Chapter 3

The day after she was discharged was Eleanor Thorne's birthday.

Ivy didn't want anything more to do with the Thorne family, but Eleanor begged her repeatedly, even saying the party wasn't worth having without her.

Ivy remembered how Eleanor had always been good to her since she was little. After her parents passed, Eleanor had treated her like her own daughter.

The matter of breaking the Mate Promise did need to be discussed with Damon's parents in person.

Ivy's heart softened, and she agreed.

Eleanor loved big events, so the birthday celebration was grand.

The moment Ivy walked into Thorne Manor, she saw Sienna supporting Damon, who still looked like he was having trouble moving. Sienna's tone was playfully scolding. "Look at you, nearly getting yourself killed just to protect me."

"Ivy's supposed to be your promised mate. She won't be happy about this."

The guests nearby shifted uncomfortably, glancing cautiously at Ivy as she walked in.

Damon saw her too. His first instinct was to pull away from Sienna and go to her, but when he saw Ivy walk past without so much as a glance in his direction, heading straight for a quiet corner, he sat back down and let Sienna cling to him.

Some of their friends couldn't stand it and confronted Damon. "You two are supposed to be getting mated. Aren't you humiliating Ivy right now?"

Damon glanced at Ivy and scoffed. "Getting mated? She's about to dump me. What ceremony?"

That caused a stir.

Even some of the elders came over to ask Ivy what was going on.

"You two haven't been apart since the day you were born. What could make you fight this badly?"

"One of you risked his life to save the other. The other climbed all nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine steps of the Moon Temple Sanctuary, kneeling at every one, just to get a Protection Charm from the Moon Goddess. What could possibly be so bad you can't sit down and talk it out?"

"Seriously, there's no pair of childhood mates in all of Thornfield with a bond stronger than yours. Whatever the misunderstanding is, clear it up!"

Ivy's gaze landed on the Protection Charm hanging around Sienna's neck. She lowered her eyes.

That was the charm Ivy had gotten for Damon after his car accident. She'd knelt her way up all nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine steps to the Moon Temple Sanctuary to pray for the Moon Goddess's blessing.

She couldn't walk properly for three months afterward.

Damon had sworn back then to treasure it always, and to treasure his own life — to never let her down.

Now...

Ivy smiled bitterly to herself.

He'd given his life to Sienna, and the Protection Charm too.

Their past meant less to him than his present with Sienna.

People around her kept trying to convince her, but Ivy spoke quietly. "We didn't fight. We've broken things off. The Bonding Pendant has been returned."

When Eleanor got the news, she rushed over in heels, grabbed Damon by the ear, and told him to go apologize to Ivy.

But Damon just stared at Ivy without blinking and said nothing.

Not wanting to be the center of gossip, Ivy lifted the hem of her dress and went up to the rooftop garden for some air.

Sienna followed her up almost immediately.

Her hand rested on the railing, and the ring on her finger sparkled — the top-grade pink diamond Damon had bought at auction.

Ivy looked away and turned to leave, but Sienna grabbed her wrist.

There was undisguised hostility in her eyes. "Eleanor always taking your side — you must love that, don't you?"

Ivy frowned and tried to shake her off.

Sienna only gripped harder, her smile taunting. "She only sides with you because of your mom. Too bad your parents were cursed to die young. Once they're gone, how long can that loyalty really last?"

"Once I've got Damon, do you think she'll turn against her own son for you?"

Slap.

Ivy's expression went cold. She backhanded Sienna across the face.

She could let everything else slide.

But her dead parents were the one line she'd never let anyone cross.

Sienna curled her lips, clutched her face, and ran crying to Damon, who was standing behind them. "I was just trying to tell Ivy not to be upset with you, but she — she said she doesn't need me butting in, and that you mean nothing to her."

Damon's face darkened instantly. "Ivy. Apologize."

Ivy let out a bitter smirk. He used to protect her like this. Now it was someone else.

She didn't want to cause a scene. She gave the two of them a cool glance and turned to walk away.

But Damon grabbed her wrist so hard it felt like he could crush her bones.

Ivy looked up at him, word by word. "I slapped her because she said my parents were cursed to die young. As for you — she's right. Someone who takes her side without even asking what happened means absolutely nothing to me."

She pried his fingers off one by one and left.

On her way downstairs, Ivy couldn't hold it in. A single tear fell.

Damon had a younger cousin who didn't like Ivy and had once pulled the same trick.

Back then, Damon had believed Ivy without a second thought.

To prove her innocence, he'd even pulled up the security footage so the elders wouldn't misunderstand.

And now, he didn't even bother to ask. He just chose to believe Sienna.

Ivy dug her nails into her palm and forced the tears back.

She went to find Eleanor to say goodbye and leave early, but Eleanor begged her again to stay and talk after the party ended.

Ivy had never been able to say no to Eleanor, who'd always treated her like a real daughter. So she found a quiet spot and sat alone.