Breaking Points

Sophie’s Apartment – Morning

Sophie sat on the couch, knees pulled tightly to her chest, as if trying to shrink herself into the smallest, safest version she could be. Her eyes held that empty glaze—the one that settles after a night when there’s simply nowhere left to escape.

When Claire stepped into the apartment, she could tell immediately that something was wrong.

Claire set her bag down slowly. “Sophie… what’s going on? You’re pale as a wall.”

Sophie clenched her fists, gathering the tiny scrap of courage she had left. “I’m ending things with Liam.”

Claire froze. “Excuse me?”

Sophie lifted her gaze briefly, then quickly looked away. “I’ve made up my mind. It’s over. It’s better this way—for both of us.”

Claire stepped closer, cautiously but persistently, like someone walking on thin ice. “You can’t be serious. Yesterday, you were on the verge of serenading me about him. What changed?”

“It’s… nothing,” Sophie said, the lie so light it almost floated away. “I didn’t think enough. I didn’t understand enough. I felt… too much.”

Claire narrowed her eyes. “That’s not an answer, and you know it.”

Sophie stood and began pacing, restless, movements jerky and small, as if the floor itself could give her footing.

“Claire, listen. I’ve thought. A lot. And what Liam and I have… it isn’t smart. Not for me. Not for him. We… we’re not a good idea.”

Claire’s gaze followed her every step. “Sophie. You’re hiding something.”

“I’m not hiding,” Sophie shot back—too quickly, too sharply. Her voice cracked. “I’ve just… weighed everything. Liam’s at the start of his career. He doesn’t need drama around me. Photographers. Rumors. Threats.”

Claire lifted her chin. “And what about you? Your father pushing you into this meaningless arrangement? You need Alexander? Really?”

Sophie bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying. “With him… it’ll be fine. Stable. That’s what my father wants. And… I think it’s right for me to go down this path.”

Claire raised her eyebrows so high it was almost impossible they hadn’t gotten lost in her hair. “I don’t believe you for a second.”

Sophie closed her eyes. “You don’t have to. Just… please… respect my decision.”

Claire remained silent. Didn’t move. Didn’t exhale. Her eyes said everything: she didn’t believe a single word.

But Sophie didn’t let her in. No hint. No crack. No allowance for Claire to see how deeply wounded she was, and why.

Finally, Claire let out a quiet sigh. “If you say so… for now…”

“For now,” Sophie repeated, the words cutting her chest like glass.

Claire hugged her briefly, but Sophie stayed as hard as stone. If she had broken, Claire would have understood everything. And then it would have been too late.

When Claire left, the door clicked softly behind her—a sound that felt more final than it should have. Sophie was left alone in the silence, with the knowledge that she had just given up something that, for the first time in years, truly belonged to her.

The Announcment

Sophie sat on the edge of her bed, legs tucked under her, phone in hand. One single message would separate truth from the lie she now had to start living. Alexander was waiting. He had promised nothing, but demanded everything. She knew she would have to play his game if she wanted to protect Liam.

“I’ve made up my mind,” she finally typed. Every letter pressed into her like a blade.

The message was sent. With it, something shifted inside her—something that would not return.

Meanwhile, Claire paced her apartment, phone pressed to her ear.

“Max, I swear, something’s wrong. Last night she was at Liam’s concert, with him… and now, out of nowhere, she wants to end things with him.”

Her voice carried worry sharp enough to slice through distance. Max felt it too—but he didn’t have time to process the full picture.

Alexander already had her. His people had arranged everything. The ring. The announcement. The photograph. He didn’t know if Sophie had already ended things with Liam—and he didn’t care. He was certain she would. She had to.

Max stared at his phone, rereading Claire’s message too many times, wondering how to tell Liam. How do you tell a friend that their life just flipped upside down?

Meanwhile, Liam already sensed something was wrong.

Sophie hadn’t called. She hadn’t written. She hadn’t responded to a single message. At first, he thought she was tired. Then, busy. But the silence stretched on too long.

He sat on the couch in the studio when James held up a phone.

“Liam… did you see this?”

Liam looked at the screen.

Headline. A photo of Alexander with his hand on Sophie’s waist. A ring, shining deceptively.

The title hit him like a punch to the stomach:

Alexander Volkov announces engagement to actress Sophie Hale.

For a moment, he felt the ground vanish beneath him. The world tilted for a split second, as if someone had turned off gravity. In his mind, the one thing he had always believed Sophie incapable of did the impossible: she erased him.

And when the text of the article finally faded from focus, he was left with only the feeling that he had just lost something he had never even had the chance to hold.

Max stood in the studio hallway, watching Liam, who still stared at the phone as if it could somehow convince him it was all a mistake. When Liam didn’t move, Max stepped closer.

“Liam…”

Liam lifted his gaze. His eyes were sharp, wounded, unusually empty.

“Did you know about this?”

His voice was steady, which made it worse.

Max grabbed his shoulder quickly. “Come on,” he murmured, pulling him into a side corridor, away from the others. James and the rest of the band didn’t need to know. Not now. Not yet. Not this confusion. Not this pain.

Once they were alone, Max exhaled.

“Not this. I swear. I didn’t know there would be… an engagement.”

Liam clenched the phone in his hand. “But you knew something.”

“I knew she…” Max struggled for words, unable to hold them back any longer. “…wanted to end things with you.”

Liam flinched as if struck.

“All of a sudden?” His voice sharpened. “I don’t believe it.”

“I didn’t say I understood. That’s what Claire said.”

Liam shook his head. “That’s not Sophie. Something’s happening.”

Max looked away, searching for answers he couldn’t give.

“Alexander is… powerful. He can be very dangerous, Liam.”

Liam studied him, cold doubt sharpening his gaze.

“What does that mean?”

“It means we have to leave it alone,” Max said quietly. “If Sophie was forced to end things, then the reason is serious. And Alexander… he’s not someone you or I can confront.”

Liam closed his eyes briefly, clinging to the memory of everything he had felt just days ago. When he opened them again, he was no longer soft. No longer uncertain.

“I’m not leaving her alone if she’s in trouble.”

Max’s expression said it all: fear, helplessness, understanding.

And soon, the very thing he feared.

Liam had no intention of giving up.