Chapter 2475
“Alright, since it’s all been settled, let’s not meet again. We wouldn’t want Ivy to get suspicious,” Mara said cautiously, her voice barely more than a whisper across the diner’s booth.
Clara rolled her eyes, her voice dripping with contempt. “Scaredy-cat. What’s she gonna do, huh? You think she’d even dare to step out without her entourage these days? Hah, just you wait. I’ll find the perfect moment. And then, Ivy would better brace herself. Next time, it won’t be a slap in the face but something a lot more… permanent.”
Mara shivered at Clara’s venomous tone, the sinister edge making the hairs on her neck stand on end. “You can’t make a move now. She’s never alone. How do you expect to get away with it? If you can’t keep your impulses in check, I can’t work with you. Period.”
Clara’s head snapped up, indignation flaring in her eyes as she raised her voice. “What? You’re backing out on me?”
Mara winced at the volume, painfully aware of the other patrons glancing their way with thinly veiled annoyance. “Keep it down! Do you want the whole place to hear us? Control yourself. Or have you forgotten why we’re doing this? Look at yourself—you’re a mess! You won’t even get close to Ivy, let alone exact your revenge.”
Clara breathed heavily, her chest heaving with barely controlled rage. “I want revenge, Mara. There’s not a second I don’t crave it. I dream of slashing her pretty little face, making her feel a fraction of my agony.”
Seeing the fire in Clara’s eyes, Mara smirked, satisfied. She needed someone who could be reined in, not an untamed beast liable to snap at any moment.
“Keep a cool head, and trust me, I’ll make Ivy suffer far worse than you could imagine.”
“Really? You’ve got a plan?” Clara clung to Mara’s words like a lifeline, her every thought consumed by the desire to ruin Ivy.
“If I can’t watch Ivy fall from grace, I don’t see the point in going on,” Clara muttered darkly. “We’ll see,” Mara said cryptically.
As soon as Balfour clocked out, he made his way to Ivy’s studio. He knew something was amiss the moment he laid eyes on her. Despite the rift, Tessa was still her mother, and blood ties aren’t so easily severed.
It wasn’t until Ivy’s hand found Balfour’s that she seemed to return to the present. “You heard the news, right?”
“Evadne told me before she contacted you,” Balfour said, gently caressing Ivy’s palm. Nothing would have reached Ivy without his say-so.
Ivy sighed deeply, her soul heavy with weariness. “I’m so tired, Balfour. I don’t know if I should see her. She wasn’t a good mother. So why does it hurt this much?”
Tears welled as Ivy grappled with her emotions, the pain of her upbringing surfacing once more. “Am I a terrible person? Is this some kind of punishment?”
Balfour wrapped his arms around her, his heart aching. The sins of the parents always seem to fall on the children’s shoulders, leaving scars that never truly fade.
“It’s not your fault. None of this is on you. If you want to see her one last time, that’s understandable. Her mistakes are hers alone; she chose a different path.”
If only he could, Balfour wished Ivy could cut ties with all that had come before and start anew with a clean slate.
