Three Years Wasted I Married Mr. Right novel Chapter 1

Sophia Evans could feel her world beginning to crack the moment she heard the news—the woman her husband, Lucas Westwood, had never gotten over was back.

When Sophia arrived at the hotel's VIP suite with a gift, she found Lucas's first love—Emily Evans—being humiliated by his childhood friends.

"Lick the wine off my shoe, Emily. I'll give you thirty thousand dollars," one of them said.

Emily was forced to kneel on the floor, tears in her defiant eyes as she stared shamefully at Lucas.

Lucas watched with a dark expression, saying nothing as he held his temper in check.

Sophia halted mid-step, struck by the painful familiarity of the scene.

Three years ago, when she had first been welcomed into the Evans family, these same privileged young men had tormented her in exactly the same way to gain Emily's favor.

But back then, Lucas hadn't worn this expression of utter heartbreak.

"There you are," Lucas said as soon as he spotted Sophia, his arm sliding around her waist in a show of intimacy.

Only Sophia could feel the desperate pressure of his grip—a silent testament to the pain he was trying to conceal.

Lucas's childhood friends had reserved the entire venue for his birthday celebration.

But Sophia had never expected Emily to show up here.

Everyone knew Lucas had married Sophia just to spite Emily.

Three years ago, Emily's identity as a fake heiress was exposed. She broke up with Lucas then and there and left the Evans family behind.

Lucas pursued her to the airport, boarded her departing flight, and forced the plane that had already taken off to turn back.

Right there on that plane, he proposed to Emily.

To his complete surprise, Emily refused without hesitation, declaring that the arranged marriage should be honored by the Evans family's true heiress.

Humiliated and acting out of spite, Lucas married Sophia instead.

For three years, Sophia had lived as Emily's stand-in. Everyone whispered that if Emily ever returned, Lucas would discard Sophia without a second thought.

Sophia had once believed that too, but something had shifted in these past six months—Lucas seemed to be genuinely falling for her.

He made grand declarations of love in the press, showered her with luxury homes and cars, and even replaced the cherry tree he'd planted for Emily with a garden full of red roses.

In their most tender moments, he'd whisper against her ear, "Let's have a baby, Sophie. I hope they have your smile."

Sophia's hand drifted absently to her stomach as she clutched the gift box a little tighter.

Inside was a positive pregnancy test—meant to be Lucas's birthday surprise. But now, the timing of the gift felt all wrong.

"You still think you're the Evans family princess, Emily? Lucas only has eyes for Sophia now. Why not be with me? A pretty thing like you deserves to be treated right," one of Lucas's friends, Ryan Shaw, sneered.

He dragged Emily onto his lap, his hands already roaming over her.

"Get your hands off me!" Emily cried, fighting against Ryan's grip as humiliation burned through her.

Her resistance only fueled Ryan's excitement. In one swift motion, he shoved her down onto the couch, his powerful body trapping hers.

Horrified that Ryan would assault Emily right in front of Lucas, Sophia jumped up to stop him, only to be shoved aside as Lucas already surged into action.

As she stumbled, her hands instinctively reached for Lucas's arm, but he brutally shook her off.

She hit the floor hard, a jolt of sharp pain shooting from her tailbone straight to her womb.

Through the pain-induced haze, she saw Lucas grab Ryan by the collar, drag him off Emily, and pummel his face with brutal, unforgiving fists.

"You've overstepped, Ryan. Emily is mine. Even if I discard her, she'll never be yours to touch," Lucas snapped.

His words hung in the air, and the entire room fell silent as if frozen in time.

Sophia stared at Lucas in disbelief, wondering where she stood in his life now that he had openly claimed Emily as his woman.

All eyes in the room were drawn to the scene. Some watched with malicious delight, while others were simply captivated by the unfolding drama.

Doubled over in pain, Sophia felt a warm wetness spreading beneath her. Her face paled as a cold dread gripped her heart.

"Your baby is fine," the nurse reassured her. "But you'll need to take special care. These first few months are particularly delicate in your condition."

Relief washed over Sophia as grateful tears fell. "Thank you," she whispered, overwhelmed that her child was safe.

Through the emotional turmoil, Sophia's first thought was to share the news with Lucas immediately. Wiping her tears, she reached for her phone and dialed his number.

The phone rang several times before Lucas finally picked up. His voice was edged with impatience as he answered, "Not coming home tonight. Don't wait—"

"Lucas, my hair's caught in this zipper," Emily's voice interrupted, floating through the line. "Could you give me a hand?"

Sophia's knuckles went white around her phone.

"Be right there," he said.

The call ended before Sophia could form a response.

Overnight, things between her and Lucas had reverted to how they were six months ago.

Back then, he'd been all cold shoulders and sharp tones. Even in their most intimate moments, he treated her like just another need to be met.

To him, she might as well have been a stranger—or worse, just a convenient body.

So when he finally let his guard down, she'd been so grateful for the warmth that she fell harder than she ever meant to.

She thought her years of longing had finally paid off. But reality slapped her senseless when Lucas chose Emily's safety over their own child's life.

After being discharged from the hospital, Sophia caught a taxi home. Midway through the ride, her phone buzzed with a Twitter alert.

It was a tweet from Emily: [You told me you'd hold my hand and never let go—not for the rest of our lives.]

The attached photo showed Emily dressed like a princess, complete with a tiny crown, her hand locked tightly with a larger, elegant hand.

Around the wrist was a bracelet made of prayer beads—the very one Sophia had prayed for in a church last year, when Lucas was burning up with fever.

That day, he squeezed her hand and whispered a promise that he would never leave her side.