You Don’t Get to Take Everything from Me

Cedric didn’t respond. With his plate full, he turned on his heel and brushed past her, his shoulder grazing hers deliberately as he walked out of the kitchen. The clatter of his footsteps faded down the hall, leaving Sophia standing there, her chest heaving with anger and fear.

Her mind raced, the weight of his words suffocating her. She looked down at her trembling hands, her heart pounding in her chest. The cold marble beneath her feet seemed to shift, unsteady and uncertain, just like the ground she now stood on in her life.

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The Following Day...

Sophia’s eyes fluttered open, her breath shallow and uneven. The faint blush of dawn seeped through the light curtains, casting soft, shifting patterns on the walls of the guestroom. She shifted slightly, her body tense and aching from a restless night. Her gaze instinctively darted to the crib a few feet away, where Michael lay peacefully asleep. His small chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, his tiny fingers curled into fists near his cherubic face. For a brief moment, a faint smile crossed her lips.

“Morning, sunshine,” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the soft hum of the air conditioning. She knew he wouldn’t respond— Michael was just a year old, his world limited to coos and babbles. He stirred slightly but remained blissfully oblivious to the turmoil simmering within his mother.

Sophia exhaled sharply, the smile fading as she turned onto her side, her back to Michael. Her eyes found the window, where the light curtains swayed gently to the rhythm of the morning breeze. Beyond them, the woods stood dark and silent, offering no solace, only a blank canvas for her spiraling thoughts.

Her confrontation with Cedric yesterday replayed in vivid detail. His words echoed mercilessly in her mind: “The farce we’ve been calling a marriage? It’s over.” She clenched her jaw as her hand gripped the edge of the duvet tightly. Cedric’s arrogance was like a weight pressing on her chest. He had made it clear— no payment, no negotiation, and worst of all, no Michael.

“I won’t let you, Cedric,” she muttered to herself, her voice trembling with defiance. She flipped onto her other side, her eyes locking onto Michael’s crib again. The sight of him sleeping so peacefully only deepened her resolve, though a pang of helplessness gnawed at her gut.

But what choice do I have? she thought, her mind racing. Anxiety wrapped around her like a suffocating cloak. Cedric wasn’t just wealthy; he had power, influence, and connections that could crush her in any legal battle. The contract meant nothing to him— he had the resources to twist the truth and bury her under a mountain of paperwork.

Sophia sat up abruptly, her hands trembling as they clenched into fists on her lap. “Is there any way I could win if we go legal?” she murmured to herself, shaking her head as the answer came almost instantly. “No,” she admitted bitterly. “He’d find a way to make it all disappear, to turn it in his favor. He’s Cedric.”

Her heart pounded in her chest as frustration bubbled to the surface. “Fuck this,” she hissed, swinging her legs off the bed. The cold floor sent a jolt up her spine, but she welcomed the sharpness— it matched her growing anger. She began pacing the room, her arms folded tightly across her chest as she chewed on her lower lip.

“What am I going to do?” she asked herself, her voice louder this time. Her footsteps were frantic, her body vibrating with the need to act but paralyzed by the lack of options. “I can’t let him take Michael away from me. I can’t.” Her voice cracked as she ran a hand through her tangled hair, gripping it tightly as if the pressure could anchor her chaotic thoughts. “But I’m broke. Too broke to fight him in court.”

She stopped abruptly, standing at the edge of the bed. “Is there a way to make him change his mind?” she wondered aloud, the words tasting hollow even as she said them. Cedric wasn’t the kind of man who changed his mind— he bulldozed through people, through obstacles, through anything that stood in his way.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she resumed pacing, her movements more erratic now. “You have to think of something, Sophia,” she urged herself, her voice tinged with desperation. “Something fast.”

The pressure was unbearable, her anxiety spiking with each passing second. Her hand found her hair again, tugging at it in frustration as she muttered under her breath. The room seemed to shrink around her, the walls closing in as her mind churned through endless possibilities, all of them dead ends.

And then, sharp and sudden, a gnawing pain shot through her stomach. She froze, her hand flying to her abdomen. The ache was insistent, a reminder that she hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday morning. She groaned softly, her head dropping forward as her fingers kneaded the sore spot.

“Fuck,” she muttered under her breath, her voice thick with frustration. “Of course. Of course, I haven’t eaten— since yesterday. Why would I? After the bomb Cedric dropped on me yesterday.”

She straightened slowly, her movements deliberate as she made her way to the door. Her steps were sluggish, her body heavy with exhaustion and hunger. The hallway was eerily quiet, the soft sound of her bare feet against the cool tiles the only noise.

The kitchen was dimly lit, the soft glow of the under-cabinet lights casting long shadows. Sophia moved to the fridge, her hand lingering on the handle for a moment before she opened it. The cold air brushed against her face as she scanned the contents— leftovers, a carton of eggs, a loaf of bread. Nothing looked particularly appetizing, but she didn’t have the energy to care.

She pulled out the bread and a jar of peanut butter, setting them on the counter. Her movements were mechanical as she spread the peanut butter onto a slice, her mind elsewhere. The knife clinked softly against the plate, the sound almost drowned out by the noise in her head.

Cedric’s sneer flashed in her mind, his mocking words cutting through her like a knife. “Start packing your things.” Her hand tightened on the knife, the sharp edge pressing into the peanut butter as she swallowed the lump in her throat.

“You don’t get to win, Cedric,” she whispered fiercely, her eyes burning with unshed tears. “You don’t get to take everything from me.”