THIRD PERSON’S POV

The hospital room remained silent long after Sophia turned her back on Zade.

The soft rain outside continued falling against the glass.

Sophia lay on the narrow hospital bed with her back facing Zade completely.

She had deliberately moved all the way to the edge of the bed, leaving no space beside her anymore.

Her eyes remained open even though she pretended to sleep. Tears still burned behind her eyes.

The image she had seen downstairs kept replaying painfully in her head - Tiffany standing close to Zade, Zade leaning toward her, the scent of another woman’s perfume on him.

Her chest felt tight again.

She hated how deeply it affected her already. She hated how quickly Zade had become important to her without her realizing it. After everything Damien had done to her, she had promised herself never to trust another man so easily again. Yet somehow, Zade had broken through her walls little by little.

Now, she felt foolish for allowing it.

Behind her, Zade stood silently beside the bed. His wolf was extremely restless now.

Powerful Alpha pheromones slowly spread through the room unconsciously because of his unstable emotions. Any ordinary werewolf entering the ward right now would immediately feel the pressure coming from him, but Sophia only pulled the blanket tighter around herself.

She didn’t want his comfort anymore.

Zade stared at her for a long time before finally speaking in a low voice.

“You’re really shutting me out now?” he said.

Sophia didn’t answer.

Zade sighed. For the first time in years, he felt genuinely helpless.

He was used to solving problems with authority, or power. As a dominant wolf, most people feared him. Even powerful Alphas thought carefully before provoking him.

But Sophia was different. He couldn’t force her heart open. Right now now, he could clearly feel her pulling away from him emotionally.

That scared him more than he expected.

After standing there silently for a while, Zade finally grabbed the nearby chair and placed it beside the bed.

The scraping sound against the floor made Sophia close her eyes tightly.

“You should sleep,” she whispered coldly.

“I’m staying here.”

Sophia frowned “You don’t have to.”

“I know.”

Sophia didn’t know what to say.

His calm answer only made her emotions more complicated.

Zade sat down on the chair beside the bed. His large frame looked uncomfortable there, especially compared to the small hospital bed. His long legs barely fit properly under the small table nearby, but he stayed anyway.

The room became quiet again.

Sophia could feel his eyes on her back the entire time. Her heart felt heavy.

Part of her wanted him to explain himself properly. Another part of her was afraid of hearing something that would hurt even more. Another part felt Zade would lie to her.

Years of pain from Damien had already taught her that expectations only led to disappointment.

So, she chose silence instead.

After some time, Zade finally leaned back against the chair and closed his eyes briefly.

His wolf remained awake and restless.

Every few minutes, he would look at Sophia automatically as if checking whether she was still there.

The night passed painfully slowly. Neither of them slept properly.

The next morning, sunlight entered the hospital through the curtains.

Sophia finally fell asleep that morning but Zade remained awake most of the night sitting beside her. His wolf senses noticed every movement she made beneath the blanket. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Even asleep, she kept unconsciously moving farther away from him. That alone made his chest ache.

Early that morning, at Ashley’s ward, the atmosphere was much quieter.

Ashley sat weakly on the hospital bed while playing absentmindedly with the corner of her blanket. Her fever had reduced slightly after the emergency treatment, but her face still looked pale and tired.

Franca stood nearby holding a bowl of warm porridge. The older woman looked exhausted too. She’d barely rested after running back and forth between the villa and hospital for days.

Damien stood near the window silently.

His dark eyes looked tired and cold from lack of sleep. His Alpha wolf had remained tense for days now.

Franca looked at Damien and spoke.

“Alpha,” she said gently, “you should talk to Madam Sophia.”

Damien frowned “She’s ignoring me.”

“That doesn’t mean she doesn’t care,”

Damien stayed silent.

Franca looked toward Ashley sadly before continuing, “Madam Sophia stayed awake for days because of Ashley. She became sick too. Even now, she still worries about this child.”

Damien’s eyes became filled with guilt. He remembered Sophia coughing up blood yesterday.

