Chapter 205: Bury The Past

Ivy’s POV

My body moved before my brain did. I shot to my feet so fast my knees almost buckled. My heart skipped, folded, and dropped straight into my stomach.

“Dad?” I said carefully, though my voice was barely there. “What is going on?”

Leo rose right after me, mirroring my stance. I didn’t even have to look at him to feel it…the energy rolling off him changed instantly. Protective. Ready to kill. Dangerous.

“Leo,” my father said, ignoring my question completely. His tone was firm but not cold. “Come with me. Let’s give them some privacy.”

Them?

Leo looked at my father, then at me, then over his shoulder…at the figure standing partially behind the door. The figure I had somehow failed to register because my brain didn’t want to believe it.

My breath stopped.

“Princess,” my father said gently, like he already knew I was seconds away from crumbling. “You’ll be fine. This is… for the best.”

“Dad…what do you mean by that? Why would you agree to this?” I said, feeling betrayed.

“Just…hear him out, baby,” he said with a soft reassuring smile and then motioned again for Leo to follow him.

Leo didn’t move. His eyes stayed glued to me…waiting, asking, promising with his eyes to stay by me if I don’t want him to leave.

I hated this…this sick, shaky feeling inside my chest. But I exhaled slowly and nodded. “It’s fine,” I said, though it felt like I was convincing myself more than him. “I’ll be fine, Leo.”

He searched my face one more time before pressing his lips to my forehead. “I’ll be right outside,” he said, voice low.

And then he walked away. The door closed behind him.

Leaving me alone.

Alone with the man I spent years convincing myself didn’t exist.

My biological father.

He looked… older. Smaller. Like life had beaten him down and left him there. And I guess it had. His shoulders slumped, face hollow, eyes haunted. The years had been cruel.

Good.

For a moment…just a moment…I wanted the satisfaction of that. The man who made me feel unwanted, unloved, invisible. The man who made me wear my sister’s clothes after she rejected them. The man who told me I should be grateful I wasn’t dead yet. The man who called me a curse. A burden.

Now he looked like he could barely hold himself together.

He took one shaky breath, and then…he fell to his knees.

The sound broke something in me. It wasn’t loud. Just soft and raw. Real.

“I. Am. Sorry,” he whispered, dragging each word as though to make me understand how genuine his apology is.

The words seemed to choke him. Tears ran down his face. The same face that once looked at me with disgust and hatred.

“I’m sorry, my child.”

Child.

I blinked slowly. My heartbeat turned sharp.

“Child?” I repeated. “I’m your child now? After all these years? Have you forgotten or do I need to remind you…”

“Aria,” he cried, cutting me off. His voice broke. “Please…”

“My name,” I snapped, “is Ivy. Ivy Blackwood.”

He flinched like I slapped him. “I…I know. I know and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry that we didn’t listen to your muffled cries for help.”

The words started tumbling out of him. “I was blind. I was a fool. I hated you for things that weren’t your fault. I blamed you your whole life. I turned my back on you. Your mother…goddess help me…your mother too. The entire pack! We thought…” his voice cracked, “we thought you killed your little brother, Aria. We believed her without ever giving you the chance to defend yourself. We believed everything she said. And when we learned it was her…when we learned the truth…it was too late.”

My breath caught hearing him say I was innocent. Daniel told me everything when he was narrating how Lila came to lose her hand.

He kept talking. His voice sounded like gravel. “After Lila killed your mother… I broke to pieces. I don’t know what else to do, my child. I’m alone and confused. I’m not asking to be your father again. I don’t deserve that. I came to ask for only one thing...”

He bowed his head, shoulders shaking.

“Forgive me. So I can die in peace.”

A bitter, hysterical laugh escaped me…half anger, half ache. “Die? That’s your grand plan? You show up after destroying my entire childhood and now you want to die? That’s it?”

His head lifted slowly, eyes red.

“What…you don’t want to stick around to carry my kids one day?” I asked, my voice trembling between a cry and a laugh. “Bounce a grandchild on your knee? You have to stick around and watch me be a better parent.”

His eyes widened. “You…you mean…”

I nodded once.

He stared. Stunned. Silent. Broken.

And gods help me…I still had anger in me. But I also had something stronger.

I had peace now.

Maybe it came from being loved by a real father…Richard. Maybe it came from surviving. Maybe it came from choosing myself long before anyone else did.

Fate dealt with him already. Life taught him everything I wanted him to know. So why keep carrying the weight?

I let out a shaky breath. “Has she been laid to rest?” I asked quietly.

He nodded. “By the river. Where she used to pick flowers.”

Silence settled thick between us. Ugly but necessary.

He stood on weak legs. “Now that you’ve forgiven me…I’ll go. A fulfilled man.”

He turned to leave.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“Somewhere I won’t be reminded of my sins…or your mother,” he said without looking back.

“No.” My voice was firm. Surprising even me. “You’re staying.”

He froze. “I can’t.”

“You will,” I said. “Lila is still out there. And she wants us dead. All of us. I won’t have you killed before you fix the damage you caused.”

“If she kills me…it’s what I deserve,” he murmured.

I shook my head. “No. You deserve a second chance. We all do… Well, except Lila. She’s far too gone.”

He looked over his shoulder. “I can’t possibly…”

“I command it,” I cut in, stepping toward him. “You will stay here. In the palace. You will atone…not by hiding, not by dying…but by being a good grandfather. Since being a father didn’t work out too well, I’m giving you a chance to be a better grandfather.”

A cracked laugh escaped him. Sad. But alive.

I took his hands. They were rough. Cold. Human. “I forgive you, Mr Carrington,” I whispered.

His chest caved in as he pulled me into a hug, like he didn’t believe I would let him. He shook with silent sobs.

The door opened again. My father…Richard…walked in.

My biological father turned, eyes wet. “Thank you,” he whispered to Richard. “For being her father. For being both a mother and father to a child her pack and parents failed.”

Richard gave a short nod. No dramatic words, no speeches. Just quiet understanding.

We stood there…three people tied together by pain, fate, and something that might finally be healing.

Then a soft knock cut through the silence.

Uncle Marcus leaned inside. “It’s time, Princess. Your people are waiting.”

I drew in a slow breath. Everything was changing. And there was no turning back now.

I’m finally ready to leave the past behind and move forward with my family.

My family.