Chapter 167: Matchmaker

Ivy’s POV

It’s been a month since Mr Connor, the one who Daniel explained, was once my mate resolved things officially. A whole month since we untangled that cursed bond, spat it out like bitter poison, and rejected each other.

A month of clawing my way back to “normal.” If normal means waking up sweating from half-formed nightmares, flashes of visions that slip through my fingers like smoke, and a monster who always wears the same face…Leo Ashton.

I don’t have all my memories back. Not yet. Just the jagged edges. The shadows. The fear.

But I talk now. I laugh now. I eat actual food instead of nibbling like a squirrel with social anxiety. I have even started going to the office, because apparently my father believes being cooped up indoors will transform me into some cave-dwelling, light-fearing animal. His exact words, not mine.

The condition? Daniel shadows me like a stubborn shadow with biceps. My father swears some “bad man” is after me, showed me a picture and everything. Grim face, dead eyes, aura of death. They said he’s deadly. Dangerous. Untouchable.

Pfft. Please. Nyxara and I could take him out before breakfast with our eyes closed, one paw tied behind our back. My wolf may be an unrepentant rebel…half teenager, half trouble magnet…but she’s mine.

And she’s been sneaking me into night parties and shots of tequila for weeks. Without being detected of course.

We’ve reached a sort of… truce. Coexisting, training, daring each other into worse chaos.

But my current mission isn’t about saving the world. No, it’s about something far more important. Something life-altering. Something my father refuses to take seriously.

Which is why, once again, he groaned as I perched behind him on the couch, kneading his shoulders like an overenthusiastic masseuse.

“For the one hundredth time, Ivy! It doesn’t work like that!”

I dug my thumbs in harder, trying for sweet persuasion. “Just think about it, Dad. Really think about it.”

“Nonsense, princess.” He slumped deeper into the cushions, groaning as though my very existence weighed him down. “I’m old. I’m tired. This is the age where I should be running around with my grandkids on my shoulders. Yet here you are, bothering me for something so… so preposterous.”

I leaned forward, whispering in his ear like I was conspiring with him instead of torturing him. “It will do you good.”

He groaned louder, attempting to shrug me off, but I held firm. “Princess, I am not doing this. I’m not lonely.”

“Yes, you are!” I protested, springing to my feet dramatically, throwing my arms to the heavens. “Dad, this is for your own good. For both of you! She’s lonely. You’re lonely. What could possibly go wrong?”

“You don’t see me complaining!” he snapped, flinging an arm over his eyes. “Besides, I have you. That’s more than enough. So what more could I possibly ask for?”

“A wife,” I shot back, hands on hips.

He sat up halfway, glaring at me like he wanted to sew my lips shut. “Ivy—”

“Rosa,” I interrupted with a wicked grin. “She’s perfect. She’s the best for you. You love her cooking. You love her humor. And don’t even get me started on the way you both vibe together.”

He groaned so loudly it rattled the picture frames. “The problem is that you don’t see the problem! Princess, for the last time, Rosa is not…this is not…just… stop this madness and get ready for work. You have a meeting with Jenkins Holdings, remember?”

I folded my arms, jutting my chin out. “I know. But you should hear me out first.”

“I’ve heard enough!”

“No, you haven’t!” I stomped a foot like the spoiled brat I refused to admit I was. “I need younger siblings. Do you hear me? Younger siblings! Ones I can spoil and ones who’ll pull my hair and stain my clothes with chocolate fingers.”

His jaw nearly unhinged. “Daniel!” he bellowed, voice echoing through the house. “Daniel, come get her out of my sight before I sell her off to the next available bachelor! I swear, since she started talking again, I’ve considered sewing her lips together just for peace!”

I gasped in mock horror, clutching my chest. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Oh, I would.”

“Dad, just admit it.” I winked, leaning close enough to poke his chest. “I saw the way you were looking at Rosa the other day. Don’t play innocent with me. You licked your lips.”

His face turned scarlet. “I most certainly did not…”

“You did. And I know what it means when a man licks his lips while looking at a woman. Uncle Marcus knows too.”

That did it. He shot up like an offended bear, roaring my name, and I shrieked, bolting toward the doorway with him in hot pursuit.

Except fate clearly has a sense of humor, because the moment he lunged forward, he collided with Rosa herself.

“¡Ay Dios mío!” Rosa yelped, stumbling backward.

My father’s reflexes kicked in, and he caught her just before she hit the ground. For a heartbeat, the world froze. His arms around her. Her wide eyes locked on his. And then…because the universe is on my side, I reached for the phone in my pocket and clicked on a slow, romantic classical music at top volume.

They froze. Stared. My father’s jaw twitched. Rosa blinked rapidly, cheeks pink. It was so deliciously awkward I wanted to frame it.

Then his head snapped up, glaring at the ceiling as though God Himself had betrayed him. “Where’s that music coming from?”

I hastily jabbed my phone screen, pausing the track, and stuffed it deep into my pocket. “What music? Are you sure it’s not just… the strings of love?”

Rosa’s lips twitched like she was holding back laughter. My father, on the other hand, looked like he was two seconds from combusting.

“Ivy!” he barked, releasing Rosa so fast she almost toppled again.

“Oops,” I said innocently, clasping my hands behind my back.

He surged toward me, but Rosa stepped in smoothly, resting a hand on his chest. “Señor Richard, we need to talk.”

I gasped dramatically. “Ooooh. You’re in trouble, Mister.”

“God help me, Daniel!” my father thundered again.

Right on cue, Daniel appeared, exasperation etched into his face like he’d been summoned to babysit a hurricane.

“Get her out of here,” Dad ordered, stabbing a finger at me. “Before I lose my sanity!”

Daniel groaned but grabbed my arm, dragging me toward the door while I twisted back to grin at the couple.

“Don’t mind us, lovebirds!” I sang, making heart signs with my hands and blowing exaggerated kisses. “The house is all yours! Do everything I would do and more…no limits!”

My father yelled so loudly it rattled the floorboards. Rosa, however, smirked and called after me in smooth Spanish, “Niña, te haré pagar cuando regreses.” (Girl, you’ll pay when you return.)

I laughed so hard I nearly tripped, even as Daniel hauled me outside like a sack of potatoes.

At the door, I glanced back. They were still there…Rosa with her hands on her hips, my father rubbing his temples like I was both his curse and salvation. And for one moment, my heart twisted.

What if this was real? What if I was just a kid, standing at the doorway, lunchbox in hand, heading off to middle school while my parents waved goodbye from the porch? A mother. A father. A home.

The image clung to me, warm and sharp at the same time. My chest tightened.

I swallowed the ache down, forcing a grin. No matter what, I’d make this happen. I’d get them together. I’d make sure Dad stopped pretending he was content with loneliness.

I swore it to myself right then.

Fate had already stolen enough from me…my memories included.

So I’d make new ones, carved the way I wanted them.

If fate could steal from me, then I’d damn well steal something back.