The image still disturbed him deeply.

At the time, he had been too shocked to react properly. Seeing Sophia so weak had shaken him more than he wanted to admit.

His wolf became uneasy again.

After a moment, Damien finally looked toward Ashley.

“Ashley,” he called softly.

Ashley looked up immediately. “Daddy?”

Damien slowly walked toward the bed before sitting beside her.

“Do you miss Mommy?” he asked quietly.

Ashley blinked.

For a moment, Damien actually expected her to say yes. But instead, Ashley’s eyes brightened immediately.

“When is Aunt Tiffany coming?” she asked excitedly.

The smile on Damien’s face slowly disappeared.

Ashley hugged her stuffed toy tightly.

“Aunt Tiffany said she’ll bring me cake later,” she continued happily. “Daddy, can she stay with us forever?”

Franca’s face changed instantly. Even Damien froze.

Ashley continued innocently, “I like Aunt Tiffany more because she’s gentler than Mommy.”

The entire room became quiet.

Franca lowered her head sadly. Meanwhile, Damien’s chest suddenly felt strangely uncomfortable. His wolf growled inside him, not because Ashley liked Tiffany, but because hearing his daughter speak about Sophia that way felt wrong somehow.

Sophia had always been strict with Ashley because she cared deeply about her. Yet somehow, everyone kept misunderstanding her intentions....including him.

Damien rubbed his forehead tiredly before standing up again.

“I have to leave for work briefly,” he said coldly.

Franca looked at him worriedly. “Alpha-”

“I’ll come back later.”

Without waiting for another response, Damien turned and walked out of the ward. The moment he stepped into the hallway, he let out a deep breath.

His wolf remained irritated and unsettled.

After a while, Damien eventually found himself standing outside Sophia’s ward.

He didn’t even know why he came.

Maybe it was the guilt he felt. Maybe it was concern.

Maybe something else he refused to admit to himself.

He stared at the closed door silently for a few moments before finally reaching for the handle. But before opening the door, voices from inside stopped him.

“Sophia, eat something first.” It was Ken’s voice.

Damien’s expression instantly became darker.

Then Zade’s deeper voice followed calmly, “She barely ate anything last night.”

Damien’s hand froze on the door handle.

Inside the room, Ken sat casually near the sofa while peeling an orange.

Zade stood beside the bed pouring warm water into a cup for Sophia.

Sophia sat quietly on the bed holding the blanket around herself. Her fever had reduced slightly, but she still looked pale. She still felt weak.

Ken handed her the peeled orange with a grin. “You look terrible.”

Sophia rolled her eyes. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Zade glared at Ken. “Stop annoying her.”

Ken smirked. “Relax. I’m cheering her up.”

Sophia watched the two men argue playfully. For the first time since last night, she felt warm in her chest.

Outside the ward, Damien saw everything through the small glass panel on the door. His chest suddenly went tight.

Zade looked extremely attentive toward Sophia. Ken looked protective of her too.

And Sophia...

Sophia looked calmer around them than she had looked around him in a very long time.

Damien’s jaw slowly tightened. His wolf became increasingly irritated.

The sight of another dominant wolf standing so close to Sophia made him feel possessive, especially when it came to Zade.

Any Alpha could sense another powerful wolf’s intentions clearly. And Zade’s intentions toward Sophia were obvious now.

Damien suddenly remembered Zade carrying Sophia yesterday. The memory made his wolf growl..

Inside the ward, Sophia suddenly looked toward the door slightly as if sensing something. Damien immediately stepped back.

For a few seconds, he stood there silently outside the ward. Then slowly, he lowered his hand from the door handle.

He didn’t enter. Instead, he turned around quietly and walked away.

Back inside the ward, Zade frowned slightly toward the door.

Ken noticed immediately.

“What?” he asked.

Zade narrowed his eyes “Nothing.”

But his wolf had already caught Damien’s scent outside moments earlier.

And somehow...he felt satisfied.