Chapter 48Sebastian ~•~After thinking about everything for a while, I decided to cancel on Ivy. I couldn’t miss that business meeting for anything. I was disappointed by her reaction when I told her about the meeting. Normally, Ivy would have been happier than me, but she seemed uninterested. It was just as though she didn’t care about my success anymore. Or maybe she was just upset because I canceled on her. Either way, I shoved the thoughts about her and focused on the meeting. I had already texted my assistant to let her know I would be on my way to the office.I changed my outfit into something more professional, and then I grabbed my car keys and headed out of the house. I was excited but nervous about it at the same time. I prayed silently that everything would work out.This was something I had been wanting for months and I had finally gotten an opportunity. I increased my speed as I drove over to the office. I wanted to get there in time to prepare with my team before
Chapter 49Ivy Chase ~•~Serena wasn’t having it anymore. I tried so hard to convince her that I had everything in control and knew exactly what I was doing. But she still hated the fact that I was still speaking to Sebastian. As soon as he called to say he was coming over, she decided to leave the house. She was meant to spend the night at my place but she changed her mind. Even when I wanted to cancel with Sebastian and ask him to come some other time, she still wasn’t interested in spending the night. She just said she hoped I was making the right decision. To be honest, I also hoped that I was making the right decision. As I walked her to her car, she ignored Sebastian’s existence and couldn’t stop frowning. I didn’t blame her for acting the way she did. I stood outside and watched her as she drove away before turning back to meet Sebastian. I had to apologize on Serena’s behalf because I didn’t want Sebastian to suspect anything. I went ahead to ask him about how his me
Chapter 50Ivy Chase ~•~“Are you sure you want to carry on with this wedding?” Zara asked as we made our way into the wedding dress shop.I nodded. “Yes.” Her face formed into a frown. “Why? Have you forgotten everything I told you? Have you forgotten about the conversation you overheard?”A soft chuckle escaped my lips. “No, Zara. I remember everything vividly.” I replied as a staff member led us to a waiting room. “Then why are you shopping for a wedding dress?” She asked, her voice skeptical. “Sebastian isn’t good for you. I don’t think this is a good idea.” “I gave you a second chance, right?” I asked, staring at her. “I think he also deserves a second chance,” I added, my voice calm. Zara let out a frustrated sigh. “I know but I asked for forgiveness, but Sebastian didn’t. Who knows what else he has planned for you.” I wasn’t sure Zara was genuinely concerned about me. She was probably advising me to leave him because of her own selfish reasons.Maybe she was jealous seei
Chapter 51Ivy Chase ~•~I stood over at the balcony, the cool morning breeze caressing my skin as I gazed out at the serene landscape. My eyes narrowed, my thoughts drifting to Sebastian. It was finally the day of our wedding.I couldn’t help but think about all the different phases of our relationship. At one point, I thought I was the luckiest woman alive with the most perfect boyfriend. But a few months later, I realized I was dating my enemy. I never expected him to switch up on me like that, but life was unpredictable. It was even more unpredictable for him because he had no clue what was coming for him. “Ivy, the makeup artist is here.” Zara’s voice echoed from inside the room. Yes, Zara was my bridesmaid. Letting out a deep sigh, I turned around and made my way into the hotel room. While the makeup artist worked on my face, I was on a call with my parents. “Are you sure you want to go through with this?” My mother’s concerned voice sounded from the other end of the li
Chapter 52Ivy Chase ~•~Everyone rose to their feet as I walked into the venue. My father was beside me and all eyes were on us. Sebastian was standing at the podium, waiting for me.As we walked to the front, my father whispered to me. “It’s not too late to turn around.” His voice was filled with genuine concern. I responded with a soft laugh. “It’s fine, Daddy. I don’t want to turn around.” My father let out a quiet sigh. “I saw Zara outside as your bridesmaids. I also saw the news of how she betrayed you on the Internet.” His voice was a hushed whisper. “Why do you like holding on to terrible people?” I forced a smile because all eyes were on us. I didn’t want them to suspect that anything was wrong. “Can we talk about this after the wedding?” “Fine.” My father wore a fake smile and walked me to the podium without saying anything else. Sebastian also had a wide smile plastered across his face as I arrived. If only the smile was genuine. Everyone sat down and the priest st
Chapter 53Sebastian ~•~At that moment, I wanted the ground to open and swallow me. I never expected something like this to happen on my wedding day. Ivy was good at pretending because she knew about all this information but still managed to act like everything was okay between us. Zara also betrayed me. She fucked up by trusting Ivy. She lied to me and opened up to Ivy but she ended up embarrassing herself for the second time. My world was crumbling right before my eyes and I couldn’t do anything about it. This scene wasn’t a good look for me. There were so many important people present at the wedding and Ivy went ahead to ruin my reputation. I was sure it was already trending on the internet. Ivy had a satisfied smile plastered across her face. There was nothing I could say to defend myself, she had already shown everyone solid proof of what I had done. I couldn’t stand there and feel embarrassed anymore.With my head lowered, I rushed out of the building and went to my car
