Her heart was breaking into pieces, her world crumbling and stabbing her deep, and she could feel it, the pain of being betrayed. "No," she stepped back. "No." She had to see it with her eyes to know if her ears were deceiving her, only then would she believe it. She hesitated, she couldn't bring herself to see what she never expected, wished for, or even thought of. Her hands were shaking, struggling to hold onto the doorknob. She forced herself to give in, to see it and clear her doubt.
She opened the door slowly, still hesitating, but finally opened it wide. Tears flowed down her eyes as she saw her sister's naked body pressed against her boyfriend's, moving in sync as they made love to each other like they had no problems in the world. They didn't notice her, as they were still engaged in intimacy. Ivy sniffed, when was the last time she cried like this? When? Here she was, heartbroken. Did her sister even care about how she would feel when she found out? Her sniffing caught their attention, and they saw the crying Ivy watching their lovemaking in silence. "IVY!" Dave shouted, surprised to see her. Ivy was still shedding tears, swallowing what she felt like saying to him right there. He looked to be enjoying himself well, f**king her sister. "Oh." That was the one word Irene pronounced when she saw Ivy. "How could you? Why... why did you do this to me? Why... Dave... Why..." Ivy choked on her words. Her tears continued falling from her eyes. "You can't knock, or is there something wrong with your knuckles? Why are you even here?" Dave asked as he hurriedly stood up to meet her. Ivy pushed him away with all the strength she could muster. Her love for him was slowly turning to hatred. "Hey, that's rude," Irene spat, looking at her in contempt. "Really, Irene, is that what you have to say to me?" Ivy was displeased with her sister; there was no remorse in her eyes after what she has done. "You are so evil." "Hey, speak properly or I'll..." "Do what?" She mustered the courage to challenge her. "Ivy, go home. Go home!" Dave said in an authoritative tone. "Really, so you can continue to cheat on me behind my back? Huh, you are so shameless." She was beyond cheated; she was betrayed by the people she loved and trusted. "Fine, then never go back to my house; you are not welcome there anymore," Dave said with no remorse. "Your house, really Dave, how can you say that..." Her tears continued flowing down her cheek. "You cheated on me and you... you said you loved me and want to spend your whole life with me... you lied to me... you lied to me." Her voice cracked. "Deal with it. I never loved you, I only love Irene," he confessed. Ivy was heartbroken. When did it start, how did it happen without her knowing or suspecting anything? She was a fool to trust him, even giving up everything just to be with him. Her sister, she never thought she'd see the day she would betray her like this. "You b****!" Her anger surfaced. Irene frowned. "Hey." "Show her some respect," Dave defended her. "Show respect to a dog?" *PAK!* She received a slap for that; she flinched and lifted her face to see who it was. It was her boyfriend, no, her cheating fiancé. Her face turned red from the slap; the pain was nothing compared to what she felt in her heart. Her blood was boiling, so hot that heat was emitting from her body, and Dave could feel the heat from where he was. "BETRAYALS, GO TO HELL!" She shouted with anger and pain. She ran out of the room and left the apartment that brought out hidden secrets. If she hadn't come to find her sister, she wouldn't have known how ruthless they were to betray her. "AND DON'T TOUCH MY CAR!" Dave's voice resounded from inside. Ivy understood; she had nothing left. No house, no car, no boyfriend, and no family. All that was left was a little money in her purse; even her account was gone, nothing left of her hard-earned money. The day that was supposed to bring happiness brought pain and despair. Where was she going to go from there? Where would she start? No room over her head to plan what to do next; how could she plan on what to do next when the pain in her heart was greater than anything she had ever felt before in her life? She cried while walking, not caring if people saw her in her bitter state. Her world was over, her dreams shattered. Her plans on life, everything turned to shreds just because she fell in love with a man. Her state was a mess as people were pointing fingers at her. "What is wrong with her? She looks pathetic." "Yeah, she looks like she just fell from