Chapter 83: Lily’s Gift
Chapter 83: Lily’s Gift
(Lucas’s POV)
The sudden ring of her phone broke the silence. Olivia turned away from the window and reached into her purse, pulling out her phone. She glanced at the screen before answering.
“Hello?” Her voice was soft, controlled despite the emotional turmoil I knew was raging inside her.
I watched as her expression shifted, a flicker of something–pain? hope?-crossing her features.
“Yes, Clara. I understand. I’ll come right away,” she said, her voice catching slightly. “Thank you for calling.”
She ended the call and stared at her phone for a moment, her knuckles white from gripping it too tightly.
“Is everything alright?” I asked, keeping my voice gentle.
“That was Clara Wilkins from the Howling Clay Pottery Studio,” Olivia explained, her emerald eyes meeting mine briefly. “She said Lily’s… Lily’s mug is ready for collection.”
I noticed how her voice trembled when she mentioned her daughter’s name. The raw grief was
still so fresh.
“Would you like me to take you there?” I offered, already signaling to Thomas Griffin to change
our route.
Olivia nodded, her wolf’s scent shifting with a complex mixture of emotions–grief, longing, and something like determination.
“Yes, please,” she whispered. “I’d like to go now.”
(Olivia’s POV)
The bell above the door of Howling Clay Pottery Studio chimed softly as we entered. The
familiar scent of clay and glazes filled my nostrils, bringing with it a flood of memories–Lily’s
small hands covered in clay, her tongue poking out in concentration as she worked.
Clara Wilkins looked up from behind the counter, her kind face lighting up with recognition.
The elderly she–wolf had always had a special way with the pups who came to her studio.
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+8 Points
“Olivia! I’m so glad you could come quickly,” she said, wiping her hands on her apron as she approached. “Where’s our little artist today? Not with you?”
My heart clenched painfully. Clara didn’t know. Of course she didn’t–I hadn’t been back here since Lily…
“She’s… nearby. I haven’t picked her up yet,” I lied, unable to bring myself to tell this kind woman the truth. Not here, not now.
“Such a determined little pup,” Clara continued, oblivious to my pain as she reached beneath the counter. “Two whole months she worked on this mug. Most pups her age give up after one session, but not your Lily.”
She carefully unwrapped a package, removing layers of protective tissue paper. “She wanted it to be perfect for her father’s birthday. Wouldn’t let me help at all–said it had to be all her own work.”
Clara placed the mug in my hands. It was small and slightly lopsided, clearly made by a child’s inexperienced hands. The bright colors were unevenly applied, and there were tiny fingerprints preserved in the clay.
But what broke my heart was the childlike drawing on the side–three stick figures holding hands. A family of three. And beneath it, in wobbly letters: “I DAD!”
My vision blurred with tears. Lily had spent two months making this for Ethan, while he had
been too busy with Victoria and Emma to even acknowledge her existence.
“She was so excited to give it to him,” Clara said, smiling at the memory. “Said her daddy would use it every morning and think of her.”
⚫ I felt Lucas’s hand on my shoulder, steadying me as I swayed slightly.
“Thank you for taking such good care of it,” I managed to say, carefully rewrapping the
precious mug.
Lucas, sensing my distress, quickly thanked Clara and guided me toward the door.
“Bring Lily back soon!” Clara called after us. “I miss my favorite student!”
Outside on Shadow Creek Artisan Street, the cool evening air hit my face, but it did nothing to
ease the burning pain in my chest. I clutched the wrapped mug to my heart, my legs suddenly
too weak to support me.
“She spent two months making this for him,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “Two months,
Lucas. And he never even…”
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+8 Points >
The tears I’d been holding back all evening finally broke free. I wept openly, my wolf howling in shared grief beneath my skin.
“He acknowledged Emma today–a child who isn’t even his–while our daughter, his flesh and blood, died without ever knowing her father’s love.”
Lucas hesitated only briefly before drawing me into his arms. His embrace was warm, protective, offering comfort without demands.
“I’m so sorry, Olivia,” he murmured against my hair. “Your daughter deserved better.”
(Ethan’s POV)
I slammed my fist against the steering wheel of my Shadow Ghost, my wolf raging beneath my skin. The media circus had finally been contained, the damage from Olivia’s public rejection somewhat mitigated.
But she was gone. Her car was missing from the Stone Estate parking area, yet Lucas Blackwood’s vehicle was also absent.
They had left together.
I grabbed my phone and called Maxwell Chen.
“Find Olivia,” I ordered without preamble. “And Blackwood. Now.”
Maxwell didn’t question my command. “Yes, Alpha. I’ll activate the tracking protocol immediately.”
