Sophia Laforteza - Maphinz

"How long did you plan to keep telling me?" Manon asked.

Sophia remained silent, staring at the floor. That made the curly-haired girl raise her voice.

"Tell me!" she demanded. "How long will this go on?" she shouted furiously, moving ever closer to Sophia, who, on the verge of tears, shrugged, as if trying to find a justification for her actions. Without success. Because Manon knew. She knew.

Everything was ruined.

Even so, Sophia tried to speak.

"Manz, I swear I was going to tell you, but I didn't want to ruin what we have," he said breathlessly, looking up to finally meet her eyes.

The curly-haired girl let out a humorless laugh.

"You were going, but I ended up finding out from William. Do you know how awful I felt when he came to your apartment asking about you? He confronted me, Sophia. He asked me why I was there with you. With his girlfriend."

Sophia felt a knot in her stomach. She felt nauseous. She wanted to vomit.

She remembered that that very night she had asked Manon to be her girlfriend. That she had said yes and they had kissed. That they had given themselves to each other. That they had loved each other. That Sophia, just for that moment, had forgotten William, knowing that he was still an obstacle in her life and in what she was just building with Manon.

And that right at that moment… it was collapsing.

"You didn't want to see us ruined, but guess what? It already is." Manon had to swallow hard to get rid of the lump in her throat.

But Sophia… was a mess. Those black eyes—that warm, sweet, and comforting gaze that the Swiss woman had always adored—were now glassy beneath her pent-up tears. Her cheeks and nose were slightly flushed. Her body trembled gently each time an involuntary sob escaped her lips.

Manon's heart was crushed.

I wanted to hug her. To tell her that everything was alright, that I forgave her.

But he remembered her betrayal. And that—precisely—hurt him more than seeing her fall apart.

The Swiss woman let out a sigh filled with all the emotions she had been holding in since she learned of the deception.

"I'm fed up, Sophia. Fed up. And not just with you, with all of this," she murmured, her voice cracking at the end of the sentence. "I'm not upset about William, that's a separate issue. I'm upset with you. For not being honest with me and for choosing to lie to me rather than tell me the truth."

The curly-haired girl clenched her fists in anger. Remembering William's words and how Sophia had acted so naturally around him, as if he weren't yet her partner, made her chest burn with rage.

"Why didn't you leave him? Why did you tell me you had instead of confessing that you were still with him? I would have waited for you. Even longer than I already had."

"I…" Sophia began, raising a hand to take the curly-haired girl's. "Manz…"

"Don't you dare call me that," she interrupted abruptly, but without flinching from the raven-haired woman's touch. Because, however hurt she was, a tiny part of her still longed for her touch.

"Manon," Sophia corrected herself before continuing. "I can call and end this right here if it means keeping you in my life. But please…" She squeezed the curly-haired girl's hand desperately. "Don't leave me."

Sophia doubted her own answer, but not wanting to rule out the option in case Manon agreed —even knowing it was already too late—, a spark of hope shone in her eyes.

Manon, on the other hand, shook her head and pulled her hand away from Sophia's, breaking contact.

"I wish I had heard that seven months before all this. That... would have made me so happy, Sophia. Because you know what I waited for and what I lost just to be with you."

With that said, Manon turned around, ready to leave.

But a sudden jolt made her turn around abruptly.

The Filipina was kneeling, sobbing uncontrollably, her head bowed. Her hands could barely support her body, and her fingernails dug harshly into the wooden floor.

"Manz, please... don't go," she pleaded. "I can fix it. We can... we can fix it."

Manon approached her slowly. She crouched down in front of Sophia and gently cupped her face, caressing her cheeks. She cradled her and lifted her face so the Filipina was looking directly at her.

And although she knew that with that action she was leaving her pride and dignity in the gutter, seeing Sophia kneeling for her… was enough to break her heart.

"Promise me this will be the first and last time you kneel for someone," Manon whispered.

The raven-haired girl nodded sadly. Because, even after everything, the curly-haired girl still felt sorry for her. She felt insignificant, begging for someone she had already lost—though it pained her to admit it.

Sophia moved her face closer to Manon's, intending to kiss her. But the Swiss woman, noticing this, turned her head. The kiss, instead of reaching her mouth, landed directly on one of her cheeks.

Sophia felt ashamed. For a moment she believed that with just that small gesture Manon would forgive her.

It wasn't like that. It wasn't that easy.

It wasn't that Manon rejected her out of anger alone. It was because she feared that a kiss would erase the unjustifiable.

—Forgive me, Manz, I didn't mean to… well, I did mean to, but I thought…

Manon cut her off before she could speak further.

—Did you think I'd forgive you with a simple kiss? Because if so… you're completely wrong. I can't forget things that easily. Not anymore.

Manon walked away from Sophia before she even had the fleeting thought of repenting and yielding to forgiveness.

Sophia felt even more empty. The skin of her cheeks still burned from the curly-haired girl's touch. She felt as if her hands were still touching her.

Manon hurried out of the room, but not before pausing for a second in the doorway and turning to speak:

"Do you know the worst part?" he asked, no longer waiting for an answer. "I loved you, Sophia. I loved you and I still love you more than you can imagine."

The Filipina looked up, but Manon was too unsteady to meet her gaze.

—But I see… I see that at that time your love belonged to someone else.

And from there, with all hope lost, she left, leaving Sophia's apartment behind. The place she had once considered a refuge now vanished with every step she took.

For a moment, she believed Sophia would follow her. That she would beg her to come back, that she would fight for them, that she would try to make amends for her mistake, and that she would finally leave William behind and put Manon first.

But when she dared to turn around to see if any of her wishes would come true, she wasn't so surprised to find that she was completely wrong.

Sophia stood still, staring at the still-open door, from which Manon's figure could still be seen. When the Swiss woman turned around, their eyes met.

One last time.

And before Sophia had a chance to react…

Manon resumed walking towards the elevator and left.

That was the last time Sophia heard from her now ex-girlfriend.

"I love you too, Manon."

Sophia has jet-black hair, long hair with bangs, a slender build, soft and delicate features, pearly skin, and dark brown eyes.

She is sensitive, keeps things to herself most of the time and finds it difficult to be direct; she is also somewhat narcissistic, very affectionate and loving, and has a different side to each person.

So with Manon... she allows herself to be herself, even though her emotions weaken.

Manon is brunette, with a slim build, medium-length hair with defined curls, soft features but strong characteristics, and dark brown eyes.