hell." "Poor thing." "I think I recognized her. Isn't she the once-famous actress who gave up her career for unknown reasons?" "Yes, it's her. Gosh, it looks like things didn't go well for her." "I wonder who broke her heart, or did she lose someone?" "Look at her, so pathetic." Ivy wasn't listening to all the comments; she was too heartbroken to do so. She wasn't looking her way and she bumped into someone. "Hey, watch out." She was too befuddled to apologize to the stranger, and she continued walking. "Come back here." The stranger pulled her hair forcefully to get her to apologize. She couldn't scream in pain either as she gritted her teeth through the forceful pull. "Apologize, you perv." She didn't, and he pushed her; she fell to the ground and remained there. "Hey, perv, get up, okay, hey, I didn't kill you so get up." She still remained on the ground with no response. The stranger looked left and right, back and front, then ran away before people thought he killed someone. Ivy stood up and walked her way; that was the method she came up with to get her to leave her. She wasn't ready to get into a fight after what happened to her, no way, or she might subject herself to a beating. She turned her head and saw a sign at the corner of the busy road. 'COMFORT NIGHT CLUB' Yeah, she needed comfort.She walked inside not hesitating for a moment, she didn't care about what might have happened. She decided to embrace life's taunts, get it over with, move on, or live on with her misery. She went straight to the bar and bought drinks with all the money she had left. The bartender just looked at her as she moved on from one bottle to another without slowing down."Hey, slow down." The bartender was worried she might choke on her drink.She ignored him and carried on, finding solace in alcohol, drinking away her sorrow. She was intoxicated with alcohol that she didn't notice she drank all four bottles. She lifted the last bottle and placed it upside down, and nothing came out. She groaned and faced the bartender."More... drinks... I need more drinks.""I'm sorry, you're too drunk to have more." Not that he wasn't allowed to sell more, he was just concerned for the pretty lady."GIVE ME! I said GIVE ME!" she was running mad."GIVE! Give... give me..." She rested her head, the shout fro
Ivy waited the whole day, but the boss didn't return. The long day was boring as she was told to only roam around the living area and her room. She accepted the hospitality, as it was a lot better than roaming the streets with no place to stay.She was about to sleep when the butler knocked on the door. "Miss, could you please come outside.""Sure," Ivy replied as she came out of the room."Well um…," he hesitated before letting it loose. "He said you should leave before he comes back.""But I want to thank him," she explained."I'm sorry, miss, you have to go," he ushered her out of the room."Please let me stay, I have nowhere to go, please," she pleaded."Miss, let me show you to the door," the butler insisted."Let me spend the night; in the morning, I'll leave. Please," she rubbed her hands together, pleading."You have to understand, I don't own this place; I am only following orders," he said apologetically."Plead with him," Ivy still insisted on staying."Miss, please this wa
Zack looked at her in disbelief, no woman would dare say that to him for as much as they wanted to. But this one woman standing in front of him showed no hesitation. Her gaze was completely fixed on him, she even smiled. He sat down on his bed and took a good look at her before replying."You said what?""Let's get married," she repeated, and this time she made it clear she was serious."You want to marry a stranger, how desperate are you?" He said, giving her a profound look. His cold stare didn't faze her as she kept a serious face eager for a positive response, in hope he agrees to her proposition. Her attitude was frightening for her demeanor, and Zack took his time to consider her initial request and her current proposition, which he never expected her to come up with. She seemed hopeless, as she has been pleading with him to let her stay, and he refused before she took his earlier conversation she overheard to her advantage. After all, no one forced him to help her in the first
