Piss Off, Alpha! You Lost Me Forever-Chapter 125 Lost Her

SOPHIA’S POV

I burst through the emergency department doors. My wolf’s senses immediately scanned for Ashley’s scent. I found Damien first. He was standing outside one of the examination rooms. His shoulders were tense. He had his hands shoved deep in his pockets.

He looked terrible. He had dark circles under his eyes. His hair was disheveled like he’d been running his hands through it repeatedly.

"Damien!" I ran over. "Where is she? What happened?"

He looked up, and for a moment, I saw genuine relief flash across his face. "Sophia. Thank god."

"Tell me what happened now."

"The school took them on a nature walk this morning. Some kind of educational field trip." He rubbed his face tiredly. "Ashley was bitten by an insect. A wasp, they think. She had an allergic reaction."

My heart stopped. "How bad?"

"Not as bad as it could have been. The teachers had an EpiPen and used it immediately but she developed a secondary infection at the bite site." He gestured to the exam room door. "The doctors say she needs IV antibiotics for a few days, but she should be fine."

The fear that had been gripping my chest loosened slightly. "Can I see her?"

"In a minute. They’re just finishing up getting her IV started." Damien looked at me more closely. "Are you okay? You look... off."

"I’m fine." I wasn’t, but that was beside the point. "Just worried about Ashley."

"Your cold from last week," Damien said, still studying my face. "Did it get better? The fever?"

The question caught me off guard. I’d forgotten he’d noticed I was sick that morning at Stone Villa - the morning I’d seen him with Tiffany in his bedroom.

"It’s fine," I said flatly. "All better."

His eyes dropped to my wrist, and I saw them focus on the emerald bracelet I’d forgotten I was wearing. It was the one Zade had bid on at the auction, that I’d tried to return, that Marco had sent back to me anyway.

"That’s new," Damien said. "I haven’t seen that before."

"It’s just a bracelet," I said quickly, pulling my sleeve down to cover it. "Nothing important."

"It looks expensive-"

His phone rang, cutting off whatever he was about to say. Tiffany’s name flashed on the screen.

"I should take this," he said, already stepping away.

I watched as his whole demeanor changed when he answered. His shoulders relaxed. His voice softened and he smiled.

"Hey," he said gently. "No, she’s okay. Just a bite that got infected... Yes, they’re starting antibiotics now... I know, I know you’re worried. But she’s going to be fine...."

After a while, he hung up and turned back to me, and just like that, his expression closed off again - back to the cold, distant alpha I’d become so familiar with.

"That was Tiffany," he said unnecessarily. "She’s worried about Ashley."

"I’m sure she is," I said, my voice hollow.

The exam room door opened, and a nurse stepped out. "You can see her now. She’s a bit groggy from the antihistamines, but she’s stable."

Ashley was lying in the hospital bed, looking small and pale. Her left arm was swollen where the insect had bitten her. An IV line ran into her right hand. But her eyes were open, and when she saw Damien behind me, her face lit up.

"Daddy!" she said.

Not "Mommy." Just "Daddy." I was used to it anyway.

"Hey, princess," Damien said, moving past me to her bedside. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," she said. "And my arm hurts."

"I know. But the medicine will help." He brushed hair back from her forehead. "You scared me, you know that?"

"I’m sorry." Ashley’s eyes drifted to me, and her expression cooled slightly. "Oh. Mommy’s here too."

"Of course I’m here," I said, moving to the other side of the bed. "I came as soon as I heard."

"You didn’t have to. Daddy’s here." Ashley turned her attention back to Damien. "Did you call Tiffany? Is she worried?"

"Very worried," Damien assured her. "She wanted to come to the hospital, but I told her to stay home and make your favorite dinner instead."

"Good." Ashley smiled. "I want to see her when we get home."

I stood there, feeling invisible again, watching my daughter seek comfort from her father while barely acknowledging my presence.

"I should go," I said quietly. "I have... other matters to attend to."

Damien looked up, surprised. "You’re leaving? Don’t you want to stay with her?"

"You’re here. She has what she needs." I couldn’t keep the bitterness out of my voice. "I’d just be in the way."

"Sophia-"

But I was already at the door. Then I stopped, my hand on the handle, and turned back.

"The divorce papers," I said. "The ones I left at Stone Villa. Have you signed them yet?"

Damien’s jaw tightened. "I’ve been busy-"

"It’s been weeks, Damien. How long does it take to sign a few pages?"

"I said I’ve been busy," he repeated. "I’ll get to it when I have time."

"Make time." I met his eyes directly. "I want this over with. I want to move on with my life. So please, just sign the papers and send them to my lawyer."

"Fine. I’ll do it soon."

"How soon?"

"I don’t know, Sophia! Soon!" His voice rose slightly, and Ashley shifted in the bed, looking between us with wide eyes.

"Fine," I said. "Just... do it quickly. Please."

I walked out before either of them could respond.

The hospital hallway felt too bright, too loud, too full of people going about their normal lives while mine crumbled around me.

I made it to the elevator before the tears started. I wiped them away angrily and headed for the exit.

I was almost to the parking lot when I passed a fruit vendor’s stall set up near the hospital entrance. The oranges caught my eye. They looked bright and fresh, exactly the kind Ashley liked.

I remembered her asking for them last month when she’d been sick.

Before I could stop myself, I was buying two pounds of oranges, carefully selecting the best ones.

Maybe if I brought them to her, she’d smile at me the way she smiled at Damien. Maybe she’d remember that I knew her preferences, that I paid attention, that I cared.

I walked back into the hospital, carrying the bag of fruit. My heart was hopeful despite everything.

As I approached Ashley’s room, I heard voices through the slightly open door. I paused, about to knock, when I heard Ashley’s question.

"Daddy? Can I ask you something?" she asked.

"Of course, princess. Anything."

There was a pause. Then: "Can I start calling Tiffany ’Mom’?"

The world stopped.

The bag of oranges slipped from my numb fingers, hitting the floor. Oranges rolled across the hallway tile, and I didn’t move to stop them.

"Ashley, I don’t think-" Damien started.

"Please?" Ashley’s voice was pleading.

Ashley said something but I couldn’t hear her over the sound of my heart breaking.

I stood there in the hallway with tears streaming down my face. The oranges were scattered around my feet like fallen dreams.

And I finally understood something I’d been denying for months:

I’d already lost my daughter.

Maybe I’d never really had her at all.