What’s the worst thing you could hear when you’re about to surprise your fiancé?

For Sophia Woods, it was his voice coming through the half-closed door.

“Relax. She won’t find out about us.”

Her hand, raised to knock, froze in midair.

For a moment, Sophia did not move.

The private lounge was tucked away from the yacht’s main salon.

She had come here because a waiter told her Lucas Bennett had stepped away to take a call.

*Us?*

Sophia blinked.

A business call, maybe.

Lucas was always taking calls, especially at dinners like this.

She had probably arrived at the worst possible moment and interrupted something confidential.

Her fingers slowly curled back from the door.

She should leave.

But then a soft laugh came from inside.

A woman’s laugh.

Sweet.

Delicate.

Familiar.

Sophia’s heart gave a strange, dull thud.

*Rose?*

Why was her stepsister in Lucas’s private lounge?

The door had been left slightly ajar.

Warm yellow light spilled through the narrow gap.

Sophia hesitated, then leaned just enough to see inside.

The world stopped.

Lucas Bennett was not talking business.

His suit jacket lay on the floor.

His white shirt was half unbuttoned, the fabric wrinkled beneath Rose’s hands.

She sat on the edge of the leather sofa, her beige dress hiked high over her thighs, her arms wrapped around his neck as she drew him closer.

Lucas stood between her legs, bending down to kiss her with a hunger Sophia had never seen directed at her.

Rose’s lipstick was smeared across the corner of his mouth.

One of his hands gripped her waist.

The other had slipped beneath the hem of her dress.

Sophia stared through the gap.

They were so close, so intimate, that Sophia’s mind went blank before pain could arrive.

This was not a misunderstanding.

This was not business.

This was her fiancé and her stepsister, tangled together in a private room on a yacht full of guests.

Rose tilted her head back, breathing softly.

“Lucas… wait.”

Lucas did not let go of her.

His voice was low and hoarse.

“Why?”

“You’re too impatient.”

Rose smiled, her tone shy but teasing.

“What if someone comes?”

“No one will.”

Lucas kissed her neck.

“I told you. Sophia won’t come.”

Rose gave a soft hum.

“You’re that sure?”

“I called her three hours ago.”

Lucas’s voice carried a trace of confidence.

“I told her the wind was strong tonight and that she didn’t have to force herself to come. She’s terrified of water. She can’t even stand near the rail on a ferry. She’ll stay home.”

Sophia’s fingers dug into her palm.

Three hours ago.

She had been in the R&D office, surrounded by test reports, perfume samples, and stacks of documents waiting for her signature.

Her head had been aching from two back-to-back meetings.

Lucas had called her.

“Sophia, if you’re too tired, don’t come tonight,” he had said gently.

“The dinner is aboard a yacht. I know you don’t like water. Stay home and rest. I’ll handle everything.”

At the time, Sophia had felt warmth spread through her exhausted body.

So she had pushed through the rest of her work, changed clothes in a hurry, and come aboard despite the fear twisting in her stomach the moment she stepped onto the yacht.

To Sophia, loving someone meant standing by them through the difficult times as well as the good.

Inside the lounge, Lucas was still kissing Rose.

When he tried to take things further, Rose pressed a hand against his chest and stopped him.

His frustrated groan turned almost into a plea.

“I’m not going to let you have me that easily.”

Rose tilted her head, studying him through her lashes like a cat toying with something it had already caught.

“Because once you get what you want, men get bored.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Lucas’s hand tightened around her waist.

“Sophia hasn’t let me touch her in eight years. Did that make her any less boring?”

Sophia stared at him through the gap, unable to breathe.

Rose lowered her eyes, her voice soft and pitiful.

“Poor Sophia. Good thing she isn’t here to hear you say that. She takes being your fiancée so seriously.”

Lucas gave a low laugh.

“She’s been useful enough as a fiancée.”

