SOPHIA’S POV

By the time I finally went upstairs that night, I was exhausted.

The tension downstairs had drained me more than I wanted to admit. My wolf felt restless too. She hated being inside Stone Manor now. Every hallway carried too many memories. Every room reminded her of heartbreak, loneliness, or rejection.

And honestly... I felt exactly the same way.

My footsteps slowed when I reached the familiar hallway leading toward the master bedroom....the bedroom Damien and I once shared.

My chest tightened painfully.

For a few seconds, I just stood there staring at the closed door while memories flooded my mind against my will. I remembered late-night conversations, quiet mornings, petty arguments, nights where Damien used to pull me against his chest.

Back then, I genuinely believed that room belonged to us.

Now... I wasn’t sure it ever truly had.

My wolf whimpered softly.

I swallowed hard before finally pushing the door open slowly.

The room no longer looked like mine at all. Everything had changed.

The soft gray curtains I once picked out were gone completely, replaced with expensive pink drapes. The bedding had changed too and so had the furniture arrangement. There were lots of fresh flowers near the windows while several feminine decorations filled the shelves and vanity tables nearby.

I felt an ache in my chest so suddenly that I physically stopped breathing for a second.

Tiffany’s presence was everywhere. It was enough to make it painfully obvious another woman had completely settled into the space that once belonged to me.

I slowly stepped further inside the room while trying to remain calm.

But the deeper I walked into the bedroom...the worse it became.

There was a silver hairbrush near the vanity beside expensive makeup products that clearly belonged to Tiffany. Her books were stacked neatly near the sofa. Even the soft robe hanging near the bathroom door wasn’t mine anymore.

Nothing here felt connected to me now...nothing.

My wolf became deeply agitated inside me.

“You’re staring at the curtains like they insulted you personally.”

Damien’s voice suddenly spoke from behind me.

I turned slowly.

He stood near the doorway while loosening his tie tiredly.

“What is it?” I asked coldly.

“You’ll probably need to stay here for a while now that Grandpa is remaining at the villa permanently.”

I looked at him in disbelief “A while?”

“He’s emotionally attached to the idea of us being together right now,” Damien explained quietly. “Disturbing him emotionally could worsen his condition.”

I looked away. Unfortunately...I already understood that.

Grandpa George looked happier tonight seeing us together. He seemed more stable.

And despite everything, I couldn’t bring myself to hurt him. Still, I didn’t like the idea.

Damien opened one nearby drawer. “You don’t really have many things here anymore, but Tiffany left some spare pajamas you can use tonight.”

The second he said Tiffany’s name again, my wolf reacted.

I looked at the folded satin pajamas in his hands.

Tiffany’s pajamas.

Something about that nearly humiliated me emotionally.

“No.”

Damien blinked “Sophia-”

“I said no.”

The tension immediately returned between us again.

Damien stared at me quietly for several seconds before finally setting them back down.

Everything in this room already felt like proof that I no longer belonged here. Wearing Tiffany’s clothes on top of that would completely destroy whatever dignity I still had left.

“I’ll sleep in something else,” I said coldly.

“You’re still sick. Stop being stubborn.”

“And you should stop pretending this situation is normal.”

The words slipped out before I could stop myself.

Silence filled the room.

Damien’s jaw tightened slightly. My wolf remained agitated too.

Because nothing about this was normal, not the fake marriage act downstairs, not Tiffany practically living here, not me standing inside a bedroom that no longer felt like mine.

And definitely not Damien asking me to stay here long-term like we could somehow continue pretending forever.

I looked directly at him. “You need to tell Grandpa the truth.”

His eyes went dark. “Sophia.”

“I can’t do this. Besides, he deserves honesty.”

“He deserves peace,” Damien corrected quietly.

The exhaustion in his voice surprised me slightly.

For the first time tonight, he genuinely looked emotionally worn down too.

“He’s sick,” Damien continued softly. “His condition worsens every time he becomes emotionally unstable.”

I crossed my arms “And what happens later when he remembers everything suddenly?”

Damien stayed silent. I guess it was because neither of us had an answer for that.

Damien looked at me “Please,”

The softness in his voice caught me off guard.

“I’m asking you as family right now,” he continued. “Just...let him stay happy for a while longer.”

My wolf softened slightly.

Damien genuinely sounded desperate tonight. And honestly... I understood why. Grandpa George’s condition terrified all of us.

