Piss Off, Alpha! You Lost Me Forever-Chapter 126 Please Sign

THIRD PERSON POV

Sophia stood frozen in the hospital hallway. She had oranges scattered at her feet.

Ashley’s words echoed in her mind on a cruel loop: Can I start calling Tiffany ’Mom’?

A sob built in her throat, threatening to break free. She bit down hard on her lip, tasting blood.

She couldn’t break down here, not in the hospital hallway where anyone could see, not where Damien and Ashley might hear her.

So she did what she’d been doing for months - she swallowed the pain, straightened her spine, and walked away.

She made it to her car before the first sob escaped.

Then another.

Then she was crying so hard she couldn’t see, couldn’t breathe, could only feel the terrible, crushing weight of losing everything that had ever mattered to her.

DAMIEN’S POV

I stared at my daughter, trying to process what she’d just asked. The innocent hope in her eyes made my chest tight.

"Ashley," I said carefully, "why would you want to call Tiffany ’Mom’? Sophia is your mother."

Ashley’s expression crumpled. "But she doesn’t act like it!"

"What do you mean?" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Remember that rainy day last month?" Tears welled up in Ashley’s eyes. "I was so sad because I missed Grandma Sky, and I begged Mommy - I mean, Sophia - to take me to see her. But she said no!"

I frowned, trying to remember. "Ashley-"

"She said she had to take Klara somewhere instead!" The tears spilled over now. "She chose Klara over me, Daddy. Her real daughter didn’t matter as much as her niece!"

The pain in her voice was real, even if I suspected there was more to the story than what she was telling me.

"And then," Ashley continued, her voice breaking, "I called her that night from the car because I was scared and alone, and she didn’t even answer! She was probably with Klara having fun while I was crying!"

Guilt twisted in my gut. I remembered that day now. Remembered Ashley calling me from Tiffany’s car, upset about something. But I’d been busy with a meeting and had assumed Tiffany would handle it.

"Baby girl," I said gently, pulling her into a careful hug around her IV line. "I’m sure Sophia wasn’t trying to hurt you. She probably had a good reason-"

"She doesn’t love me anymore," Ashley whispered against my shoulder. "Not like Tiffany does. Tiffany always has time for me. Tiffany makes me feel special. Tiffany wants to be my mom."

When had my daughter become so sure that her mother didn’t love her?

"Listen to me very carefully," I said, pulling back to look at her face. "Sophia will always be your mother, always. She gave birth to you. She loves you. And nothing will ever change that."

"But-"

"No buts." I made my voice firm but gentle. "Tiffany is wonderful, and she cares about you very much. But she is Miss Tiffany, not Mom. Do you understand the difference?"

Ashley’s face fell. "So, I can’t call her Mom at all?"

"No, sweetheart. That title belongs to Sophia and only Sophia. Sophia loves you,"

“Okay daddy. I just wish..." She trailed off.

"Wish what?"

"I wish I could call Tiffany Mom too. Because it feels like she is my mom more than Sophia is."

I didn’t know what to say to that. How could I explain to a six-year-old that feelings were complicated?

"Tiffany will always care about you," I said finally. "She’ll always be in your life. But you need to respect the fact that Sophia is your mother. Can you do that for me?"

Ashley nodded "Okay, Daddy."

"Good girl." I kissed her forehead. "Now, do you want to watch a cartoon while we wait for the doctors to come back?"

Her face brightened a bit "Can we watch the one with the talking animals?"

"Sure."

I pulled up the cartoon on my phone and handed it to her, then stepped out into the hallway to make a call.

That’s when I saw oranges scattered across the floor.

These were fresh oranges, the expensive kind from that organic market Sophia always went to. The kind Ashley loved.

Sophia had been here. Had she heard Ashley ask to call Tiffany "Mom."?

My phone buzzed with a text. Sophia’s name flashed on the screen.

Please sign the divorce papers. I need to move on with my life. I’m begging you.

The word "begging" cut deep. Sophia never begged. She’d endured years of neglect, of being second choice, of watching me build a life with another woman, and she’d never once begged.

Until now.

I looked back through the window at Ashley, who was smiling at her cartoon/

Then I looked down at my phone, at Sophia’s text.

I should reply but what could I say?

Instead, I typed nothing.

I went back into Ashley’s room and sat down beside her bed. She looked up at me with those big eyes and smiled.

"I love you, Daddy." She said.

"I love you too, princess."

"And you love Tiffany?"

My wolf stirred again, uncomfortable with the question. "I care about Tiffany very much."

"That’s the same as love, right?"

Was it? I thought about Tiffany - her kindness, her gentleness, the way she fit so easily into my life.

Then I thought about Sophia. I thought of the way she’d fought for our marriage even when I’d given up.

“Watch your cartoon, honey” I told her.

Ashley smiled and went back to her cartoon.

And I sat there watching her, feeling the weight of every choice I’d made, every hurt I’d caused, every moment I’d chosen the easy path over the right one.