Chapter 149
DAMIEN’S POV
I heard myself say the words before I fully decided to say them.
“The higher you climb, the harder the fall p>
Lance didn’t flinch. He didn’t lower his eyes either, which told me everything about the kind of wolf he was. He might not be dominant enough to challenge me directly, but he was too proud to submit.
He looked me in the eyes for exactly two seconds, then looked away on his own terms. He looked unbothered, like I was a mild inconvenience rather than an Alpha who had just issued a warning.
That bothered me more than I expected.
Beside me, Tiffany had gone very still. I could feel her hurt radiating from her. Her wolf energy was small and wounded. Her breathing was a bit unsteady. She was trying not to cry in public and barely managing it. Lance’s words had hurt her deeply.
Then Sophia spoke.
“Lance.” Her voice was quiet as she spoke “Let’s go p>
Something about the way she said it calmly, with no drama, not even looking at me, made me feel an ache in my chest.
She wasn’t trying to make me look at her. She simply wanted to leave, and that unsettled me in a way I couldn’t describe.
Lance rose from his seat. He looked at me once more, and when he spoke, his tone was polite.
“This has nothing to do with research,” he said. “There’s no reason to stay p>
Then he placed his hand on Sophia’s arm and walked her out of the restaurant.
I watched them go.
Sophia never looked back, not once.
Tiffany touched my sleeve. “Damien p>
I turned. Her eyes were wet. She looked genuinely hurt.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I shouldn’t have approached them. I just thought-” She stopped, swallowed. “Maybe I really am not good enough. Maybe he’s right p>
“He’s not right.” I reached up and touched her cheek, tilting her face toward mine. I ran my thumb along her jaw “He was being cruel for the sake of it. That has nothing to do with your ability p>
“Then why does it feel like it does p>
“Because you care too much about what people think.” I held her face in both hands and looked at her “You are talented. You have always been talented. Lance is not the authority on that p>
She leaned into my hands. “You really believe that p>
“I’ll help you with the research direction myself,” I said. “We’ll find something that fits your strengths. You don’t need his approval p>
I wrapped one arm around her shoulders.
But even as I held her, my mind kept pulling back to the restaurant exit. I kept thinking of the door Lance and Sophia had walked through together, of the way his hand had rested on her arm like it belonged there.
A thought moved through me – How long has that been happening?
I pushed it away. It wasn’t my business anymore.
But it didn’t leave.
SOPHIA’S POV
We found a small Chinese restaurant three streets away. It was quieter, warmer, and smelled like garlic and ginger.
We were seated by the window. He handed me the menu without a word, and I took it.
I stared at the pages without really reading them. My chest was still tight from the restaurant – not from Lance’s words, which had been honest, but from watching Damien step forward to defend Tiffany the way he had.
He had never used that voice for me, not once.
I set the menu down and looked at Lance across the table. “You shouldn’t have done that p>
He looked up. “Which part p>
“Any of it.” I sighed. “Tiffany matters to Damien. That’s just the reality. He doesn’t forget things like this, Lance. He will come after you p>
Lance set his menu down “I said what was true,” he shrugged. “She approached us in a professional setting and used it as a performance. That’s not something I’m willing to sit through politely p>
“That’s not the point p>
“Sophia.” His voice was gentle but firm. “I’m not afraid of Damien Stone. You don’t need to protect me from him. I was protecting you. You know that, right p>
I opened my mouth then closed it.
He had been. That was exactly what he had been doing. He hadn’t done it loudly. He hadn’t made a scene. He had simply told the truth in the most honest way possible then walked me out.
Something warm moved through my chest at the thought of it.
“Thank you,” I said. “But still be careful p>
He nodded, picking his menu back up. “What are you ordering p>
The food came quickly. Lance served my rice before his own, then placed a pair of chopsticks beside my bowl.
“Can I ask you something?” he said, pouring tea into my cup.
“Go ahead p>
“Graduate school. What are your actual plans? You’ve mentioned it a few times but never the details p>
The question caught me off guard. Nobody had really asked me that before.
Graduate school had been my plan long before Ashley, long before Damien, long before any of this. It was the one thing that had always belonged entirely to me.
“I’ve been preparing for a long time,” I said. “Even before I got pregnant with Ashley, I was working toward it. I had to stop. And then everything else happened.” I paused. “But I never stopped wanting it. I feel ready now, more ready than I’ve ever been p>
Lance nodded slowly, listening the way he always did, completely, without interrupting.
“Research or professional track?” he asked.
“Research. I want the full academic path.” I turned the cup in my hands. “I want to earn my doctorate before my early thirties.” I laughed softly before I could stop myself. “Though by then I’ll practically be ancient p>
Lance frowned “Don’t say that p>
“I’m joking p>
“I know you are, and it’s still wrong. You’re not old. You’re nowhere near old. You’re-” He stopped.
I watched his ears go red.
The color started at the tips and moved downward. He looked down at his bowl with sudden intense focus, like the arrangement of his rice required his full attention.
“You’re beautiful as ever,” he finished, very quietly, to his food.
I stared at him for a moment. Then, I laughed.
He was so cute!
Lance cleared his throat. “The fish here is very good, very fresh. You should try it p>
“Lance p>
“The fish, Sophia.” He looked at me briefly then looked down. His ears were still pink. He looked embarrassed “Please try the fish p>
I laughed again, softer this time, and reached for my chopsticks.
For the first time in longer than I could remember, dinner felt light.
The heavy thing that had been sitting in my chest since the courthouse that morning, since the restaurant, since watching Damien wrap his arm around Tiffany – it didn’t disappear but it got smaller.
And right now, smaller was enough.