Her Godfather (18+)

Chapter 24

Ivy wrapped her arms tighter around herself as she made her way across the campus courtyard. The air felt colder than usual, or maybe it was just her mood weighing her down. Every face around her blurred into the background. Laughter. Conversations. None of it touched her.

She missed her dad.
She hated that she missed him.

When she chose Matteo, it hadn't been about love, it had been about survival. About refusing to be controlled. Her dad had given her an ultimatum: Him or me. And Ivy never responded well to threats. Especially from the people who were supposed to love her unconditionally.

She blinked hard, pushing away the sting in her eyes.

Then her phone vibrated.

MATTHEW.

Her stomach clenched. Not today. She quickened her pace, ignoring it.
The phone rang again.
She sent it to voicemail.

But before she could reach the gates, a familiar voice called behind her, strained and desperate.
"Ivy! Wait—just wait a damn second!"

Her stomach turned at the sound of his voice.
Not because she was afraid, but because she was done.

She stopped walking, turned around slowly, and waited.

Matthew jogged up to her, breathless like he'd been chasing her for blocks. "You really weren't going to answer me?"

She didn't say anything.

He looked frustrated. Hurt. "We haven't talked in days. You've been avoiding me."

"Because I didn't want to do this," she said calmly.

"Ivy," he started, "I just..what happened? I don't get it. I thought I knew you."

"No," she said. "You thought you deserved me."

That shut him up.

"I kept waiting," he said finally, softer now. "I thought... eventually, when the timing was right, it'd be me. I gave you space. I was patient. I never pushed."

Ivy crossed her arms, chin lifting.

"But you chose him."

She didn't deny it.

"You chose the one person who could blow everything up."

"I did," she said coolly.

He blinked. "Why?"

Ivy smiled, slow and sure. "Because I wanted to."

Matthew's jaw clenched. "That's it? You wanted to?"

"I didn't trip and fall into his arms," she said, stepping closer now, voice calm but sharp. "I wasn't tricked. I wasn't coerced. I saw him. I wanted him. So I made it happen."

He flinched at that. Like the thought physically hurt.

"I waited for the right time," he said tightly. "I respected you."

"No, Matthew. You waited for a version of me that fit your idea of safe." She tilted her head. "But I was never safe."

He stared at her, breathing hard. "You're young. You think it's intense because it's wrong. But that'll fade. He's older, controlling—"

She held up a hand. "Stop."

"Ivy—"

"No. You don't get to paint this like a mistake I'll grow out of," she said firmly. "You don't get to make this about your hurt ego or your idea of what's best for me. You don't get to make any of it about you."

He took a step back like she'd slapped him.

Then his voice dropped. Bitter. "You think he loves you? You think this will last?"

"I don't care if it lasts forever," she said, eyes fierce. "It's mine. I chose it. That's what you never got, Matthew. I don't belong to anyone. Not you. Not even him. I choose where I go. Who I want."

He opened his mouth like he still had more to say—but she didn't let him speak.

"And the worst part?" she said. "It wasn't even that you saw us. It was that you ran to my dad like a coward."

"I was trying to protect you!"

"No," she snapped. "You were trying to punish me for not choosing you."

Silence fell between them. Loud. Sharp.

"I don't regret what I did with Matteo," she said quietly. "But I do regret trusting you."

Matthew looked at her like he'd never seen her before.
Maybe he hadn't.
She turned without waiting for him to respond and walked away.

This time, she knew he wouldn't follow.

Because finally, he understood.
She was never his to wait for.