“Lila,” she said in a dumb boy voice. “Yes, Lila, you dirtbag.” She screeched to a halt in front of me, red-faced. The bundle snuggled to her chest wiggled, and a tiny fist popped out of its confines before disappearing again. “You didn’t even listen. You didn’t even hear her out, you simpleminded moron.”

“That’s a little redundant.”

She pointed her skinny finger in my face. “Don’t you backtalk me, Kash Bennet. I’d expect Luke to jump to conclusions. I’d expect Marcus to chase paranoid delusions. But I thought you’d give her a chance.”

“Ivy, could you stop insulting me for long enough to tell me what’s going on?”

“I’m sorry,” she yelled, poking me in the chest. “I’m just really, really mad at you!” Every really earned me another poke. “She quit her job, you witless jerk.”

A jolt of adrenaline cooled my palms, dampening them. “What?”

“She. Quit. Her. Job.” She poked her punctuation hard enough to leave a bruise. “But you were too much of a dumdum to listen, and she was too proud to tell you, especially if you thought it was to change your mind. She quit her job, told Caroline Archer to go to hell, and refused to do their stupid, idiotic show. And you know why?” She didn’t wait for me to answer. “Because she loves you, ding-dong. She loves your stupid, thick head— God knows why.”

“Oh my God,” I breathed, dropping to a stool.

“All that with Addison, the wedding—all she ever did was try to protect you from those monsters, and all you did was punish her. You don’t even deserve her,” she shot, amending, “Okay, that’s a lie, you do, but God, you are so dumb! Her whole life—her whole goddamn life—everything she’s worked for, she threw it away. And you know why? Because she chose you. She chose herself. You wanted proof she really wanted this life? Well, you were about to get it until you berated her. And then you let her walk away without even putting up a fight. You are just so—”

“Dumb. Yeah, I got it.” I raked a hand through my hair. “She really quit?”

She rolled her eyes so hard, I was pretty sure she saw the sunset. “No, she fake quit. Of course she quit, mouth-breather. She doesn’t ever want to step foot in that place, never mind work with all of them. Never mind put herself on television. She almost did, you know, but not for herself. For you. For Longbourne. She thought it could help you make the money you needed to buy out Bower. Not for personal gain.” Her steam finally ran out, and she sighed, breathing out the last of it. One hand moved to the lump I assumed was the baby’s butt. “Come on, Kash,” she said wearily. “You know her better than to believe that.”