Nolan quickly sent an emoji with âOK,â adding: [As long as youâre alright, goodnight.]
After putting down her phone, Ivy let out a deep sigh.
The idea of starting anew with her brought up by Balfour must have been a spur-of-the-moment thing.
Maraâs call probably sobered him up, which is why he didnât mention it later.
Ivy had lost expectations and couldnât mask her disappointment.
She forced a smile and bade the elders goodnight.
âGrandma, Grandpa, I have an early call time for my scene tomorrow, so Iâm going to head up to bed.
You both should get some rest too!â
Alyssa immediately set down her mug, nodding emphatically, âYes, dear, go get some sleep. Youâve had a long day!â
Watching Ivyâs retreating figure, Alyssa sensed that Ivyâs spirits were low.
As elders, they could certainly facilitate the relationship between the two, but they couldnât make them fall in love.
Alyssa shook her head, knowing that the young coupleâs feelings were in the hands of fate.
Dean glanced at Alyssa and knew she was fretting over the young ones again.
In his opinion, they had no reason to meddle in their relationship.
Sometimes, Alyssa couldnât help but step in and clear up misunderstandings between them, but they couldnât do it forever. Ultimately, it was up to them to be considerate of each other.
Dean knew his wife had been a worrier all her life; it wasnât likely sheâd change her ways now. All he could do was gently remind her not to overburden herself with the kidsâ issues. What mattered most was their own well-being.
After freshening up, Ivy lay in bed, wondering if Balfour would return to the room to sleep tonight.
âThe confession in the afternoon still counted, right? Even though Maraâs call interrupted it, who confesses and then doesnât come back to their room?â
She muttered to herself, her heart lacking certainty.
After Maraâs call, Balfour had become a different person, seemingly forgetting their earlier Ivy drifted in and out of sleep that night but never saw Balfour return. He was holed up in the study, doing God knows what. There was a couch there for resting; heâd rather sleep there than return to their room. Did he dislike seeing her that much?
It wasnât until the next morning, when Ivy woke up early and saw the pillow still neatly placed beside her and the bed untouched, that she accepted the fact that Balfour hadnât returned all night.
She couldnât decipher Balfourâs intentions. During the day, he asked her to reconsider their relationship;
at night, he wouldnât even come back to their room.
Was he regretting it, afraid of getting too entangled with her?
If he had regrets, he could have just told her directly. She wouldnât cling to him like a bad rash.
What did he really want now?
With a furrowed brow and the early call time casting a pallor over her face, Ivyâs mood was anything but light.
Despite her gloom, she still had to shoot her scenes.
Since Balfour no longer demanded she come home, she saw no reason not to work.
She had been worried that last nightâs event might affect the atmosphere on set, but to her surprise, everything went back to normal by morning. Without Giselle, the rhythm on set felt more upbeat.
When a crew member handed her a cup of black coffee with a sycophantic smile, Ivy felt dazed. Had the previous targeting by the crew been nothing but a dream?