Piss Off, Alpha! You Lost Me Forever-Chapter 174 He Would Never Take My Side

SOPHIA’S POV

Lance caught me at the hospital entrance at six forty-five.

He was coming from the research wing. He had his keys in his hand, clearly heading out for the evening. When he saw me near the main doors he walked towards me.

"Good timing," he said. "I was going to call you."

I raised my brow "Oh?"

"I have a class reunion tonight. It’s just a few of us from the doctoral program, Archer is coming” he smiled at me. "You should come. You’ve been carrying a lot lately. One evening of good food and people would do you good."

I thought about it for a moment. I thought of Archer’s dry humor, Lance’s friendly presence and how good it might feel to be somewhere other than the hospital.

"That actually sounds-" I started

"Sophia." A voice cut me off.

Damien’s voice.

I closed my eyes for exactly one second. Then I turned.

What was he doing here?

He was standing by the main entrance with his car keys in hand. His eyes moved briefly to Lance, then came back to me.

"It’s seven," Damien said simply.

I looked at Lance.

He read the situation instantly. His expression didn’t change. He looked like he understood.

"Another time," Lance said quietly.

"Lance-"

"It’s fine." He meant it. He always meant it when he said things like that, which somehow made it worse. "Go. I’ll save you something from the dinner”

"Thank you," I said.

He nodded then walked away.

I turned back to Damien, following him to the car without a word.

-

The drive to Stone General Hospital took thirty minutes.

I sat in the back seat.

That was the first thing. Damien had assumed I would sit in the front, but I had simply opened the rear door and gotten in, because sitting in the passenger seat felt like playing a part I hadn’t agreed to yet. At least, the back seat gave me some distance from him. He had looked at me briefly in the rearview mirror and said nothing.

We had been on the road for about ten minutes when his phone rang through the car’s speakers. The screen on the dashboard showed the name before the sound even finished.

Tiffany.

He accepted the call. "Hey."

Her voice filled the car "Hey. Where are you?"

"In the car now."

"Okay then. How are you holding up with George and everything?"

"Managing. It’ll be fine."

Then Ashley’s voice broke in from somewhere behind Tiffany. Ashley sounded high and excited, asking if Daddy was on the phone, asking if she could talk to him.

"Go ahead," Tiffany said.

"Daddy!" Ashley’s voice filled the car "Did you see my drawing? Tiffany said it was really good. It’s of our house - well, Stone Villa - and I put everyone in it. Tiffany and me and you and Grandpa George-"

"I’ll look at it when I get home," Damien said. His voice had warmed completely. "Be good tonight, okay? Listen to Tiffany."

"I always listen," Ashley said.

Damien chuckled. "Goodnight, baby."

"Goodnight, Daddy. Tell Grandpa George I love him."

The call ended. The car went quiet.

I sat in the back seat, looking out the window at the passing city. I didn’t say anything but I felt hollow inside.

I felt like a total outsider and this call further proved it. Ashley’s drawing had everyone in it – Tiffany, Damien and Grandpa George.

Not me.

My wolf howled in my chest yet she didn’t say anything, because there was nothing useful to say.

Damien glanced at me in the rearview mirror once. I didn’t meet his eyes.

-

George looked smaller in the hospital bed.

That was the thing that hit me first, before anything else - how much smaller he seemed against the pillows.

My heart ache at the sight of him looking so ill. I wished there was more I could do. Even my wolf whimpered inside me when we saw him.

His face broke into a genuine smile the moment he saw us.

"There they are," he said. His voice was thinner than usual "Come in, come in. Close the door."

We moved into the room. Damien went to his grandfather’s side immediately, pulling a chair close. I stood near the foot of the bed.

George smiled at me. "Sophia." He held out his free hand toward me.

I took it.

"You look well," he said "Better than last time I saw you."

"I am better," I said.

George held my hand, looking between us - Damien on one side, me on the other. The pleasure on his face was so obvious that it was almost painful to look at directly. He was happy to see us together in the same room.

His grip shifted, and before either of us had registered what he was doing, he had reached across and taken Damien’s hand with his other one. Then, he pressed our hands together, placing mine in Damien’s and holding both.

"Let an old man have this," he said quietly. "Just this."

The room was very still.

A nurse was charting something in the corner. Damien’s beta, Will, was standing near the door, having escorted us up from the lobby. Two of George’s longtime friends sat in chairs by the window. Simon was there too.

I felt Damien’s hand around mine. I felt the familiar warmth of it. My wolf and my body still recognized his touch despite everything.

"You’ll be together a long time," George said, looking at our joined hands. "I’ve always known it from the first time I saw you two in the same room." He looked up at my face. "You steady him. You always have. He doesn’t always deserve it, but you do it anyway." His eyes moved to Damien. "Don’t lose her. You hear me?"

"I hear you," Damien said quietly. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

George smiled and released our hands.

I kept my expression exactly as it needed to be and did not look at Damien.

I excused myself to the bathroom twenty minutes later. I needed a moment of air. The corridor outside George’s room was quieter than the main ward.

I had been standing there for about two minutes when I heard footsteps.

Simon.

He came down the corridor with his hands in his pockets and stopped when he saw me.

"Sophia." He said my name sarcastically "Still playing the role, are we? Even now?"

I looked at him. "Simon."

"It’s impressive, honestly." He tilted his head. "You’ve got more patience than I’d expect from someone whose family-" He paused, selecting something. "Well. Let’s say your family’s standing has always been a bit aspirational, hasn’t it? Considering where you actually come from."

His words made my blood boil inside me. How dare he? How dare he talk about my family in a condescending way?

I thought about my family – my brother, who had called this morning to find a job for my best friend, my niece, who slept with the light on until I came home, my parents who were willing to do anything for me.

My hand moved before I even realized what I was doing.

I slapped him. The sound echoed down the corridor.

Simon staggered slightly. His hand went to his cheek. His eyes were wide with shock.

"Don’t," I said. My voice was completely steady. "Don’t speak about my family again."

I walked back toward George’s room.

-

Damien found out within the hour.

I didn’t tell him. Maybe Simon did, presumably, or Will, or someone who had been in the corridor. It didn’t matter how. What mattered was the way Damien pulled me aside near the elevator bank and looked at me.

"Simon told me," he said.

"Good," I said. "Then I don’t have to."

"Sophia-"

"He insulted my family." I looked straight into his eyes without apology. "Specifically and deliberately. I responded."

Damien was quiet for a moment. I couldn’t read his expression or even assume what he was thinking.

After a moment of silence, he let out a deep breath.

"Go home," he said. "I’ll stay with George a while longer. Find your own way back."

I looked at him.

Seven years of marriage. And still, always, this. It would always be this. Damien would never take my side.

"Fine," I said.

I turned toward the elevator. As I reached for the button, the pain hit me in my arm. I felt pain radiating from my injured arm up through my shoulder. I pressed my lips together to bite back the pain. I rode the elevator down alone, holding my arm close to my body, breathing through it.

The lobby was bright and busy.

I stood in it for a moment. My arm was throbbing. There was no car outside. I had no one coming.

In that moment, I felt hopeless. I felt totally hopeless.

My wolf whimpered inside me.

I took out my phone and called a car.

Then I stood under the lobby lights and waited as I held my arm.

I breathed slowly, telling myself that this was almost over.

Almost.