46| Unraveling Truths

As Sophie returned from lunch, she threw herself into arranging bouquets and tending to the plants, trying to push the unpleasant encounter with Claire out of her mind.

"Hey, how was your date?"

Lily's voice broke her thoughts as she emerged from the back, her tone light but curious.

Sophie forced a smile. "I don't even know."

Lily's expression shifted immediately, her easygoing demeanor turning into concern. "What? Tell me—did something happen?"

Sophie shook her head, unwilling to get into it just yet. "Later. Don't you have somewhere to be?"

Lily groaned, checking the time. "Yeah... but if you need me, I can reschedule."

"I promise, I'm fine. It's not about Ethan." Sophie hesitated for a second before sighing. "I ran into Claire, that's all. I'll tell you tomorrow. I promise."

Lily frowned but nodded. "Alright. But if you change your mind, call me."

"Alright, we'll talk tomorrow," she said before pulling Sophie into a quick, tight hug.

Then, with one last worried glance, she left the shop.

As closing time approached, Sophie began to tidy up, grateful for the peace that usually came with the end of the day.

She was just about to lock the door when it swung open abruptly.

And Claire walked in.

Sophie's heart sank.

Claire looked more disheveled than before.

Her eyes were wild and determined, her shoulders tense.

Something about her was... off.

Sophie's body tensed involuntarily, bracing for another confrontation.

"What are you doing here, Claire?"

Sophie's voice was steady despite the anxiety bubbling inside her.

"I told you, I'm not doing this with—"

She stopped mid-sentence.

Something was wrong.

Claire didn't look like her usual self.

She almost looked... desperate.

Then Claire spoke, her voice shaking with something unhinged.

"Ethan loves me, not you. He's just confused right now."

Sophie let out a slow breath, already exhausted by this.

She was so tired of this fight.

"Claire, you need to stop this. I'm tired, you're tired. It's not going to change the fact that Ethan and I are married."

She wasn't even trying to argue.

She was just stating facts.

Claire laughed bitterly, her lips curling into a mocking smirk.

"You think a ring on your finger changes anything? He's been mine long before you came along. You're just a phase, something new and exciting. He'll always be mine."

Sophie's expression softened slightly, not out of sympathy—but pity.

"But he's not, Claire. He doesn't belong to anybody."

Her voice was calm, quiet, like she was breaking it down for a child.

Then she sighed.

"But maybe you need to talk to him instead. Talking to me doesn't change anything."

Claire took a step closer, her body rigid with anger.

Her expression was twisted with both fury and pain.

"You're the one who doesn't understand. He'll always come back to me. Always."

Then suddenly, her expression shifted. Like something clicked in her head.

"How much do you need?"

Sophie blinked. "I don't understand."

Claire's tone was bitter, her eyes filled with resentment.

"Tell me how much you need to leave him alone."

Sophie's stomach dropped.

"Do you think I can be bought off?"

She was dumbfounded by the accusation.

Claire's eyes darkened.

"Just tell me your price, you cheap whore!"

That was it.

That was the moment Sophie knew—this had gone completely off the edge.

Who should she call?

Ethan?

Lily wasn't coming back.

If things got physical, could she handle Claire?

Yes. Easily.

Claire didn't look like someone who had ever done hard work in her life.

But still—Sophie's mind scrambled for what to do next.

And then—

Claire snapped.

With zero warning, Claire grabbed a vase from the nearest shelf and hurled it across the room.

It shattered against the wall, sending shards of glass flying.

Sophie yelped, her heart pounding in fear.

"Claire, stop!" Sophie shouted, her voice trembling.

But Claire wasn't done.

She knocked over a display of flowers, sending pots and stems crashing to the floor.

Her face was contorted with rage as she screamed—

"He belongs to me!"

Her voice echoed off the walls, manic and raw.

"You don't deserve him!"

Sophie backed away, her eyes wide with terror.

She was done reasoning with this woman.

Her voice was shaky, but she forced herself to speak.

