Chapter 88
SOPHIA’S POV
I stood there in Lance’s destroyed apartment with my phone still in my hand. My whole body was shaking.
This was all my fault.
“Sophia,” Lance said gently. He looked at me with a worried expression “Breathe p>
Even with everything, he was still worried about me.
I realized I’d been holding my breath. I let it out but my chest still felt too tight.
“I have to fix this,” I said. “I have to make Simon stop. I have to p>
My wolf was howling inside me. She was furious but she was also feeling helpless and scared. I’d spent so long trying to be strong, trying to stand up for myself, trying to break free from Damien and his world. But every time I tried, someone I cared about got hurt.
“I’m going to talk to Damien,” I whispered.
I left his apartment and drove straight to Stone Villa. But when I got to the villa, Damien’s car wasn’t in the driveway. The house looked quiet, almost empty.
I let myself in with the key I still had. Franca appeared in the hallway, looking surprised to see me.
“Luna” she said. “We weren’t expecting you today p>
“Where’s Damien?” I asked.
“He’s out with miss Tiffany. They won’t be back until late p>
Of course. Of course, he was with her.
“Is Ashley around?” I asked.
“She’s upstairs in her room. Shall I p>
I was already moving, taking the stairs two at a time. I needed to see my daughter. I needed to hold her, to remember why I was fighting so hard to keep myself together.
Ashley’s door was open. She was sitting on her bed, surrounded by dolls, acting out some imaginary scene. When she saw me in the doorway, she looked up with surprise.
“Mommy?” She said it like a question.
I entered and pulled her into my arms, hugging her tight. She was stiff at first but then she relaxed a little and let me hold her.
“I missed you, baby,” I whispered into her hair.
Ashley looked back to look at me. “Why are you crying p>
I wiped at my face quickly. “I’m just happy to see you p>
She studied me with those dark eyes – Damien’s eyes – and I could see her trying to figure out what was wrong. She was too smart for her age.
“Ashley,” I said, sitting down on the bed beside her. “I need to ask you for a favor p>
She tilted her head. “What kind of favor p>
“You know Uncle Simon, right? Your godfather p>
Her face lit up. “Uncle Simon is the best! He always brings me presents p>
The words cut deep, but I pushed the pain aside.
“Ashley, honey, Uncle Simon is being very mean to someone, a friend of mine. I was wondering if maybe you could talk to him”
This was what I had been reduced to – asking my five year old daughter for help. I knew this was foolish but since Damien wasn’t around, I had to try something else.
Maybe Simon would listen to Ashley. Simon loved Ashley so much.
Ashley’s expression changed immediately. Her eyes narrowed, and suddenly she looked so much like Damien it hurt.
“Is it that doctor man?” she asked. “The one you’re always with p>
“His name is Lance, and yes p>
“Uncle Simon says that man is bad,” Ashley interrupted. “He says that man is trying to take you away from Daddy and break up our family. He says people like that need to be punished p>
I felt like I’d been slapped. Simon had talked to Ashley about Lance?
I felt so shocked that my chest ached. Why?
“Ashley, that’s not true. Lance is just my friend p>
“No p>
I looked at her in shock “Ashley, please p>
“I’m not helping that man,” she said firmly, crossing her arms. “You should stay away from him like Uncle Simon said p>
I stared at my daughter, at this little person I’d created and loved with every fiber of my being, and realized I didn’t recognize her anymore. When had she become so harsh? So judgmental?
“Okay,” I said quietly. “Okay, baby. I won’t ask again p>
Ashley nodded. Then she looked at me with those wide eyes again. “Mommy, can you not come so early to make breakfast anymore p>
The request caught me off guard. “What? Why p>
“Because Tiffany sleeps in Daddy’s room now when she stays over, and she likes to sleep late. And when you come early and make noise in the kitchen, it wakes her up. Daddy says we need to let Tiffany rest because she works very hard p>
Her words brought tears into my eyes. I couldn’t help it. It felt like something in my chest shattered.
Tiffany was sleeping in Damien’s room in our room, in the bed where Ashley had been conceived, where I’d spent countless sleepless nights waiting for a husband who never came home.
And my daughter was asking me to accommodate her.
“Please, Mommy?” Ashley’s voice had turned sweet now, “Daddy says if we’re all nicer to Tiffany, maybe she’ll move in permanently and then I’ll get to see her every day instead of just sometimes p>
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t even process what I was hearing.
“Okay,” I heard myself say. “I’ll come later from now on p>
“Thank you!” Ashley beamed at me, then went back to her dolls,
I left her room in a daze, walking down the stairs. Franca tried to say something to me, but I couldn’t hear her.
I got in my car and just drove. I didn’t know where I was going, didn’t care. I just needed to move.
Suddenly, my phone rang. It was Lance. I answered immediately.
“They came again,” he said “Different people this time. They threw a brick through my car window p>
Oh goddess p>
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.
“I’m leaving,” Lance said. “I’m going to stay with my cousin in another city for a while”
“Lance, no p>
“It’s already decided. I’m packing now. I’ll call you when I get settled, okay p>
He hung up before I could argue.
I parked in a random parking lot. I couldn’t keep the tears in.
I cried and cried until I had no tears left.
The next day, I was scrolling through social media to distract myself after trying to reach Damien repeatedly.
That’s when I saw it.
Damien had posted a photo an hour ago. He was on a beach somewhere. Tiffany was in the photo, laughing at something off-camera, Ashley was there too with a wide smile.
The caption read: Perfect day with my favorite people.
The comments were full of people congratulating him, saying how beautiful Tiffany looked, how they made such a perfect family.
I read through them all, torturing myself with each one, until I couldn’t take it anymore.
I called Damien again.
It rang four times before he picked up. I could hear waves in the background.
“Sophia?” Damien sounded distracted “What is it p>
“I need to talk to you,” I said.
“Can it wait? Ashley, be careful near the water! – sorry, what were you saying p>
He wasn’t even paying attention to me. I could picture him there on the beach with them.
“It’s about Lance,” I said. “Simon is destroying his life, Damien. He’s spreading lies about him, he’s had his apartment vandalized, he’s threatening to make sure Lance never works as a doctor again”
There was a pause. “And you want me to what, exactly p>
“Call him off,” I said desperately. “Tell Simon to stop. Please, Damien. Lance doesn’t deserve this”
“Sophia, I really don’t have time for this right now.” Damien sounded pissed “What Simon does in his free time isn’t my concern p>
“He’s your friend! He’s doing this because of us p>
“Ashley, wait for Tiffany! Don’t go in the water alone!” Damien shouted. His attention was clearly not on our conversation at all. “Look, Sophia, I have to go. We can talk about this when I get back p>
“When will that be p>
“I don’t know. We’re having a really good time here and I don’t want to cut it short unless there’s an actual emergency p>
“This is an emergency p>
“No, an emergency is Ashley drowning or the house burning down. Your friend having some professional trouble is not my problem”
“Please,” I begged. Tears came out of my eyes again. All my pride was gone. “Please, Damien. Tell Simon to back off p>
“Daddy!” Ashley’s voice came through clearly now. “Tiffany says we should build a moat! Come help p>
“Coming!” Damien called back. Then, to me “I’ll think about it. Goodbye, Sophia p>
The line went dead.