Blurb：
Truth or Dare gone wrong leads to devastating consequences when Sophia sends Jason Brooks a divorce text as punishment. But the joke turns tragic when Jason agrees instantly. Returning home to find her husband of ten years emotionally detached, Sophia discovers the shocking truth—Jason has fallen for someone else. The man who once claimed “Because it was you” now coldly admits his love has vanished. Explore this emotional rollercoaster of heartbreak, betrayal, and the fragile nature of love in this gripping contemporary romance. Perfect for fans of second chance romance, marriage in crisis, and angsty love stories featuring complex characters like Sophia and Jason Brooks.
Content：
Truth or Dare got out of hand.
And I got punished by having to send Jason a divorce text.
That touchy guy – we’d been in love for ten whole years.
The words divorce were like kryptonite to him.
Just as I was racking my brain trying to figure out how to fix things.
A message came back: he agreed.
…
I rushed home. The house was dark, just the faint outline of Jason slumped on the couch.
I flipped on the light—the fluorescent glare stung my eyes.
[“What the hell is this?”]
I fought to keep my voice steady, but a shake slipped through.
[“Exactly what it looks like. Can’t you read?”]
He looked the same as always, that lazy smile grin on his lips, all easy and causal.
Just like always… except the warmth that used to light up his eyes was completely gone.
[“Why?”]
I couldn’t wrap my head around it. How could the man who held me close and whispering sweet nothings yesterday turn into this icy stranger today?
His thin lips parted, and he spat out just three words, [“I’m done…”]
Three careless words hit my like a ton of bricks.
How? How could he just stop loving me like flipping a switch?
[“I’ll never say it again, please don’t be mad…”], I begged, clinging to his arm like I used to, still wanting to believe it was just anger.
But that closeness let me catch it – the unfamiliar scent of perfume clinging to him.
My arms slowly loosened their grip, the forced smile freezing on my face.
Jason hated other women getting close. Even during his busiest networking phases, I never smelled another woman’s scent on him.
[“You… found someone else?”]
My throat felt stuffed with cotton. It took real effort to force the words out.
Jason looked down, just a low [“Yeah.”]
So love can vanish in a flash…and so can not loving someone, huh?
I stood there numb, only able to ask the question burning inside, [“You… don’t love me anymore?”]
I needed to hear him say it, just like he once told me he loved me.
Things should have a beginning and an end.
He stood up. My arm slipping from his loose hold, leaving nothing but a cold, [“No, I don’t.”]
[“I’m sorry, Sophia.”]
What was his expression when he said that?
Guilt? Regret? Or maybe he just didn’t care at all? I couldn’t see.
All he left me with was the sight of his back.
Tears slowly welled up in my eyes, blurring his retreating figure.
My heart felt like it was being ripped apart by invisible hands, the pain was so intense I could barely breathe.
Only when the living room clock chimed five times, and the first light of dawn broke through clouds and spilled onto the floor, did I finally snap out of it.
I’d been sitting in the living room all night, frozen in the same position.
Maybe Jason’s love had been too intense, too overwhelming—it made last night feel like a nightmare.
A terrible dream where lovers become strangers.
We first met at the freshman party—him on stage, me in the crowd.
Eighteen-year-old Jason Brooks was bold, unrestrained, handsome, and top of his class.
Lots of girls had a crush on him, and I was one of them.
But somehow, out of all those girls, he ended up liking me. I wasn’t as confident and the vibrant as the sunny girls, nor as gentle as the quiet, introverted ones.
The only thing I had going for me was my face, which was kinda pretty, but honestly pretty ordinary compared to the others.
Yet it was ordinary me he pursued openly and determinedly for two whole years.
We didn’t get together until junior year.
I’d asked him countless times why he liked me.
He’d always answer lazily, yet with a serious look in his eyes, [“Because it was you.”]
Sometimes, if I asked too much, he’d get impatient, pull me into his arms, and frown, [“Your name alone is why I chose you.”]
Because it was me, so he chose me out of a crowd of people, simply because I was me.
Countless times, I’ve marveled at how love is such a mysterious thing—it has this mysterious force to draw unrelated people together.
So what about now?
Has the love faded, so the two people should just go back to their own separate paths?
Just sleep. Maybe things will be better after I wake up.
I was dazed, my mind foggy and unclear.
I slept like a log, until the incessant phone ringing finally dragged me out of a bizarre, tangled dream.
I answered, and my friend’s voice came through like rapid gunfire, [“Sophia! can you believe it? Jason showed up at our hotel today with some woman. What’s going on with you two?”]
