Rejected and Claimed by her Alpha Triplets Chapter 129 - after everything

129

~ Damon’s POV

They didn’t reply. Rowan just smirked, and Kael leaned over to whisper sothing to Belinda, making her giggle again.

I turned and walked out before my rage consud completely.

I walked back to Lisa’s room slowly. My chest felt heavy, like sothing was pressing down. I wanted to talk to her again. I wanted her to look at , even if it was with anger. But when I got to her door, I froze. I couldn’t bring myself to knock, not after how she had yelled at earlier.

So instead, I leaned against the wall and slid down, sitting on the cold floor. My back pressed against the wood of her door. I knew she was in there. I could feel her presence.

I let out a shaky breath and spoke in a low voice.

"Lisa... I know you don’t want to hear right now," I whispered, almost ashad. "I know you probably hate . Maybe you should. Maybe I deserve it. But I just want to say sothing... sothing I should have said long ago."

Silence.

I rested my head back against the door.

"I don’t want to hurt you anymore. I don’t want to fight you. I don’t want to force myself into your space. I just... I just want to be your friend."

My throat tightened as the words slipped out.

"Not just a friend. Not just your mate. Your best friend, if you’d let ."

I gave a small, bitter laugh at myself. "I know how stupid that sounds, after everything. After the way we treated you. But that’s the truth. That’s what I want."

I waited. I thought maybe I’d hear movent, or her voice, or even her angry words telling to shut up. But there was nothing.

Still, I kept talking.

"Lisa, do you know what shocked the most about you? It’s not your looks. It’s not the way you talk. It’s not even the way you fight us when you’re angry. It’s... It’s the way you don’t break. You’re not irritable. You’re not bitter, even when you should be. You don’t snap at us the way we’ve snapped at you. You’re not violent, even though you’ve had every reason to be."

I rubbed my hands over my face, my voice rough.

"That’s what kills . You’re stronger than us. Stronger than . Stronger than Kael and Rowan. Stronger than the monsters we’ve beco."

I swallowed hard, my voice trembling.

"Do you know why we’re like this? Why do we act like monsters?"

My breath shook.

"It started long before you ca. Long before any of this. It started with him. Our father."

The word tasted like poison in my mouth.

"He tortured us, Lisa. From the ti we were babies. We weren’t his children. We were his tools. His experints. His punching bags. We didn’t get hugs, or warmth, or love. We got pain. Every single day. And when we cried, he laughed. When we bled, he told us we were weak. When we tried to comfort each other, he tore us apart. So we grew hard. We grew cruel. Because that’s all we knew."

My eyes stung, but I forced myself to keep talking.

"I didn’t even know what kindness looked like until you showed up. And you..." My voice cracked. "You confused the hell out of . You should have been broken. You should have begged. You should have cursed us and clawed at us. But you didn’t. You stood tall. You were quiet when we expected screams. You were calm when we expected fury. And sohow, you still look at the world like it’s not all bad. That... that ssed with my head."

I exhaled deeply, pressing my palm against the door.

"You made reflect, Lisa. On myself. On Kael. On Rowan. On the way we’ve lived. On the way we’ve treated you. You made realize that we’re not just victims of our father anymore. We’ve beco him. We beca monsters. And that... that disgusts ."

I laughed bitterly under my breath.

"You know, I always thought there was no way out. That this was who I was. Who we were. But then I look at you, and I see sothing else. I see soone who’s been through hell, but hasn’t let it turn her into a monster. You don’t even realize how strong that makes you."

I leaned my head against the door, my eyes shut.

"Lisa... I don’t want to be my father anymore. I don’t want to be that monster. I want to change. I don’t know if I can. I don’t know if it’s even possible for . But if I try, it’s because of you."

I let the silence stretch again, my chest rising and falling heavily.

"I don’t expect you to forgive . I don’t expect you to like . I just... I just want you to know the truth. That I don’t see you as weak. I see you as the strongest person I’ve ever t. And I want..." my voice broke, and I clenched my fists. "I want to be near that strength. Even if it’s only as your friend. Even if it’s only outside your door, talking to myself like an idiot."

I laughed quietly, shaking my head.

"I don’t know if you can hear . Maybe you’re ignoring . Maybe you’re asleep. But I’ll stay here. Just for a while."

I closed my eyes and leaned back, listening to the silence from the other side of the door, hoping for any sound, any sign that she heard .

Her door creaked open slowly. I froze, my back still leaning against the wall.

Lisa stood there, her hair ssy, her eyes swollen and red. She looked so small... so tired. My chest tightened seeing her like that.

"Co inside," she whispered, her voice shaky.

For a second, I thought I misheard her. I blinked. "Lisa..."

"I said Co inside," she repeated, moving aside a little.

I stood, nervous, and stepped into her room. It slled faintly of lavender, though the air felt heavy from all the crying she must have done. She shut the door softly, not looking at .

"Lisa..." I said again, but stopped when she turned her back, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Why are you here?" she asked in a low tone.

I swallowed. "Because I can’t stay away from you."

Her shoulders stiffened. "You should. You and your brothers should all stay away from . You’ve all done enough damage."

"I know," I whispered. My throat hurt. "I know, Lisa. I’ve been horrible. We’ve all been horrible. But I don’t want to be like that anymore. Not with you."

She turned halfway, her eyes eting mine for a second. They were so red, so full of pain. "Why?" she asked bitterly. "Why now? After everything?"