Chapter 2448


    Chapter 2448


    Balfour silently watched Ivy, his eyes full of understanding, a clear sign that he knew everything that


    had unfolded.


    Ivy, with a pang of anguish, closed her eyes, her voice choked with sobs. “Please don’t look at me like


    that.”


    Blind to thepassion in Balfour’s gaze, she felt his gentle touch on her forehead, his hands warm


    and reassuring as they rested there.


    He was silently offering her strength.


    “Do you think I’m pitiable?” she asked.


    “None of this is your fault,” he replied.


    “Yeah, I know it’s not my fault. But after living in that kind of environment for over twenty years,


    sometimes I can’t even tell who’s to me anymore. My mom… she just wanted to get along better


    with her foster daughter. But she forgot about me. She always tried so hard to please ra, forgetting


    that she had another daughter who needed her care. I’m her flesh and blood for heaven’s sake!


    Couldn’t she spare a little concern for me?”


    Ivy’s eyes snapped open, tears streaming down her cheeks as she searched Balfour’s face for some


    Còntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    kind of answer.


    “Why wouldn’t she turn around and look at me, her own daughter? We share the same blood. They


    chose to bring me into this world. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be here. Yet, it’s my own mother who


    gave up on me first!”


    Balfour’s voice was hoarse with emotion. “If there were a test to take before bing a parent, Tessa


    and Finn would certainly not pass.”


    “Exactly. If there was such a test, maybe I wouldn’t have had toe into this world only to suffer.”


    Ivy turned away, unwilling to delve further into a conversation that reopened old wounds.


    Even with Balfour, she didn’t want to expose the pain she had endured. Some things were just too


    embarrassing to voice.


    Balfour was surprised that Ivy had brought up this subject. He didn’t want to pry into her painful


    memories. While listening to Ivy’s past was manageable for him, he understood it was a raw, lived


    experience for her.


    Meanwhile, Balfour felt the need to find her a therapist – someone Ivy could trust ‘implicitly, who could


    help her walk away from her past pain.


    But the right therapist wasn’t easy to find. He didn’t want those who were too caught up in fame and


    fortune.


    Wy was in a fragile state, and a careless word could deepen her emotional scars. Balfour needed to


    choose wisely.


    Only after by fell back into a deep sleep did Balfour carefully withdraw his hand and take a seat in the


    hospitalidor


    He hadn’t expected to see a message from Mara.


    (Balfour, can youe by? There’s something I need to talk to you about]


    Balfour frowned. Theirst conversation had been far from pleasant, and he had no desire to see Mara


    again.


    Mara’s repeated actions had hurt by and crossed Balfours boundaries.


    If Mera wouldn’t change her ways, he might have to consider sending her back home.


    Perhaps, as Alyssa had suggested, they didn’t need much emotional engagement. They needed to


    maintain a distance. He would ensure Mara was taken care of for the rest of her life, fulfilling the


    promise he had made to her family.


    Still, Balfour agreed to Mara’s request. She was still in the hospital, not yet discharged and he couldn’t


    hold a grudge against a patient.


    No sooner had Balfour replied to Mara’s message than she called him.


    He picked up but didn’t immediately speak. Instead, it was Mare who asked uncertainly from the other


    end. ‘Is that you, Balfour?”