Sophia's POV.
I stand there, frozen, just inside the door to the private room where they've ushered us all for a one-on-one. The camera crew is stationed just outside, waiting for the cue to roll. The silence between us is thick and heavy, suffocating almost, as Alexander steps further into the room, his eyes locking onto mine.
He looks the same. But different. Taller, maybe, more confident. The casual air of the man who left me at the altar—who shattered my world—has replaced the boy I thought I knew. And for a moment, I forget where I am. I forget the cameras. I forget the competition. I forget everything except that I want to strangle him.
"You look... good," Alexander says, his voice soft, like he's testing the waters.
I don't say anything. I don't want to say anything. Because if I do, I might say something I'll regret. And right now, regret isn't what I'm feeling. I'm past that.
I just stare at him. At the man who used to be my whole world, and now he's just a stranger in front of me. A man I once loved with everything I had. A man who tore my heart out and threw it away like it was nothing.
He swallows, his hand twitching slightly by his side. "Sophia… I—" He trails off, running a hand through his hair. The action is so familiar, but it doesn't make me feel comforted. It makes me want to punch him in the face.
"You don't get to say my name like that," I cut in, my voice shaking with a mixture of anger and raw pain. "Not after everything you've done."
He flinches, and for a second, I think I see a flicker of guilt in his eyes. But then it's gone, replaced with the carefully guarded expression he's perfected over the past year. "I know you're angry. I… I deserve that," he says, each word heavier than the last. "But Sophia, I never wanted to hurt you."
I let out a bitter laugh, and the sound feels strange in my throat. "You didn't want to hurt me? Well, newsflash: you did. You did hurt me, Alexander. You destroyed me." I take a step closer to him, not knowing if I want to shout at him or slap him across the face. Maybe both. "You left me standing there, alone, on our wedding day, without a single word of explanation. And now, you're acting like we can just pick up where we left off?"
"I—" He takes a step toward me, but I hold up a hand, stopping him.
"No." I shake my head, taking a step back, my heart pounding in my chest. "Don't. Just don't. You don't get to waltz back into my life like this and pretend everything's okay." The anger bubbles up inside me, so hot and furious, I can barely see straight. "You had your chance, Alexander. You had your chance to make things right, and you blew it."
His face tightens, the muscle in his jaw twitching. "I know. And I've regretted it every single day since. But I couldn't… I couldn't tell you the truth then. I didn't have a choice." His voice is quieter now, almost pleading. "I couldn't tell you everything. I was trying to protect you."
"Protect me?" I laugh again, but it sounds hollow. "You think leaving me at the altar was protecting me? You think that was what was best for me?"
He winces at the sharpness in my voice, and for a moment, he looks like he might crumble. But he doesn't. Instead, he takes another step closer. "I wasn't trying to hurt you, Sophia. I swear. I was trying to protect you from a bigger mess—something I couldn't control." He pauses, his eyes searching mine, desperate for understanding. "I couldn't bring you into the chaos."
"Stop it," I snap, holding up my hand. "Stop trying to make excuses. You can't just justify what you did. I gave you everything, Alexander. Everything. And you just threw it away. So don't stand there, looking at me with those sad eyes, trying to make me feel sorry for you. You lost your chance when you walked out of that church. You made your choice."
His face tightens, but he doesn't look away. "I didn't want to lose you. But I had no choice." His voice drops, almost a whisper now, barely audible. "You'll never understand… I never wanted to hurt you."
I stare at him, studying his face as if looking for any sign of the man I once loved. But I don't see him. I just see a man broken by his own lies, a man who failed me in the worst possible way.
"Then why didn't you tell me the truth, Alexander?" I ask, my voice shaking despite my best efforts to remain calm. "Why didn't you trust me? Why didn't you give me the chance to choose for myself?"
He opens his mouth to respond, but the words don't come. He just looks at me, like he's searching for something that he's lost. And I know, in that moment, that he'll never be able to find it. He can't take back what he did, and I can't pretend it never happened.
"Because I was trying to protect you," he says again, his voice barely above a whisper.
I shake my head, feeling the weight of everything crash down on me again. "You don't get to protect me, Alexander. Not anymore."
And with that, I turn and walk away, the sound of my footsteps echoing in the silence between us.
I don't look back as I walk away. My heart is hammering in my chest, but I refuse to let him see how much his words are still affecting me. I can't let him win, can't let him make me feel sorry for him when all he's ever done is hurt me.
The room feels smaller with every step, the walls closing in around me. My hands are trembling, and I shove them into my pockets, hoping that the tightness in my chest will loosen, even if just a little. I reach the door, but before I can twist the handle, I hear him.
"Sophia, please," his voice is raw, and it cuts through the tension in the room, the vulnerability in his tone impossible to ignore. "Don't walk away from me like this."
I freeze, my fingers gripping the cold metal of the door. My mind races. Part of me wants to open the door and leave, to walk out and never look back. But another part of me—damn it—wants to turn around and let him explain. Wants to hear the whole truth, even if it means shattering whatever's left of my heart.
But I know I can't do that. Not after everything.
"Why?" I choke out, my voice thick with a mix of anger and pain. I don't turn around. "Why should I stay and listen to your lies again, Alexander? What's the point?"
"Because I owe you that," he says, his voice cracking. "I owe you the truth, Sophia. I should've told you everything back then. And I should've never walked away without giving you a choice."
A bitter laugh escapes my lips, and I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to keep the tears at bay. "You should've thought of that before you left me in front of all those people. Before you crushed me in ways I didn't even think were possible. You think I need your explanation now? You think that makes everything okay?"
"No. No, it doesn't," he says quickly. "But I need you to know that it wasn't because of anything you did. I'm not blaming you. I just—there were things happening that I couldn't control. I thought… I thought if I left, it would protect you. But I see now that I was wrong."
My heart aches at his words. Part of me wants to believe him, but I can't. The pain is too fresh, too deep. "You don't get to decide what's best for me anymore, Alexander. I'm not your responsibility. I'm not a problem you can fix with excuses and empty promises."
"I know," he whispers, his voice low, almost defeated. "I know. But please, just let me explain. I can't undo what I did, but I can try to make things right."
I shake my head, wiping at the corner of my eye as I finally turn to face him. My throat is tight, and the tears I've been holding back are threatening to spill. "No. I don't want your explanations. I don't want your apologies."
His expression shifts, and I see the raw, desperate pain in his eyes. His mouth opens, but no words come out. He looks lost, like a man who knows he's beyond redemption but can't stop reaching for a second chance he'll never get.
"You left me, Alexander. You left me with nothing but the wreckage of everything we were supposed to be," I say, each word harder than the last. "And now, you think you can just waltz back in and fix it all?"
"I never wanted to leave you," he says urgently, his voice shaking. "But I had to, Sophia. I was forced to."
"I don't care," I snap, my voice rising now. "You made your choice. And I'm done. I'm done letting you think you have any control over me. You don't get to hurt me anymore."
I take a step toward the door, but this time, I don't feel the weight of his gaze following me. This time, I feel lighter. More resolute. For the first time in what feels like forever, I realize I'm done. I'm done with him. With all of this.
As I reach the door, I hear him speak one last time. His voice is barely above a whisper, but it cuts through the air like a blade.
"I'm sorry, Sophia. I always will be."
I stop for a moment, my hand still gripping the handle. His words hang in the air, like a fragile thread between us. But I don't turn around. I don't let myself look back. Not this time.
I push the door open, the weight of everything I've lost finally sinking in. But with every step I take away from him, I feel a small spark of something else—freedom.
And it feels like the
first real breath I've taken in over a year.