Katrina leaned in, her curiosity plain. “So, what exactly’s the plan? Need me to help?”

“Of course I do. Let’s talk it over properly at dinner.”

Ivy felt nothing but utter disappointment in her family. She’d given up on them completely and had no intention of ever going back. But before she could cut ties for good, she needed to get proof of all the ways Emma had tried to frame her – lay bare that woman’s scheming, malicious side for everyone to see.

Just then, her phone buzzed, snapping her out of her thoughts. She glanced at the screen, her expression turning impatient.

“Who is it?” Katrina asked.

“Micah,” Ivy replied flatly. “Ever since you went to the Windsor estate, he’s found out I’m missing. He’s called a dozen times.”

Katrina snorted, rolling her eyes. “Seriously, what is up with him? He and Emma seem practically glued together these days, and she’s pregnant with his kid. Their wedding date’s already set – so why’s he still hung up on you?”

Ivy couldn’t figure it out either. Maybe that’s just how some men are – never satisfied, always chasing after something new, never really letting go. Pathetic, really.

She was about to silence her phone again when a thought struck her. Changing her mind, she answered.

“Hello?”

“Ivy! Thank God, you finally picked up!” Micah’s voice was frantic, almost incoherent. “I–I’ve called so many times… No one answered, I thought–I thought something had happened to you.”

Ivy kept her tone cool. “What do you want?”

“Where are you, Ivy? Did you really get in a car accident?”

“Who told you that? Was it Emma?”

“No, it was my uncle. My mom wasn’t feeling well, so I brought her to the hospital and ran into him there.”

Really? A cold prickle ran down Ivy’s spine. She worried Jamison might have let something slip, maybe even told them where she was staying. “And what else did your uncle say?”

“He just mentioned you’d been hurt in a car accident, but refused to stay in the hospital.”

“That’s all?”

“That’s it.” Micah sounded puzzled. “Ivy, are you hiding something from us?”

Ivy had no interest in dragging the conversation out. The only reason she’d picked up was to ask Micah for Jamison’s number. Since he’d brought him up, she went with it. “My situation has nothing to do with you. Just send me your uncle’s phone number.”

“Why do you want his number?”

“He helped me out after the accident. I haven’t had the chance to thank him yet.”

“Oh. Well – are you hurt badly? How’s your recovery? Where are you? Let me come see you.”

Now Micah was trying his best to sound loving and sincere, as if he’d forgotten how he’d screamed at Ivy just days ago, after she’d doused him with a fire extinguisher. But Ivy was far from fooled. Her voice stayed icy. “That’s not necessary. Just send me your uncle’s number.”

There was a pause. “Ivy, are you mad at us?” Micah asked, sounding pitiful.

Ivy blinked, baffled. “Mad at you? Why would I be?”

“Because I’m marrying Emma. Because she’s pregnant with my child. You’re angry, so even after the accident, you refuse to come home.”

Seriously? Ivy couldn’t even muster a response – she just rolled her eyes hard, at a loss for words. How could anyone be so self-absorbed, so delusional?

“Micah, you can’t seriously think I’m still in love with you, can you?” she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“You’re not?” he sounded wounded.

“What’s there to love? Your fickleness? Your spinelessness? Or your colossal ego?”

“Ivy, I-” Micah’s voice broke, wounded and angry. “After everything, I still worry about you. When you disappeared, I was so scared, so concerned-”

Ivy couldn’t help but laugh, the sound dry and dismissive. Missing for three days, and only now he notices. And he calls that ‘caring’?

Little did Ivy know: Micah’s daily trips to the Windsor estate weren’t only about Emma.