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He sits back in his chair. “I would’ve given anything for Widow to fight for Lexi. I was in a similar situation to you and Grizz, and I trusted her to fix up and take care of our daughter. After I left, she just got worse. I came back and took Lexi, and she didn’t even put up a fight. It was like she was glad to see the back of us.”
“I don’t want to leave Ivy,” I say, more tears falling. “It’s not my choice.”
“But it is,” he says, gently placing a finger under my chin and turning me to face him. “You’re a queen, Luna, and you need to straighten that crown and fix up. Prove to Grizz that you’re a good mum. Don’t let one mistake define how this will go. Because if you do, you’re gonna wake up twenty years from now and realise you’ve repeated history. Break the cycle, Luna. Fight for what you want.” He finishes his drink and stands. “I know you’re a good mum cos I saw it with my own eyes. Fight for your daughter so she knows, even if you don’t win, you at least tried.”
I stare into my glass as Lexi fills the vacated seat. “That looked serious,” she says, staring after her dad. “Are you okay?”
I shake my head. “Not really.”
“Me either. Axel is a complete knobhead. What’s Grizz done?”
“Do you hate Widow?” I ask.
The question surprises her and she frowns. “I don’t hate her, but I don’t love her either.”
“Would you change it, your upbringing and past?”
She smiles, shaking her head. “No. Widow never put me first. Dad always did. He left this life for me so he could raise me safely. Widow couldn’t even put down a drink to feed me. But if it hadn’t been for my history, I wouldn’t have made it back to the club and I wouldn’t have found Axel again. So, in some ways, I’m grateful she was my mum, but not for the reasons I should be . . . if that makes sense.”
“Grizz doesn’t want me in Ivy’s life.”
“He said that?”
I shake my head. “Not exactly, but it’s what his end goal is. He doesn’t want me to be left alone with her. He’s giving me a job at The Bar, and when I get back on my feet, he wants me to leave.”
“Without Ivy?”
I nod. “He said I’ll end up like my mum.”
She scoffs. “I didn’t.”
“But you got away. I’ve been in this life so long, I’m not sure how to get out. I tried . . . God knows I tried, but no one wants to employ a prostitute. I have zero experience in anything but lying on my back.”
“That’s not true,” she says. “You’re a businesswoman.” I laugh at her words. “You handle money, you book in clients . . . take those skills and apply it to something else. You make bread, right?” I nod. “Then get a loan and start up a breadmaking business.”
I give a defeated laugh. “That’s way out of my league. Besides, who would offer me a loan?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know, but there must be some scheme out there to help you. I’ll look into it. In the meantime, prove to Grizz that you’re not giving up. That’s what I would’ve wanted my mum to do, to fight for me.”
I head back upstairs, grab a notepad, and begin coming up with ideas. If I can work out some figures, maybe Lex is right—maybe I can follow my dreams and prove Grizz wrong.
I’m so lost in numbers, I don’t notice Grizz standing in my doorway sometime later. I glance up when he clears his throat. Cali is hanging off his arm, and I ignore the ache it causes. She gives me a sympathetic look before telling him she’ll wait in her room for him.
“I shouldn’t have been so harsh back there,” he says, but his face isn’t giving me apology vibes.
“No problem.”
“But even you have to see there’s some truth to it. Ivy needs stability. She needs a parent who’ll put her first.”
I tap the pen on my chin. “How much do you think a food van would be?”
He frowns at my random question. “What?”
“Yah know, a food van, like with an oven and stuff.”
“Why?”
I pick up my phone and tap it into a search engine. “I’m over it,” I mutter, flicking through the pictures of used vans. “And for the record, I gave Ivy stability in the beginning, I just got a little off track.”