"Claire, you need to leave. Now."

Claire's chest heaved, her breathing ragged as she glared at Sophie, her eyes wild and unhinged.

"No, you don't get to tell me what to do."

Her voice was sharp, laced with rage and something dangerously unstable.

She took a step forward, her entire body radiating fury.

"Ethan is the only one who ever cared about me. We care for each other. You stole my place, Sophie. You have no idea what we've been through together."

Sophie's heart pounded, but she stood her ground.

"Claire, this isn't helping anyone. You need to calm down."

Claire laughed—a sound so bitter and twisted that it sent a chill down Sophie's spine.

"Calm down?" Her voice turned mocking.

"Can you love him like I can? He might be obsessed with your body now, but it won't last forever, right? Men usually get over that. Then finally, they see the one who truly loves them."

Sophie's patience snapped.

Her shop was wrecked.

Her vases shattered.

She was so damn tired of this.

"Please just stop. You can have him! Just stop ruining my vases!" she yelled, throwing her arms up in exasperation.

But Claire wasn't even listening. She kept mumbling to herself, pacing like a woman possessed. "I know it. I'm right. He'll get tired of you. And when he does, I'll be there. Just like I always have been."

Sophie took a deep breath, trying to calm the anger now boiling inside her.

It wasn't just about Claire's breakdown anymore.

She had trashed her shop.

And honestly?

Sophie didn't care if she was having a mental breakdown.

She was done taking it.

"If you truly cared about Ethan, you'd want him to be happy."

Her voice was calm, steady, unshaken.

"If you loved him, you'd want to protect him. But that's not what this is, Claire."

Her eyes locked onto Claire's, her next words cutting through the thick, suffocating air—

"You don't love him. You're obsessed with an image of him. You don't even know the real him."

Claire's eyes flashed with something dangerous.

For a moment, Sophie thought she might lash out again.

But then—something in her expression cracked.

She looked around at the mess she had made.

Her shoulders slumped, as if finally seeing what she had done.

Her voice came out broken, barely a whisper.

"I do love him... You don't deserve him."

Tears fell freely down her cheeks now.

"You'll never love him like I do."

Sophie hesitated. Despite everything, despite the wreckage, despite the rage and insults—she felt a pang of sympathy for her.

She almost wondered if she should comfort her, like she would Lily after a heartbreak.

"Claire, you need to move on." Sophie's voice was gentler now, more tired than anything.

"Find someone who can love you the way you deserve to be loved."

Claire shook her head, her tears falling faster. "I can't. I can't let go."

Sophie sighed, placing a hand on Claire's shoulder. "You have to. For your own sake."

Claire's tears stopped instantly, her face hardening again.

"I don't want your pity," she snapped, slapping Sophie's hand away.

Her voice rose, venom dripping from every syllable.

"It's all your fault."

Sophie sighed. She thought she was getting through to her.

But maybe Claire's pain ran deeper than she had assumed.

"Claire, please, calm down—"

But Claire was beyond listening.

Her eyes darkened, her expression almost eerie in its stillness.

Then—her voice dropped into something low and chilling.

"Maybe if you disappeared, everything would go back to normal."

Sophie's blood ran cold.

She watched in horrified silence as Claire bent down, her fingers closing around a shard of broken vase.

The sharp edge glinted in the dim light.

Sophie felt a wave of panic rise inside her. "Claire, put that down," she said, her voice shaking. "This isn't going to help anything. You're scaring me."

But Claire didn't seem to hear her.

She stepped closer, gripping the glass so tightly that it cut into her own hand, blood dripping onto the floor. "You took everything from me," she whispered, her voice breaking. "Everything."

Sophie took an instinctive step back. Her brain screamed at her to run, but she stood her ground, her feet rooted in place.

Her heart pounded in her chest. Was this how it was going to end? Would Claire actually—?

Then—the door to the shop burst open.

"Claire, stop!"

Ethan's voice rang through the shop.

Claire froze.

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