Blaqsbi | Post: 💔 NEVER LET GO – EPISODE FORTY ONE: “A Love Seen, A Fear

💔 NEVER LET GO – EPISODE FORTY ONE: “A Love Seen, A Fear Revealed”

The silence that followed Ivy’s parents’ entrance was so sharp that even the soft hum of the fridge seemed loud. Stanley froze mid-breath, his spoon suspended above the half-eaten plate of food. Ivy’s eyes stretched wide like someone caught with a stolen meat pie. Rebecca and Mr Ben stood at the doorway, still holding the plastic bags from the supermarket. Their shock slowly melted into curiosity… and then warmth.

Ivy swallowed hard and stepped forward quickly. “Mummy… Daddy… this is…Stanley."

Stanley immediately rose from the dining chair as if someone had pressed an invisible button under him. He stepped away from the table and greeted them with deep respect.

“Good evening, sir. Good evening, ma.”

Mr Ben shook his hand firmly. “Welcome, my son.”

Rebecca’s lips were already spreading into a smile, soft and familiar. “Ah-ah. So this is the famous Stanley.”

"Famous what?" Ivy squeaked, a bit shy and embarrassed.

Mr Ben chuckled deeply, his belly moving with each laugh. “My dear, please don’t pretend. You talk about this young man too much to be ordinary.” He pointed at Ivy teasingly. “Every day, ‘Stanley this, Stanley that.’ At a point Rebecca and I began to ask ourselves if this Stanley is a human being or a spirit that has possessed our daughter.”

Ivy covered her face with both hands. “Daddy please…”

Rebecca stepped forward and before Stanley could process it, she wrapped her arms warmly around him. A full motherly hug. Stanley stiffened; out of surprise and confusion, then slowly relaxed, his arms hovering awkwardly before settling lightly around her.

“My daughter told me everything,” Rebecca whispered, pulling back to look into his eyes.

“How you saved her from that wicked Madam Joy who almost maltreated her to death. God bless you, my son.”

Stanley blinked, genuinely touched. “Ma… thank you. I’m… I don’t even know what to say.”

Mr Ben extended his hand for a firm, hearty handshake. “Welcome, my boy. Although you didn’t tell us you were visiting o.”

Stanley nodded and bowed his head slightly. “I am so sorry for arriving unannounced, sir. It was not planned that way. Everything happened so fast. I didn’t intend to enter your home without notice. I didn't even expect I would have the privilege to finally come see my Ivy.”

Mr Ben laughed again. “No problem at all. You’re welcome. Make yourself comfortable. Let us go and put these things down and freshen up. We will come back so we can talk properly.”

“Yes sir,” Stanley replied.

Rebecca echoed him with a warm smile.

“Relax, please. You’re among family.”

They walked away, chatting softly as they disappeared into the hallway.

The moment they left, Stanley exhaled sharply, his shoulders sagging like a man who had just escaped a firing squad. Ivy laughed quietly, walking toward him.

“See how you were standing like someone defending WAEC result,” she teased lightly.

He didn’t laugh. His eyes were distant. His posture tense. He then ran his hand through his hair, pacing slowly.

“Ivy… do you think they will truly accept me as their son-in-law? Are you sure I didn’t appear disrespectful or scattered?”

Ivy stepped closer. Stan, relax. What do you mean? Didn’t you see how they welcomed you? They love you already.”

“I know… but still… what if they ask me something and I say the wrong thing? What if I complicate things? I mean, what if they think I’m not good enough for you? I can’t afford any mistake. If I lose you again, I swear I will...”

“Shh. You won’t lose me. Not again," Ivy assured.

His eyes softened painfully. He still looked unsure, his brows knitted with anxiety. “Ivy… I don’t know what I would do if something goes wrong. I would die if I don’t end up as your husband.”

Ivy pressed a finger to his lips gently. “Stop thinking like that," she said quickly. She held and caressed his hands softly. Then she leaned in and pressed a brief, slow kiss against his mouth — soft, warm, calming. A kiss that felt like a sedative poured into his soul. Stanley breathed out shakily, his shoulders loosening.

“You see?” Ivy whispered. “Your mind has calmed.”

He released a quiet laugh. “Maybe you should prescribe that kiss three times daily.”

She pushed him lightly and motioned toward his plate. “Eat, please. You know I said you looked malnourished. If you don’t eat now, how will I return your fine boy shape?”

He sat reluctantly and picked up his spoon again, though his appetite seemed to have developed legs and run out of the room.

Just then, the front door opened again.

Remi, the housekeeper, walked in with nylon bags from the market. “Good evening, aunty Ivy! Good evening, sir!” she greeted warmly.

Ivy smiled. “Welcome, Remi.”

Remi nodded politely, her eyes taking in the scene without a word of commentary. “I’ll take these to the kitchen,” she said simply, shifting the bags in her hands. “Please let me know if you need anything else.”

“Thank you,” Ivy replied.

Remi disappeared into the kitchen, leaving a small, respectful silence behind her.

Stanley chuckled and continued eating. As he ate a few more reluctant spoonfuls, a thought suddenly hit him.

“Ivy,” he said gently, “I never asked… how did you finally meet your parents? When did you find them?”

Her eyes softened with memory. She sat across from him and folded her arms on the table.

