Chapter 3

[Ivy]

I return to my room to grab my phone when I pause right outside Hunter’s office.

He seems to be talking to someone and probably forgot that the door needs fixing. Unless we lock it from the inside, it keeps peeling itself open.

“My team and I tried to contact you after the recent scans of Mrs. Morgan, but you didn’t seem to respond.”

That voice… doesn’t it belong to the eye specialist Hunter called from abroad for a second opinion?

What is he doing here?

“Yes,” Hunter says, sounding serious. “I have been busy. So, what’s the verdict?”

“Well,” Dr. Keith says, “that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Actually, my team and I have found a way to reverse the effects of the burns on Ivy’s retinas. It took us a while, but we did it.”

I gasp, my feet frozen to the spot.

“Ivy… can be healed?”

“It won’t be easy,” Dr. Keith continues. “The procedure is invasive, and it will take several months for her to recover fully. But yes, we believe there’s a strong chance her vision could be restored.”

The hope that surges through my chest is so intense it almost chokes me.

“I see,” Hunter says, his voice tight. “Well, thank you for letting me know. I will let you know if I decide to proceed.”

Dr. Keith must have sensed the same weirdness in his lack of excitement, because he doesn’t miss a beat before speaking again.

“Mr. Morgan, may I ask what’s making you hesitate?”

Hunter’s response is cold, clipped, and almost instant, as if he doesn’t even need to think.

“I’m not sure this is the right time.”

My knees weaken, and I reach out to steady myself against the wall.

Not the right time? What does he even mean?

“I thought this was what you wanted,” Dr Keith says, a hint of confusion creeping into his tone.

“It was,” Hunter replies. “But things have changed.”

I can barely breathe, barely think. I want to storm in there and demand an answer, but I can’t. I just can’t.

Hunter—the man who promised me the world, who swore to stay by my side no matter what—is hesitating. He has a chance to give me back my sight, and he’s thinking about saying no? Why?

“It’s a life-changing opportunity, Mr. Morgan,” Dr. Keith says. “You might want to reconsider.”

“I will,” Hunter replies coldly. “Thank you for your time.”

I hear the rustling of papers, the sound of a chair being pushed back.

I bolt before he can open the door, before he can see me standing there, my world crumbling around me once again.

But as I hurry to my room, a single thought repeats in my mind like a cruel mantra.

Hunter doesn’t want me to see. He wants to keep me in the dark—literally.

Because if I could see, I would see everything.

Even his infidelity.

And that's the last thing he wants.

--

In the garden, I hear Finn's footsteps behind me before he even announces his presence.

I turn around just in time to feel him standing right in front of me.

Before he can say anything, I beat him to it.

"You knew, didn't you?"

My question doesn't get an instant response. He takes his time—probably to understand what I'm talking about. To decide whether the truth is what I want, or just more comforting words meant to remind me how much I love Hunter, and how no matter what he does, it can't be changed.

But it changed. The moment he cheated on me, it turned into something else.

I hear him swallow. Then sigh.

"I didn't want to keep it from you," he says dejectedly, almost as if someone had slapped him hard enough to remind him of all his past tragedies.

"Then why did you?"

"Because you weren't ready to hear it."

I scoff out a chuckle—not because I find it funny or amusing, but because I don't.

"And what exactly do you mean by that?"

He sighs again, this time a little more frustrated. "It's not like I didn't try," I imagine him throwing his arms up. "But you... you were such a fool in love. No matter how many times I tried to warn you, you just didn't want to listen. Don't you remember how many times we fought over me not liking Hunter? You even accused me of having ulterior motives, for God's sake."

He's right. I did do all those things.I did accuse him of being jealous—though, if I was honest with myself, I couldn’t quite shake the feeling that maybe Finn stayed so close not just out of friendship, but because he might have felt something more for me.

Sadly, I couldn't return his feelings. 

Maybe that's why I ignored him so I wouldn't hurt him. I made it clear, in the best way I could, that nothing could ever happen between us.

But even after all that, Finn stayed by my side like a rock.

He took over his father's job and became my personal driver. He said he was doing it for the money—but I knew. I knew it was his way of silently protecting me.

"You could have just told me that he was cheating on me." I choked out.

 "And you would have believed me?" he asks. "Don't be ridiculous, Ivy. We both know that if I had simply said that out loud, you would have kicked me out the very second. Because that's who you are—once you decide something, you can't be reasoned with."

 He isn't wrong about that either. I do have a habit of trusting my own judgment far more than anyone else's. That's one of the reasons I dove into the leaking car to save Hunter before it exploded. I was too sure—too confident—that I would be able to pull him out before anything happened.

Something did happen. And I paid the ultimate price for it.

I take a deep breath and sink back down onto the nearby bench. Despite being mad, he helps me find my way.

"Fine. Whatever," I mumble. "So tell me—how long has it been going on?"

"Two years," he says without hesitation.

Isn’t that the same time around which we started trying for a baby?

A hollow laugh slips past my lips. "Two years. God... I really have been blind—through and through."

"It's not your fault."

"I know," I say, tightening my fingers around my cane. "But I should have suspected something. Two years isn't a short time, Finn. For some people, it's a lifetime."

I feel him sit down next to me. I feel his warmth. His care.

"Well, fuck him," he grunts. "Now that you know... what's next? What are you going to do?"

"Well, of course, I'm going to—"

Before I can finish, I sense someone else's presence.

Finn must notice it too, because he quickly stands up.

"Ivy!" A familiar girly voice floats toward me. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

"It's—" Finn starts to say.

"Dahlia," we say at the same time. "I know."

Dahlia's arms wrap around me, her sweet, candy-like fragrance hitting me strongly.

"God, I've missed you so much."

I hug her back. "I missed you too. What are you doing here? Did Hunter finally give you a day off?"

Dahlia works as one of Hunter's assistants. She manages his travel details.

"I wish," she says, sounding like she's pouting. "That bastard doesn't know how to be human at work, I swear."

I laugh despite myself. "Then what brought you all the way here? The Morgan residence isn't exactly on the route to the office."

"It's not, of course." She helps me back to the bench, sitting suffocatingly close. "But your birthday's in a few days, and your hopelessly lovesick husband wants you looking your absolute best. He even handed me his exclusive black card." She gasps dramatically. "Do you have any idea how powerful that made me feel? I've never felt this rich in my life."

I smile. "Well then, feel free to buy something for yourself too. I know you've been eyeing that Versace bag for a long time."

"Oh my God, can I really?" she sounds thrilled, before her tone suddenly dips. "Nah. Your husband would kill me. He already pays me three times what he pays the other assistants—just because we're school-time friends."

He does? Why didn't I hear about this before?

But I don't say anything. It doesn't matter anyway. "He sure is generous when it comes to me."

"I know, right?" she says almost dreamily. "Too bad he's taken. Honestly, if you weren't my friend, I would have seduced him a long time ago."

The irony makes me laugh—and for a brief moment, I wonder if she's the one he's cheating on me with.

"Maybe it's not too late."

"What?" she asks, clearly confused.

I shake my head. "Nothing. So—shopping, you say? Want to leave now, or wait for some snacks first?"

"No time to waste." She helps me stand, looping her arm through mine. "Let's hit the mall first. I can't wait to see you try on all those dazzling gowns. Your beauty always leaves me breathless."

Before I head inside to change, I look over my shoulder. "Let's talk when I'm back."