LOGINIvy's POVIvy heard about Nathaniel from Sophie, who burst into the bridal room with her bouquet crushed in one fist."He's here," Sophie whispered. "With two officers. He asked if he could say something to you before the ceremony. Just for a minute."Ivy's heart jumped. She looked at herself in the mirror, in her white dress with her hair pinned up, and took a deep breath."Let him in."Nathaniel stepped into the room slowly, in a borrowed gray suit that didn't fit well at the shoulders. One officer waited by the door. He looked at Ivy like he was seeing something he'd forgotten existed."You look beautiful," he said hoarsely."Thank you for coming.""You're the reason I'm allowed to." He shifted nervously. "I wanted to say this in person. I'm sorry. For everything. For the lies, and the fear, and what I almost did." His voice shook. "I don't expect you to forgive me."Ivy crossed the room and stood in front of him. She had spent weeks being angry at this man. She had also seen the te
Ivy's POV"You knew," Ivy said.Her father stood in the doorway of his small kitchen, holding a dish towel, his shoulders sagging. He didn't try to deny it."She called me a year ago," Charles Callahan said quietly. "After she saw the first news story about you. She said she wanted to know you were safe. I told her I'd tell you when the time was right.""A year, Dad.""I was afraid.""Of what?""That you'd say no." His eyes were wet. "That you'd hate me for letting her back in. Or that you'd say yes, and she'd hurt you again."Ivy's temper flared, then faded into something sadder. She sank into a kitchen chair."Everyone keeps deciding what I can handle," she said. "The Ashfords. Roman. You. Even Margaret, once. I'm so tired of all this.""I know." Her father sat across from her and put his big, worn hands flat on the table. "I'm sorry. I was wrong. I should have told you. You get to choose."She looked at him for a long time. Then she took a shaky breath."Tell me what happened," she
Roman's POVThe next four minutes were the longest of Roman's life.He stood frozen in the hallway while doctors moved in and out of room twelve. Margaret gripped his arm so tightly it hurt. Ivy stood on his other side, her face pale, her lips moving silently in a prayer he couldn't hear.Then, faint and thin and wonderful, a sound broke through the door.A cry.It was small and scratchy and furious, and it was the best sound Roman had ever heard.Margaret dropped to a chair and sobbed into her hands. Ivy covered her mouth and laughed and cried at once. Roman let out a breath he felt like he'd been holding for an hour.The door opened, and a nurse smiled at them. "He's breathing well now. He needed a little help at first, and we'll keep him in the special care unit for a few days to be safe. But he's a strong little guy."Julian stumbled out, red-eyed and shaking, and walked straight into Roman's arms. Roman hugged his nephew tightly, one hand on the back of his head, the way he used t
Ivy's POVThe hospital hallway was bright and loud with footsteps.Ivy ran beside Roman through the double doors of the maternity wing. Four security guards had already taken positions at both ends of the corridor. A detective stood near the nurses' station, talking into his radio."Edward Whitfield's last known position was three miles from his home," the detective said. "We have units on every road leading here.""Camille?" Roman asked."Room twelve. She's four centimeters dilated, and her doctor says things are moving fast."Julian burst out of the room, pale and sweating, his hands shaking. "She's okay. She's strong. She's furious at me for existing, but she's okay."Ivy grabbed his arm. "Go back in. She needs you.""What if he—""He won't get through." Roman's voice was steady, though Ivy could see the tension in his shoulders. "I swear it, Julian. Go."Julian nodded, swallowed hard, and disappeared back into the room.Ivy and Roman waited in the family lounge. Margaret arrived tw
Chapter 46: Three Months LaterIvy's POVThree months later, Ivy stood in a wedding dress for the first time in her life."Turn around," Margaret said softly.Ivy turned slowly in front of the tall mirror. The dress was simple and soft, ivory silk with thin straps and a skirt that moved like water. She didn't recognize the woman in the glass, glowing and a little nervous and very much in love."Oh," Margaret whispered. She pressed a hand to her chest. "Oh, Ivy.""Is it too much?""It's perfect." Margaret's eyes were shining. "Roman will forget his own name."Ivy laughed. Over the last three months, a lot has changed. Edward Whitfield now wore an ankle monitor and lived under strict house arrest, with a judge's order to stay far away from Camille. Police cars rotated past the Ashford estate every night. Camille and Julian had moved into the house's east wing, where Margaret fussed over Camille like a hen.Sophie and Ivy had opened Callahan & Reed in a small office above a bakery. They a
Ivy's POVLena Hollis sat in Margaret's study with a cup of tea she hadn't touched, her photograph held tightly in her lap."After Danny died, I stopped being able to function," she said quietly. "I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep. The doctors put me in a hospital for almost a year. Edward Whitfield came to visit. He said he'd look after Nathaniel until I got better."Ivy sat across from her, her heart aching."I thought it was kindness," Lena said. "When I came home, Edward told me Nathaniel had been in a car accident. That he hadn't survived." Her voice broke. "He showed me papers. A death certificate. I buried an empty box.""Mrs. Hollis," Roman said gently from the doorway, "we're so sorry.""I thought I would never stop grieving." She looked up, and her eyes were wet. "Then last week, I saw him on the news. He was standing in front of a hockey rink, and he looked so much like Danny that I couldn't breathe."Ivy glanced at Roman. He nodded."We'll help you," she said. "I promise. We