“It happened by chance, Stanley. I met my mum at the salon that day. She kept staring at me strangely. We started talking… and when I mentioned I was an orphan abandoned at an orphanage, something changed in her face. She asked questions… the right questions. The story she had lived with for years was the same as mine. She connected the story. She later discovered I was truly the child she had unwillingly abandoned” Ivy’s voice shook faintly, but she smiled. “And everything else is history.”

"I'm so glad you finally reconnected with her. But what about your father? He must have missed you so much too. I could see from his expression," Stanley said cheerfully.

Ivy swallowed and smiled. "Mr Ben is not actually my biological father, but I regard him as the father I never had now," she said to the surprise of Stanley. He only smiled at her, finding it difficult to concentrate with his food.

Suddenly, his eyes softened as he reached across the table and gently caressed her cheek with his thumb. “I am proud of you,” he said quietly. “You’ve grown. You’re no longer that timid girl from Madam Joy’s house… but you’re still innocent. Still pure. And even though Stacey separated us… it somehow led you to your family.”

The name Stacey shifted the air immediately.

Ivy’s smile faded slowly.

She remembered the conversation they were having before her parents walked in.

“Stanley,” she said softly, “we need to talk about Stacey.”

He stiffened instantly. His expression hardened.

“I meant it,” he said. “I already arrested Stacey and her girls. They will pay for what they did to you.”

“I still don’t think getting her arrested was the right thing,” Ivy continued gently. “Stacey is acting out of pain… and hate. You deceived her, and she aborted a child she didn’t want to abort. She lost her womb. Stanley… she is a broken woman. She may be wrong, she may be wicked… but she is still a woman...a woman who's severely hurt."

Stanley sat up straight, defensive fire sparking in his voice. “Ivy, please. Don’t make it sound like it was my fault. Stacey was not a child. I didn’t hold her hand and force her into the clinic.”

Ivy reached across the table and held his hand tenderly this time. “I know. But still… what happened to her is tragic. And I saw her eyes that day. I saw a woman drowning in pain even though she was trying to cover it up with a bully and threats. Imagine knowing you can never carry a child. Imagine wondering if any man will ever marry you," Ivy said plausibly.

Stanley’s jaw tightened, anger building again.

“Please,” Ivy whispered, squeezing his hand, “make peace with her. Apologize. Not because she deserves it… but because peace deserves it.”

Stanley jerked his hand slightly. “Ivy, no. I can do anything else you want… but don’t ask me to apologize to a woman who tried to destroy us. Never.”

The disappointment that washed over Ivy’s face was immediate… and sharp.

She pulled her hand back slowly.

Stanley froze.

“Ivy…” he whispered, voice unsteady.

She didn’t look at him. She stared at the table instead, her lashes trembling.

“I just want peace, Stanley,” she said quietly. “I want us to heal. Her… you… me. Everyone.”

He reached for her hand again, but she moved it.

That small rejection struck him like a physical blow.

“Really?” he asked painfully. “You would ignore your own love… because of a woman that...”

“Yes, Stanley.” Ivy looked up, straight into his eyes. “Because if this were your sisters… or me… if some man used us, deceived us, dumped us, and left us damaged in a way that might affect our future… how would you feel?”

The question hit him like a punch to the chest.

Stanley’s breath caught. His jaw trembled slightly.

He imagined Ivy being used and dumped. He imagined Bianca. Nkechi. Ivy’s tears. He couldn’t bear the thought.

His heart clenched violently.

He looked at Ivy — the softness in her eyes, the sincerity… the same innocence that made him fall in love with her.

Slowly… painfully… he exhaled.

“Fine,” he whispered. “I will apologize.”

Ivy gasped. Her eyes widened with joy.

“Really?”

He nodded reluctantly. “If it will give you peace… then I will do it."

Ivy was ecstatic and pulled him into a long, grateful, deep kiss.

“Thank you,” she whispered against his lips.

“But Ivy,” he added softly, “what if she rejects it? What if she still causes trouble?”

“Apologize from your heart,” Ivy said. “God will handle the rest.”

Stanley wrapped his arms around her waist. Her smile came slowly… beautifully… and it melted him. “You’re too good. Too kind. Even to someone who hurt you. No wonder I fell helplessly in love with you.”

They gazed into each other’s eyes again, leaning forward… almost kissing...then the kitchen door clicked open.

“Sorry, sir… sorry, ma,” Remi said quietly as she passed through the living room with a small waste basket. “I just want to empty this.”

Ivy pulled back slightly, smiling in embarrassment. Stanley cleared his throat.

Remi walked briskly toward the backyard, keeping her gaze lowered and giving them space. When she returned, she moved silently across the living room and headed back to her room without another word.

Before Stanley's and Ivy's lips could meet again, footsteps echoed from upstairs.

Rebecca and Mr Ben re-entered the living room shortly after, now dressed in fresh clothes. Their expressions were welcoming… but serious.

Mr Ben clasped his hands behind his back. They all sat down together.

“Well, Stanley,” he said with a calm fatherly tone, clearing his throat, "Now that we are all settled, we want to know more about the young man who has stolen our daughter’s heart.”

Mrs Rebecca smiled.

“And… what your intentions are toward her.”

Stanley swallowed hard. Ivy squeezed his arm. His heart thumped once—hard, as he thought about the right words to say.

To Be Continued ✍️✍️✍️ #NeverLetGo #EpisodeFortyOne #StanleyAndIvy #AHomeOfAcceptance #HealingLove #ParentalBlessings #EmotionalRomance #NigerianStorySeries

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