SOPHIA’S POV

I didn’t sleep at all after Zade left.

I stared blankly at the door. The image of tears in Zade’s eyes refused to leave my head no matter how hard I tried pushing it away.

Zade cried. That thought alone felt unbelievable.

That man carried himself like someone untouchable. Even when angry, he usually looked terrifyingly composed.

But tonight...tonight he looked broken.

My chest tightened painfully again. My wolf whimpered softly.

What promise was he talking about?

The question kept replaying inside my head repeatedly.

“You forgot the promise.”

I frowned as I thought about it. I genuinely didn’t remember any promise involving Zade.

And yet...the pain in his eyes when I looked confused had been too real to fake.

That expression haunted me.

Around three in the morning, I finally gave up trying to sleep and grabbed my phone from the bedside table instead.

I unlocked my phone absentmindedly. Immediately, dozens of notifications flooded the screen.

I sighed tiredly before opening one of the notifications randomly. Unfortunately... it was Tiffany’s post.

The video had already gathered thousands of views within hours. Tiffany had posted it publicly with soft music playing in the background like some romantic movie scene.

The video showed Damien standing beside her during some formal dinner event from earlier that evening. Tiffany leaned close against him while smiling beautifully toward the camera.

Then halfway through the video...Damien leaned down slightly toward her while she whispered something near his ear.

The comments underneath were even worse.

“They look perfect together.”

“Finally Damien found someone worthy.”

“She’s so much classier than his wife.”

“Power couple.”

My wolf growled angrily inside me, not from jealousy, but from irritation.

I laughed as I looked at the screen, not because it was funny. I laughed because the situation felt ridiculous.

“Wow,” I muttered sarcastically under my breath. “How romantic.”

Once upon a time, something like this would’ve completely shattered me. I would’ve cried myself sick wondering why I wasn’t enough for him anymore.

But now... I mostly just felt cold and detached.

My wolf remained indifferent too.

I noticed Tiffany had replied personally to one comment.

“Some people should know when to let go gracefully.”

I stared at the message then, I laughed again.

“Oh, she’s bold tonight.” I muttered.

My wolf huffed irritably.

Honestly, Tiffany’s obsession with public attention exhausted me more than anything else. Everything she did felt calculated, like she constantly needed validation from the entire world.

I tossed the phone onto the bed beside me afterward.

I didn’t have the emotional energy for this anymore.

-

By morning, my headache got worse from lack of sleep.

Eventually, I forced myself out of bed slowly despite Patricia’s protests. My body still felt weak from the fever, but staying trapped inside this room any longer would drive me insane.

I decided to go see Ashley.

A nurse helped remove my IV shortly afterward, and within thirty minutes, I slowly made my way toward Ashley’s recovery ward.

When I got there, I gently pushed the door open.

Then, I immediately froze. I felt so disgusted that I physically stopped moving.

Tasha sat beside Ashley’s bed holding a bowl of porridge. At first, nothing looked strange. Then suddenly... Tasha scooped food into her own mouth first. She chewed it and leaned toward Ashley afterward.

My stomach turned violently.

“What the hell are you doing?” I screamed.

Tasha jerked in shock while Ashley looked startled. The spoon nearly fell from Tasha’s hand.

“Mom” Ashley said weakly.

But I barely heard her.

Pure disgust filled me so strongly that my wolf instantly growled inside me. Watching another person chew food before feeding it to my daughter disgusted me.

“What is wrong with you?” I snapped

Tasha looked offended. “Excuse me?”

I stared at her in disbelief. “You chewed the food first!”

Ashley frowned weakly from the bed. “She was helping me-”

“Helping you?” I interrupted “That’s disgusting!”

Tash frowned “There’s nothing disgusting about me feeding her”

“By chewing her food first?”

My stomach turned again. I physically couldn’t hide my disgust anymore. The image alone made me feel sick.

Tasha stood up angrily from the chair. “You’re overreacting.”

“No, I’m really not.” I snapped back.

Everything about the situation felt revolting to her instincts.

Ashley looked upset now too. “Mom, stop yelling.”

I stared at her “Ashley, you just got moved out of ICU. Your immune system is still weak. Do you realize how unsanitary that is?”

Tasha scoffed loudly. “You doctors always exaggerate everything.”

That response finally snapped something inside me.

Without thinking further, I walked toward the bedside table and knocked the bowl sharply away from Tasha’s hands.

The bowl crashed loudly onto the floor and the food poured everywhere instantly.

Ashley gasped in shock. Tasha looked absolutely furious.

“What is wrong with you?!” she shouted.

I pointed directly at the mess angrily. “No, what is wrong with YOU?”

The entire room became tense immediately.

My chest rose and fell hard from anger while my wolf growled protectively beneath my skin.

“That’s absolutely disgusting behavior,” I continued “Ashley is recovering from a serious condition yet here you were doing something disgusting”

Tasha’s face turned red. “How dare you insult me!”

Ashley looked close to tears now.

“Please stop arguing,” she whispered weakly.

But I was too angry now.

“And honestly?” I snapped bitterly. “Seeing Tiffany suddenly makes a lot more sense now.”

The room froze instantly.

Tasha stared at me in disbelief. “What?”

I laughed coldly. “Well clearly basic boundaries don’t exist in this family.”

Ashley gasped softly. Tasha looked like she wanted to slap me.

“How dare you drag Tiffany into this!” she screamed. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“How dare Tiffany publicly flaunt my husband online before our divorce is even finalized?”

The bitterness finally came out fully.

Everything I’d bottled up since last night suddenly came rushing out together.

Tasha’s expression changed immediately after hearing that. But before she could answer, the ward door suddenly opened.

Mr. Stewart walked inside.

The atmosphere instantly shifted.

He was Tiffany’s dad and Tasha’s husband. He looked surprised by the tension in the room immediately. His eyes moved between me, Tasha, the spilled food on the floor, and Ashley’s pale face.

“What happened here?” he asked

Tasha reacted first. “She attacked me!”

I stared at her in disbelief. “Excuse me?”

“She came in screaming and knocked the food away!”

Mr. Stewart frowned deeply before looking toward Ashley. “Ashley?”

Ashley hesitated weakly. Then quietly nodded.

I felt a deep pain in my chest as I looked at her. Ashley looked genuinely upset with me.

“She got angry,” Ashley admitted softly.

I stared at her silently. Seriously? After everything?

Mr. Stewart’s expression hardened immediately afterward.

“Sophia,” he said sternly. “Your behavior is unacceptable.”

I laughed “Unacceptable?”

“You cannot enter someone’s hospital room and behave violently.”

“Violently?” I repeated.

Tasha crossed her arms triumphantly now. “She completely lost control.”

I stared at all of them in disbelief.

Not one person acknowledged how disgusting the situation actually was, not one.

My wolf growled unhappily inside me, because deep down, this wasn’t even just about the food anymore. It was about being constantly misunderstood, constantly blamed, constantly made into the problem.

Mr. Stewart sighed. “Sophia, Ashley is still recovering. The last thing she needs is stress.”

Something inside me finally hardened completely.

“Fine. You know what?” I said while stepping backward toward the door. “Maybe all of you deserve each other.”

I turned around immediately and walked away.