Ivy has never stayed away this long.
And her absence is louder than any sound she’s ever made. Which is deeply unfair, considering she was never loud to begin with.
She knows exactly what she’s doing.
And I know with a bone-deep certainty that she’s doing this on purpose.
23
IVY
I know what day it is the moment I wake up.
It settles in my chest before I open my eyes—steady, warm, and deliberate. It’s not nerves, but anticipation. The kind that doesn’t flutter or rush. The kind that already knows impatience would ruin everything.
I take my time getting ready.
There’s no frantic energy. No second-guessing. I move through my morning on autopilot.
In the mirror, I study myself critically—not with insecurity, but with strategy.
What wouldSebastiannotice? Precision. Control. Intention.
I’m all those things—and a ray of sunshine, too.
I bypass the dress hanging in my closet and reach for my jeans—dark, fitted, with clean lines. A black top that skims my waist without trying to impress it. Heels I can walk in, not teeter on.
I choose earrings he’s seen before. Something familiar enough to feel deliberate.
My hair stays down. I put some big curls in it. The kind he pretends not to notice but always does.
The thought comes clean and easy—This isn’t about Aaron.
Aaron is pleasant. Kind. Interested in me.
He doesn’t pretend he doesn’t enjoy being watched, which already puts him in a very different category.
But today isn’t about him. Not romantically, anyway.
Today is about Sebastian.
To remind him what it feels like when I’m not around.
I’m well aware he was watching Aaron and me at the café. Listening to what we said. He knows where I’ll be today.
The thought makes me smile.
I apply my lipstick carefully, pressing my lips together once, then twice. The pink lipstick I always wear. The one I used to draw a heart on Sebastian’s mirror.
I catch my reflection again and feel something like calm settle into place.
If Sebastian comes, he’ll see exactly what I want him to see.
If he doesn’t... I exhale slowly.
Then I’ll learn something.
Either way, I’m ready.
