And Winn felt his chest tighten with the promise of violence for whoever caused it.

Without another word, he reached for the duvet and gently pulled it over her body, tucking her. She swallowed hard, her lashes wet, her breath uneven.

"Please, Winn. I need to forget." She begged.

"I’m not going to hurt you, honey. I would never." Winn said softly. He touched her cheek with the backs of his fingers. "If I ask you what you need to forget, will you tell me?"

He already knew the answer, but he needed to hear her say it. Needed her to acknowledge the wall she’d built between them.

Ivy shook her head.

One small movement. One violent message.

Her gaze slid away from him.

"I thought so." Winn said with a frustrated, hollow sigh. "Get some sleep, love."

He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

He picked up his phone from the nightstand and walked out of the room. But the moment he stepped into the hallway, the illusion of strength crumbled.

He leaned against the wall—his back sliding down until he was sitting on the cold floor, long legs stretched out, shoulders slumped.

He stayed there, because leaving felt wrong. She was behind that door, hurting. He needed to be close enough to catch her if she fell again. Close enough to hear even the slightest tremor in her breath.

And then—from nowhere—the dam broke.

Winn cried.

Tears slid down his cheeks. He covered his mouth with the back of his hand to muffle the sound.

Cried at the state of her.

Cried at his own helplessness.

Cried because the woman he loved—his Ivy—was hurting in ways she wouldn’t show him, wouldn’t tell him, wouldn’t let him fix.

Something had gone horribly wrong with his Ivy, something broken so deep he didn’t know how to reach it.

How could he mend something when she kept hiding the pieces? How could he protect her when he didn’t know who—or what—he was fighting?

So he cried instead. Quietly. Bitterly. He was a man who had everything but none of it mattered when the one person he wanted to save was slipping through his fingers.

How can a man have everything and still be helpless?

What was the point of having everything?

He unlocked his phone with shaking fingers, wiping at the tears on his jaw with the heel of his hand.

He typed a short message to his sister.

’Come home, Sis. I need you.’

He stared at the screen after sending it, wiping at the lingering tears.

It was time to give Sharona everything she wanted so she would free him of these invisible chains immediately. He didn’t want to wait for the courts anymore. He needed to concentrate on Ivy. His life had narrowed into a single priority—her.

Everything else was noise. And if Sharona needed the entire Orchard wealth, then that he would give her, as long as she would give him his freedom.

He rubbed his tired face with both hands. He wasn’t doing this because he was weak. He was doing this because Ivy was broken and he couldn’t breathe watching it. Sharona could have everything. Just not one more second of his life.

*****

The next morning, it wasn’t just Ivy’s bodyguard who arrived at Orchard Estate, in tow was a livid Sam.

Winn hadn’t slept. His eyes were red. He was making breakfast when a hard knock came at the door.

When Winn opened it and found Sam Everest standing there with his cane in one hand, eyes blazing, Winn knew he was in for it.

"Mr. Everest!" Winn swallowed. "Good morning."

"Where is my granddaughter?" Sam demanded.

"She is upstairs," Winn said carefully. "I think she is still asleep."

Sam’s nostrils flared. "What gave you the right?! Uhn?" He stepped forward, cane thumping. "You come into my home—disrespect me, disrespect my family—then you elope with my granddaughter in nothing but her night dress?"

Sam raised his cane for emphasis.

"I’m sorry, Mr. Everest. I just needed to talk to her." Winn tried to explain, hands half-raised.

Sam wasn’t having it. The man straightened his spine.

"I have half the mind to have you locked up for trespassing and kidnap!!!"

"Sir, I informed Evans," Winn said quickly.

"Evans doesn’t live in my house! He has his own house." His cane slammed against the marble. "You want to kidnap someone, go to his house and do that shit—not mine. Now get me my granddaughter."

"Y-yes sir!" Winn spun. He took three steps... then stopped.

No. He couldn’t leave things this way. If he didn’t try to fix this now, Sam Everest would hate him for life. If Winn wanted Ivy, he needed this man to at least tolerate his airspace.

He turned back around slowly.

Sam’s eyebrow rose dangerously. "Are you deaf?"

Winn swallowed hard. "Sir... I apologise if I overstepped and disrespected you. I just... I’m sorry. Yes, I am crazy. I am crazy about Ivy and I... I didn’t think. I just acted. I love your granddaughter. And I cannot promise that I will not annoy you endlessly in the process of getting her back."

Sam’s eyes narrowed into tiny judgmental slits. Winn felt himself shrink.

"A good man will respect a woman’s wishes. You really love her? Then let her make her own decisions. Do not cloud her judgement."

"And yet, if I don’t, I lose her." Winn said. "And... I... I cannot. So yes, I will come to your house as often as I can. I will sneak her out. I will throw stones at her bedroom window."

He exhaled. "And you would probably hit me with your cane a couple of times, throw me in jail more times than that."

He shook his head, determined. "I will do the same thing over and over again until she sees me again."

The foyer fell silent.

Sam Everest studied him. He was measuring whether he should crush Winn or tolerate him.