CHAPTER THIRTY

Damon hit the window gently and I hid my phone quickly. 

"Come on," he urged. 

Lily's face lit up when she saw me. 

"Ivy!" she called. 

She held out her arms to me, and I paused awkwardly. 

"Come on," she said. 

I went closer and she pulled me in a hug. It was warm and reminded me of my mom. I'd tried not to think of her in years. 

"Hey, Lily," I said. 

"Oh, I've missed you," she patted my back gently. 

I eased out of the hug with a smile. 

"Me too." 

She frowned at Damon. "I almost thought he was keeping you away from me." 

Damon chuckled and dropped the bag beside her. 

"Have I been replaced?" he pouted. 

"Isn't that obvious?" she turned to me. 

Her fingers grazed my cheek affectionately. 'I've always wanted a daughter." 

"You're hurting my feelings, Mom," he said. 

Lily hardly spared him a glance. "You'll live." 

He gasped in mock horror, and I chuckled. 

I brought out the desserts and gave it to her. 

She gasped. "My famous strawberry cream cake." 

"Sorry it's a bit smudged," I glanced at Damon. "He's a terrible driver." 

She laughed. "Tell me about it. One time, he almost drove us off a cliff." 

"Hold on, am I being ganged on right now?" he asked as he stared at us. 

Lily shook her head. "A bit slow too, isn't he?" 

I laughed. "What do we do with him?" 

She took a bite. "Wow, this is really good." 

I stared at Damon with a satisfied smile. "He did all the work." 

"Come on, I just helped is all. It's all you," he protested. 

Lily stared at us happily, and a tear fell. 

"Are you okay?" I asked, alarmed. 

Damon rushed to grab a tissue. 

"I'm fine," she sniffed. 

She held my hand tightly. "I'm just filled with joy to see both of you happy." 

Damon passed her the tissue, and she wiped her eyes. 

"It's a nice weather," she stared out the window. "Let's go for a walk." 

I grabbed the wheelchair beside her bed while Damon helped her get on it. He covered her with a blanket, as I wheeled her to the door. 

I paused when I saw him stay back to put something on the wall. 

"What's that?" I asked. 

"A motion detector," he whispered. 

He held out his phone. "There's no telling what Niall might do. It'll alert me if there's any problem." 

I nodded. "Good thinking." 

Niall wasn't going to be a problem soon because I was going to kill him. Damn what Tony thought. Damon was my priority. 

"Ah," Lily sighed in satisfaction as she stared at the blue sky. 

"It's nice to be outside like this." 

"I know right?" Damon said. 

"Hey, can you go get us some coffee?" she asked. 

"You just want to get rid of me so you can talk to Ivy," he said. 

Lily glanced at me. "Maybe he's not as slow as we thought." 

I smiled. "It's fine. Go." 

He gave me a quick kiss. "I'll be back before you know it." 

"Take your time," Lily said. 

I wheeled Lily to a shade and sat down. She stared at the sky in silence for a few moments, and I studied her. 

Her skin was paler than the last time I saw her. The beanie covered her head, almost reaching her eyebrows. She looked like she'd lost some weight too. I was worried about her. She reminded me of my mom. I was also helpless watching her die slowly, knowing there was nothing I could do to help her. I wanted to protect Lily—even though I knew I couldn't. 

"Thank you, Ivy," she said, breaking the silence. 

"For what?" I asked. 

"For making him happy again. I was scared I would never see him smile again." 

"Lily-." 

She sighed. "I spent my life on the run with Damon, trying to escape our past."

She shook her head. "But no matter how far we ran, we just couldn't escape it," she paused and stared at me. 

"Pitiful, isn't it?" she asked. 

I shook my head. "Not in the slightest. All I see is a strong woman who did everything she could to protect her son."

I turned to her. "You remind me of my mom."

"Where's she?" she asked.

"She died when I was young. I couldn't save her."

"I'm sure she's proud of the woman you've grown to be," she said.

I tilted my head. "Do you think so?"

She nodded. "I'm sure of it."

She smiled sadly. "All parents want is to protect their children, but I can't protect him anymore, Ivy. There are still people out there who wants him dead." 

Her grip on mine got tighter. "Promise me you'll protect him from those who wants to hurt him." 

"I'll protect him, Lily. I promise." 

This time, it was a promise I meant to keep.