He Missed the Funeral... For Her - Chapter 7: Chapter 7

Just then, Carol caught up with us, realizing we'd already talked about the phone call incident.
Taking the initiative, she immediately burst into tears. "Damon, when Ashley called, I couldn't really make out what she was saying. It didn't seem important, so I forgot to mention it."
I took one look at her wide-eyed, innocent expression and smirked. "Couldn't hear her? What are you, deaf?" I'd had enough and decided to call her out right then.
Startled by my outburst, Carol practically melted into Damon's arms, sobbing like her heart was breaking. "I'm so sorry, Damon! This is all my fault for not listening carefully..."
I expected Damon to tear into her—especially since this was about my father's death. But instead, he pulled her close and comforted her. "It's alright, sweetheart. This wasn't on you. Even if we'd known right away, there was nothing we could've done." His calm tone and gentle touch—so different from how he treated me.
Typical. When Carol messed up, he'd bend over backwards to excuse her. But me? I always took the fall.
I flashed back to that hospital incident when we'd both been selected for a research program. Our joint presentation went missing, and Dr. Brown reamed us out.
Damon had immediately jumped in: "My wife should've been more responsible. My apologies, Dr. Brown. Carol's still learning—cut her some slack for a simple mistake."
I'd glared at him. Carol was the last one with that damn PowerPoint! But no—somehow this became my fault, while he white-knighted for her.
"Ashley, apologize to Dr. Brown," he'd ordered.
I'd been livid, tears burning my eyes. She loses our work, and I have to say sorry?
His blatant favoritism crushed me. That night, he'd shown up with a peace offering—some silly cupcake—claiming he just wanted to help the new girl adjust. "Didn't mean to hurt you," he'd said.
Back then, I'd swallowed his excuses. But not this time. No more explanations. No more making nice.