Chapter 214 Master Pretender
THIRD PERSON’S POV
The pediatric ward slowly became quieter as midnight approached.
Inside Ashley’s ward, Damien sat beside the bed.
Ashley had finally fallen asleep after crying for nearly an hour. Her small face was pale from the fever, and her breathing remained weak. Damien sat stiffly in the chair beside her.
One of his hands rested on the edge of the bed while his wolf remained restless inside him. Even though Ashley’s fever had dropped slightly, his Alpha instincts still refused to calm down completely.
Tiffany stood nearby quietly, watching him.
“Damien,” she said softly, “you should rest too.”
Damien rubbed his forehead tiredly. “I’m fine.”
“You’ve been here all day,” Tiffany continued gently. “Your wolf is exhausted. I can smell it on you.”
Damien didn’t say anything.
Tiffany slowly stepped closer.
“I’ll stay here with Ashley,” she offered. “You can go home for a few hours.”
“No,” Damien shook his head. “I’m staying. You should go. You’ve been here since morning”
Tiffany looked at him for a long moment before sighing softly.
“I can stay”
Damien finally looked at her properly.
There were dark circles beneath Tiffany’s eyes, and her face looked tired from spending the entire day at the hospital. She had stayed beside Ashley for hours despite still recovering herself.
“You should leave,” Damien said “It’s late. Go get some rest”
Tiffany smiled weakly. “You’re finally worried about me?”
“You’ve been here all day”
Tiffany looked at the ground, pretending to feel touched by his concern.
“Okay,” she whispered softly.
Damien stood up and grabbed his coat. He placed it gently over her shoulders.
“Have the driver take you home,” he instructed. “Message me when you arrive.”
Tiffany nodded.
But the moment she walked out of the ward, the softness in her eyes disappeared completely.
She walked toward the elevator. The cold expression on her face slowly returned, along with the jealousy she had been trying to suppress all night.
She couldn’t stop thinking about what she had seen earlier - Zade holding Sophia, Zade kissing Sophia. She could still see the look in his eyes when he thought Sophia might die.
Tiffany’s fingers tightened around Damien’s coat.
“That woman again,” she muttered bitterly under her breath.
Her wolf stirred unhappily inside her. Her wolf felt irritated and threatened.
The elevator doors opened, but Tiffany stopped walking.
Slowly, she turned around. Instead of leaving the hospital, she pulled out her phone.
After staring at the screen for a few seconds, she finally typed a message to Zade.
Tiffany: “Can we meet?”
The message was sent to Zade.
Meanwhile, inside Sophia’s ward, the atmosphere was quiet.
Sophia sat weakly against the bed while Zade adjusted the blanket around her shoulders carefully. The fever had gone down slightly, but her face was still pale, and her body remained weak from exhaustion.
“You shouldn’t have gone to the pediatric ward,” Zade said quietly while pouring hot water into a basin nearby.
Sophia coughed weakly “I needed to see Ashley.”
“You almost collapsed again,”
“I’m her mother.”
“And you’re sick,” he said firmly.
Sophia went silent.
Zade sighed softly when he saw the stubborn look on her face. His wolf could feel her emotions clearly now. From her scent, he could feel everything – her guilt, heartbreak, fear, exhaustion. Every emotion rolled off her so strongly that even his own chest felt heavy because of it.
Without another word, he walked toward the cabinet nearby and took out a clean set of pajamas.
“I asked Patricia to bring these,” he said.
Sophia blinked “You prepared clothes too?”
“You can’t sleep in hospital clothes forever,”
Then, before she could react, he bent down and lifted her into his arms again.
Sophia immediately grabbed his shoulder in surprise. “Zade!”
“You’re too weak to walk,” he said simply.
“I can walk by myself.”
“No, you can’t.”
Sophia stared at him helplessly while he carried her toward the bathroom.
He pushed open the bathroom door with one hand and carried her inside carefully.
“Put me down,” she muttered softly.
Zade finally placed her gently on the closed toilet lid before kneeling slightly in front of her.
