SOPHIA’S POV

The hatred Helen’s eyes was terrifying.

“You bitch!” she screamed.

Before I could even react, she rushed toward the bed and slapped me so hard that my head snapped violently to the side.

The impact made my vision blur instantly.

Pain exploded across my cheek, and my ears rang loudly. My stitches hurt from the sudden movement, and my body trembled painfully against the mattress. My wolf whimpered inside me in agony.

I gasped weakly.

“Helen...” I tried to speak.

“Don’t you dare say my name!” she shouted.

Another slap landed across my face before I could even move away. My lips instantly split open from the force, and I tasted blood immediately. My body already felt fragile after the miscarriage and surgery, so the pain hit even harder.

Helen grabbed my hospital gown harshly.

“You evil woman!” she screamed directly into my face. “You harmed the Stone family’s child! You killed my grandchild!”

Tears instantly filled my eyes, not because of her words, but because hearing someone finally say it out loud made the loss feel horrifyingly real again.

My baby was truly gone.

My wolf cried painfully inside me.

She curled into herself in grief, and I felt the ache spread through my chest so violently that I almost couldn’t breathe. I wanted to push Helen away. I wanted to scream back. But my body felt too weak.

“You’ve always been a curse!” Helen continued viciously. “Ever since Damien married you, nothing good has happened to this family! You came from that worthless family of yours and trapped my son with a pregnancy!”

I stared at her weakly.

Every word she said stabbed into my chest like a knife. Even after everything... after years of marriage... after giving birth to Ashley... after nearly dying... this woman still hated me completely.

“Helen...” I whispered painfully. “Please...”

“Please?” she laughed.

Then suddenly, she shoved me hard against the bed. Pain exploded through my abdomen instantly.

I cried out weakly.

The fresh surgical wounds burned horribly, and tears rolled down my face immediately. My hands clutched my stomach protectively even though there was nothing left to protect anymore.

Helen looked completely out of control.

“You should’ve died instead!” she shouted.

That sentence shattered something inside me completely.

My wolf whimpered in heartbreak. Even she sounded tired now. She was tired of being hated, tired of being unwanted everywhere we went.

Helen suddenly grabbed my hair roughly.

“You selfish woman!” she hissed. “Do you know what Damien has been going through because of you?”

I almost laughed bitterly. Even now... even after I lost the baby... people still only cared about Damien, not me. Never me.

She yanked my head backward painfully.

“You ruined my son’s life!”

Then she slapped me again, and again, and again.

By the fourth slap, my vision had become blurry with tears. My cheek throbbed horribly, and blood stained the corner of my lips. My body shook weakly from pain and exhaustion.

The hospital monitor beside me began beeping faster but Helen still didn’t stop.

“You disgusting woman!” she screamed. “If anything happens to Dahlia too, I swear I’ll bury you alive!”

I froze weakly. Dahlia? What happened to Dahlia?

Before I could even ask, Helen received a phone call. Her expression changed instantly the moment she answered.

“What?” she snapped. Then her face went pale. “You’re serious?”

She released me and stepped back from the bed. For the first time since entering the room, panic replaced her anger.

“I’m coming right now,” she said hurriedly before hanging up.

She glared at me one final time with burning hatred.

“You better pray Dahlia survives,” she hissed coldly.

Then she stormed out of the room immediately. The door slammed shut loudly behind her.

Silence filled the room afterward but it wasn’t peaceful silence. It was suffocating.

I lay there trembling weakly against the hospital bed. My entire body hurt horribly.

My cheek burned. My head throbbed painfully. My abdomen felt like it was tearing apart again, and my breathing came out shaky from both pain and humiliation.

My wolf cried softly inside me. She sounded exhausted and defeated.

I slowly curled into myself despite the pain. Tears streamed silently down my face as I stared blankly at the ceiling.

I truly had nobody. The ward door suddenly opened again.

I flinched violently.

