The Hybrid's Ex

Chapter 28

The morning sunlight filtered through the windows of Sofia’s cabin, casting soft, golden rays on the furniture, but inside, the air was thick with tension.

The weight of the unspoken stretched between them like an invisible chasm.

Klaus sat across from Sofia, his posture stiff, the usual arrogance he carried with him replaced with something more vulnerable—something rare for him.

Sofia leaned back in her chair, her mind racing, heart heavy.

She had known this conversation was coming ever since Kol's warning the night before, but knowing didn’t make it any easier.

After years of avoiding the inevitable, it was time for everything to come to light.

The man sitting before her wasn’t just Klaus, the Original Hybrid, feared and revered by many.

He was the man who had once been her entire world. The father of her children. Her first love.

The man who had broken her heart.

"Let’s just get this over with before Damon gets back," Sofia finally said, breaking the silence.

Her voice was flat, but a thin thread of dread ran through it, impossible to hide.

Klaus's eyes shifted to her, softening as they met hers.

She saw the regret there, deep and raw, but that only confused her more.

She had expected anger, defensiveness, accusations. Instead, his expression seemed almost... broken.

"I’m sorry."

Sofia blinked, caught off guard.
Klaus—apologizing? It didn’t seem real.

She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came.

"I’m sorry," Klaus repeated, his voice rough with the weight of the admission. "For what happened with Hayley. I regretted it the moment it happened…"

"Klaus," Sofia began, her voice unsteady.

She didn’t want to rehash that night, didn’t want to talk about Hayley or the betrayal that had shattered everything between them.

But before she could continue, Klaus raised his hand, halting her.

"Please," he said, his voice soft yet insistent. "Let me finish."

There was a sincerity in his tone that made Sofia fall silent again, her heart pounding in her chest.

She had known him long enough to recognize when Klaus was being genuine, and this—this was Klaus at his most raw, his most vulnerable.

She hadn’t seen this side of him in years.

"I know I hurt you," Klaus said, his eyes fixed on her, pleading for her to understand. "I know I broke us. And I know that’s why you kept our children from me."

Sofia swallowed hard, her throat tightening at the truth of his words.

The memory of her decision to keep Issy and Jace a secret from Klaus was a constant weight on her heart.

She had justified it to herself in a thousand different ways, but hearing him acknowledge the pain behind that choice made the wound feel fresh again.

She didn’t trust her voice to speak, so she remained quiet, her gaze dropping to the floor.

Klaus leaned forward slightly, his hands resting on his knees as he continued. "People lie, Sofi. But you..." He trailed off, his voice softening as he looked at her.

Despite her silence, he could tell she wasn’t following him.

Her brow was furrowed in that familiar way that told him she was lost in thought, trying to make sense of it all.

Her lips pursed in that cute little pout she always made when she didn’t quite understand something.

Klaus couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at his lips.

He had loved that about her—the way her face was always so expressive, even when she tried to hide her emotions.

No one knew Sofia like he did. Not even Damon.

"You don’t only get one epic love," Klaus said, his voice breaking through the silence. "I was your first, but Damon... Damon is your last."

This was it. A closure for both of them.

It wasn’t just an ending to their romantic connection; it was the final farewell to the bond they once shared.

The official goodbye to her first love—something no one ever walks away from unscathed.

There’s no simple way to let go of your first love, not when that love had once consumed every part of you.

Klaus’s voice broke through the silence, filled with both sorrow and acceptance. "I may never get a second chance at love like you have. But I think I can be okay with that. I got my redemption, my Hope."

He paused, and his eyes met Sofia’s.

For once, they were stripped of all pretense, showing her the raw vulnerability beneath the centuries of walls he had built around himself. "Everyone thought you were going to be my redemption. But the truth is... you gave me something much more than that. You made me better. You made me a better version of myself."

Klaus’s voice trembled slightly as the words poured out, words he had likely never admitted to anyone else. "You saved me from myself, Sofi. You made me love myself again. And for that, I will always be grateful."

His words hit her like a punch to the gut.

She had never realized just how much of an impact she had made on him—how deeply he had felt about her, even after all these years.

A single tear slipped down Klaus’s cheek, and he didn’t bother to wipe it away. "And for that, I will always be grateful."

Sofia’s heart ached, her chest tight with the emotions swirling inside her.

"Klaus..." she whispered, her voice trembling. "A part of me will always love you, no matter what. You broke my heart, but you gave me memories no one will ever replace. You weren’t just my lover. You were my best friend. And when we ended, I lost both."

For a moment, neither of them said anything.

The silence between them was no longer heavy with tension but with the weight of shared history and lost love.

There was no easy way to say goodbye to the person who had once been your everything.