Chapter 4

By nine o'clock, the welcome banquet was nearly over. I still hadn't shown up.

The guests didn't say anything to the family's faces, but more and more of them were stealing curious looks at Victor's table.

Someone leaned toward a friend and whispered:

"I heard she sat with the Empath for three days straight. That can't all be little stuff."

"Aren't they even a little curious what Ivy gave up?"

The person beside them lowered their voice fast.

"That's the Alpha's private business. Better not ask."

The whispers reached Selena's ears, and she could hardly sit still.

It wasn't that she was worried about me. She just thought the whole night looked terrible.

She had invited all these people from other packs on purpose, so they could see the family whole again.

Now the one person who was supposed to show up was nowhere to be found, and it was making outsiders think the family had something to hide.

"Cut Ivy's part of the program."

Victor finally spoke.

The Elder froze.

"Mr. Victor, there's still a part later where Miss Ivy gives her blessing to Ella."

"I said cut it!"

Victor's voice turned to ice.

"If she's going to ignore what this family arranged for her, we don't need to keep saving face for her."

Ethan picked up the program from the table and tore it in half right in front of everyone.

"I told you. You can't keep giving her whatever she wants."

"She does one thing for her sister, and suddenly she thinks she's somebody?"

"She really thinks finishing one list means everyone has to revolve around her?"

Selena put the moonstone pendant she had brought back into her clutch.

I had picked it out at a jewelry store when I was fifteen.

Back then, Selena had promised to give it to me on the day of my coming-of-age ceremony.

Then Ella came home. Selena was so busy taking care of the daughter she had finally gotten back that she forgot all about it.

"I'm not giving her this."

Selena sounded furious.

"When she learns to respect her elders, maybe I'll think about it."

Arthur closed his gift box too.

"Forget the engagement for now."

"If she's going to make the whole pack wait on her tonight, then she can come to me herself and beg me to keep this going."

Ella's eyes went red with worry.

"Please don't be mad at my sister because of me."

"Maybe she's just scared to face everyone. She just gave away so many feelings all at once. She has to be hurting."

Victor frowned.

"What could she have lost? She's not an idiot. You really think she'd give away anything that mattered?"

"Whatever she shared, it'll grow back in a week."

Ella lowered her head, her voice timid.

"But the Empath said she finished the entire list."

Ethan snorted.

"Feelings aren't like money. Nobody can measure them."

"She's great at making ordinary stuff sound amazing. She probably dressed up a few little moments like they were the love of her life."

"If the Empath bought it, that's their problem."

Arthur nodded in agreement.

"Ivy's not that stupid. She'd never give away anything important."

"A few happy afternoons, maybe. A couple of trips. Kid stuff."

"She won't show her face because she's still sulking. That's all."

Hearing him say that, the last of Selena's unease faded.

Right.

Ivy had always been clever.

At five, she knew to sneak the peas she hated into her napkin when the staff weren't looking.

At ten, she lost her favorite hair clip and secretly bought a knockoff, trying to fool the whole family.

A child that clever would never just hand over feelings that really mattered.

That long list was probably just her padding it out.

What they really wanted was proof that she would sacrifice something for Ella.

As for what she actually gave up, no one had ever truly cared.

The assistant soon came back with an Empath from the Sharing Hall.

She handed Victor a sealed envelope.

"This is the final record of Ms. Ivy's sharing."

"Every feeling on it has been drawn out and passed on. Shared feelings don't grow back. Under Hall rules, none of it can be reversed."

Victor took the envelope. He didn't even break the seal.

"Got it."

The Empath looked at him and checked once more.

"You don't want to look over the list of what she shared first?"

"What for?"

Victor handed the envelope to the assistant beside him.

"It's done. That's all that matters. Our family's business is none of yours."

The Empath didn't push.

Before she left, she only said one thing:

"Mr. Victor, Ms. Ivy will be here in person tonight."

Selena shot up from her chair.

"She's finally coming home?"

Ethan looked like he had seen it coming all along.

"I knew she couldn't keep it up. When she gets here, nobody rush to baby her."

Arthur set the box with last season's dress back on the table.

"First she makes her apology. Properly."

"If she can't even manage the most basic attitude, she doesn't need the dress either."

Victor called back the Elder, who was about to leave.

"Put back the part we cut."

"The second she walks in, put her on stage."

"I want every guest here to hear her say it. How much Ella suffered for her all these years."

When the remaining guests heard I was finally coming, they stopped and stayed.

A dozen minutes later, a car pulled up outside the ballroom.

Selena smoothed her hair at once. She had already decided exactly what she would do.

When Ivy walked in, she would leave her standing there with a cold face for a while.

Once the girl apologized on her own, she would pull her into a hug.

After all, she had raised her for eighteen years.

Teaching her a little lesson was fine. She wasn't going to actually disown her.

Ethan held the dirt bike key tight in his palm.

He had already figured out what he would say.

As long as Ivy called him her brother first, he would give her the key.

And nobody would ever bring up the unpleasant stuff again.

Arthur stood near the entrance, not smiling at all.

He planned to wait until Ivy walked up to him, then tell her he had pushed the wedding back three years.

She had to understand that the test being over didn't mean everything would go back to the way it was.

The ballroom doors slowly opened.

I walked in.

Selena was the first to step toward me.

"Ivy, you finally decided to come home?"

"All these elders have been waiting for you. Don't you have any manners at all?"

Victor sat in the seat of honor and gave the order in a low voice.

"Come here."

"Apologize to Ella first."

Ethan walked up to me and reached for my hand, the way he used to when I was little and crowds scared me.

"Okay, enough with the face."

"Say sorry to Ella, and we're good. I'll still look out for you. I'm your brother."

Arthur came over too. He reached for my chin and leaned in, like he was going to kiss me right there in front of everyone.

"I'll let it slide that you made everyone wait this long."

"Apologize to Ella first. Then our engagement still stands."

I knew every face in front of me. I knew every name.

But nothing in my chest moved.

Ethan's fingers brushed mine. Arthur's breath touched my cheek.

My body moved before I could think.

I took a step back.

For the first time that night, something showed on my face. The kind of discomfort you feel when a stranger stands too close.

"Don't touch me."

Ethan's hand froze in midair.

Arthur stopped where he was, like he'd been slapped.

Behind them, Selena's half-open arms slowly dropped to her sides.

"You're pulling away from us?"