Ivy's POV
"Our time is up, my love, but I'm so grateful I came," my father whispered before rising to his feet. "I have to leave now." He took one step toward the door when my mother leaped up and wrapped herself around him like a vine.
"Please don't be angry," she pleaded, her voice small and vulnerable.
"I'm not, sweetheart," he assured her, stroking her hair. "Four years isn't so long. I've already waited seventeen, and knowing you'll return makes the wait bearable." He pressed his lips against hers once more before she walked him to the door. She pulled out a descenting spray and thoroughly coated him. In an instant, my father's comforting scent disappeared, leaving an empty void in my senses.
"Could you do one thing for me?" he asked, hesitating at the threshold.
"Anything," my mother replied, gazing at him with such yearning it made my chest tighten.