Chapter 54Ivy Chase ~•~I made sure to apologize to all the guests who were present for wasting their time. It wasn’t fair to invite them to a ceremony that wouldn’t be successful. But I needed them there because I wanted Sebastian to face public humiliation. Most people on the blogs were bashing me for being a terrible person because I embarrassed him publicly. Their words didn’t phase me because I didn’t care what strangers on the internet had to say about my life and choices. Soon enough, everyone had departed from the venue. My parents had also left but they asked me to meet them at the house when I was done. I felt so relieved like a heavy weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I couldn’t help but wonder how Sebastian and his family were feeling. He wanted to play me but I beat him to his game. He would be so devastated and frustrated. “Hey, Stranger.” I heard Parker’s voice from behind. With a smile, I turned around to look at him. “You’re still here?” I asked, gestu
Chapter 55Ivy Chase ~•~I had already made my decision a long time ago. I wasn’t going to press charges. But I knew that my parents would be upset if I told them what I had decided. I hesitated for a while before shrugging my shoulders. “I have no idea. I want to think about it for a little while before making any decision.” My father wasn’t impressed by my answer but he didn’t protest against it. “Fine, but don’t hesitate to speak to me when you finally decide on what to do.”I responded with a small smile. “Sure, I will.” I didn’t want to press charges against Sebastian or Zara. The public humiliation they had faced was enough to ruin their lives. Plus, I still had a soft spot for them and couldn’t bring myself to watch them go to prison. I was trying to be lenient with them. “You can stay at the house for a while, in case you feel sad or lonely at your apartment.” My mother added when we all settled down on the couch. My parents had been wanting me to move back home, and th
Chapter 80Ivy Chase~•~“The company is expanding, and they want me to oversee the operations over there for a while. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” I swallowed hard, ignoring the lump that had formed in my throat. “So you’re leaving for one year?” I asked, hoping he wouldn’t say yes. Parker sighed, leaning forward. “I don’t know. I haven’t made a decision yet.” He exhaled sharply. “I don’t want to leave you.” I didn’t want him to leave me either. I wasn’t sure our relationship would be able to survive a long distance. “So what are you saying?” I asked, my eyes locked onto his. “I don’t know. I wanted to talk to you about it first.” He replied, running his fingers through his hair. “I love you, Ivy. And I don’t want to be away from you.” My heart clenched as I heard him say those words. I had been wanting to hear them for so long, but now, under these circumstances, they didn’t bring me the excitement I thought they would. “If you love me and don’t want to be away fr
Chapter 79Ivy Chase~•~I couldn’t concentrate on my work throughout the day but my mind was constantly drifting back to Parker. I texted him again to let him know that I was free and asked him to meet me at the office. But hours ticked by and I still hadn’t gotten a response from him. I tried to push my feeling of unease, telling myself that he was busy. Finally, my phone buzzed with an incoming text from Parker. My heart skipped a beat as I opened the text message. He asked me to wait until later, promising to come over to my house so we could discuss everything in person. I was relieved but anxious at the same time. I had no idea what he wanted to say and was scared that it would be something bad. The rest of the day felt like an eternity. My eyes were constantly moving to the clock placed on the wall in front of me. After a few more hours, I was finally done for the day. I gathered my things and left for the house immediately. But I made a quick stop at the restaurant to ge
Chapter 78Ivy Chase~•~After Parker and his family left, I went back to meet my parents in the living room. “So what do you think about them?” I asked, staring at them in anticipation. My parents hesitated for a while, then my father finally responded. “Parker looks like a fine young man, and I’m sure that he is a decent person.” “But his father had been to prison and he caused it.” My mother added. I gasped in shock. How did she know about that? “It’s been a while, and I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding,” I replied, defending Parker. “He doesn’t look like he would hurt me, right?” My parents exchanged glances. “We can’t say for sure. Human beings are unpredictable. We just hope that he doesn’t end up hurting you.” My father replied. “Don’t take it the wrong way, your mother and I are just looking out for you.” I responded with a quiet nod. “So you guys approve of our relationship? You don’t mind if I’m in a relationship with someone like him?” My mother chuckled. “Ivy,
