“Wow Ivy,” Emma gushed, looking at the dress she had adorned for the auction event. “You look stunning.”“You think so?” Ivory inquired, standing in front of the mirror and taking in her reflection.For the auction, she had chosen to wear something subtle, not too shouting, at the same time, enough to leave an impression and draw the attention of those she wanted.It was a sleeveless black jumpsuit that had a deep V-neck, exposing just enough skin to be considered classy. Her hair, safe for a few strands of baby hair that defined the edges of her face, was tied up in a messy bun, and a black ribbon wrapped around the base.To finish her look, a pair of diamond earrings and a bracelet completed the outfit.“Ivy, I can’t even recognize you anymore.” Emma exclaimed, taking in the beauty that was her friend. “You look stunning, gorgeous, elegant, all these words are just not enough and I’m sure those bastards are going to be drooling.”Ivory chuckled at this. Just then, she got a text mes
“I heard Mr. Ødegaar just got a divorce, but from the looks of it, he looks like a happy man. Seems his heart truly laid with her.” Someone said.“Ah, I envy Evangeline, but I also know she’s the perfect fit for Mr. Ødegaar. An A-lister actress and the city’s top billionaire. What a perfect fit!” Another squealed.“I’m sure they’re together, after all, Mr. Ødegaar has never brought anyone to these types of events. Not even his so called ex wife. If I were her, I would be ashamed.” Added another.This one has caught Gadreel’s attention and although his expression remained neutral, the corners of his eyes twitched.Ashamed? Those words seemed to bother him for some reason as Ivory’s face- against his will- flashed in his mind.Evangeline however, was the least but bothered. The more she listened to them, the more Evangeline knew her worth in Gadreel’s life.And she could have carried on listening and feeling this way, if not for the sudden shift in top.“Huh, who’s she?” Someone asked a
The auction event had uneventfully gone on for a few minutes, hours even, but Ivory wasn’t quite sure how long had passed, as she had been focused on something else.The constant prick and irritating feeling of her contact lenses coming out of place.With the amount of blinking she had been doing, it was only natural that they felt loose, and as such, she made the decision to go to the restroom and take them out.Lucien, who had been watching her, immediately noticed her discomfort and asked. “You okay, V?”“My lenses,” She hinted, trying to soothe the pricking feeling with the pad of her thumb as she robbed gently against her eye lids. “I need to take them out for a bit.”Nodding, Lucien extended his hand. “Here, I’ll help you.”“It’s fine, I can handle it by myself.” Ivory tried to refuse his offer. She didn’t want to draw any more attention to herself, tha
“The rules were set by Arnett herself, so, please if you have an issue with it, you’re welcome to keep quiet, because your opinion won’t change a thing.”Lucien’s words had silenced the room, but in a different way and so had his presence.It didn’t take people long to recognize who he was. A great doctor by name and a miracle worker in the Operation Room and on top that, rumors has been going round that he was the representative of Arnett.The very person who was said to have Created the Essence Of Oblivion.Immediately, all their reasoning changed and they began looking at the matter differently.“So it was really her who evoked the rule, not the new CEO.” One whispered.“That makes sense. Arnett must have thought this through.” Another added.Finally one of the bidders said something that sparked the interest and competitive spirit off all.“If the Essence of
Gadreel eyes grew wide seconds after hearing this and his facial expression contorted in worry.“What do you mean Grandma has been rushed to the hospital?” He repeated.Ivory, currently in the process of taking the contact info, paused midway and turned to face Gadreel after hearing what he had said.“What’s wrong with Grandma?” She couldn’t help but ask, feeling the soft side she has for the elderly woman being tugged on at the thought of something wrong happening.Gadreel didn’t answer, but Durian heard her voice and asked. “Is that the Madam? Can she come along? Your grandmother has missed her dearly and I’m sure her presence would aid a lot in her recovery.”Gadreel frowned at the thought. He wanted to reject the suggestion, but recalled how his grandmother had recovered quickly the last time Ivory had come over.If it was for his grandmother, he was willing to bend a bit.