“There’s hot water ready,” he said. “You need to freshen up properly.”
Sophia’s face turned red instantly.
“I can do it myself,” she said quickly.
Zade looked at her quietly for a second before chuckling softly.
“I’m not helping you bathe, Sophia,” he said teasingly. “Relax.”
Her face turned red now. She felt even more embarrassed.
“You’re impossible,” she muttered.
“I’ll wait outside,” he said.
He turned around and walked out, closing the door behind him.
Sophia sat there quietly for a few seconds. Her heart kept beating fast
She’d never been cared for like this before, not even by Damien. Especially not by Damien.
After a while, she slowly washed up and changed into the pajamas Zade had prepared.
When she finally opened the bathroom door, Zade was waiting outside.
His eyes softened the moment he saw her.
“You look better,” he said quietly.
Sophia avoided his eyes “I probably still look terrible.”
“You don’t.”
His answer came too quickly, too naturally. Sophia’s heartbeat became uneven again.
Before she could react, Zade stepped closer and gently took the towel from her hands.
“I’ll dry your hair,” he said.
“You don’t have to-”
“I want to.”
He guided her back toward the bed slowly before sitting behind her carefully. Then he began drying her hair gently with the towel.
His movements were slow and careful, as if he was handling something fragile.
Sophia sat there silently while his fingers moved through her damp hair.
No one had ever done this for her before, not once.
The realization made her chest ache.
“You’re too good to me,” she whispered suddenly.
Zade’s movements paused briefly.
“No,” he replied softly. “You’re just not used to being treated properly.”
Sophia lowered her eyes immediately. His words hit harder than she expected.
After drying her hair, Zade disappeared briefly before returning with the basin of hot water.
Sophia blinked in confusion. “What are you doing now?”
“Your feet are freezing,” he replied calmly.
Before she could react, he carefully lifted her legs and placed her feet into the warm water.
Sophia gasped softly from the sudden warmth.
“Zade...”
“Relax,” he murmured.
Then, to her complete shock, he started massaging her feet gently beneath the water.
Sophia froze instantly. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment.
“You really don’t have to do this,” she said quickly.
“But I want to,”
His large hands moved gently against her sore feet, easing the tension from her body little by little. His expression remained completely serious, like this was the most natural thing in the world.
Sophia stared at him silently. She thought about it. A man like Zade.... who was powerful, proud and dominant.... was kneeling in front of her.
Her eyes slowly became wet.
Zade immediately noticed. “What’s wrong?”
Sophia shook her head quickly. “Nothing.”
But it wasn’t nothing. Her heart felt too full. No matter how much she tried to stop herself, Zade was slowly breaking through the walls around her heart.
After a while, Zade finally stood up.
“You should rest now,” he said softly.
Sophia nodded.
But instead of sitting beside her like before, Zade grabbed his coat.
“I need to step out for a while,” he said casually.
Sophia looked up immediately. “At this hour?”
“It’s something quick,” he replied “I’ll be back soon, okay?”
Sophia hesitated for a second before nodding quietly.
“Okay.” She whispered.
Zade looked at her for a long moment before stepping closer and pulling the blanket over her shoulders.
“Sleep,” he murmured.
He kissed her forehead softly. Then he turned and left the ward.
A few minutes later, Zade walked into the quiet hospital garden.
His expression changed the moment he stepped outside. The warmth in his eyes disappeared completely.
Tiffany was already waiting near the fountain.
When she saw him approaching, she smiled.
“You came,” she said gently.
Zade slipped his hands into his pockets casually. “You asked me to.”
Tiffany stepped closer slowly. Her wolf reacted excitedly to his presence.
“I thought you’d refuse,” she admitted.
Zade smirked “Why would I?”
Tiffany’s heartbeat quickened instantly. She looked at him carefully, trying to read his expression.
Meanwhile, Zade’s wolf remained completely calm and calculationg.
Why? Because while Tiffany thought he was finally paying attention to her...
Zade was only pretending.