For one terrified second, I thought Helen had returned. But instead, Declan walked inside slowly. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

His hands were inside his pockets while his cold eyes looked over my battered appearance without an ounce of sympathy. Behind him stood Jessie, his friend.

The moment I saw Jessie, my stomach tightened. I recognized him immediately.

Months ago, Zade had humiliated him badly during an incident at one of the clubs. Jessie had never forgotten it. The hatred in his eyes whenever he looked at me or Zade had always been obvious.

Declan smirked.

“Well,” he drawled coldly. “You look terrible.”

I said nothing. I didn’t even have energy left to argue anymore.

Declan slowly approached the bed.

“You really don’t know what happened?” he asked mockingly.

My throat hurt painfully when I spoke “What happened... to Dahlia?”

Declan’s expression darkened.

“She got cut accidentally during surgery today,” he said coldly. “One of the patients was HIV-positive.”

My eyes widened in horror immediately.

“What?” I whispered.

Declan laughed bitterly. “She’s currently undergoing emergency treatment and testing.”

I stared at him in shock. Even my wolf became stunned inside me.

For a brief second, concern filled me. Despite everything happening in this family, Dahlia had never treated me cruelly.

Declan suddenly leaned closer. “And this all happened because of you.”

I blinked weakly “What?”

“You distracted Damien,” he snapped coldly. “The entire family has been in chaos because of your drama.”

I stared at him in disbelief “You’re blaming me for an accident in surgery?”

“Yes,”

The cruelty in his voice chilled me completely.

“You bring disaster everywhere you go.” he said.

I was too exhausted to even defend myself anymore.

Declan glanced toward Jessie. Then he spoke casually.

“She humiliated you before because of Zade, didn’t she?”

Jessie’s jaw tightened instantly. His eyes filled with resentment as he stared at me.

Declan smirked coldly “You can vent a little.”

My entire body froze. Fear crept into my chest.

“Jessie...” I whispered weakly.

But Jessie was already walking toward the bed.

His expression looked dark and cruel.

“You know,” he muttered bitterly, “I’ve wanted payback for a long time.”

My wolf instantly became alarmed. She growled weakly inside me despite her exhaustion. Fear mixed with anger immediately. But my body was too injured to even move properly.

“Jessie...” I repeated shakily.

Then suddenly, his fist slammed hard into my stomach. I screamed instantly. The pain was unbearable.

Fresh pain exploded through my surgical wounds, and tears burst from my eyes immediately. The monitors beside me began beeping wildly again.

Jessie grabbed my arm roughly.

“You think you’re special because Zade protected you?” he sneered.

Then he slapped me violently across the face. My head hit the bedframe painfully.

Stars exploded across my vision.

Declan watched everything coldly from nearby. Not once did he stop him.

My wolf cried out in pain inside me. She sounded desperate now. She was terrified and broken. I could barely breathe through the pain spreading across my entire body.

Jessie shoved me again.

“You ruined my reputation back then!” he shouted angrily. “Do you know how badly Zade embarrassed me in front of everyone?”

“I...”

Another slap interrupted me instantly. Blood filled my mouth again.

I was crying openly now, not just from physical pain, but from helplessness. Complete helplessness.

Jessie grabbed my chin harshly.

“You should’ve died from that hemorrhage,” he hissed.

Declan finally spoke calmly from nearby.

“That’s enough.”

Jessie stepped back breathing heavily. My entire body trembled violently against the bed.

My abdomen hurt so badly that I felt nauseous. My vision blurred from tears, and my wolf had become frighteningly quiet inside me now.

Declan approached the bed one final time. He looked down at me coldly.

“You better pray Dahlia is fine,” he said quietly. “Because if something happens to her... this will be nothing compared to what comes next.”

Fear crawled down my spine, not because of the threat itself. But because I knew he meant every word.

Declan turned toward Jessie “Let’s go.”

Jessie smirked at me one last time before following him toward the door.

Neither of them looked guilty, not even slightly.

The ward door closed behind them quietly.

And once again... I was alone.