“Sophia was useful when Bennett Enterprises needed her. She’s smart. Capable. Ruthless when she has to be.”

“She helped me hold the company together.”

Useful.

The word sliced through Sophia’s chest.

After all these years, he spoke of her as if she were nothing more than a tool in his toolbox, useful only when he needed her.

Rose’s expression cooled.

She planted both hands on his chest and pushed him back.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Don’t tell me you actually plan to make Sophia your wife.”

“Of course not, Rose. You know you’re the one I love.”

Lucas reached for her again.

“My engagement to her is only temporary. The company is at a critical stage right now. Once this project is over, I can finally get rid of her.”

His voice softened.

“I’m already talking to a designer about your wedding dress.”

“I can’t wait to see how beautiful you’ll look in it.”

“Poor Sophia,” Rose whispered.

“She still thinks she’s building a future with you.”

“That foolish woman only needs a few vague promises about our future, and she’ll keep working herself to death for my company.”

Rose tilted her head.

“Look at you. Quite the expert now.”

“Don't forget, without my advice, you wouldn't have known how to win back her trust.”

Sophia’s body went cold.

What did that mean?

Lucas exhaled.

“I know, baby.”

“When I sent her money back then, she blocked me immediately. If you hadn’t told me to apologize and explain that I only sent it because I thought she needed help, and that I did it because I believed in her, she probably never would’ve spoken to me again.”

Rose’s smile deepened.

“I told you women understand women better.”

“She looked strong, but she was desperate for one person to stand beside her.”

“So I said, don’t chase her like a lover.”

“Give her trust. Give her a place. Give her a future.”

“Tell her Bennett Enterprises needs her.”

“Tell her you need her.”

Sophia’s hand flew to the wall beside her, barely keeping herself upright.

She clamped her free hand over her mouth, fighting the urge to throw up.

A memory rose from the deepest part of her heart.

Three years ago, when she had returned from Frankrise Country, the rumors were still wrapped around her like chains.

The Woods family’s disgrace.

No one wanted to hear her explanation.

Even those who smiled at her did so with hidden contempt.

Then Lucas had come to her.

Bennett Enterprises had been drowning in scandal and debt at the time.

Everyone said the company was finished.

Lucas had stood in front of her in the rain outside the PR office her mother used to run.

His hair had been wet, his face tired, but his eyes had been gentle.

“I believe you,” he had told her.

“I don’t believe you plagiarized. I don’t believe you stole anything from Rose.”

“Come to Bennett Enterprises, Sophia.”

“We can help each other.”

She had remembered those words for years.

On the nights she drank until her stomach burned at business dinners for Bennett.

On the mornings she slept only two hours before rushing back to the lab.

When the PR team fell apart and she had to carry the department alone.

She had believed that in her darkest moment, he had chosen to stand with her.

But now Rose was sitting in his arms, laughing softly about it.

From the very beginning, Rose had been part of it.

The conversation inside continued.

Rose’s tone softened.

“And after we announce my involvement with Bennett Enterprises, what then?”

Lucas brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

“I’ll give you everything Sophia has.”

“Her designs, her department, even the title of Mrs. Bennett.”

“Will Sophia agree?”

“She’ll sign whatever I put in front of her.”

“She trusts me.”

Sophia didn’t hear the rest.

She couldn’t.

The corridor seemed to tilt beneath her feet.

Her fiancé had tried to keep her away tonight so he could be with her stepsister.

The memory that had kept her loyal was now tainted.

He had used the promise of a future together to keep her working for him.

And now even the career she had built through countless sleepless nights and sheer exhaustion was being prepared as a gift for Rose.

She should burst in.

She should scream.

Throw the ring in his face.

Every nerve in her body demanded it.

*Move,* she told herself instead.

*Move. Don’t let them see you.*

If she walked in now, Lucas would insist there was an explanation.

Rose would burst into tears and call her cruel.