Her words shot straight through my skull, bringing back all the memories from last night.
[“We’re getting divorced,”] I mumbled.
I didn’t know if I was telling her or reminding myself.
I couldn’t focus on her furious ranting on my behalf, just mumbled a few responses and hung up.
So impatient? Bringing that woman out in public right after we broke up?
Maybe fate just loves to mess with people. I ran into them at the supermarket that afternoon.
[“You’re Jason’s ex-wife, right?”]
The woman in front of me was cute and lively, arms crossed as she looked at me , her eyes full of superiority.
I put down the apple I’d been inspecting, my voice flat, [“Who I am has nothing to do with you.”]
[“I didn’t mean anything by it,”] she said, lightly touching her belly, [“Just reminding you not to get any ideas. After all, I’m carrying Jason’s baby.”]
She looked down, gently stroking her stomach, her tone full of pride.
Baby…?
[“You’re pregnant with his child? His? When?”]
My palms grew damp as I stared at the slight swell of her slightly rounded belly.
[“Three months. Jason takes me for checkups on the first of every month.”]
Her radiant smile turned into knives carving into my heart, slice after slice.
The first… So last month, the day I lost my baby, Jason was attending another woman’s prenatal appointment.
[“What are you doing over here?”]
That familiar voice. Now the face I’d adored countless times twisted into grotesque shapes.
Ugly. Repulsive.
Jason looked surprised when he saw me.
He casually draped an arm around the woman’s shoulder, without a trace of shame or awkwardness.
Oh, right. We were getting divorced.
[“Sophia? What are you doing here?”]
He looked put together, sharp suit, hair perfectly styled.
A stark contrast to my own disheveled state.
Had I ever truly seen the man beneath that polished exterior? What kind of heart beat behind that perfect facade?
[“How long have you two known each other?”]
It felt like picking at a wound, but I needed to know when he’d betrayed us.
[“This is Emily Roberts, my childhood friend…”]
His voice grew quieter.
Memories flooded back—of us squeezed into that tiny rented apartment years ago.
I’d accidentally found an old love letter he’d written to his high school sweetheart back then.
No wonder he rarely spoke of life before college. They’d dated in high school, until Emily’s parents discovered them senior year.
Her family was wealthy. Back then, Jason had nothing. Her parents fiercely objected them.
After graduation, she was sent overseas to study.
And after that?
I remember Jason holding me close, whispering intimately in my ea, [“Then I met you. Knew right then.”]
The look in his eyes was deep, unreadable, like a vortex threatening to pull me under.
I teased him, [“What if she came back? Would you still choose her?”]
He didn’t answer. Just kissed me deeply.
I thought his actions were his answer. Turns out, he was avoiding it.
Now, the words had come true.
I snapped back to the present. They were already gone.
[“Honey, you still want these apples?”]
The checkout lady pointed at the bag.
[“Yes, please. Could you weigh them?”]
A sour ache welled up inside. I loved apples. Jason thought they were boring. He wouldn’t eat one unless there was absolutely no other fruit.
Choosing apples meant there were no better options.
Choosing me… did it mean he’d settled because she wasn’t around? That anyone would have done?
I completely forgot why I’d come to the store. Just wandered the streets aimlessly, bag of apples in hand.
It was July, sweltering, but I felt no heat. The blazing sun beat down, yet I felt chilled to the bone.
Back home, a call informed I had a package requiring personal signature.
I hadn’t ordered anything. What package?
Soon, a delivery guy rang the bell. I signed and reached for the thin envelope. He hesitated, looking at me.
[“Ms. Clark, someone asked me to pass on a message… Take care of yourself.”]
Then he turned and left.
I looked at the thin envelope. I pretty much knew who it was from.
Inside, just a bank card.
Soon, a text from an unknown number, [“Sophia. $500,000 in the card. Consider it compensation for your years with Jason. Also, move out of the house ASAP.”]
Hah. Half a million. For ten years of my life?
Sentimental or just coldly pragmatic?
That house was the first one Jason bought. My name was still on the deed.
I’d argued against it back then. He paid. Even deeply in love, accepting a whole house felt wrong.
He’d held my hand, thumb gently stroking my skin, eyes overflowing with love, [“Consider it an advance on your dowry.”]
I’d believed it then. I thought love conquered all. I forgot love itself is fleeting.
Now it was over. Staying here wasn’t right.
The place was filled with memories of him. The person was gone. The memories should go too.
But I wasn’t giving it back. I listed it online for rent immediately.
