His Abandoned Luna, Her Disabled Alpha

CHAPTER 18

The thing about loneliness is, that you get used to it.

Ivy had convinced herself that she was comfortable in her own company. That she could survive without speaking, or sharing her feelings. She had learnt to keep it to herself, to bury everything in places that couldn't be found within her. And she thought she could go like this forever.

However, loneliness was like an endless rainy day. It felt a discouraging mix of cold and dark. But a little sunshine peeking through the heavy clouds was enough to break that illusion and make a person hope again.

For Ivy, that light was her grandma, Norma.

After the incident with Emma's fall, no one bothered Ivy anymore. She was left alone on the third floor, free to recover and to exist in silence.

It gave Ivy plenty of time to break out of some habits she was forced to adapt at the palace and work on her overall well being. She woke up well rested and ate three timely meals a day.

Aside from focusing on herself, Ivy also made sure to frequently visit her ailing grandma as much as possible.

Grandma Norma's condition had been deteriorating for a long time. When Ivy first arrived at Silver mane, the old lady had pushed herself beyond limits just to prove that she still had life left in her.

But that effort came at a heavy cost. She fell ill soon after and remained bed ridden for week.

Each day, Ivy made her way to the side wing to keep her company. Sometimes for hours, sometimes for an entire day.

As the days went by, Ivy had a lingering feeling that the end was near.

Grandma Norma's condition continued to get worse. Her complexion grew duller, her words became fewer and she ate very little, as if her will to go on had slowly faded.

The image of her lying on the bed, turned away from the sunlight as it cast deep shadows over her, lingered with Ivy everyday.

The rest of the family noticed the subtle changes too. Luna Doris and Luke came by often, Alpha Victor visited whenever he could and surprisingly, the one who visited most frequently was Emma, the one who never got along with Grandma.

Emma would sit with her for hours on a stretch, talking about things she did on that day or something interesting she learnt. On the surface, it seemed as if Emma was trying her best to make up for the time they didn't get along.

Ivy avoided visiting when they did, simply because the atmosphere was too awkward for her to bear. There were countless factors that made it harder for them to communicate.

The first time Ivy was called for dinner, she noticed that her chair was the one usually reserved for guests. She looked past it, only for the entire dinner to pass in stiff silence and awkward glances.

If Ivy hadn't seen the liveliness and they way they got along at meals, she would have assumed the silence was normal.

Ivy knew she wasn't welcomed. It had been made obvious each day since she arrived. Her presence was like an overgrown weed in their carefully curated garden.

Once Ivy realised that she was making it harder for both herself and them, she quietly retreated. She stopped attending forced afternoon teas with Luna Doris and tried not to cross paths with Luke and Emma.

She ate most of her meals alone or with Brenda and Grandma at the side wing.

It causes the rift between her and the Reed family to grow wider with time, as neither side tried hard enough to mend it.

On that particular day, Ivy woke up to a gloomy sky outside her window. The air was cold and dry, accompanied by an overwhelming sense of dread.

Ivy stared at the cloudy sky for a long time. When the first drop of rain hit her window, she got up and started her day.

Luna Doris had gone shopping a few days ago and brought back a drawer full of clothes for Ivy. This time she made sure they covered her arms and legs.

For some reason Ivy's hand reached for the black lace dress. It hung loosely on her frame, falling down to her mid calf. Ivy looked at herself in the floor length mirror and frowned. The ache in her chest kept getting worse.

Just as Ivy was deciding weather to eat breakfast alone in the backyard or join Grandma and Brenda, a soft knock on the door startled her.

"Miss Ivy, are you awake?"

Ivy opened the door to find a maid standing outside. Her eyes were red and swollen, as if she had been crying for a long time.

The maid lifted her head, her lips parted as she said, "Miss Ivy -"

The words on her tongue stopped abruptly when she noticed what Ivy was wearing. Her gaze moved from head to toe, shock settling on her face, before she broke into quiet sobs.

Ivy was dumbfounded. She wanted to comfort her but didn't know how.

"Hey... Don't cry. What happened?" Ivy lifted her hand to pat her back, but the maid's next words made her freeze.

"Miss Ivy... It's Grandma...she...she is not..." The maid burst into louder sobs.

Ivy's expression stiffened. "What?"

"Grandma...she is gone..." The maid said.

"What do you mean she's gone? Where did she go? She's sick, she has to rest." Ivy said blankly, ignoring the intense ache rising from her chest to her throat.

"L-Last night... She passed away last... night." She took a deep breath to calm down and continued. "Brenda went to wake her up this morning but she didn't wake up. The Alpha and Luna are at the side wing, you're the only one left."

Ivy didn't respond. She simply stared at her, waiting for her to take it back. To say it was a sick joke. But the maid only cried harder.

The cold air entered through the open window and brushed past her, taking with it the little bit of strength Ivy had collected in these past few months.

The emotions she had buried deeply, rushed out without mercy. The pain in her heart suddenly became unbearable.