Chapter 10

Damon snapped out of it and immediately booked a flight to Havenridge, then headed for the airport.

On the way, Sienna called and asked, "It's so late — why are you going to the Capital? Who's going with you? Is it Ivy?"

Damon frowned, about to demand how she always knew his every move.

But just before the words came out, he remembered — Sienna had said she felt insecure, had no friends, and needed to be able to find him at all times.

So he'd installed a tracking app on his phone, with the paired app on hers.

On top of that, his bank card transaction alerts were also forwarded to Sienna.

Wave after wave of regret crashed over him.

Damon gripped his phone tight and said coldly, "None of your business."

He hung up, deleted the tracking app from his phone, called to freeze the card linked to Sienna, and switched all transaction notifications back to his own phone.

Once that was done, he switched to a private account and found Ivy's other number in the contacts.

The first time Sienna had said she was unhappy, he and Ivy had gotten into their worst fight ever, and Ivy had blocked him for the first time. After they made up, he'd created dozens of backup accounts to use whenever Ivy blocked him, as a way to get through to her. Ivy, inspired by the idea, had set up a private account of her own.

That account had no contacts except Damon.

They'd once made a pact — if the day ever came when there was a conflict between them that couldn't be resolved, they'd use this account to give each other one last chance to explain and apologize.

Would she forgive him?

Damon wasn't sure, but he still wrote a long message — from their childhood growing up together, to his apology for neglecting her because of Sienna, to finally asking Ivy for her address so he could talk to her in person.

The message sat there for a long time with no reply.

On impulse, Damon tapped into her posts and found entries that read almost like diary pages.

"September 7th. Damon woke up. I'm so happy. The Moon Goddess heard my prayers."

That was the day she'd climbed every step of the Moon Prayer Pilgrimage to pray for his safety.

"September 8th. Damon said a rogue girl saved his life. Her family seems to be in a bad situation. I talked to Damon about giving her a large sum of money, but he seemed kind of angry. I guess I was wrong."

That was the first time Sienna appeared, and Ivy had suggested paying her off.

He'd been irritated, thinking Ivy was being arrogant — trying to settle a Life Debt with money.

"September 14th. Alpha Aldric says Damon has to repay the debt before he can bond with me. Oh well. I said as long as he survived, I'd agree to anything."

"October 16th. Sienna said she'd never seen a house this big and felt really unhappy. Damon asked me to give her the house. Damon, you seem different."

Every entry after that was a record of a time he'd hurt Ivy because of Sienna.

The entries got shorter. The tone got calmer.

Until the most recent one, written at Thorne Lake House, the day after he'd saved Sienna first.

Ivy had written, "Damon, this time I really don't want you anymore."

Damon's throat tightened. A tear dropped onto the screen.

He pressed hard against his chest, feeling the searing pain, and it was only then that he truly understood — Ivy wasn't going to put up with him anymore. She didn't love him anymore. She...

His Ivy didn't want him anymore.

Ivy got off the plane and took a photo, then instinctively switched to her private account to post something.

The first time she'd posted there, she'd hoped Damon would see it, would realize she was unhappy, and come make things right — just once.

Later, she knew Damon would never look, so she turned the account into her own little diary, recording the good and the bad.

But this time, when she switched accounts, a new message notification popped up immediately.

From Damon.

The message was so long she couldn't scroll to the end even after two full swipes.

She didn't have the patience to read it. She deleted Damon from her contacts, posted her photo, and headed out of the airport.

Then she heard a voice — a nice one. "Ivy Pemberton?"

Ivy looked up and recognized him almost instantly.

Rhys Davenport, the only son of the Davenport family in Havenridge. Her Arranged Bond.

For some reason, Ivy suddenly felt nervous. She gripped the hem of her jacket without thinking, then put on a smile and walked toward him.

The moment she reached out to greet him, a thick wool coat settled over her shoulders.

Ivy stared at Rhys, momentarily forgetting how to react.

Rhys looked a little embarrassed under her gaze, thinking he'd been too forward. He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I figured the temperature difference between Havenridge and Thornfield is pretty big. I didn't want you to catch cold. If it makes you uncomfortable, I'll keep that in mind."

On impulse, Ivy caught his hand before he could pull it back, and smiled at him. "No, I just didn't expect it. Thank you."

Rhys curled his fingers slightly and carefully took Ivy's hand, leading her toward the parking lot.

The lights stretched their two shadows long across the ground. Ivy looked down at her hand intertwined with Rhys's, and the corners of her lips curved up without her realizing it.

An Arranged Bond didn't seem as terrifying as she'd imagined.

Rhys opened the car door for her, then walked around to the other side and got in.

The car pulled out of the airport. Rhys glanced at Ivy — she was fighting off sleep, forcing herself to stay awake and make conversation. He spoke up gently. "It's okay. Sleep if you're tired. You don't have to feel awkward about it. I'll get you home safe."

Ivy blushed and said stubbornly, "I'm not tired."

That's what she said, but Rhys was a smooth driver, and she didn't last long before falling asleep.

The car stopped inside the Davenport Estate grounds, but Rhys didn't get out right away. He turned his head and looked at Ivy's peaceful sleeping face, and the love buried deep in his eyes surfaced without him meaning it to.

He texted his family waiting in the living room to go to bed.

Then he got out, carefully lifted Ivy from the car, and carried her to her room. He told the servants to bring her a late-night snack when she woke up and to give her the clothes he'd prepared in advance. Only then did he leave.

In the last second before the door closed, his lips curved slightly. "Goodnight, Ivy."