Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ivy
The day Oats & Flowers prepared to expand and officially start renovations, I also submitted my application to register my own restaurant management company with New York State.
When the confirmation email appeared in my inbox, I stared at the company name and filing information on the screen for a long time before finally exhaling slowly.
From today on, I truly owned a business of my own. No matter what happened going forward, I could protect myself—and my child.
"Ivy! Come look at the new brand VI I designed for you! I swear, no bakery in all of Manhattan has a logo cooler than this!"
Penny burst through the office door and slapped several design sheets down in front of me.
At the center of the canvas was a little fox holding a whisk.
Penny had redrawn it using an incredibly sophisticated low-saturation oat color and forest green.
The lines were smoother, more refined. The fox's eyes carried a lazy confidence unique to Brooklyn—a life force that refused to bow to fate.
"It really is better, Penny." I leaned back in my chair and smiled genuinely.
"Not just the logo," Lucas said, walking in with a thick stack of hand-drawn architectural blueprints. He hung his coat on the rack, then patiently spread the drawings across the table one by one, his slender fingers moving over the cold chain reorganization plan and kitchen workflow designs.
"This is our flagship store space upgrade design.
I'm planning to turn that annoying load-bearing wall in the middle into a semi-open vintage brass archway.
Fully transparent visible kitchen, front hall keeps your favorite natural wood feel, plus I'll custom-build you an entire vintage brick wall for hanging dried flowers and oat stalks. What do you think?"
"This is absolutely fantastic!" I praised sincerely. I pictured it—warm yellow light spilling through the brass archway onto wooden floors, the air filled with the scent of fresh-baked bread mixed with the faint herbal fragrance of dried flowers.
"I second that!" Penny clapped Lucas on the shoulder excitedly, eyes bright. "This design is killer! I can already see customers lining up to take pictures."
Sunlight poured through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the entire room in warmth. Looking at these two dear friends who'd given their all for me, something soft stirred deep in my chest.
A pair of hands suddenly landed on my shoulders. "Not bad. Want me to get a team to make it happen?" Damian asked gently.
I thought about it. "Sure, but I'm planning to get bids from several companies. Shop around to find the contractor that best fits our brand identity."
"Sounds like my people will have some competition." Damian smiled, his words carrying a rare lightness and playfulness.
"Mr. Wentworth actually gets nervous?" Penny raised an eyebrow.
"Of course. After all, we're dealing with America's future Baking Queen." He pulled out a chair and sat down beside us.
My cheeks warmed as I tugged his sleeve. "Stop it!"
"Hey! I agree with that!" Penny immediately threw up her hands in an exaggerated cheer. She reached into a nearby cabinet and pulled out a bottle of champagne she'd been saving, along with some glasses. Then, thinking better of it, she swapped mine for a cup of warm oat milk.
"To our future Baking Queen—cheers!"
The cork shot out, tracing a joyful arc through the air.
"Cheers!" Several hands clinked together, the crisp sound of glass ringing through the air.
In that moment, the exhaustion from the past few days seemed to evaporate completely.
"Ivy, you're a real boss now." Penny swirled the champagne in her glass, voice full of undisguised pride. "Another financial consortium came to us today for a tea break order—what other ventures should we expand into?"
"Come on, Penny, I've done the math." I pointed at the ledger, smiling ruefully. "I'm a boss who just secured funding and is drowning in debt. Going forward, I'm planning to expand into Manhattan."
"That's fine. Healthy early-stage debt often means greater capital expansion." Lucas clinked glasses with me, then glanced at Damian, who nodded approvingly.
Throughout our discussion, he didn't interrupt once. Just watched me quietly.
His gaze gave me an inexplicable sense of security. I knew that now he finally saw me—saw my abilities and ambitions.
"Manhattan's just the first step." I took a sip of warm oat milk, my gaze moving past the rising steam to the bustling street scene outside. "I want to make Oats & Flowers a New York landmark."
"I believe in you." Damian's voice was low and certain.
In that instant—Brooklyn's bustling streets outside the window, friends' laughter beside me, and behind me... him. My heart had never felt this peaceful.
A month later, the restaurant's development was on track.
A sudden, sharp pain ripped me from sleep at three in the morning.
"Damian, I think... I'm going into labor." Cold sweat had soaked through my pajamas. I barely had the strength to touch Damian beside me, only managed to whisper.
Damian's eyes snapped open the second I spoke. He practically launched himself out of bed, moving so fast he created a breeze.
He dressed quickly and grabbed the hospital bag we'd prepared. Then, hands trembling but gentle, he wrapped a coat around me. "Don't be scared, Ivy. I'm here." His voice was tight but trying to stay calm as he gripped my hand firmly.
