The request came through Ronan first, careful and hesitant in a way that surprised Ivy, considering how confidently his father usually moved through the world.
"He wants to meet your mother," Ronan said, sitting across from Ivy at her kitchen table one evening, turning his coffee cup slowly between his hands. "Properly, this time. Not the way he approached her before, with an offer that insulted everything she'd survived. He wants to apologize, in person, if she's willing to hear him out."
Ivy studied him carefully. "Do you think he means it?"
"I think, for the first time in his life, he's genuinely trying to become someone different from the man who built this empire without ever counting the human cost of it." Ronan's voice carried quiet conviction. "I can't promise you it'll go well.
