SOPHIA’S POV
Lance walked me to my office in silence. When we got inside, he closed the door and gestured to my chair.
"Sit. I’ll get you some water." He said.
I sank into my chair. My legs were suddenly too weak to hold me up. The adrenaline from the confrontation was wearing off, leaving me weak.
Lance returned with a bottle of water.
"I’m sorry," I said. "I’m so sorry you got dragged into that. Into my mess."
"Don’t apologize. I’d do it again."
"But he almost hit you-"
" But he didn’t, because you stopped him." Lance sat on my desk "Sophia, how long have you been dealing with this?”
"Years." I whispered. "But it’s gotten worse lately. Since he... since Tiffany."
"You don’t have to keep enduring this. You know that, right?" His eyes were concerned.
Tears burned behind my eyes. "I just want it to be over. I want to sign the papers and move on with my life and never have to see him again."
"Then do it. Draft the agreement yourself and force him to sign." Lance reached out and took my hand. "But first, let’s get you out of here. You’re in no state to work, and this hospital is clearly not safe for you right now."
"I can’t just leave-"
"You can. You have sick days. Use them." He squeezed my hand. "Come on. Let’s go somewhere quiet, somewhere you can actually breathe."
I wanted to argue, to insist I was fine, to pretend I could handle this on my own.
But I was so tired of pretending.
"Okay," I said quietly. "Let’s go."
Lance drove us to a small café on the outskirts of town.
We sat in a corner booth, away from the few other customers. Lance ordered us both coffee and sandwiches.
"I don’t even know where to start," I said, wrapping my hands around the warm mug.
"Start wherever you need to."
So I did. I told him everything - about coming home to find Damien with Tiffany years ago, about how he’d slowly pushed me out of our marriage, about Ashley learning to hate me, about Tasha moving into my home and lying about me attacking her.
I told him about the castle Ashley and I had built together, now shattered, about my daughter asking to call another woman "Mom”, about being forbidden from my own home.
Lance listened to all of it without interrupting, without judging, without trying to fix anything. He just... listened.
When I finally finished, my coffee was cold and my throat was raw from talking.
"You know none of this is your fault, right?" Lance said quietly. "None of it."
"It feels like it is, like if I’d just been a better wife, a better mother-"
"Stop." He cut me off. "Listen to me very carefully, Sophia. You are an incredible doctor, a brilliant woman, a devoted mother. The problem isn’t you. It’s him."
"But-"
"No buts. Damien chose to have an affair. He chose to bring his mistress into your home. Those were his choices, not yours. You can’t blame yourself for someone else’s cruelty."
The words cracked something open inside me. I started crying, really crying.
Lance moved to sit beside me in the booth, pulling me into his arms and letting me sob against his shoulder. He didn’t tell me to stop, didn’t try to make it better with words. He just held me while I fell apart.
"I’m so tired," I whispered against his shirt. "I’m so tired of fighting and losing."
"Then stop fighting." Lance’s hand stroked my hair gently. "Not because you’re giving up but because you’re choosing yourself. Choose to be happy. Choose to build a life that doesn’t include people who hurt you. Choose to live bravely for yourself, not for their approval."
I pulled back to look at him. "How are you so wise?"
"I’m not wise. I just care about you." His thumb brushed away my tears. "And I hate seeing you in pain."
Before I could say anything, Lance pulled me back into the hug and held me until my tears finally stopped.
DAMIEN’S POV

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