Signed, Sealed, Scandalous

Chapter 5

Beep… Beep…

The dial tone stretched on.

No one answered.

For a split second, the three Kingsley brothers went quiet, tension creeping into their expressions. Maybe, just maybe, Sophia really wasn't bluffing.

But when the call went unanswered, Ethan let out a quiet, smug huff. "What's wrong? Didn't rehearse your little stunt well enough?"

Liam relaxed, his smugness returning. "Seriously? That was it? That was your big move?"

Noah rolled his eyes and pulled out a sleek black card. "Forget it. We'll each give you ten million. Call it payment for the dress."

Then, without another glance at Sophia, he turned to Lily, brushing away her tears with exaggerated tenderness. "Don't cry, sweetheart. I'll take you shopping tomorrow, we'll find you something even more beautiful than this one."

With that, he draped an arm around Lily's shoulders and guided her toward the car. Ethan and Liam followed, tossing Sophia one last look, equal parts disdain and disappointment.

They were gone.

A beat later, Sophia's phone buzzed. A new message lit up the screen:

Adrian Pierce:

"In a meeting. Call you after. Urgent?"

She quickly typed back:

"No, not urgent. Just wanted to say sorry. The dress was ruined… I didn't protect it."

His reply came almost instantly:

"Doesn't matter. I'll have another custom-made and sent over."

Just as she set her phone down, Mr. and Mrs. Kingsley stepped through the door, and froze.

Their eyes landed on the ruined wedding gown, now just scraps of shredded fabric.

After Sophia explained everything, Mrs. Kingsley's face turned thunderous. "I let Lily and her mother stay because I pitied them. A single mother and her daughter with nowhere to go, I thought they'd be grateful. But clearly, they have no shame!"

She turned to the butler with a wave of her hand. "Get them out. Both of them. Immediately. This house doesn't owe them a damn thing."

Then, turning to Sophia, her expression softened as she gently took her hand. "Don't worry, sweetheart. As long as we're here, no one's ever going to walk all over you again."

Sophia swallowed the lump in her throat, murmured a soft "thank you," and picked up the ruined dress. No matter how bad it looked now, she was determined to try and fix it. Adrian had made it for her, and that meant everything.

By the time she came back from the tailor's, the butler had done exactly as told. Lily and her mother were gone, banished from the Kingsley estate for good.

Finally, she thought. Maybe, maybe, she could have a moment of peace before her wedding.

But the second she stepped into her room, her heart sank.

Drawers yanked open. Clothes strewn across the floor. Jewelry boxes dumped, photos shredded, everything in complete chaos.

No prize for guessing who did it.

Lily.

Bitter. Petty. Predictable.

With a sigh, Sophia bent down to start cleaning up, only to hear the door slam open behind her.

Ethan, Liam, and Noah barged in, fury written across their faces.

"You just had to do it, didn't you?" Ethan snapped, grabbing her wrist. "You couldn't stand Lily for even one second. It was just a dress, Sophia! We paid you. Was kicking her out really necessary?"

She yanked her hand free and glared at him. "Believe whatever you want."

"You're not even going to apologize?" Liam shot back, voice rising.

"Apologize for what?" Sophia asked, genuinely confused.

That was all Noah needed. Cold-eyed and silent, he grabbed her arm.

"You will apologize."

That was it.

Sophia lost it.

"I've had enough!" she yelled, wrenching herself away from him. "It's ten days. Ten more days and I'm gone. Married. Out of your lives. No more drama. No more me. Can you all just leave me the hell alone until then?!"

Fueled by rage and exhaustion, she shoved Ethan and Liam out the door and slammed it shut. The lock clicked into place.

Silence.

Then Noah's voice, low and sharp from the other side: "Keep up the act, Sophia. We're not buying it."

She slumped down against the door, heart pounding.

Let them doubt her. Let them stew in their own bitterness.

She didn't care anymore.

Because soon, she'd be gone.

She was getting married.

And that was all that mattered now.