∆NO POV∆"My engagement?" Alexander raised an eyebrow with an amused smile, "Who told you I'm going to get engaged to him?" "You did!" Ivory huffed, recalling the news telecast where she had seen them personally confirming their engagement. "Last night, you and he told it to paparazzi...." She trailed off, struggling to find the words to continue further.Alexander sighed dramatically. "Just think of it as him dumping me for that beautiful girl over there, happy now?"In fact, Alexander just joked but Ivory took it seriously.Alexander adjusted his cuffs, pretending not to hear the whispers around him.Ivory couldn’t help but feel anger on Alexander’s behalf. Crossing her arms, she fixed a piercing gaze on Eric and his fiancee, as if preparing for battle against their betrayal"This is ridiculous," she slammed her hand on the table, "How can he dump you like that? Just look at you! If I had a boyfriend like you, I would ne..." She cut herself off, realising what she was about to sa
∆ALEXANDER∆"Alex, no!" Eric shouted, wrenching his arms tighter around me not allowing me to go towards Ivory.Shattered glass from the chandelier showered down near me like razor-edged confetti, and the flames of the explosion teased the skin on my arms. I'm too stunned, Eric held my arm behind me as I attempted to move once again."She's there! Ivory's there!" My voice was cracked with fear as I fought him, "Don't stop me, she is in danger! Let me go!" Eric clenched his teeth. "I know Alex, but if you go directly into the flames, how the hell are you going to rescue her? Wait till we get some help." His words aren't reaching my ears, my heart was beating against my chest like a war drum, my brain is messed with a mixture of terror and despair, above the fog of smoke and panic, I saw her.Lying motionless.Too motionless.My blood turned cold and chilling, as shiver ran down my spine at the sight of her like that, the woman I loved lying there unconscious twisted my heart.I pus
∆ALEXANDER∆"I'm fine," Ivory smiled at me, "Don't worry." "Shut up," I growled, gently tucking her hair behind her ear, "You've no right to say that you're fine, how could you even say that you're fine? First why did you do something so reckless? Why did you push me? What if something happened to you?""I'm sorry, I didn't think that deeper," her expression turned serious, while her fingers tightening around mine. "At that moment I was scared," she whispered. "Scared that you might get hurt, I didn't think about myself, because I thought protecting you must be my first priority." My heart clenched at her words, looking into my eyes, she continued, "Even if something were to happen to me, I don't think there would be barely anyone who would shed a tear for me, but you are different from me, you've a family, and...." Before she could continue, I hugged her, just tightly, tight enough to keep her bound in my arms.How can she say that? How can she believe she has no one when I'm read
∆IVORY∆"Why her?" A call from housekeeper Lara surprised me while I was in the middle of the conversation.She never contacted me from the day I cut off ties with my so-called family, if so why did she call me, now? With that thing in my mind, I answered the call only to hear about.My grandfather.A bad feeling settled in my stomach as I was talking in the call, the voice on the other end was hurried, almost panicked. "Miss Ivory, please come back immediately, Mr. Dubrey is in the hospital, he wishes to see you."My grip on the phone tightened and I turned completely silent."We… we don’t know anything yet, but he keeps asking for you, please come soon, we will be waiting for you." "I....I'll be there," I said with a dry voice hanging up the call and glanced at Alexander as soon as I hung up, "I think we need to leave, immediately." Alexander frowned with a confused face. "Immediately? To where?""Grandfather… he's hospitalized, he is sick and wants to see me now." I managed to sa
∆NO POV∆"We will reach in no time," Alexander said with a gentle smile, as they're preparing to leave.Eric stopped Ivory, and handed her a small box, "A small token of gift from me!" "No," Ivory refused giving it back to him, "I can't accept anything given by you." Eric pinched her cheeks gently, "Ivory, you can stop hating me, as I said I'll not be coming in between you and him, he is all yours, why hating such an innocent man like me?" "Stop it," she brushed off his hand away, Eric just chuckled, Alexander came in at the same time, "Are you teasing her again?" Eric shook his head with a fake pain, "I didn't, I'm giving a gift with a kind heart, but she refused to accept my kindness." "This man? What exactly is he doing?" Ivory thought to herself, "Is he sowing misunderstandings in between me and Alexander? Just like in those TV shows, white lotus bitches act all innocent in front of the big boss, only to make the female lead suffer, is he doing the same?" Alexander smacked o
∆NO POV∆"Did you forget?" Ivory rolled her eyes, "That day in the bar, thanks to you dragging me there to cry after my break-up, I found this man in my drunken state." As always, Pearl put on a dramatic expression, "Girl, you've to be grateful to me, throughout your life, you should be thanking me for taking you to that bar, especially that night, where you and he met, thanks to that you're enjoying, along with you, I'm also enjoying." Alexander looked confused after watching both Pearl and Ivory standing right there and not coming inside, "Aren't you both going to come inside?" "Yeah, we are coming," Ivory replied, pulling Pearl along with her to go inside, Alexander shaking his head let them inside, "Young girls are pretty hard to understand!" Those words he suppressed within himself, walking in, Pearl leaned closer to whisper in Ivory's ear, "He is pretty loaded, such a rich man like the big boss in those novels!" Ivory grinned at Pearl's words. "I already knew that.""But th
