Chapter 6

With the bond to Damon severed, Ivy started preparing to leave.

She had no family left in Thornfield. Before she could go, she needed to sell her house.

Besides the one her parents had left her, there was also the Bonding House Damon had bought — with both their names on it.

Ivy thought about it and decided to talk to Damon about removing her name at a convenient time, so it wouldn't cause problems when he got mated again later.

She pulled out her phone and sent Damon a message.

The message sat there for most of the day with no reply.

Her time in Thornfield was running out. Not wanting to come all the way back just for this later, Ivy checked Damon's social media to see where he'd been lately, planning to find him in person.

But when she opened his profile, she found she'd been blocked.

Ivy felt a tightness in her chest. She tried reaching Damon through Eleanor, but Eleanor said he hadn't been home since the night he left.

Ivy took a deep breath and messaged Sienna. "I need to talk to Damon about something important. Please tell him to get back to me."

Sienna replied instantly with an address.

It was Thorne Lake House — a property under Damon's name and their private retreat.

Their friends had asked to visit before, but Damon always refused. He said it belonged to only him and Ivy, and nobody else was allowed there.

Now Sienna had been there too.

It wasn't their private retreat anymore.

Ivy forced herself to stop reminiscing and drove to the Lake House.

The place used to be quiet and secluded. Now it was bustling with unfamiliar faces.

Ivy followed the path inside and saw Sienna kneeling beside Damon, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you for inviting my friends here."

Damon started to turn away, but the instant he spotted Ivy, he froze and let it happen.

Ivy watched the kiss land on Damon's face. She suddenly remembered that in this same spot, she'd kissed Damon for the first time — to thank him for decorating everything here to her taste.

That was their first kiss. After that, Damon became addicted. Every time he did something that made Ivy happy, he'd pester her for a kiss.

Every tree and stone in this place had witnessed their sweetness.

And now, it was about to witness the last thread between them being cut.

Ivy stood there silently, waiting until Sienna and Damon separated before stepping forward and handing Damon a document. "You bought our Bonding House. Now that we've split, it should go back to you. Take a look — if you don't want it, I'll buy it from you at market price."

Damon glared at her coldly. The document crumpled slightly in his grip, his knuckles cracking.

After a long silence, he spoke. "Anything else?"

Ivy thought for a moment. "I still have some things here. I'd like to take them all today."

Damon's expression got even darker.

But Sienna gasped, covering her mouth. "Oh! I thought the stuff in that room wasn't needed anymore, so I had it all moved to the storage room. I can show you where it is, if you want?"

Ivy nodded. "Thank you."

Sienna placed her hand on Damon's shoulder to push herself up, but the moment she started to rise, Damon caught her wrist. "I'll go with you."

Sienna blushed and murmured, "So clingy."

Ivy acted like she hadn't seen any of it and walked straight toward the storage room.

Sienna had put her things in the smallest one. The space was cramped — barely enough room for two people.

Damon stood in the doorway, watching coldly as Ivy sorted through the pile, pulling out her belongings.

Sienna bent down, pretending to help, but when she got close to Ivy, she whispered just loud enough for only the two of them to hear. "Coming up with all these excuses to show up in front of Damon — you're really not over him, are you?"

"Fine. Let me help you out."

Before Ivy could react, Sienna "accidentally" bumped into the shelf behind them. The box perched on the very top teetered from the impact and came crashing down toward both of them.

Damon's pupils contracted. He rushed in and yanked Sienna into his arms without hesitation.

The box barely missed Sienna — but slammed into Ivy's shoulder.

She staggered and collapsed face-first onto the floor.

Damon just frowned at her, then scooped up Sienna — who only had a minor scrape — and hurried out to find a car to the hospital.

Ivy was in so much pain she couldn't move. Her consciousness started fading.

Before she blacked out, a strangely relieved thought crossed her mind.

Damon, good thing I don't love you anymore.

Because I don't love you, I don't have to feel heartbroken when you don't hesitate to choose her.

Because I don't love you, I can finally stop putting my hope in you.

Sienna's friends all rushed out with Damon to take her to the hospital.

It wasn't until the next morning that a servant doing the cleaning found Ivy.

The servant didn't know what had happened, but recognized her. She called an ambulance first, then immediately phoned Damon. "Mr. Thorne, Miss Pemberton is seriously hurt. She was unconscious in the storage room all by herself. I've called an ambulance. Would you like to come?"

Damon didn't answer.

Not until Sienna let out a small whimper of pain. Then he snapped back to attention and said coldly, "I already called an ambulance. What do you need me for? She's got nothing to do with me anymore. Not my problem."

The servant didn't dare say more. She apologized and was about to hang up.

Sienna chimed in, "Maybe you should go check on her. After all, she only got hurt because she was there picking up her things..."

That only made Damon's voice icier. "Right. Clean the place up properly. Don't let her or her stuff dirty my space."

Ivy's lips were pale. She said softly, "Okay."

She and her things would disappear from Damon Thorne's world. Completely.

The injury wasn't too serious.

But the servant didn't know who else to call, so she notified Eleanor.

Eleanor was horrified. She rushed over that night to take care of Ivy.

When Ivy woke up, Eleanor was in the hallway on the phone with Damon. "You ungrateful brat! I don't care where you are. If you still want any chance with Ivy, get here now and take care of her! Miss this, and she'll never forgive you."

The hospital room was so quiet that Ivy could clearly hear Damon's scoff through the phone. "Forgive me or not — what does it matter? The Mate Promise is broken. She took all her stuff. She could drop dead and I wouldn't need to show up."

Eleanor was about to scold him more, but Damon had already hung up.

She pushed the door open and saw that Ivy was awake. Her expression turned awkward. "Ivy, about Damon..."

"You know how he is. When he's being stubborn, he says things he doesn't mean. Don't take it to heart."

Ivy shook her head, signaling Eleanor not to say any more.

Damon was right.

They really had nothing to do with each other.

From now on, she would strip Damon Thorne completely out of her life.

Eleanor saw the look on Ivy's face and knew the two of them were truly finished. She felt sorry, but she respected Ivy's decision. In the role of a mother, she began helping Ivy prepare for the new mating arrangement.

One day, Eleanor handed Ivy a detailed list and explained patiently, "These are the Luna's Departure Gifts I've prepared for you. You're going so far away, all alone — you need money and property to stand on. With these, you'll have security."

Ivy was moved and quickly said it was too much.

But Eleanor patted her hand. "If your mother hadn't taken me out of that little village back then, I wouldn't have what I have today. And in the end, it was Damon who wronged you. As his mother, I owe you at least this much."

"Once you're in the Capital, I'll send someone to help you with the transfers..."

Before she could finish, Damon shoved the door open. "Who's going to the Capital?"