He Missed the Funeral... For Her - Chapter 6: Chapter 6

Stepping out of the elevator from the hospital's underground parking lot, Damon and Carol walked ahead of me, chatting like the perfect couple they pretended to be. Meanwhile, I—his actual wife—trailed behind like an afterthought.
As we passed Damon's office, one of my father's colleagues spotted him and did a double take. "Damon? Where have you been? Your father-in-law passed away, and you didn't even come back."
"What?!" Damon's face went slack with shock.
"Dr. Davis died a few days ago. Such a tragedy. If you'd been here, you might've been able to save him—you were his most promising protégé, after all."
Damon's face drained of color. Before I could slip away, he grabbed my arm, his grip bruising. Carol rushed over too, panic flashing in her eyes.
"Ashley! Why didn't you tell me Warner died?"
I let out a bitter laugh. "Are you sure I didn't?"
My eyes flicked to Carol. Sensing the truth was about to unravel, she forced out a few crocodile tears.
She opened her mouth to speak, but Damon yanked me into a nearby stairwell.
"Warner's dead, and you didn't tell me? You didn't even call me back for the surgery? Gerald just said I could've saved him—" His voice cracked, tears streaming down his face.
A year ago, I might've softened—told him Dad's condition was too far gone, that even Damon's hands couldn't have changed the outcome.
But now? His tears just made me sick.
Still, my own tears fell. Losing Dad had carved a hole in my heart, and having it ripped open again shattered whatever composure I had left.
Damon kept pressing, voice raw. "Ashley, why didn't you tell me? Why?"
I swiped at my cheeks, anger cutting through the grief. "I called you. You didn't pick up."
My voice didn't waver, even as I choked on the words.
Damon stared at me like I'd spoken another language. "That's… impossible."
"Carol answered. Didn't she tell you?" Years of buried hurt and betrayal sharpened my words. My fists clenched, my voice rising. "Or were you too busy to care?"