The Truth
Tears had started to pool in Sofia’s eyes again.
Damien opened his mouth to argue, but she raised a hand.
“Rebecca was Sofia’s best friend?” Her voice cracked on the last word.
“You married my best friend,” Sofia said again, slower this time, like she couldn’t even believe it herself. “She knew everything. She knew how much I loved you… how much I wanted you.”
“No!” she snapped, cutting him off. “They took me and kept me locked away for days! Days, Damien! And do you know what they did?”
“They showed you pictures. Videos. They told you if you didn’t back out of the contest for Supreme Alpha, they would kill me. You know what you said?”
Her brows furrowed, confused. “What?”
Damien’s eyes widened, but Sofia continued. “And I didn’t just leave because of that… I had other reasons for leaving,” she said.
“Because I never said that,” Sofia continued, her voice getting stronger. “I never said they told me anything.”
Her voice cracked, and fresh tears spilled down her cheeks.
My brothers and I glanced at each other, stunned. Our eyes widened as the realization settled over us.
“Don’t lie to me!” she screamed. “How long were you sleeping with her?!” she spat at Damien again.
“Don’t,” she said flatly. “Not now.”
“You left me!” he yelled, his voice booming through the room. “You left me, Sofia! Did you forget that?!”
“Because of you, I was kidnapped!” she shouted, her voice shaking with anger.
“She’s not here,” he finally said.
Lennox’s POV
She glanced around the room, suddenly tense. Her eyes darted past each of us like she was searching for something–or someone.
Damien’s frown deepened. “What other reasons?” he spat in pain. “I love you, Sofia… I made sure to show you how much I did.”
Damien looked away.
Damien finally looked up at her, his expression unreadable. “Sofia…”
We walked back into the room and realized Sofia was now conscious.
Sofia looked at us, her eyes full of fear now. “She’s terrified of the dark. And tight spaces. She had panic attacks just locking herself in a bathroom with the lights off. If they put her in one of those basements…”
A heavy silence dropped over the room. Even the healers were frozen, unsure if they should stay or go.
She slowly turned to Damien. “Who told you they were the ones?” she asked softly.
“You never loved me,” he said again, this time his lips trembling. “If you did, you would never have left me.”
“Where’s Rebecca?” she asked coldly. “I want to see her.”
Damien’s head jerked slightly from the impact. He didn’t defend himself. Didn’t even flinch.
Sofia’s breath caught in her throat. Her whole body tensed.
“No,” she whispered, panic rising quickly in her voice. “No, no… she can’t be with them.”
Sofia’s bottom lip trembled. “I–Damien, I never-”
Damien’s voice dropped, more broken now. “And in your letter, you left because I couldn’t give you a child. That I was impotent. You think I don’t remember that.”
Sofia narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean she’s not here?”
Damien frowned. “What do you mean?”
Then her gaze locked on Damien again.
“How are you feeling now?” he asked tenderly, but Sofia frowned at him and slowly forced herself to sit properly on the bed. She met our eyes and flashed us a weak smile before turning back to Damien, who looked tense–and then, unexpectedly, she slapped him hard across the cheek.
She didn’t wait for a reply.
She pointed a shaking finger at Damien. “But now I know the truth. You two were fucking each other behind my back, weren’t you?”
Damien flinched.
Sofia’s hands clenched into fists as she stared down Damien. “How could you marry her?” she spat. “Rebecca was my best friend!”
Sofia blinked, stunned. The rage on her face faltered.
Damien’s expression darkened. He didn’t speak right away. That silence said more than words ever could.
Tears finally spilled from her eyes, running silently down her cheeks.
“What are you talking about?” I asked gently.
“She won’t last a day,” she whispered. “She’ll die.”
But Sofia didn’t respond. Her jaw tightened. Her eyes dropped to the blanket across her lap. And when Damien took a step closer, she turned her face away.
I couldn’t stay quiet anymore. I stepped forward. “Sofia,” I said carefully, “when exactly did we tell you Damien was infertile?”
She looked around the room like she just remembered something. Then her eyes narrowed.
“She used to call you her big brother, remember?” Sofia laughed bitterly. “She used to say you were like family to her. And I believed her. I thought she was loyal. I thought she was a good friend.”
“I saw your results,” she whispered. “I saw them myself in your drawer.”
“No,” Damien finally said, his voice cracking. “It wasn’t-”
“The people who took you…” he started slowly, hesitating, “they might have taken her too. That could be why they let you go.”
Sofia’s lips trembled as tears welled in her eyes.
Sofia looked between us, her confusion turning into disbelief–like a realization was forming in her mind.
Damien’s jaw clenched. His eyes, dark and wet with emotion, locked on hers–and then he snapped.
Damien’s lips parted, but no words came out.
Sofia shook her head, suddenly looking worried. “She can’t survive that, Damien.”
“You disappeared without a word,” Damien continued, rising to his feet. “Just a note. No explanation. Just gone. And I looked for you, Sofia. I turned the world upside down trying to find you. Do you have any idea what that did to me?!”
“You told them to go ahead,” she whispered bitterly. “You said you had already married. You have no feelings for me anymore… You didn’t just move on–you replaced me. With my best friend.”
His fists clenched at his sides. “You believed I wasn’t enough–and you left.”
“Where is Rebecca?” she demanded. “Where is that bitch?!”
Then she looked down, her brows still drawn in as she thought.
The healers gasped, while my brothers and I just stood silently… watching.
“I’m not ready to talk about it,” she muttered, her voice low but sharp. “There were reasons I left, Damien. Things you wouldn’t understand.”
“You told him we were the ones who said it,” I said, pointing to myself and my brothers. “He blamed us. Accused us of betraying him.”
We all froze.