And somehow Sophia would become the hysterical one again—the cold one, the jealous one, the woman everyone was already inclined to blame.

Sophia took one step back.

Then another.

She had to protect what belonged to her.

She had to—

Her heel caught the foot of a waiter passing behind her.

He stumbled, tilting the silver tray in his hands.

Two champagne glasses knocked together with a sharp, unmistakable clink.

“Miss Woods?” he said.

“Are you all right?”

The sound sliced through the silence.

Inside the lounge, the voices fell silent.

Sophia’s face went pale.

The waiter looked toward the half-open door.

“Is Mr. Bennett—”

Sophia turned and walked away quickly.

Behind her, the lounge door flew open.

“Sophia!” Lucas called.

“Wait, Sophia!” Rose’s voice followed.

Sophia didn’t look back.

She hurried through the main salon, weaving between guests chatting over champagne and couples gathered near the dance floor.

Rose kept calling her name, but Sophia only walked faster until the music and laughter swallowed the voices behind her.

She pushed through a set of glass doors and stepped onto the open deck.

Cool night air rushed against her face.

Sophia stopped and glanced over her shoulder.

Neither Lucas nor Rose was in sight.

She finally let out the breath she had been holding.

*Thank God.*

As long as she could keep her distance, she still had time.

She could find a crew member, get somewhere safe, and figure out what to do next.

“Leaving so soon?”

Sophia froze.

Rose stepped out through another doorway ahead of her.

A few strands of hair had slipped loose from her pins, and she was still slightly out of breath, but the sweet smile was already back on her face.

“You really are fast,” Rose said.

“I had to cut through the galley to get ahead of you.”

Sophia’s hands curled into fists.

“Move.”

Rose didn’t.

“I called you the whole way.”

She tilted her head, studying Sophia.

“Why didn’t you answer me?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“It was stuffy inside, so I came out for some air.”

Rose’s eyes flicked toward the dark water surrounding the yacht.

Then back to Sophia.

“You?”

Her smile thinned.

“You’re terrified of water. You expect me to believe you came out here alone just for some air?”

Rose took another step closer.

“Stop pretending.”

“That was you outside the lounge, wasn’t it?”

Her voice tightened.

“How much did you hear?”

Sophia looked at her calmly.

“Why are you so worried about what I heard?”

“Did you say something you shouldn’t have?”

The smile disappeared from Rose’s face.

“You always think you’re so clever, don’t you?”

She snapped.

“You do this all the time. Acting like you’re above everyone.”

“Too cold to care. Too proud to fight.”

Sophia moved to walk past her.

Rose caught her wrist.

“But do you know what people actually think of you?”

“They think you’re a freak. Cold, heartless—”

“Let go.”

“A miserable woman nobody could ever love—”

Sophia ripped her wrist free.

Rose’s nails dragged across her skin, leaving four angry red lines.

Sophia hissed and shoved Rose’s hand away.

Rose stumbled backward into the railing.

“What’s going on over there?”

Both women turned.

A young crew member was hurrying toward them from the salon doors.

“Do either of you need help?”

Sophia opened her mouth.

Then she saw Rose’s expression change.

It happened in an instant.

The anger vanished.

Rose’s eyes widened.

Her shoulders drew inward.

Her lips began to tremble as she stared at Sophia like a frightened animal trapped against the railing.

“Rose?”

Sophia barely got the name out.

Rose suddenly clamped her fingers around Sophia’s wrist.

“Sister, stop!” she screamed.

Sophia’s eyes widened.

“What are you—”

“I said I was sorry!” Rose cried, loud enough for the approaching crew member to hear.

“Sophia, don’t push me!”

Then Rose threw her weight backward.

Sophia had only enough time to realize what Rose was doing before she was yanked off balance.

“No—”

Rose dragged her over the railing with her.

For one suspended second, Sophia saw the crew member running toward them.

Then the black sea rushed up beneath her.

They hit the water together.