His Abandoned Luna, Her Disabled Alpha

CHAPTER 26

"Your grandma loved the wrong person." Juan's voice said. "What's so special about Ivy? Maybe she was impressive before, but look at her now. She's back where she belongs. An omega with no qualifications trying to compete with you."

Mockery dripped from every word. Gigi watched Ivy closely. She expected some sort of reaction but there was none. No anger or embarrassment. Not a trace of any emotion. As if the one being talked about wasn't her.

"Actually, I don't think Ivy liked grandma as much as Grandma thought." Emma's words cut through the music and made her heart freeze.

Ivy's eyes widened ever so slightly. The first ripple of clarity appeared since the recording started, and after that came disbelief and a wave of anger.

"Ivy rarely saw grandma while she was sick. Never asked mom and dad about her health. She didn't care at all." Emma weighed each word carefully.

"Despite all that, grandma only favoured her but never accepted me. I wanted to tell her what kind of person Ivy truly was so I told her about Ivy pushing me down the stairs and other things. She still just glared at me." Emma's voice became thicker with sorrow. "I know I shouldn't have tried. It made her sicker. Maybe it was my fault, but all I wanted was some love from her before it was too late."

"Shh! Don't say that!" Juan exclaimed. "It wasn't your fault. She was already at the end of her life, and all you wanted was a fair chance with her. Don't be sad. There are countless people who love you. Your mom, dad and brother, and you have us too. Your Grandma was probably tricked by Ivy. After all, the old Luna's influence wasn't to be taken lightly while she was alive. Her blood is filthy. She must have been scared about being thrown out so she roped in your grandma to be a pillar she could learn on. What a schemer!"

"Don't say that about her!" Emma cried out in horror, but then a trace of doubt appeared in her voice. "She....probably didn't, right?"

"I'm telling you, she's -"

"No! Let's not talk about that. Either way, she was my grandma. Even if she hated me, I still loved her. Now that she's not among us anymore, I don't to sully her name like this -"

The recording cut off abruptly, leaving behind a silence that felt heavy. Ivy kept staring at the phone in her hand long after the voices disappeared.

Her fingers tightened around the device until her knuckles turned pale but her expression remained unchanged.

Across the table, Gigi watched her with growing unease. She expected anger, tears, or at least some visible reaction. Instead, Ivy sat there completely still, as if every emotion had been frozen.

The cafe continued around them without interruption. Waiters moved between tables carrying drinks, chairs scrapped against the floor and quiet conversations blended into a constant hum.

Yet, none of it seemed to reach Ivy.

Emma's voice continued to echo inside her head, repeating the same sentence over and over until they drowned out everything else.

"I wanted grandma to see the truth."

"I told her about Ivy pushing me down the stairs."

"She just glared at me everytime."

Within the storm of Emma's voice, an unexpected memory from not long ago, whispered its way towards Ivy.

Ivy's gaze moved ever so slightly as she tried to recall the things Brenda said in a fleeting moment of sorrow.

At that time, Ivy wasn't in the state to be over analyzing things. Grandma was an older woman with constant ailing at her toes. Sudden flare ups weren't new and certainly not uncommon.

Death had been waiting at her doorstep for years. The end was inevitable. That was something everyone was prepared for. Today or tomorrow, it had to be this way.

Yet, none of it felt right after listening to the recording.

Brenda had complained, probably just in a fit of annoyance, about Emma's visits. She'd been a nuisance to the old lady in her last days and her mood was always bad after those visits and for some odd reason, her health would take a turn for the worse right after.

Ivy had brushed it aside last night. She assumed it was Brenda's protectiveness from the position of an old friend. That she too, needed someone else to carry the burden of that empty space her best friend left behind.

However, that wasn't the case at all. The truth held her suspended in the air. Ivy didn't want to connect the dots. It would mean letting go of that one string that held her up from the abyss.

But it was impossible to deny. Emma had admitted it herself. She had made deliberate visits, knowing Ivy wouldn't be around as long as she was there.

She made calculated comments with a clear goal to show discord between her and grandma. If that didn't work, she'd simply rile her up enough to worsen her condition.

Why?

Because Grandma Norma was indeed a pillar Ivy was leaning on. She had stood firmly on Ivy's side.

She challenged decisions and opposed the authority of the Alpha for her sake. She wouldn't openly favour Ivy despite the resentment it caused in the family.

Emma had been miles ahead.

For someone who desperately wanted acceptance and control over her place in the Reed family, Grandma's support to Ivy would have been an obstacle impossible to ignore and even harder to overcome.

Emma was cruel. Ivy had known that for years. She was manipulative, selfish, and willing to cry herself out of any situation. However, Ivy never imagined she would drag an old woman in their conflict.

Grandma Norma was vulnerable during her final days. The possibility of Emma using those visits to deliberately worsen her condition felt so vile that Ivy couldn't breathe around it.

Gigi observed her cautiously. The more the silence stretched, the more worried she became. Finally, she reached across the table and touched her hand.

"Ivy?"