Chapter 105
SOPHIA’S POV
After Ashley finally fell back asleep, I sat in the uncomfortable hospital chair staring at my phone. Will’s words kept echoing in my head.
“His afternoon cleared up”
If Damien’s meetings were canceled, where had he been all afternoon? Why lie about being too busy to pick up Ashley?
My wolf stirred uneasily, already knowing the answer but not wanting to admit it.
I pulled up my social media apps, something I rarely did anymore. It was too painful to see other people’s perfect lives, their happy families, their loving marriages. But tonight, I needed to know.
I navigated to Tiffany’s profile. She posted constantly – glamorous photos, inspirational quotes, behind-the-scenes glimpses of her performances. Her life looked like something out of a magazine.
I scrolled through her recent posts then I found it.
It was a photo posted at 4:47 PM today. Tiffany sitting in what looked like a hotel room or upscale apartment, holding a massive bouquet of white roses. The caption read: When someone special remembers you’re feeling homesick. Blessed to have such thoughtful people in my life.
My hands started shaking. I zoomed in on the photo. There was a fruit basket behind the roses. These were expensive imported fruits – the kind Damien always bought for important people.
I scrolled to the next photo. It was a close-up of the roses with a card visible. I couldn’t read all the words, but I could make out the signature: – D
D for Damien.
While I was scrambling to find someone to pick up our daughter, while Ashley was crying at the kindergarten thinking nobody wanted her, Damien had been buying flowers and fruit for his mistress. He’d lied about having important meetings so he could visit Tiffany in her hometown and play the devoted boyfriend.
My wolf howled with rage and pain. The mate bond pulled in my chest, confused by the betrayal, trying to make excuses for our mate’s behavior. But I was done making excuses.
I stared at that photo for a long time, burning every detail into my memory. I memorized the way Tiffany’s face glowed with happiness, the way she held those flowers like they were the most precious thing in the world, the casual way she’d posted about it, not even trying to hide who they were from.
Because why would she hide? Everyone knew. The whole pack knew that Damien Stone preferred his mistress over his wife.
My phone buzzed with an incoming video call. Damien’s name flashed on the screen.
I stared at it for three rings before answering. When his face appeared on the screen, I felt nothing. There was no flutter of attraction, no pull of the mate bond, no hope that things could be different.
Just cold anger.
“How’s Ashley?” he asked immediately. He was in what looked like his office.
“Fine,” I said coldly. “They’re keeping her overnight for observation”
“That’s good. I was worried p>
“She’s fine. The nurse is monitoring her vitals. You don’t need to worry p>
“Sophia p>
I hung up before he could finish his sentence. I didn’t want to hear anything else.
I turned off my phone completely and set it face-down on the side table. Then I curled up on the uncomfortable hospital sofa, pulling the thin blanket around myself, and closed my eyes.
Sleep came eventually, though it was restless and filled with dark dreams.
In my dream, I was running through a forest. My wolf form struggled to keep up with something just ahead of me. Every time I got close, it slipped away again, always just out of reach. I could smell cedar and rain – Damien’s scent. The scent was mixed with vanilla that wasn’t mine.
Then the dream shifted. I was in Stone Villa, but all my things were gone. Every photo, every piece of clothing, every trace that I’d ever lived there had been erased. I walked through empty rooms calling for Ashley, but she never answered.
In the dream, I started to panic, running faster, my wolf howling-
“Easy, it’s okay. I’ve got you p>
Strong arms lifted me, and I felt myself being carried. The scent I caught was familiar – cedar and rain and alpha power. My wolf recognized it immediately and relaxed, even though my mind was still clouded with sleep.
I tried to wake up fully, to ask what was happening, but I was too tired.
When I finally woke, sunlight came in through a window. It wasn’t the fluorescent lights of the hospital. This was sunlight.
I opened my eyes and my heart stopped.
I was in the master bedroom of Stone Villa. I was in the bed the bed where Damien slept where he brought Tiffany.
And lying beside me, still asleep, was Damien himself.
I jerked upright. My wolf was immediately alert and confused.
What was I doing here? How did I get here? Where was Ashley?
My sudden movement must have woken Damien because his eyes opened. For a moment, we just stared at each other. Then he sat up, running a hand through his disheveled hair.
“You’re awake,” he said, his voice rough with sleep.
“What-” My voice came out hoarse. “What am I doing here? Where’s Ashley p>
“Ashley’s in her room. She’s fine. The nurse said she could come home” Damien watched me carefully. “You fell asleep on the hospital sofa around two a.m. I came to check on you both, and you were shivering. The hospital was freezing, so I brought you back here p>
“You carried me?” The thought of being unconscious while he held me made my skin crawl. “You should have woken me up p>
“I tried. You were dead asleep.” He reached toward my forehead. “And you’re burning up. You have a fever p>
I slapped his hand away before he could touch me. “I’m fine p>
“You’re not fine” Damien’s expression was concerned, but I didn’t trust it. Not anymore. “You need to rest today. Call the hospital and tell them you can’t come in p>
“No.” I tried to get out of bed and immediately regretted it. The room spun, and I had to grip the edge of the mattress to steady myself.
“Sophia p>
“I said no. I have patients depending on me. I can’t just not show up because of a little fever.” I tried to stand, but my legs were shaky.
“A little fever? You’re sick. You need rest p>
“I don’t need anything from you.” I snapped.
I tried very hard not to think about how my traitorous heart had skipped a beat when he’d touched me, or how my wolf had wanted to stay in his arms despite everything.
Because wanting those things would only break me more.
And I couldn’t afford to break, not yet.
Not when I still had a daughter to protect and a divorce to finalize.
Not when I was this close to finally being free.