The question remained on Gadreel's mind, even as he walked back to the room with the fruit basket.All these years, all the years during their marriage, Ivory had done nothing but studied on his behalf.Although he was now the top business man in the country, Gadreel had once studied medicine and he knew through first hand experience that it wasn't an easy journey.So for someone like Ivory, who had dropped out of school with no degree to do something like that, while caring for his physical health, it was... admirable?That thought didn't seat well with the rest of the thoughts he had about Ivory. After all, he was convinced after what he had seen in the bathroom back at the auction that she wasn't the angel his grandmother had made her out to be.Gosh, the more he thought about it, the more it seemed to give him a headache.All at once, Gadreel decided to discard the thought, pushing them to the back of his mind as he reached his grandmoth
Gadreel's question certainly caught Ivory off guard. She blinked, opened her mouth, then closed it."What?" Was what she managed on."Did you ever love me?" Gadreel repeated, but this time around, the question did not have the same effect as it previously did.Ivory waved it off and went back to jolting instructions down without too much thought too it."That's not important now.""I asked you a question, Ivory," He reached for her wrist, stopping her movements.Ivory frowned a little, but didn't push him away. Her eyes met his, her gaze holding a warning. "What are you trying to do?"Gadreel's frown was even deeper. "I asked you a question. Why did you marry me and put so much effort into bringing me out from my comatose state?"Ivory's gaze wavered, almost as if she too were trying to find the answer to that question. After a few seconds, she answered."I was young, Naïve," She smirked. "You could also say I had been kicked in the head by a donkey and made stupid for taking such a r
Two days had peacefully passed since the auction event. In those two days, Elixiron had been approached by several investors who wanted to work with them, in hopes of getting in Arnett’s good books, as well as getting in contact with her.Ivory was impressed and overjoyed by the outcome. Her days were busy and fruitful and she believed nothing or no one could ruin her wonderful time.That was until she got a call from her father. The moment she witnessed his call, her entire expression crumbled into annoyance and all at once, she rejected his call and permanently blocked his number.Something she should have done a long time ago, she told herself as she stepped out of the elevator as the doors slid open and began thinking of the pleasures she should treat herself to at lunch.Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of her and she was surprised to see that it was her father.“Ivory,” Lionel called out, but something about him was different. “How have you been child?”Ivory frowned at this
“…you don’t need to tell me what I already know,” Lucien didn’t mean to sound rude, but with his mother being on the other side of the line, hounding down on him about how he needed to get Ivory to see things from their perspective as soon as next week, was making it hard for him not to snap. “You’ve told me this plenty of times, now.”“Don’t speak like that,” His mother reprimanded. “This is important. I believe I’ve given you enough time to do the needful and I’m beginning to run out of patience, my time is almost up. So, this is your last warning, get the girl on our side, or I’ll do it by myself.”Without waiting for an answer, she hung up the phone, leaving Lucien to sigh out loudly.What a wonderful way to ruin the start of his day, he thought, turning and exiting the balcony, only to find that Ivory was no longer where he had left her.He looked in the direction of the living room, her second most seen place, then in the kitchen, finding no trace of her.His brows furrowed and
After spending two days in his house, Ivory had come to the realization that there was no way of getting that door open on her own.She had tried several things; banging, kicking, pushing, punching, setting a makeshift fire to trigger the fire setting and even trying to use items that Lucien had touched to recreate his finger print, but, nothing had worked.All of them were useless.Sighing, Ivory rested her forehead against the surface of the door, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.“This is hopeless,” She muttered.She was trapped here, wasn’t she?There was no way out.Her phone, was with Lucien.She had nothing.What should she do?“Ivory.”The sudden voice, had caused her heart to stop momentarily. Turning around, she saw him, leaning against the doorway.“What are you doing?”Ivory had to keep herself from frowning. He had asked her the same thing the previous day, and she had responded with the exact same words.“Trying to open the door.”“I can see that,” Lucien said,
“The number you’re trying to call, is currently-“The automated voice hadn’t gotten the chance to finish it’s message, before Gadreel hung up the phone.Still switched off? He wondered, frowning down at his call history that showed the number of times he had called Ivory.25 calls and 13 messages.That was the amount, and none of them had been answered.Frown deepening, he ran his fingers through his hair, his brows furrowing further.Something didn’t feel right.He couldn’t pinpoint the reason, or explain it, but his intuition was telling him, that something was off.Ivory wouldn’t just stand him up, or ignore his calls and messages for two whole days. In the past, sure, he would have agreed that she was capable of doing it.But now, things had changed between them. He could tell she was no longer as cold as she previously was to him. And even though she hadn’t completely forgiven him for the things he did, she had at least, decided to try and put the past behind her.So, this, this
