Toxic Vows: The CEO's Rejected Bride

The dimly lit clinic.

Sophia Winters had just sat up when her nosebleed accidentally dripped onto her plain white shirt.

"Bleeding again?"

Audrey Carroll frowned tightly, helping her stop the bleeding while asking in a serious tone, "Tell me the truth, what exactly have you been doing? Why is it so bad this time?"

Sophia closed her eyes, leaning forward slightly, her voice weak: "Maybe the fragrance concentration I tested today was too high."

Audrey pressed her lips together and shook her head with a soft sigh: "Why do you do this to yourself?"

Sophia laughed.

Yeah, why was she doing this to herself? Destroying herself like this for a man.

For two years, she'd tested countless toxic and irritating fragrances, all just to find a formula that could neutralize the poison in Alexander's body.

That poison was extremely rare, so she could only keep trying, testing the toxins on herself again and again.

"Forget it." When Audrey got no answer, she stopped asking and turned to grab some prepared medicine from the desk. "Take these medicines and remember to take them on time."

"And let me warn you—if you keep messing with those damn toxic fragrances of yours, you can kiss that nose of yours goodbye." Audrey practically said through gritted teeth to Sophia.

Sophia smiled genuinely and nodded gently.

She'd met Audrey a year ago.

Back then, she was completely focused on curing Alexander Kensington's illness, but ended up damaging her nose and her health.

To avoid troubling others and to save money, she searched for a long time before finding this clinic that Audrey ran, where she'd been receiving treatment on and off for nearly a year.

They got along well. What Sophia didn't want to talk about, Audrey never asked.

Still, Sophia could genuinely feel Audrey's concern for her.

"Thank you, Dr. Carroll. Really, thank you so much." Sophia looked Audrey in the eye and said, "I'll be more careful from now on."

"Why so formal with me?" Audrey patted her shoulder lightly. "I understand even without you saying anything. My intuition is pretty strong. I don't care who you're hurting yourself for, but what I want to tell you is this—if a relationship is destroying your body, then that relationship is bad and wrong."

"You should think more about yourself."

Hearing this, Sophia's heart jumped.

Audrey wasn't wrong, but she really couldn't just think about herself. She was carrying too much on her shoulders.

Besides, when she agreed to marry Alexander, she'd already expected this outcome.

But was it really worth it?

Sophia wasn't sure anymore.

Walking out of the dark clinic, Sophia gently pinched the bridge of her nose and took a slow, deep breath.

It hit her all at once—she couldn't smell a thing. Not the roses at the florist on the corner, not the pretzels from the vendor's cart, not even the car exhaust that usually made her wrinkle her nose.

Two years ago, she could distinguish the subtle differences between three hundred fragrances, but now, there was only emptiness.

For a perfumer, this kind of blow was devastating.

Even so, Alexander still knew nothing about it, remaining cold and completely indifferent toward her.

Since their marriage, the number of times Alexander had really looked at her could be counted on one hand.

Even today, their wedding anniversary, only Sophia remembered.

Maybe it was because today was particularly hard, but Sophia's heart ached densely. She raised her hand to cover her eyes as tears silently slipped through her fingers.

After a while, she pulled herself together and hailed a cab to go home.

The driver's radio was playing the news. Sophia wasn't interested in listening, so she leaned back in her seat to rest.

"Lily Osborne, the heiress of The Osborne Group who died in an accident overseas two years ago, has now 'come back from the dead' and returned to the country this morning! According to reports, Ms. Osborne..."

Hearing the name Lily, Sophia immediately froze.

She knew that name by heart. Alexander's first love, the one he never really got over.

In her memory, Lily was elegant and beautiful, always wearing a white princess dress, holding Alexander's hand with a sweet smile.

"Ma'am, there's construction ahead, and the car can't get through," the driver suddenly said. "You might need to get out and walk for a bit."

Sophia snapped back to reality and looked ahead to see the construction barriers.

She sighed softly and got out of the car.

What a terrible day.

The evening breeze was a bit chilly. She pulled her coat tighter and walked slowly along the sidewalk.

Her stomach suddenly growled, and she realized she hadn't eaten dinner yet.

As she passed by an upscale restaurant, she glanced inside casually, and her steps stopped.

Through the glass window, she saw Alexander sitting by the window with a familiar figure across from him.

Lily wore a champagne-colored evening gown, her beautiful golden hair falling over her shoulders, radiating elegance from head to toe.

They sat very close together. Lily's hand gently touched Alexander's cheek, her beautiful eyes showing adoration, and Alexander—who usually hated physical contact—didn't pull away.

There were several bottles of champagne and a cake on the table. They seemed to be celebrating something.

Sophia suddenly laughed at herself.

Even through the glass, Alexander was still the kind of man who commanded attention. He'd shed his suit jacket, and his broad shoulders and narrow waist cut an impressive silhouette under the warm lighting. Even seated, his six-foot-two frame radiated that unmistakable presence that filled the room.

His profile was perfect like a sculpture—a high nose bridge, deep-set eyes, and those thin lips always pressed together.

He had power, status, talent, and looks. Except for not loving her, Sophia could hardly find any other faults in him.

God probably gave this man all the good things in the world.

And now, this cold and reserved man, God's favorite, wore a tenderness on his face she'd never seen before, gazing at Lily with complete focus.

She'd damaged her sense of smell for him, while he was celebrating a reunion with his first love.

She'd exhausted her body, spent two years saving his life, but couldn't get a single word of concern from him.

Sophia had always thought she wasn't doing enough, but now it seemed she was wrong.

Simply because she was Sophia—no matter what Sophia did, in Alexander's eyes, it was all wrong and despicable.

She felt bad that he worked so hard, so she put effort into researching recipes and personally made nutritious meals to bring to his office, only to be ignored. The detoxifying aromatherapy she painstakingly made for him was mistaken by him as an aphrodisiac, and he turned around and accused her of being too scheming.

No matter how much or how well Sophia did, it couldn't compare to one smile from Lily.

"Two years is enough," Sophia murmured.

In the end, their marriage was just about getting what each needed, a product of mutual benefit.

Only she was foolish enough to actually fall in love during the process.

Sophia lowered her eyes and pulled out her phone to type. She stared at the line of text on the screen, typing and deleting, deleting and typing.

Finally, she closed her eyes, and Audrey's words echoed in her mind.

She finally steeled herself, determined to end this toxic relationship completely, and pressed send hard:

[Alexander, let's get a divorce.]