Piss Off, Alpha! You Lost Me Forever-Chapter 47 Whatever She Wants

DAMIEN’S POV

I walked out into the school parking lot with Ashley in my arms. The lot was almost empty.

Ashley had stopped crying, but her breath still hitched now and then. Little leftover sobs shook her chest. Her face stayed pressed into my shoulder, and I could feel her tears on my shirt.

My wolf growled. He hated seeing his pup sad.

Behind us, somewhere inside the building, Sophia was probably still standing there. I forced myself not to picture her face.

Do not think about Sophia. Not right now. Focus on your daughter.

I reached my car, fumbled with the key fob one-handed and unlocked it. I didn’t want to put Ashley down, not even for a second. I opened the back door and carefully placed her inside. She didn’t speak.

“It’s okay now,” I told her, brushing her hair back gently. “Everything will be okay.”

Ashley nodded.

I closed the door and straightened up. Across the lot, movement caught my eye.

Tiffany.

She walked toward us unsteadily. Her heels were too high. She held an injured hand against her chest. Her makeup was ruined. Mascara streaked her cheeks. She looked pale and shaken, and for a moment I felt sorry for her.

Ashley saw her too and shrank back in the seat.

Tiffany reached the car and looked straight past me to Ashley. Fresh tears filled her eyes. She reached for the door handle.

I caught her wrist.

“Wait,” I said quietly. “Ashley needs a little space.”

Tiffany’s face crumpled. “I just want to see her.”

“I know,” I told her. “But give her a few minutes. Please.”

She nodded and withdrew her hand, staring at me like she was begging me not to shut her out completely.

“Get in,” I said.

The drive home was tense and silent for the first several minutes. I kept my eyes on the road. In the rearview mirror, Ashley stared out the window.

Finally, Ashley spoke.

“Daddy?” she whispered.

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“The other parents were really mean to Tiffany today.”

My grip tightened on the steering wheel “I know, baby. You told me.”

“It was just an accident,” Ashley went on. “Anyone could get hurt while cooking.”

I glanced at her in the mirror.

“You still feel bad ?” I asked gently.

Ashley nodded. “Yes.”

Tiffany let out a shaky breath beside me. Then Ashley added something that stabbed straight into me.

“Maybe things would have been different if mom had been there.”

I froze.

“If mom had been paying attention to me,” Ashley continued, “instead of focusing on someone else, maybe I wouldn’t have gotten so bad.”

Tiffany seized on that immediately.

“Exactly,” Tiffany said bitterly. She turned more fully toward Ashley. “Where was all that concern when you needed it?”

“Mom refused to come for me,” Ashley said. “She came with Klara instead.”

Tiffany nodded quickly. “You’re right to feel hurt, baby. She should have been watching you.”

I stared straight ahead.

We stopped at a red light.

Only then did I look at Tiffany properly for the first time since we left the school. Her finger was still wrapped in flimsy paper towels, stained dark with dried blood.

“How badly are you hurt?” I asked her.

Tiffany blinked like she had forgotten the injury existed. She slowly unwrapped the towel. I winced at the sight. The nail bed was torn and still bleeding. One long acrylic nail had been partially ripped off and hung at a painful angle.

That looks awful. It looked infected already.

“When was your last tetanus shot?” I asked.

Tiffany looked at me blankly. “I... I don’t know.”

I cursed under my breath and turned the wheel as soon as the light changed.

“Where are we going?” Tiffany asked nervously.

“To the hospital,” I said, “That finger needs real treatment.”

The emergency room was a bit busy when we arrived. I parked and helped Tiffany out of the car, then lifted Ashley from the back seat.

When we got in, we were told to wait. After about half an hour, a nurse finally called Tiffany’s name, and we moved into a private room.

Ashley had fallen asleep completely in my arms by then.

The nurse examined Tiffany’s finger and asked questions about how it happened. She cleaned the wound with antiseptic. Tiffany winced and bit her lip. The nurse removed the damaged acrylic nail, explaining it was necessary to prevent infection. The doctor came in, checked her work, prescribed antibiotics, and warned Tiffany to watch for redness or pus.

“Maybe consider shorter nails,” the nurse suggested gently.

Tiffany nodded.

We were given discharge instructions and a prescription. I filled it at a twenty-four-hour pharmacy on the way home. When we reached the villa, I instructed the cook to make light soup for Tiffany.

Then I carried Ashley upstairs to her bedroom.

“Thank you for today, Daddy,” Ashley whispered as I tucked her in.

“You’re welcome, sweetheart.”

She looked at me with sleepy eyes.

This child deserves peace. She deserves one steady mother. One clear home.

I sat on the edge of her bed and finally asked the unfair question I had been holding in all day.

“Ashley,” I said softly, “I know you love Sophia and Tiffany. But who do you feel more comfortable with?”

Her eyes widened.

“Who do you trust more?” I pressed gently. “Who would you want as your main mother figure?”

Ashley started crying again.

“I love both of them the same,” she sobbed. “I don’t want to choose. That would be mean.”

I pulled her into my lap and held her close.

“It’s okay,” I told her softly. “I know it’s hard.”

“It’s hard to choose.”

“No one will be mad at you,” I said. “Just be honest about what you feel in your heart.”

Ashley sniffed and tried to explain through her tears.

“Sophia is my real mother,” she said. “I love her because she’s my mom.”

I nodded. Then her whole tone changed when she spoke of Tiffany.

“Tiffany makes me feel safe and cared for,” Ashley whispered, “But I would like it if mom was around more.”

Those words made the decision for me.

For the sake of Ashley’s happiness, I decided I would maintain my marriage with Sophia.

Ashley needs stability. Sophia gives her that.

I kissed Ashley’s forehead and set her back in bed.

At least now, I knew what I had to do.