Ivory woke up the following morning…to an awfully familiar remake of her bedroom back from when she still stayed with Doctor Elias.Witnessing it was so startling, that she shot up from the bed, a frown of confusion marring the space between her brows.What the hell was happening?!Last night, she had fallen asleep on the couch, but now, she was back in a room, her room, that was almost identical to her previous one, except the windows were barred, and there were no mirrors.And the fact that the entire room was a bit smaller than her original one, only added to her confusion.So, how did she end up here?Wasn’t she supposed to be on the couch, in the living room, trapped in Lucien’s house?“Ah, you’re awake.”The sound of Lucien’s voice, had caused her head to snap in his direction and she immediately frowned.He was leaning against the doorway, dressed in a pair of jeans and a white, long sleeved dress shirt. His arms were crossed, and the sleeves of his shirt had been rolled up, le
At around 8PM, a text message had entered Ivory’s phone. The device, placed beside the papers on Lucien’s table, vibrated, drawing his attention from the pile of work he was attending to.At first, he ignored it, knowing it wasn’t anyone important, but then, the phone had buzzed yet again, indicating that the same person, had tried to call, but failed.The frown on his face had deepened, before, with a sigh, he pushed away from his desk, his chair rolling back a few inches, before he stood up and approached the desk.He grabbed the phone and unlocked it. Seeing as he considered himself so close to Ivory, that he could easily guess her password, he easily opened the text and read the message.[Is everything okay? I’ve been trying to reach you all afternoon. Getting awfully worried.]The simple text, was from none other than Gadreel.Lucien’s expression hardened, and the frown on his face intensified.He couldn’t believe this bastard.He was getting worried.Ha! Was this his way of tryi
The broken plate had been cleaned up, a new food served and Lucien, locked away in his office, doing only God knows what, while Ivory paced the living room, her fingers interlocked behind her head.How the fuck was she going to get out of this one?She couldn't just stay here, trapped, waiting for who knows how long, and she definitely couldn't let Lucien do whatever the hell he wanted.But, she was stuck and she didn't have her phone, and there was no way in hell she'd be calling his name, asking him to let her out.So, what was she meant to do?Perhaps, she'd have to wait until he unlocked the doors himself? One of these days, he'd surely want to go out and get something, right?But the problem was, when would that happen? She had no plan of staying here for more than a day, so she'd have to try her best and think of something.A sigh escaped her lips and she stopped pacing, before flopping down on the couch and burying her face in her hands.God, her heart wouldn't calm down.Was i
The moment those words had left Lucien’s mouth, and before he could react, Ivory had marched straight up to him, closing the distance that had previously existed between them, and in seconds, her palm connected with his cheek, a slap that echoed throughout the entire house.His head had snapped to the side, and his cheek had reddened almost immediately.Lucien was silent, and his gaze was cast to the floor.“If you fucking lay a finger on Gadreel again,” Ivory began, her voice laced with so much anger and frustration, that Lucien, who had been silent since her slap, raised his head and turned to look at her, a deep frown, marring his face.“I’ll make sure that I fucking kill you myself.” She threatened.However, she got the opposite result from what she had been hoping.“Now tell me, why I actually, shouldn’t kill him. You’ve given me another reason, V. You’ve only ever raised your hand at me, today and it’s all because of him.”His eyes remained on hers as he spoke, and Ivory, still
Gadreel would be lying if he said that, as he watched the video of a nearby CCTV camera that displayed the outside of his house, showing as Evangeline reached into her bag and pulled out what looked to be the ledger of his company and handed it to a man inside a black car, his heart didn’t break.He already knew she was behind what had happened to his company. He had zeroed his mind that it was her doing. But, to watch it with his own eyes, was something else entirely.This, was the woman he had spent so many years believing he loved, no, he had loved her at one point, the very same woman who was his fiancée.A sigh left his lips and he hung his head, the disappointment, directed more at himself, than anyone else, all evident in his eyes.How had he allowed things get to this stage? How didn’t he see Evangeline’s true colors when it was still early and he could have prevented the mess he was currently in?Perhaps, he was too blindly in love.A bitter laugh escaped his lips as his mind
“No matter what you do, that door won’t open without my say so. So, that means,” Lucien smiled subtly, but all the gesture did, was make cold shivers run down Ivory’s spine. “You’re here with me until I say otherwise.”“Lucien,” She started, keeping her voice as level and stable as possible. “Stop this madness. Open the door, I have to leave-““And go meet that bastard?” He shook his head and Ivory could only stare in disbelief. “As long as that bastard is around, I don’t think I can let you out of here.”Ivory parted her lips to speak, but no words came out. She found this whole situation, no, to be more precise, she found the reason, why Lucien was refusing to let her leave, absurd.He was holding her here, not because he feared she’d report him for his misdeeds as soon as she got out, but rather, because he didn’t want her to meet up with Gadreel.That…that was absurd.“Lucien, this is nonsense.” She spoke, trying her hardest not to raise her voice, to keep the tone calm and levele