A wedding suite was reserved personally for her, Zack managed to arrange all of that within a day, he was being considerate even though she would be all by herself. Tossing her phone on the exquisite bed and taking off her high heels, she intended to get a nice siesta before her phone rang. After she saw the caller's ID, she frowned and tossed it back to the bed, there was no way she was picking the call. The caller was persistent, as her phone kept ringing, she was tempted to smash her phone to make sure she never saw the caller's name, but as much as she wanted to, she refrained. There were better things to do than that, no matter how she tried to run away from her past, it will keep haunting her unless she takes action to deal with it so it never bothers her again. Her eyes caught a glimpse of something at the corner of the bed, very close to her phone. She didn't notice this before as she was too eager to rest. A black card was placed on the nightstand and she had an idea who it
The shop assistant made her decision to sell the dress to Kate. She took her card to proceed with the sale but Ivy's next reaction stunned Kate. Opening her mouth wide to spit out words of insult, but nothing came out. In fact, she was trapped in a stupor looking at the deed performed by Ivy. She flung her card to the side without hesitation and placed hers on the counter, smiling at the shop assistant who was staring at her incredulously. If she was really who Kate said she was, then her attitude was frightening for her demeanor."What... what's... the meaning of this? You..." Having recovered from the initial shock, she struggled to get her words straight.Ivy was pleased with the expression on her face. It was flushed red from anger, twitching her nose. "You are annoyed? Why are you annoyed when you started it..." Ivy smirked and turned to face the shop assistant."Let me make myself clear, I... will... be... paying... for this... dress. Understood." She emphasized her words, looki
To make Kate bankrupt was Ivy's plan all along. Kate was not wealthy in any way; she thought too highly of herself, so Ivy decided to teach her a lesson.Kate being the best friend of her sister, Ivy knew she couldn't afford to pay a dress worth $2 million without going bankrupt. Especially now that no 'Mr. Rich' was backing her. Back when they were all still in college, she dated rich guys and exchanged her body for money to survive through college. Her mother was a stripper who never spent a penny on her feeding, let alone education. Kate just had her ways of making provisions for herself. After she broke up with a rich heir a month ago, she had been single and hadn't met anyone who was up to her standard. She knew because she usually followed her on social media; if she changes her profile picture from a guy to her own photo, it is understood that they might have broken up. Just to show how arrogant she was, she foolishly squandered money with no plans for the future. She was proba
Ivy arrived at the same apartment that brought so many memories. She didn't come to cherish them or dwell in the past; she was only there to end it and move on totally."I did what you asked, ma'am.""Good, let's go then," Ivy responded, averting her eyes away from the apartment she and Dave lived. She got rid of the only thing that reminds her of his fake promises, fake affection, those bullshits about inconvenient exposure of their relationship because of her career, sacrificing what she worked hard for to please him.She vividly remembered his exact words when he proposed to her. It was her twenty-third birthday; he didn't arrange for a big party, it was just an indoor celebration. All she cared for was to be with him, in his arms. He gifted her the ring as a reminder of his love. He said 'he will love her forever, grow old together.' What a joke. She was still in her twenties so where is he now? He said those words so many times that it became a poem in her ears; that was the main
The video of her crying on the road has gone viral. That fateful day, she was too driven by distress to the point that she didn't care how she appeared in public. She was too in pain to care about her actions. The vivid location where she was found was precise. Judging by the angle it was taken, her tears and pain were exposed to the public in a matter of a few days. Most of the comments were sympathetic towards her, while others were derisive. She was back in the entertainment news. "Poor thing, what happened to her?" "Was it a heartbreak? I don't remember any news about her having any relationships." "She is so pathetic, it seems like life hasn't been good to her since she left the industry." "So miserable, I'm sure it's a heartbreak..." "Maybe she lost someone..." "How could she cry like that on the road?" "It's clearly her, it's been a long time since we heard from her. I wonder what she's into now..." Tired of all the comments, she put her phone away. She was sure that i
