Chapter 102: Chapter 102 Mixed Signals
SOPHIA’S POV
The rain started around midnight.
I heard heavy drops of rain against the windows of my bedroom at Sky Manor. I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, listening to the storm.
Every ti I closed my eyes, I saw Ashley’s face on that video call. I heard her telling Tiffany all those things she said.
My wolf was restless too. She was confused and hurt. She didn’t understand why our pup had rejected us. In wolf packs, the bond between mother and child was sacred, unbreakable. But sohow, mine had broken anyway.
I must have finally drifted off around three in the morning because I woke to my phone ringing. The screen showed it seven thirty am and Klara’s na flashed across it.
When I picked up, her voice was bright with excitent.
"Aunt Sophia! Aunt Sophia! Guess what I did!" she squealed.
I couldn’t help but smile. Klara’s joy was contagious. "What did you do, sweetheart?"
"I made olets! All by myself! Well, Mommy helped a little bit, but mostly I did it! And they turned out so good!" She was practically bouncing through the phone. "I saved one for you! It has cheese and tomatoes and everything you like!"
My chest ward. "That’s wonderful, Klara. I’m so proud of you."
"So can you pick
up from school today? Please? And we can go back to Sky Manor together and you can eat the olet I saved for you and I can show you the picture I drew in art class and-"
"Slow down," I laughed. "Yes, I can pick you up. What ti?"
"Three o’clock! But you have to promise to co, okay? Because I told all my friends my cool aunt was going to pick
up and I want them to see you."
"I promise, baby. I’ll be there at three."
After we hung up, I felt lighter than I had in days. At least one child in my life was excited to see . At least one kid thought I was cool enough to show off to her friends.
I got dressed quickly then went downstairs to cook. I’d promised Ashley I’d make her pancakes this morning, and I wasn’t going to break another promise to my daughter.
The rain was still coming down hard when I got to the kitchen.
When I got to the kitchen, I found Ashley already dressed. She sat at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal. Her face lit up when she saw .
"Mommy!!" Ashley said “Good morning”
“Good morning, love”
I kissed her forehead as she hugged .
Damien appeared in the kitchen doorway just as I was mixing the pancake batter. He was already dressed for work in a dark suit.
"Good morning," he said.
"Morning." I didn’t look at him, focusing on the pancakes.
Ashley spoke happily while I cooked, telling
about a test she had that day and a friend who’d gotten a new puppy. For a few minutes, everything felt almost normal. It was almost like we could have been a real family.
After breakfast, while Ashley was packing her school bag, I turned to Damien.
"I need to pick up Klara from school this afternoon," I said. "Can you or Franca get Ashley?"
Damien’s expression imdiately shifted to irritation. "I have an important eting this afternoon. It can’t be rescheduled."
"So ask Franca-"
"Franca isn’t authorized to pick up Ashley. You know the school’s policies."
"Then authorize her," I said, trying to keep my voice calm. "It’s not that complicated. You’re her father, you can add people to the pickup list."
"I don’t have ti to deal with that paperwork today." Damien crossed his arms. "You’re Ashley’s mother. Picking her up from school is your responsibility."
My wolf snarled. "And Klara is my niece. I have responsibilities to her too."
"Then maybe you should learn to manage your ti better."
His cold tone made my blood boil. "Manage my ti better? I work full-ti at the hospital, I’m applying for doctoral programs, I cook for Ashley, I take her to school, I do everything while you-" I stopped myself, taking a breath. "While you do whatever you want whenever you want and expect everyone else to pick up the slack."
"You’re being unreasonable-"
"I’m being unreasonable?" I raised my voice a little "I’m asking you to pick up your own daughter from school one ti because I have a commitnt to my family. That’s not unreasonable. That’s called being a parent."
"Mommy?" Ashley’s small voice ca from the stairs. "Why are you yelling?"
I imdiately felt guilty. "I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t an to raise my voice. Go get your bag, sweetie”
Ashley ran to get her backpack, and I grabbed my purse, heading for the door. Behind , I heard Damien sigh.
"Sophia, wait."
I stopped but didn’t turn around.
"I’ll see if I can move the eting," he said quietly. "I’ll try to get Ashley."
"Don’t do
any favors," I said coldly. "I’ll figure it out like I always do."
I walked out into the rain. Ashley ran ahead of
toward the car. The rain was heavy. It imdiately soaked through my shirt. I fumbled with the car keys, trying to unlock the door while keeping Ashley sowhat dry with my shirt on top of her head.
"Wait."
Damien’s voice ca from behind . I turned and saw him standing on the porch with an umbrella. He walked down the steps and held it over
and Ashley, shielding us from the worst of the rain.
The gesture surprised
so much I almost dropped my keys.
Then, without a word, he shrugged off his suit jacket and placed it over my shoulders. The fabric was warm from his body heat, and it slled like him.
"You’re soaked," he said simply. "Take the jacket."
I stared at him, completely shocked. This was the man who’d forgotten to pick up our daughter yesterday, who’d replaced all my things with Tiffany’s, who’d been cold and distant for years.
And now he was giving
his jacket in the rain like we were in so romantic movie.
My wolf whimpered. She was confused by the mixed signals. The mate bond pulled at , wanting
to lean into him, to accept this small kindness and let it an sothing.
But I couldn’t. I couldn’t let one gesture erase years of neglect.
"Thank you," I said stiffly, adjusting the jacket around my shoulders. I got Ashley buckled into the car, then slid into the driver’s seat.
Through the windshield, I watched Damien stand in the rain with the umbrella forgotten in his hand. I saw the rain soaking through his expensive shirt. He looked lost sohow, like he didn’t quite know what to do with himself.
For just a mont, I let myself imagine what it would be like if things were different, if he looked at
the way he looked at Tiffany, if he gave
his jacket because he loved , not because it was the polite thing to do.
But that was a fantasy. And I was done living in fantasies.
I started the car and drove away, leaving Damien standing in the rain, watching us go.
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