Chapter 5

　　The next morning, Ivy made her decision; she'd be putting all personal matters on absolute hold. She was shifting her entire focus to her upcoming international piano tour. She'd announced it to her parents so they knew that she had no intention of letting her personal issues drown her.

　　She had her honeymoon trip with Adrian canceled and the funds reallocated. She had the flight itineraries scrapped, and had the press informed that her schedule had been rearranged to accommodate additional performance dates.

　　Victoria watched her with a mixture of pride and worry, she recognized the defense mechanism all too well. Ivy was throwing herself entirely into her work, using the rigorous discipline of a professional musician to numb the wreckage of her personal life.

　　For the next three days, she became a ghost in her own home, she'd been barely eating, she'd only slept when exhaustion forced her eyes shut, she'd completely immersed herself in her work. If she didn't have any free time on her hands, she wouldn't be able to think about her life.

　　On the fourth morning, just days before the tour was set to officially begin, Ivy walked down to her private practice room. She needed to practice, to lose herself in the keys, to let the music drown out the memory of all the events that kept trying o claw their way into her mind.

　　But when she opened the door, she found Adrian sitting on the low windowsill, looking utterly worn down; the confident heir of the Silvercrest Pack was entirely gone. His suit jacket was tossed carelessly over a chair, his tie was loosened, and a dark shadow of stubble lined his jaw. His eyes were bloodshot and heavy with exhaustion; they snapped up the moment the door opened.

　　Ivy froze, and an instinctive wave of defense rolled through her.

　　"How did you get in here?" She asked coldly.

　　"The guards wouldn't let me past the main gates." He said. He stood up slowly, as if assessing whether she would turn and leave. "I've been coming to the Pack house every single day for the past four days, begging to see you but the guards kept turning me away. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't just sit in my house knowing you were a mile away and refusing to look at me. So I tried a different approach. I knew you'd eventually come here."

　　Ivy's gaze drifted past him, finally taking in the state of the room. The air was thick with the sweet fragrance of fresh roses. Dozens of crystal flower vases lined the shelves.

　　"I've had them sent every morning," Adrian murmured. "Replaced daily, just to let you know I was still waiting."

　　But what caught Ivy's attention wasn't the flowers, it was the brand-new piano in the corner of the room. Its polished ebony wood gleamed under the morning sun, and the subtle, hand-carved Ivy vines twisting along the instrument's legs made it clear that it was customized just for her.

　　"Adrian..." She breathed, her chest tightened painfully. She couldn't do it right now.

　　"I know you don't want to see me right now," Adrian said s he stepped closer. He raised his hand in surrender. "I know you're furious, and God knows you have every right to be. But my feelings for you are genuine, Ivy. They have always been genuine. I spent years pursuing you because I love you. I don't want to dissolve our bond. I won't let a single mistake destroy what we've built."

　　"A mistake that lasts five years isn't a mistake, Adrian. It's a parallel life," Ivy said.

　　"I am fixing it," Adrian insisted desperately. "I've already made the arrangements. I am sending Olivia and Noah abroad. I've bought them a secure estate in Europe, they'd be far away from us. They will be taken care of financially, but they will be completely out of our lives. They won't affect the two of us ever again, I swear it to you."

　　Hearing his solution sent a pang of grief through Ivy's heart. It pained her deeply to see him like this, reduced to begging, pulling apart his own blood just to patch over their broken engagement.

　　For a split second, a naive part of her wanted to believe that his idea would make things any better.

　　But reality hardened her as she recalled the image of him holding Olivia in that hospital; how he tensed to her so naturally.

　　"No," she said as she looked directly into his eyes, refusing to be swayed. "Hiding them in another country doesn't change what you did, Adrian. It just makes you a coward who hides his responsibilities. My mind hasn't changed. I remain entirely certain that ending this bond is the right choice."

　　Adrian flinched as the finality in her voice cut through his defense. He opened his mouth to argue, but seeing the look in her eyes, he stopped himself. He swallowed hard, looking down at the floor as he fought to regain his composure.

　　He let out a shaky sigh.

　　"I won't press you today," he said quietly. "But... I came here for another reason, Ivy. I need to ask you for a favor."

　　Ivy kept her guard up. "What is it?"

　　"I need you to come with me to visit Grandma at the Nursing home." He said.

　　The mention of his grandmother made Ivy's breath falter. She'd always been kind too her, even before she and Adrian became a couple. Ivy remembered one winter when she had run away from a grueling pack testing evaluation, freezing and crying near the Silvercrest borders; Adrian's grandmother had found her, wrapped her in a heavy wool shawl, and sat with her by a fire for hours.

　　She had fed her warm tea and assured her that her worth wasn't tied to the strength of a wolf that hadn't even awakened yet. They had shared a profound closeness ever since.

　　"Her health has been failing rapidly over the last few weeks," Adrian continued, and he could hear genuine grief in his voice. "The doctors say her lucid windows are closing. This visit... Ivy, this might be one of the last times she is lucid enough to recognize either of us. She's been asking for you."

　　Ivy fell dead silent. She looked at Adrian, checking for any sign of manipulation, but found only exhaustion.

　　She let out a slow breath. She couldn't turn away from his grandma simply because he'd wronged her.

　　"Fine," she said at last.