CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 20
Carter
A boy.
She’s having our son.
I close my eyes and lean back in the chair, the words washing over me.
“I wasn’t trying to shut you out,” she says. “I was just trying to protect what little peace I had left. And maybe… protect myself from hoping for too much again.”
A lump forms in my throat. I can’t move. Can’t even fucking breathe right.
She still feels something. After everything that’s happened between us, she still feels something.
I check my call log to see if maybe I missed a call from her, but I haven’t. Instead, I see an outgoing call to Ivy yesterday, but I never called her. The call lasted two minutes.
“Savannah,” I snap, jaw tight. “We need to talk. Now.”
She looks up from the couch, unbothered, like she didn’t just shatter the only good thing I’ve been trying to rebuild.
“I’m not doing this with you right now, Carter,” she says, casually flipping through her tablet.
“You called Ivy.” I step closer. “What the hell were you thinking?”
She sets the tablet down and folds her arms. “I was thinking she doesn’t get to cry into your voicemail and pretend like she didn’t drag your name through the mud. I was doing you a favor.”
“No,” I say, voice low and sharp. “You were doing yourself a favor—because God forbid someone else gets a piece of me you think you still own.”
Her expression hardens. “I don’t want you, Carter.”
“Then stop acting like it.”
We lock eyes.
“We haven’t been together in years,” I continue, “but you sure as hell don’t want anyone else to have me. You blow up every relationship I try to have and justify it like you’re protecting our daughter, but let’s be honest—this has nothing to do with her and everything to do with you not liking anyone who threatens your control.”
She scoffs. “Control? Please.”
“I told you about Ivy because I respected you. Because I wanted our kids to grow up knowing each other. Because I thought—stupidly—that we could be grown-ups about this.”
“She’s the reason your company almost crumbled.”
“She’s also the reason I remembered what love feels like,” I snap. “And you don’t get to punish her because you’re bitter.”
She stands now, arms crossed, lips tight. “So, what? You’re in love with her?”
I meet her stare without hesitation. “Yes.”
Silence.
“I love Ivy,” I repeat, slower this time. “And I’m going to fix this whether you like it or not. So from now on, stay out of it.”
Savannah is only here because Laura’s nanny, Dani, told her about a ballet competition Laura really wanted her mother to attend. I told her she could stay with us in the mansion so she could be with Laura, but I will put her ass in a hotel if she tries some shit like this again.
One thing Savannah doesn’t understand is that I can live without my company, but I can’t live without Ivy. I won’t.
She opens her mouth, then closes it again. Good. I turn and walk out without another word, because I’ve wasted enough time trying to manage the past. It’s time to fight for my future.
Before I even think about trying to fix things with Ivy, there’s something else I have to do.
We need to do right by her brother. And by every single family our company hurt.
So I schedule a meeting with my father and our legal team. No PR fluff. No spin. Just solutions.
“We’ll settle the lawsuit,” my father says, sitting back in his chair. “Give each family a home valued at five hundred thousand. Free and clear.”
“No, Dad,” I say, voice firm. “Not each family. Each person. Those children are adults now. They deserve their own fresh start.”
He scowls, but nods. “Fine. There’s that new community your mother and I have been looking into. Nice place. Good schools. We’ll use that. They get the deeds, clean titles. But I’m not covering property taxes after the first year.”
“I don’t expect you to,” I reply.
“And then you issue a public apology, Mr. Volcor,” our senior attorney chimes in, tapping his pen on his notepad. “Short, direct, as we discussed.”
“I’ll handle it,” my father nods.
Dad stands and stretches. “If everyone’s done hounding me, I’ve got a pretty lady waiting at home with dinner on the table. Y’all don’t mind, do you?”
Oh, Dad.
He claps me on the shoulder. “I’m heading back home, son. I’ll be back in a few days. We’ll clear up the rest then. You know how your mother gets when I’m late.”
“Alright, old man, tell her I said hi.”
He smirks. “You know, if I’m old, your mother’s old, too. We’re the same age.”
“Yeah,” I grin, “but I think you aged for both of you. You look twice her age.”
He laughs and walks out of the room, shaking his head.
That’s his way of saying; Let’s move on now. And I will once he does his part.
Because I still believe in second chances. I just hope Ivy gives me one, too.
A few days later, legal brings in Jeremy and his attorney first since they initiated the suit. I stay out of the room to keep the energy from going sideways. Last time we crossed paths, it didn’t end well.
But as he’s leaving, Jeremy catches sight of me.
He pauses, then motions me over.
“Hey man,” I say, stepping closer. “I just want to say… I’m truly sorry for what happened to you all those years ago. It was fucked up, and I wish like hell it had gone differently. I know we can’t change the past or give you your leg back, but I hope this helps you stay healthy, build the life you deserve, and take care of the people you love.”
“You’re a good man, Carter,” he says. “Your dad explained everything. I didn’t know you were the guy my sister was all googly-eyed over on vacation.”
I chuckle. “We didn’t plan it.”
“I know.” He nods. “She’s been in a rut. Not herself lately. But if you’re serious about making this right… maybe it’s time she had a reason to smile again.”
He reaches into his pocket and hands me a folded slip of paper.
“What’s this?”
“Vanessa’s number. Ivy’s best friend. If you really want to reach her, that’s your best shot.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You had this written out already?”
“Yeah.” He shrugs. “Vanessa filled me in when the legal team called about the settlement. She’s good people. Fierce. If anyone can talk Ivy down, it’s her.”
I look at the paper. It feels like a key to something I thought I’d already lost.
He claps me on the back. “Hey, man. And what are you doing here? You’re giving us twice what we asked for. I don’t think I could spend this much money in three lifetimes.”
“Maybe save some for your kids?” I offer.
He grins. “Not a bad idea.” Then he leans in, voice low. “I’m going to propose tomorrow. Now that I’m a multimillionaire and all. And we’ve got a new house coming. No more wasting money on rent.”
“Congratulations,” I say, genuinely happy for him. “I’d better get an invite.”
He laughs and turns to leave. But before he does, he pauses—just for a second—and takes a deep breath, like a weight’s finally been lifted from his chest.
I watch him walk away, and I feel it too.
That strange lightness.
I pull out my phone and shoot my dad a quick text: You’re a good man, Dad.
He replies instantly: I’m just a man. But I have a good son.
I stare at that for a long second before dialing the number Jeremy gave me.
Vanessa answers on the second ring.
“Hi, this is Vanessa.”
“Hey. It’s Carter.”
There’s a pause. “I was wondering when you’d call.”
We talk for twenty minutes. About Ivy. About the baby. About everything I should’ve said sooner.
Vanessa’s protective as hell. Sharp. But somewhere along the way, she softens. She even laughs a few times. When I ask her if she’ll help me fix this, she sighs.
“She still loves you, you know.”
My throat tightens. “I know. I just hope it’s not too late.”
“She won’t make it easy,” she says. “But I’ll put in a good word. And I’ll help you come up with a plan.”
“Thank you.”
We hang up, and I just sit there, phone still in my hand, heart pounding with something I haven’t let myself feel in months.
Hope.
Maybe I didn’t lose everything. Maybe I still get to build a future with Ivy after all.
And this time, I won’t let her down. But knowing how stubborn the love of my life is, will she even hear me out?