Within minutes, my phone buzzed with a message. Maxwell had located them at the Howling Clay Pottery Studio on Shadow Creek Artisan Street.
A pottery studio? What business did Olivia have there with Blackwood?
I pressed the accelerator harder, weaving through traffic with dangerous speed. My wolf was restless, territorial instincts flaring at the thought of another Alpha near my mate.
When I reached Shadow Creek Artisan Street, I spotted them immediately. Olivia was in Lucas Blackwood’s arms, her face buried against his chest as her shoulders shook with sobs.
Something primal and possessive erupted within me. I slammed the car door and stormed toward them.
“Get your hands off my mate,” I growled, my Alpha voice resonating with power.
Lucas looked up, his expression hardening but his arms remaining protectively around Olivia.
<Chapter 83 Lily’s Gift
“She doesn’t seem to want your company, Stone,” he replied coolly.
+8 Points >
I grabbed Olivia’s arm and pulled her away from him. “She is my mate, Blackwood. My Luna.
This doesn’t concern you.”
Olivia stumbled as I yanked her toward me, and something fell from her hands. A small package hit the cobblestone street with a sickening c***k.
“No!” Olivia cried out, lunging for the fallen object.
Lucas moved faster, kneeling to gather what appeared to be pieces of broken pottery. I saw red, my wolf’s jealousy consuming all rational thought.
I snatched the broken pieces from his hands and threw them down with force, grinding them.
under my heel.
“Whatever gift he gave you, I’ll replace it tenfold,” I snarled, my wolf marking its territory.
Olivia stared at me with horror, her emerald eyes wide with disbelief and rage.
“You… you…” She couldn’t even form words, her body trembling with fury.
The door to the pottery studio burst open, and an elderly she–wolf rushed out, her face creased
with concern.
“Oh no! The mug!” she exclaimed, looking at the shattered pieces on the ground. “Poor Lily worked on that mug for two whole months. She wanted it to be perfect for her father.”
The world seemed to stop spinning. I stared at the broken pieces, suddenly understanding
what I had destroyed.
“Lily made this?” I whispered, my wolf whining in distress.
“Yes,” Clara continued, oblivious to the tension. “She was so determined to make it all by herself. Said her daddy would love it because she made every part of it. I can help her make
another one if you’d like?”
Olivia’s laugh was bitter, cutting through the night air like a blade.
“There won’t be another one, Clara,” she said, her voice hollow. “Lily is dead. She died on her
fifth birthday, waiting for her father who never came.”
Clara’s hand flew to her mouth, her eyes filling with tears. “Oh, Olivia, I didn’t know…”
But Olivia’s attention was fixed on me, her emerald eyes burning with accusation.
“She spent two months making this for you,” she said, her voice breaking. “While you were
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<Chapter 83 Lily’s Gift
buying Emma crystal–embroidered gowns, Lily was pouring her heart into this mug for you. And you just destroyed it, just like you destroyed her.”
Each word was a silver dagger to my heart. I looked down at the shattered pieces–tiny fragments of colored clay, each one representing hours of my daughter’s effort and love.
Love I had never acknowledged. Love I had never returned.
“Olivia, I didn’t know-” I began, but she cut me off.
“Of course you didn’t know! You never bothered to know anything about her! You were too busy playing daddy to another man’s child while your own daughter died alone!”
(Olivia’s POV)
The rage that had been building inside me for years finally erupted. I couldn’t stop the words pouring out, each one dripping with the pain and resentment I’d carried since Lily’s diagnosis.
“She asked for you every day during her treatments. ‘When is Daddy coming?‘ And I made excuses for you. I lied to protect her from knowing how little you cared.”
Ethan’s face had gone pale, his amber eyes wide with shock and what looked like genuine
remorse. But it was too little, too late.
“I’m done,” I said, my voice suddenly calm. “I’m done making excuses for you. I’m done pretending that what you did to us was anything less than cruel.”
I turned to leave, unable to bear looking at him or the destroyed remains of Lily’s last gift.
“Olivia, wait-” Ethan reached for me, but Lucas stepped between us.
“I think you’ve done enough damage for one night, Stone,” Lucas said, his voice low and
dangerous.
The two Alphas faced each other, their wolves bristling beneath their skin. The air crackled
with tension as neither man backed down.
I took advantage of their standoff to step away, suddenly feeling lightheaded. The emotional toll of the evening–the confrontation at the Stone Ancestral Hall, the public rejection, and now
this final heartbreak–was too much.
The world tilted sideways as my knees buckled beneath me. I heard someone call my name
as darkness edged my vision.
As I began to fall, strong arms caught me. Through blurring vision, I saw Ethan’s face above mine, his expression twisted with concern.
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Then everything went black.
