Behind The Proposal novel Chapter 49

The worst part was she'd fallen for him. He'd made her trust him. He'd made her love him. Jasmine loved him. Shen had thought he loved her too. He certainly made it seem like he cared - especially after everything that had happened with her family and how he'd stood up for her and told her to stand up for herself. She was the biggest fool in the history of the universe. She should've known it was too good to be true. Why would a gorgeous successful man like him want someone as unlovable as her?

"I don't know if I can do this," Sophie muttered as she looked around her spare bedroom a week later at all of Tom's things that were now cluttering up the space. Her heart constricted and tears threatened.

"Drink this, it'll help." Kim handed her another glass of white wine. "You need to do this, Soph. Although if it were me, I wouldn't be folding his clothes up and putting them in suitcases. I'd just dump his stuff on the front lawn."

She couldn't do that. "It feels a lot like giving up," she admitted as a tear escaped. It was one thing to tell herself her marriage was over, it was another thing entirely tossing the only man she'd ever loved out of her house and telling him she wanted a divorce. What on earth would her parents say?

Kim hugged her and Sophie leant on her big sister for a moment, the wine glass hanging from her fingers as she took a few deep breaths.

"You can do this," her sister whispered gently.

"I know. And I have to do this. Just like I'll have to tell Tom I want a divorce," she sighed, disappointed that her short marriage hadn't worked out. Maybe she should have expected this. They had rushed into it.

"You haven't told him yet?"

"No," she shook her head. "I haven't spoken to him at all. I still kind of hoped that somehow it'd work out."

"How can it possibly work out? He lied to you. He used you. You don't need any more people in your life like that. You certainly deserve better from a husband," Kim preached.

"Maybe there's another explanation?" she shrugged, and wished more than anything that there was, but she knew she was looking for miracles where they didn't exist. "Despite all of that, he's been good to me, Kim."

He hadn't actually declared his love for her, but she wasn't going to point that out. He may not have said the words, but his actions proved he cared about them. "He meant it," Sophie got defensive, even if what her sister said was true. "We've been married for three months, Kim. Three months when he's been nothing but a great husband to me and an incredibly warm and loving father to Jasmine."

"I know he has," Kim placated, "but now you know the truth, how can you stay married to him?"

Sophie sighed and took a huge gulp of wine. She honestly didn't know, but she couldn't risk staying married to him and getting hurt even more than she was already. And she had Jasmine to think about. She didn't want Jasmine to feel like an obligation to Tom, like Sophie had felt her whole life. No, her daughter was better of having only one parent who truly loved her than having one who treated her like that.

She had to end it.

"Don't let Mum see you crying," Kim murmured as they served up yet another Sunday lunch for her family. Sophie sniffed and wiped her eyes again, trying to remove all signs of her tears. Kim grimaced a little as she looked at her sister, and Sophie knew that her attempt had.... failed, been a waste of time.