I packed quickly. My parents had bought me an apartment before I met Jason. Time to move back.
I didn’t take everything. Just clothes, skincare, and work stuff.
While sorting files, I knocked something off the desk. An old black phone clattered down.
An outdated model, probably hard to find now.
I tried turning it on, not expecting much.
The screen lit up. The wallpaper was a photo of Jason and Emily, a beautiful couple.
Something must have happened. The locked screen showed a failed email from four years ago,
[“Em, I miss you so much. Are you now…”]
I didn’t know his passcode, so that’s all I could see.
So all these years, he’d been searching for Emily.
I felt a moment of confusion. Was any of his love real?
I thought love just faded. Maybe he never loved me at all.
I spent a week pulling myself together, throwing myself back into work.
Right now, I was immensely grateful I hadn’t abandoned my career for so-called love.
I had a meeting with a client that afternoon to discuss a contract. Didn’t expect an unwelcome visitor.
[“How can you be so shameless?”]
Emily looked at me with an air of superiority, sitting down opposite me without waiting for an invitation.
[“What do you mean?”]
I looked at her impatiently, not wanting to have anything to do with her or Jason.
[“We clearly gave you half a million bucks. Why are you still occupying that house?”]
We?
I almost laughed, [“Is this Jason’s idea? Changed his mind about the house? Shouldn’t a big boss like him be above caring about this amount of money?”]
She hesitated for a moment but quickly regained her haughty tone, [“The house was always Jason’s. You better know your place.”]
Seeing the meeting time approaching, I ignored her, just told her to leave.
Emily leaned back slightly, glancing at her manicure. [“Don’t bother waiting.”]
[“I was the one who asked to meet you today.”]
My lips pressed tight, suppressing my anger at being played, [“I don’t have your kind of free time, Ms. Roberts. I’ll take my leave.”]
[“Oh dear,”] she said, fake concern dripping, [“You actually have to work? Not like me—Jason won’t let me do anything, just focus on resting during my pregnancy.”]
[“Oops! Forgot,”] she added, covering her face in feigned shyness, [“Not everyone can be as pretty as me, right? Just a plain Jane like you!”]
A strong whiff of her pretentious attitude hit me.
I pretended to be surprised, [“Did you time-travel from the 1950s? The era of the independent woman is here, yet you’re still define your worth through a man!”]
Her face showed unmistakable embarrassment.
Probably trying to save face, she forced another smile, [“Can’t blame Jason for loving me too much, he won’t let me lift a finger. Hates seeing me work or suffer. Guess someone who’s never felt that wouldn’t understand.”]
[“Though,”] she smirked, [“can’t really blame you.”]
I put my bag down, no longer in a hurry to leave.
[“Oh? If he loved you so much, why didn’t he chase you overseas?”]
[“I heard your family didn’t approve of you two at first. Changed their minds? Oh right, because he’s rich now.”]
[“How long have you been the other woman? How could he bear to do that?”]
Before I could finish, Emily anxiously retorted eith that famous line, [“The one who’s not loved is the real mistress!”]
Watching her flustered reaction, I felt increasingly amused and said slowly, [“Since you weren’t sneaking around… could it be you’re carrying someone else’s kid and just found Jason to play daddy?”]
I was just teasing her, purely to irritate her.
She reacted like a cat with its tail stepped on, her tone turning sharp, [“You’re the real outsider here! He never loved you—otherwise, how do you think you lost your baby?”]
My smile vanished. my lips forming a tight line hands unconsciously clenching into fists, [“What did you say?”]
Emily’s excited expression instantly shifted to panic. [“I… nothing… I should go.”]
I pressed down on her shoulder, my eyes burning, hands trembling uncontrollably. [“Are you saying Jason caused me to lose my baby?”]
[“No… No!”] She kept shaking her head, roughly shoving my hand away, scrambling off like a scared rabbit.
I collapsed onto the sofa, staring blankly ahead, my mind in chaos.
My heart ached unbearably. The pain bringing tears streamed down my neck. Every pore screaming.
Why? Why deprive him of the right to come into this world?
Such a perfect little life.
I seemed to feel again that moment he left my body.
In that instant, everything felt hollow, a piece of my heart missing.
[“Mommy, that lady looks so sad.”]
A little girl whispered to her mom as they passed.
I couldn’t no longer hold it in anymore, breaking down into sobs.
July, even at night, the air was filled with stifling heat.
The 25th floor—a height I had carefully chosen. Loved leaning on the railing, looking down at the city, as if all the noise had nothing to do with me.
I always enjoyed being alone.
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