ONE WEEK BEFORE THE TRIAL The blanket stirred, ripping like a wave, as Zack and Ivy's bodies moved in sync. Their lips were pressed tightly together, their breath mingling in the quiet room. Ivy had her hand wrapped around Zack's neck, deepening the kiss. Her soft moans filled the room. But just as they were getting lost in the moment, the shrill ring of Ivy's phone shattered the intimacy. Ivy pulled away, reaching for her phone on the bedside table, but when she saw who the caller was, she cut the call and let out a frustrated sigh. “Judy again, isn’t it?” Zack asked, irritation creeping into his voice. Ivy nodded and slumped back on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Judy had been blowing up her phone nonstop, sending her a barrage of texts and voicemails. It had become increasingly annoying by the day, and Ivy felt like just meeting with her and giving her a piece of her mind. On the other hand, she didn’t feel like it, as she knew Judy wouldn’t stop apologizing. “I
FEW DAYS LATERIvy sat in the therapist's office, fidgeting with her hands as she tried to process the events of the past few weeks. Firstly, discovering her father was alive, then his repulsion, then the truth behind her mother's death. She sighed. It was all too overwhelming—Zack was right, she needed help if she wanted to dive into the road of vengeance. She had to be emotionally stable to handle the heat. That's why she had agreed to visit a therapist, as the nightmares were becoming unbearable. Ivy couldn't shake off the feeling of helplessness that had consumed her for so long.Dr. Thompson, a middle-aged woman with a kind face, took a seat across from her with a warm smile on her face."Welcome, Mrs. Anderson," she greeted, and Ivy returned the smile, forcing her lips to curl up.She looked up at Dr. Thompson, who was watching her with a compassionate gaze, and she asked, feeling a sense of desperation wash over her, "Where do I even start?"Dr. Thompson leaned forward, her eye
"Ivy, Ivy," Zack called softly, standing at the door to their bedroom. Ivy had locked herself in again and refused to answer.It made Zack wonder if he had been too pushy, too insensitive. He knew Ivy was strong and capable, but he also knew that she was still vulnerable, still hurting from her past. And it was like a thorn to his heart to see her suffering.He hoped that she would forgive him, that she would understand that he was only trying to help. But as the minutes ticked by, Zack couldn't shake the feeling that he had made a mistake—one that might take some time to repair."I'm sorry, Ivy," he whispered. "I promise to listen to you, to understand you. Please, just let me in."Zack paused, hoping that Ivy would respond, but there was only silence. He sighed, feeling a pang of regret and worry. He didn't want to lose Ivy, not even for a moment. He wanted to be there for her, to hold her, to comfort her.He tried again, his voice softer, more gentle. "Ivy, please. Don't shut me ou
Once the kitchen was spotless, Ivy and Zack got to work cooking up a storm together. They chatted and joked, with Ivy doing most of the work, supervising Zack on what to do."I'll start chopping the veggies," Ivy said, picking up a knife and heading to the cutting board."What do you need me to chop?" Zack asked, standing beside her."Can you chop the bell peppers and onions?" Ivy replied, starting to chop some broccoli.Zack nodded, taking the knife from Ivy and beginning to chop the bell peppers and onions. The sound of sizzling vegetables and the aroma of stir-fry filled the air as they worked together.As they chopped and cooked, Ivy felt a sense of calm wash over her. This was what she needed – a normal, quiet evening with her husband, away from the drama and stress of her family's secrets. She wished every day could be like this, problem-free.But as they cooked, she couldn't help but think about her conversation with Irene earlier that day. She knew she had to tell Zack about i