When the cold gurney wheels screeched down the hospital corridor, I was already drenched in sweat, vision blurred with pain. The only thing I could feel was the large, warm palm holding my right hand.
After twelve exhausting hours in the delivery room of tearing and struggle, a clear, loud cry finally let me relax completely, though I no longer had the strength even to lift my eyelids.
"Congratulations, Mrs. Wentworth. It's a healthy girl."
When the nurse carefully placed that wrinkly little thing on my chest, I still forced my eyes open, gazing with wonder at this life I'd created.
I was shocked to discover that this newborn already had a layer of fine, soft dark brown baby hair covering her forehead—impossibly thick, exactly like Damian. And when she seemed to sense her mother's warmth and struggled to crack open those bright eyes—
Those clean hazel-green eyes looked exactly like mine in the mirror.
"My daughter..." Perhaps from emotion, tears suddenly fell.
The heavy iron doors of the delivery room slowly opened. I lay on the moving bed as they wheeled me back into the corridor.
The first second I came out, I turned my head slightly and immediately saw Damian.
He was leaning against the cold corridor wall, hair sticking up messily, still wearing last night's clothes, eyes bloodshot.
The moment he saw me wheeled out, he practically stumbled over, voice shaking, unable to finish a complete sentence. "Ivy... are you—are you okay?"
He carefully avoided the tubes attached to me, fingers hovering in mid-air for a long time before gently touching my forehead. I could feel his fingertips were covered in sweat.
Seeing him this disheveled made me laugh. My voice was still hoarse from delivery. "I'm fine. Look, our daughter—isn't she beautiful?"
The nurse smiled and held up the little bundle wrapped in a pink and white blanket. Damian froze completely, not daring to reach out for a long time. Finally, with the nurse's guidance, he carefully supported the edge of the blanket, his expression impossibly soft.
"Yeah, like you," he looked up at me, eyes glistening with tears but corners of his mouth curved in a wide smile. "Like my Ivy. But you're more beautiful."
He lowered his head deeply and gently touched his nose to our daughter's wrinkled little face. Then, carefully, he laid her back in the crook of my neck.
He reached out and softly stroked my sweat-drenched forehead, tenderly brushing the few strands of blonde hair stuck to my cheeks behind my ears.
"You worked so hard, Ivy... Really, so hard. I love you."
I looked at him, looked at the depth of feeling in his eyes—love that nearly drowned me.
"Sir, please step aside. We need to take Mrs. Wentworth and the baby back to the room to rest."
Damian snapped out of his trance and released my hand, reluctantly stepping aside. "Right, let's get to the room and rest."
Damian had reserved the VIP suite on the top floor with the best view two months ago.
"Oh my God, let me see our little angel! That brown curly hair—exactly like Damian!"
Shortly after we arrived, the door opened again. Penny and Lucas walked in carrying a huge bouquet of fresh daisies wrapped in kraft paper and several bags of gifts.
Right behind them was Damian's aunt Eleanor, dressed as elegantly as always, but her eyes reddened the moment she entered. She gently patted my arm.
"Child, thank you. You worked so hard."
I smiled and shook my head. During those cold, dark nights, Aunt Eleanor had taken care of me countless times.
Finally, my mom and dad.
"Oh my goodness, that little nose, those eyes—exactly like Ivy when she was a baby!" Mom's eyes were red as she carefully leaned over the bed, murmuring nonstop.
The room that had been somewhat cold was instantly filled with the people I loved most—and who loved me most.
Sunlight flooded across the white sheets.
They gathered around the room. My dad was wearing his reading glasses, discussing with Lucas which style of baby rocker was more comfortable. Penny was carefully researching with my mom which brand of formula to choose...
I leaned against the soft pillows, watching this lively scene unfold before me. The last shadow in my heart was finally dispelled, replaced by overwhelming happiness. In this moment, I'd truly left behind that Ivy who cried desperately in the night.
A warm blanket covered my hand that had slipped outside the covers. I looked up to see Damian sitting on the edge of my bed.
"Baby, how are you feeling?" He took my hand and kissed the back of it.
"I feel amazing, Damian. I've never been this happy." I was weak but still managed to smile at him.
He leaned down, forehead pressed to mine, warm breaths mingling. "Then rest well," his voice was low and tender. "Leave everything else to me."
I nodded gently and squeezed his hand back. The warmth from our palms seeped through skin and spread like a warm current into my heart. In that moment, the brokenness and wandering of the past had completely ended. I felt a peace I'd never known before.