Chapter 77Parker Wellington ~•~I held her hand before she could go away. “Ivy, stop.” My voice was barely above a whisper. “Just listen to me.” She didn’t hold back her scoff. “You almost embarrassed me, Parker. Do you know how I felt when you didn’t respond to any of my calls or texts?” I let out a deep breath. “I understand, but it wasn’t intentional.” Ivy remained silent. “I had an impromptu business meeting. I even had to cut the dinner short because I had to be at your house. I accidentally forgot my phone at my house, so I couldn’t even contact you.” Ivy listened attentively as I explained. “You know I wouldn’t leave you hanging on purpose,” I added as I pulled her closer. She was reluctant at first, but she finally gave in. “I thought you didn’t want to come anymore. And you were just ignoring me because you didn’t have the courage to tell me about it.” Ivy’s voice was calmer. I shook my head. “No, no. I wouldn’t do that.” I countered. “I’m so sorry, I should have f
Chapter 76Parker Wellington ~•~I knew Ivy wouldn’t forgive me for arriving late to dinner. But the situation was completely out of my control. I wasn’t planning on ignoring her or showing up late. Something urgent came up. And it was something I couldn’t miss. I knew I should’ve updated her about it, but I was so excited that I left my phone at the house. Dinner was meant to start by 7:00 pm. But my meeting didn’t end until after 7:30 pm. The meeting was impromptu and I didn’t even have any chance to communicate with anybody. Not even my parents. As I went over to the family house to pick them up, they were also worried that I had canceled on them. I didn’t even get the chance to go back to my house to grab my phone. I wanted to explain myself to Ivy, but she didn’t even give me a chance. She ignored me and acted like I was invisible. She wouldn’t even look at me but she engaged in conversations with my family. My eyes darted around everybody. I was shocked to see that everyo
Chapter 75Ivy Chase ~•~My eyes darted at the clock and my phone every minute. 7:30 pm. Parker’s family hadn’t yet arrived. My hands were clammy with sweat. What if they didn’t show up? The dining table was already filled with a variety of dishes. I wouldn’t know what to do if they ended up ditching the dinner. I looked at my phone again, searching to see if Parker had sent me a text or something. I had been trying to reach him for the past hour. But he was taking his calls or answering my text messages. Dinner was meant to start by 7:00 pm. My parents had already asked why they hadn’t arrived. I had to come up with something convincing. I told them that something had come up and they would be running late. I asked them to wait until 8:00pm before starting dinner. My mind was racing with different thoughts. Did Parker lie to me again? Was dinner really happening? I tried my best to stay calm even though I was nervous as hell. A few minutes later, Serena came downstairs to m
Chapter 74Parker Wellington ~•~What I did was very stupid.I shouldn’t have lied to Ivy. It would’ve been better if I had just told her the truth from the beginning. But I thought my parents would be polite and accept the invitation. Now, I had disappointed Ivy and she was upset with me.I had no idea how to fix it. I left several text messages without getting any response. I even called her phone a few times but they all went straight to voicemail. It was already late, so I just decided to wait until the next day before speaking to her. Just as I dropped my phone on the table and slid into my bed. It started ringing. Without hesitation, I grabbed it from the table. But I let out a disappointed sigh when I saw the caller ID. It wasn’t Ivy, it was my mother. She had been calling me for a while but I wasn’t in the mood to speak to her. I was still upset about what happened at the house. Frustrated, I turned off my phone and went back to bed. Shortly after, I drifted off to sl
Chapter 73Ivy Chase ~•~My lips parted and I blinked. I hoped it wasn’t what I was thinking about. “Why? What did you do?” I asked, my voice measured. Parker hesitated for a moment, then he cleared his throat and responded. “I lied to you.” My chest tightened. “What did you lie to me about?” I asked, letting out a deep breath as I prepared myself to hear his response. “Dinner isn’t happening.” I let out a disbelieving scoff. “What do you mean?” I asked, raising a brow at him even though he couldn’t see me. “Did your parents change their mind? What happened?” Parker let out a wistful sigh. “They didn’t change their mind, Ivy.” He replied. “They never agreed to it.” He added, his voice tight. “Wha…what? But you…..” I stuttered as I struggled to form a coherent sentence. “I know I told you that they agreed, but it was just a lie.” I felt my heart shattering into a million tiny pieces. “Why would you lie to me about something like that?” I asked, the disappointment evident in
Chapter 72Ivy Chase ~•~After a hectic workday, I decided to spend the evening at the family house. I could finally show up at my parent's house because I had an answer for my father. Most times, my house got lonely and I always found solace in my sister. But as I arrived at the house, I saw an empty house. I called my sister and she told me that they were out for an event. But she told me to wait for her because they would be back in no time. I obliged and decided to wait for them in Serena’s room. As I collapsed on her bed, I pulled out my phone and scrolled aimlessly while I waited for them to return. I decided to check Zara’s page. I found myself going there once in a while when I was bored. Even after her harsh betrayal, I still missed her sometimes. It wasn’t like I wanted her to be my friend again, I just wished things were different. I wished she hadn’t betrayed me and we were still friends. But my face formed into a frown and I shoved those thoughts away when I stumb