I closed my eyes briefly. “Fine.”

Damien sighed in relief.

The atmosphere became awkward again after that conversation.

I suddenly couldn’t stand remaining inside that bedroom another second. So without speaking further, I turned and walked back toward the hallway.

Damien didn’t stop me this time.

I walked slowly through the corridor while hugging my arms around myself tightly.

As I walked, I heard soft crying coming in from Ashley’s room.

I froze instantly. My wolf lifted her head alertly.

Ashley.

The crying continued quietly from inside. Then I heard Franca’s soft voice trying to comfort her.

“Ashley...” she said.

“I don’t want to see her.”

The words hit me so hard that I physically stopped breathing for a second. Was she talking about me?

Ashley sounded genuinely upset inside the room.

“I don’t want Sophia here,” she cried weakly.

My chest tightened painfully.

Franca continued speaking softly, though I couldn’t hear all her words clearly, but Ashley’s crying became worse afterward.

“She hates me now...”

“No she doesn’t.”

“She does,” Ashley whispered brokenly. “Everything feels wrong whenever she’s here”

My wolf whimpered painfully inside me.

I stood completely frozen outside the door while heartbreak slowly spread through my chest.

My daughter couldn’t even bear seeing me anymore. The thought of it made my heart break.

Tears burned behind my eyes instantly.

I quietly stepped backward before either of them noticed me outside. I couldn’t stay there another second.

The hallway suddenly felt suffocating. Every breath hurt. Every emotion hurt.

I walked quickly toward the guest rooms instead. If the master bedroom belonged to Tiffany now...then I’d rather stay anywhere else.

The guest room felt cold and unfamiliar compared to the rest of the manor.

Still, I preferred it. At least nothing inside this room reminded me of painful memories.

I changed quietly into borrowed clothes from the guest wardrobe then I sat on the bed afterward.

I tried distracting myself afterward by scrolling mindlessly through my phone.

But somehow, that only made things worse, because eventually... I saw Tiffany’s newest video post.

At first, I almost ignored it completely. Then suddenly, my breath caught.

The man sitting beside her at the bar looked painfully familiar.

It was Zade.

My heartbeat stopped instantly.

The short video played automatically. It showed Tiffany laughed softly while holding up a wine glass toward the camera. Beside her, Zade sat leaning lazily against the couch while drinking heavily.

The lighting inside the club remained dim but I recognized him immediately anyway.

Zade actually smiled at something she said.

My wolf reacted violently. Shock slammed through me so hard that my fingers physically shook around the phone.

No. No no no.

I replayed the video again desperately.

Maybe I misunderstood. Maybe it wasn’t recent. But the upload timestamp showed tonight.

Tonight.

My chest suddenly felt hollow. I felt my heart break even more inside me.

So after everything...after the way Zade cried in front of me...after how broken he looked...

He was drinking with Tiffany?

My wolf became frantic emotionally inside me.

I stared at the screen numbly while tears slowly burned behind my eyes again.

Tiffany. Of all people... Tiffany.

The ache spreading through my chest became unbearable.

Maybe I truly had been stupid all along. Maybe Zade’s emotions were never as real as I believed. Maybe I was just another temporary obsession to him.

Meanwhile Tiffany...beautiful, elegant Tiffany, fit perfectly into his world. Unlike me.

My wolf whimpered painfully again.

“Hurts too much” she whimpered.

-

That night, I couldn’t sleep.

Even after turning off the lights, my thoughts refused calming down completely. The image of Tiffany beside Zade replayed endlessly inside my head while my wolf remained emotionally devastated.

Eventually I fell asleep anyway.

And somehow... I dreamed about him.

Zade climbed through my bedroom window exactly the way he used to.

“Sophia,” he whispered.

My wolf instantly ran toward him emotionally inside the dream.

Zade grabbed my face gently between his hands. His expression looked desperate again.

“You forgot again,” he whispered hoarsely.

My chest tightened painfully. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

“I didn’t,” I tried answering.

But suddenly blood appeared across his hands, then glass. Then, I heard Tiffany laughing somewhere behind him.

My wolf cried out painfully.

And suddenly, I woke up gasping sharply.

My entire body jolted upright instantly while my heartbeat pounded wildly inside my chest.

That was when I noticed someone sitting beside my bed.

I froze immediately as I turned. It was Damien.

He sat quietly in the chair beside me while watching me.

“Were you dreaming about Zade?” he asked.