Chapter 658: The Truth They Chose to Hold

The room felt warmer than outside.

Not just because of the fire burning low in the corner or the closed windows that kept the cold from slipping in, but because it was full.

Full of presence.

Full of people who refused to leave.

Sophia sat on the bed, the blanket loosely draped over her legs, her back resting lightly against the headboard as she tried to stay still while Lysander examined her.

He was thorough and careful.

Annoyingly so, if Tobias and Ronan were anything to go by.

"There’s nothing wrong," Lysander said for what felt like the third time, his tone calm but starting to thin slightly. "No internal damage, no lingering strain, nothing that suggests—"

"But are you sure?" Tobias cut in immediately from where he sat beside the bed, leaning forward slightly. "Like, completely sure?"

Lysander didn’t even look at him.

"Yes."

Ronan, who was leaning against the table nearby, folded his arms.

"And there’s no chance she’ll just... collapse again?" he asked, his tone quieter but no less persistent.

Lysander exhaled slowly through his nose.

"No."

Tobias frowned.

"But what if—"

"Nothing is going to happen," Lysander interrupted, finally looking at them both. "She is fine."

There was a brief pause.

Then Tobias opened his mouth again, but Lysander didn’t let him speak.

"For fuck’s sake, shut up, both of you. I know what I’m doing, and I’m telling you she’s perfectly okay," he said.

That did it; they both shut up immediately.

Orion just shook his head lightly at the exchange.

Brynhild sat beside Sophia on the bed, close enough that their shoulders brushed, her presence quiet but steady.

No one moved too far.

No one wanted to.

Tobias had taken the chair closest to Sophia’s bed.

Ronan stood next to Lysander’s table, leaning back against it like he hadn’t fully decided whether to sit or stay standing.

And Orion... well, he had been pushed to the side because, according to Ronan, he had spent enough time with Sophia, so it was time for the rest of them to spend time with her.

Orion hadn’t bothered fighting it; he just stepped aside.

And now, he stood near the window, arms loosely folded, his gaze focused on Sophia.

The room settled into a quiet after the exchange between Ronan, Tobias, and Lysander, who now made his way back to the chair next to the table Ronan was leaning on.

Sophia loosely intertwined her fingers as she looked down at them for a moment.

Then she lifted her gaze.

"I have something to tell you all," she said.

That was enough to pull everyone’s attention fully onto her.

Ronan straightened slightly.

Tobias leaned forward again.

Even Orion’s gaze sharpened from where he stood.

"If it’s about your mother," Ronan said after a second, "we already know."

Sophia just smiled at that. "Orion told me... he told you guys who she is."

Her fingers tightened slightly in her lap.

"...are you okay with it?" she asked after a moment, her voice quieter now.

The question settled heavily in the room.

No one answered immediately.

For a few seconds, there was only silence, and then Tobias spoke up.

"No."

Sophia stilled slightly at that, her gaze shifting to him.

Tobias didn’t look away, though.

"I’m not okay with it," he said again, his voice steady, though not harsh.

A small pause followed before he continued.

"And I don’t mean that the way you think," he added quickly. "I’m not saying that because she’s your mother, you’re somehow responsible for what she did. That’s not what I mean."

Sophia’s fingers curled slightly.

"What I mean is..." Tobias hesitated briefly, then exhaled. "I just wish it wasn’t her."

The room stayed quiet.

"I would’ve preferred if you had someone else," he said more softly. "Someone who actually cared about you. Someone who didn’t..." He stopped, his jaw tightening slightly. "Someone who loved you like a mother should love her child."

Sophia didn’t respond immediately.

Ronan shifted slightly where he stood.

"The boy is quite right about that. I agree with him," he said.

Tobias turned his head sharply.

"I’m not a boy."

Ronan didn’t miss a beat.

"You’re the youngest here," he replied easily. "That makes you a boy. At least to me."

Tobias stared at him.

"You added that last part just so it wouldn’t sound like a lie."

Ronan smiled faintly.

"You’re growing up."

Tobias groaned, leaning back in his chair again. Then he turned to Orion, his gaze narrowed.

"You didn’t react... does that mean I’m really a boy?"

Orion shrugged. "In a way, perhaps?" he said.

Tobias groaned at that just as Sophia let out a small sound.

A quiet, soft chuckle that slipped out before she could stop it.

Lysander rested one hand lightly against the table.

"I agree with the boy too," he said.

Tobias groaned again.

"Please stop calling me that."

But Lysander didn’t even acknowledge him.

His gaze remained on Sophia.

"I understand what it’s like," he said calmly, "to have a parent who doesn’t quite see you the way they should."

Sophia’s eyes softened slightly.

"My situation was different," he continued. "My father didn’t try to harm me. He simply wanted me to become something I was not."

There was no bitterness in his tone.

Just fact.

"But I know what it feels like," he added, "to be shaped into something for someone else’s expectations."

His gaze didn’t waver.

"And because of that, I can say this with certainty," he said quietly, "I don’t like that you were born to someone who treated you the way she did."

Sophia’s breath caught slightly.

"I don’t like that she hurt you," he continued. "And like Tobias said, I’m not okay with that."

The room fell quiet again.

Sophia lowered her gaze slowly, looking down at her hands again.

For a moment, she didn’t speak.

She just sat there, letting the weight of their words settle somewhere deep inside her.

They weren’t angry at her.

They weren’t turning away.

They weren’t blaming her.

Rather, they were hurting for her.

Her throat tightened slightly at the realization.

Her fingers loosened just a little.

Then she lifted her head again.

Her gaze moved from one person to the next.

Tobias.

Ronan. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Lysander.

Brynhild, still beside her, quiet but present.

And Orion, near the window, watching her without interrupting.

Sophia swallowed.

"...thank you," she said softly.