the sleeves. I grabbed my purse from the console table. "I haven't washed the sheets yet. You might find a wet spot on his side."

Annie’s face flushed bright red.

Jacob snapped his head toward me. "Sophia, where are you going at this hour?"

"Out," I said.

"Don't be dramatic. Just go to the guest room."

"Enjoy the cake," I told him.

I walked out the front door, pulling it shut behind me.

Through the frosted glass, I watched their blurred silhouettes. Annie wrapped her arms around his neck. Jacob hesitated for only a second before leading her toward the staircase. They ascended together, disappearing into the upper floor of my home.

The freezing night air bit at my cheeks. I marched down the driveway and climbed into my car, slamming the door shut.

My phone lit up in my purse.

The screen displayed my father's name. Again.

I answered it, putting it on speaker as I jammed my key into the ignition.

"I'm here, Dad."

"Sophia, have you really thought this through?" John asked. His voice carried a heavy, oppressive weight. "The Walton family won't allow you to back out once you agree."

I turned the heater on max. Warm air blasted against my frozen fingers.

"I've thought it through," I said.

"You are throwing your life away," he pressed. "Carl Walton is a dead man walking. You know this, right?"

"I know he was in a car crash a year ago," I replied, shifting the car into reverse.

"He's paralyzed from the waist down," my father argued. "The doctors say his organs are failing. He hasn't left the Walton estate in twelve months. People say he looks like a monster."

"I don't care what people say."

"His mother is desperate, Sophia. Mrs. Walton isn't looking for a wife for him. She's looking for an incubator."

I hit the brakes, pausing at the end of the driveway. I looked back at the house. The bedroom light clicked on upstairs. Jacob and Annie.

"She wants an heir before he dies," I stated flatly.

"Exactly," John said. "She approached me because our business is struggling. She knows we need the capital. But I won't force my daughter to marry a dying cripple just to secure funding."

"Jacob is divorcing me, Dad."

Silence stretched over the line.

"He's filing the papers tomorrow morning," I continued, my voice steady. "He brought his twenty-one-year-old mistress into our home tonight. He told me he'd keep funding your supply chain, but only as a bribe to keep me quiet."

My father cursed under his breath. "That bastard."

"I refuse to owe him anything," I said, gripping the steering wheel. "If I marry Carl Walton, the Walton family invests in your company, right?"

"They will buy out all our debts," John confirmed. "But Sophia, you will be tied to a dying man. You will have to bear his child."

"Better a dying man than a lying one."

"Are you absolutely certain?"

I watched the silhouette of Annie moving across the bedroom window blinds. She was taking her dress off.

"Tell Mrs. Walton I accept," I said. "I'll sign whatever she wants."

"She wants it done immediately," John warned. "She expects you at the Walton estate tomorrow at noon. No grand wedding. Just a private signing of the marriage certificate."

"I'll be there."

"Sophia..." My father hesitated. "Carl doesn't know."

My brow furrowed. "Doesn't know what?"

"He refuses to see anyone. He threw his last nurse down the stairs. Mrs. Walton is doing this behind his back. When you walk into his room tomorrow, you'll be a complete stranger to him."

"I can handle a stranger."

"He's violent, Sophia. The crash destroyed his mind as much as his body."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Dad."

I hung up the phone.

I threw the car into drive and sped away from the house I had spent ten years turning into a home.

Jacob thought he could discard me. He thought he held all the power because he controlled the money.

He had no idea what I was about to do.

But as I drove through the empty, dark streets, a cold knot formed in my stomach. The rumors about Carl Walton were terrifying. They called him the beast of the Walton estate.

Tomorrow, I would walk right into his cage.