Upon hearing Irene, Ivy recall what she had gone through a few months ago with Jake's situation. The danger, fear, and anxiety all came flooding back. Her eyes glazed over as she stared blankly into space. Was she ready to face that kind of situation again? It seemed her father's cruelty was beyond her imagination. "Having second thoughts?" Irene's voice cut through the fog, snapping her back to reality. "It would be better if we don't do anything rash, at least not now." Ivy shook her head in disapproval. She refused to sit back and do nothing while he had threatened her about Jeremy's trial. Upon drifting to this thought, she tugged on Irene's sleeve and forced her to sit back down. Irene didn't resist Ivy's pull but sighed in frustration. "We can't just sit back and do nothing, Irene," Ivy continued. "He's threatening me with Jeremy's case." Irene's brow furrowed in confusion. "Jeremy's case as in—wait." She paused, her eyes widened in shock. "Jeremy is back!" Ivy nodded a
Ivy refused to sit back and let things unfold before her eyes. Though she hadn't recovered from the trauma of her past, she had to take action.Ivy concealed her plan from Zack and her decision to investigate on her own. She needed Zack, but there were actions to be taken without Zack's help.So, the next day as Zack left the office, Ivy put on a brave face, not wanting to arouse any suspicion and also to avoid the retort of a therapist. She waited until Zack was out of sight, and with a sense of purpose and trepidation, Ivy dialed Irene's number.The line went through, and Irene's voice sounded with a hint of irritation."What do you want now?"Ivy ignored Irene's icy tone and got to her point."Let's meet up at the French bistro," she said flatly, leaving no room for protest.Irene chuckled at Ivy's slightly commanding tone, intrigued by whatever reason Ivy might have."What do you want?" Irene repeated, exasperation creeping into her voice."I'd rather discuss that in person, and I
As Zack swept her into their bedroom, Ivy's heart skipped a beat, racing with anticipation. She felt the wall against her back as Zack's strong hands pinned her in place."Late noon sex won't be so bad after all," Ivy teased as she felt Zack's hands cradle her hips, lifting her higher, his fingers digging gently into her skin.Ivy was breathless as her body was pressed closer to Zack's, their faces merely inches apart. The movement sent a thrill through her, and she felt her body responding at all turns."I'm glad you like the ideas," Zack finally spoke, a soft whisper in her ears, as he held her suspended, her hips at his mercy.Ivy's lips parted slightly, her body leaning into him. Her heart throbbed. Instinctively, she found her hand already wrapping around Zack's neck, pulling him close.She knew she should probably pull back, as it wasn't their usual position, but she couldn't help herself. She was drawn to Zack, and she didn't realize it at first, but she needed him right now. H
"Yeah, I don't see tears on your cheek," Susan said, her voice laced with sarcasm as she gently wiped away the tears streaming down Ivy's face.Ivy's eyes widened in embarrassment, and she quickly looked away, trying to compose herself.Susan's expression softened, and she wrapped her arms around Ivy, pulling her into a warm hug. "It's okay, Ivy. Let it all out. I'm here for you."Ivy's resistance crumbled, and she buried her face in Susan's shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably. Susan held her close, whispering words of comfort and reassurance as Ivy finally allowed herself to release the emotions she had been bottling up for so long.As Ivy cried, Susan stroked her hair, murmuring softly, "That's it... Don't worry about the time; we have all day."After what felt like an eternity, Ivy's sobs finally subsided, and she pulled back from Susan, her face red and puffy from crying. Susan handed her a tissue, and Ivy blew her nose, feeling a little more composed."I'm sorry," Ivy said, her voic
Susan's eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly composed herself and hurried around to the driver's side of the car. "Okay, Ivy, let's get out of here," she said softly, starting the engine.Meanwhile, Anna merely stood by, observing as Ivy's car disappeared into the distance. It appeared that her pleasant chat with Ivy would need to be postponed, as it was clear that Ivy had her own issues to address. Anna sighed and shook her head, feeling a pang of concern for Ivy. She had no idea what was going on but made a mental note to reach out to Ivy later and check in on her.As she turned to head back to her own car with her PA, she noticed a figure watching her from across the parking lot. It was a man, and the moment their eyes met, the man turned away and hurried out of the parking lot."I think that's a paparazzo," her PA suddenly spoke up from behind her, having also noticed the man."Or a journalist," Anna remarked. "Either way, we should be careful," Anna continued, her eyes scann