CHAPTER 47

ELLA'S POV

The morning light filtered through the curtains, falling softly across the room. I blinked against the glare, feeling the warmth of Ivy nestled up beside me. Her small body was curled between Xavier and me, still soundly asleep, her chest rising and falling with the steady rhythm of breathing. I turned to see Xavier already awake; his eyes, piercing as always, were set on the ceiling above him as if in deep reflection. His features were slack, yet there was something behind those eyes-something distant, a thousand miles away, though he lay no further than beside me.

I shifted carefully, not to rouse Ivy, and then sat up. Today was the day of her school function, the one she had been so hyped about. The thought of going through all those people made my stomach twist nervously. People who had looked down at me, who have whispered behind my back. Ivy's classmates' parents that see us as less than them. But today was different. Today I had Xavier beside me.

I got out of bed as