∆IVORY∆"Don't tell me you already started thinking about it, are you?" Pearl wriggled her eyebrows, as she teased me, using a gentle smack with a pillow bringing me out of my thoughts."Ugh, shut up," I groaned, turning over, and buried my face in the soft sheets beneath me, I'm already tired no more strength to fight or argue, can't even think of anything more.Pearl giggled, but I ignored her and closed my eyes as I'm already tired like hell, just as I closed my eyes, sleep is already waiting for me, and instantly, i was dragged into a comforting wave of sleep.I don't even know how long I was asleep, but when I woke up, the first thing I saw was Pearl happily munching on a snack sitting straight in front of me. "What are you eating?" I asked groggily, rubbing my eyes, as I still couldn't come out of my sleepiness."Shrimp san..sandwich," she replied between bites, looking way too involved in killing the shrimp that's already dead in the sandwich, "Tastes so good, do you want so
∆IVORY∆"Are you sure?" Grandpa asked in a disbelief voice, I nodded my head with great difficulty."I'm so happy dear, thank you so much for listening to my request, wait till I get discharged, I'll announce your wedding date infront of everyone." I forced a small smile as Grandpa spoke, but my heart was twisting in pain at his words.His voice was gentle, affectionate too, but the weight of his words crushed me and my heart without any mercy. I clenched my fists tight enough to let my nails dig into my palms, so that I can keep my emotions in control before they burst out."Breathe, Ivory, just breathe," I tried to calm myself as all these overwhelming emotions made me to forget even taking a breath.Holding back everything within me, I spoke as steadily as I could. "You can't stress anymore, please take rest, I'll be leaving now, Grandpa." Without waiting for his response, I stood up from the chair, turned around and walked out of the room. My body moved like a lifeless shell, bu
∆IVORY POV∆"Pearl... Stop hugging me, you're so heavy," I groaned in my sleep, rubbing my eyes I woke up feeling warm and cozy. I blinked, realizing something soft wrapped around my waist like a snake.Wait.My heart stopped.Alexander’s hand.So, from the last night, he didn't move at all, even now his hand wrapped against my waist, and I'm also hugging him.Oh god! I must've gone crazy!Panic passed through me as I groaned inwardly, "This man, did he think of me as his comforting pillow or what? If not why did he even hug me that tightly to sleep? Arghh, never thought I would become a human pillow one day!"No matter what I can't argue or fight with him, after all he is my boss, and also a husband, I should respect him for sure, so let's just ignore this incident as if it never happened.Slowly, very slowly, I tried to move away without waking him.I barely shifted an inch before a deep, groggy voice mumbled, "Where do you think you’re going?"I froze. "Uh…"He slightly opened an
∆IVORY POV∆"Damn Ivory," I almost slapped my mouth for being loose, immediately I stepped back trying to be away from Alexander, "Ummm... Nothing, I'm not worried about anything, why would I even be worried? Why should I?" Alexander crossed his arms, "That's my question too, why should you be worried? Did you do anything?" "Not... Nothing," I knew both my body and voice were trembling, it almost came as if in urgency, but there's nothing I could do seriously, it's not my fault but the fault of the man in front of me."I see," he smiled, I can see a wicked grin on his face, this man is quiet dangerous for innocent people like me.The room still had the soft glow of candles, the scent of roses lingering in the air. Everything screamed romance, but my situation with Alexander was… complicated, to call it romance, it won't be lying in my bed but I'm coffin with roses decorated on me, because he is Alexander Kingston.His gaze shifted around the room before landing on me. His lips twi
∆IVORY POV∆"I know it's hard to believe," Eric winked at Alexander, "But whatever that old man saying, everything is true." Old Master Kingston raised his cane, "Who is old man here? You and your father are old man, not me." "Yes... Yes, we are only old," Eric chuckled, "You're just an youngster, who crossed teenage years." Alexander joined Eric in teasing Old Master Kingston, "Too bad, he still thinks he is just a teenager." "You brats, both of you are seriously annoying," Old Master Kingston sighed, "I don't understand how I raised these both ungrateful brats all these years!" Eric and Alexander laughed hearing to his words, looking in my direction, Old Master Kingston said with a warm voice, "I know it's like one plus one offer, but if you're in a relationship with Alex, Eric will be a third wheel always, they've been best buddies for so long, handling them might be hard, so I'm giving you full permission, you can discipline them in any way you wants, none will question you o
∆IVORY POV∆"Old Master Kingston isn't scary at all," I couldn't help but to remember how kind and sweet he was earlier, I expected him to lash out on us, I thought he would insult me for becoming the wife of his precious son on whom he doted on very much.The family affairs of Kingston's family is quite dynamic, Old Master Kingston is always distant from his eldest son and only grandson, but loves Alexander a lot, that's why the majority of the Kingston family belongs to Alexander.Even after being fiancee of Jacob for so long, I never got to know about Alexander much, maybe it's because I was into only Jacob, and never cared much about others, even now I don't think I would ever know the secrets of this family, as I'm just a contract wife to Alexander Kingston.I was looking at the gifts they sent to the room, seriously I never expected a bride price, and this is too huge.Just as I was caressing the heirloom box, I heard a knock on the door, and a middle aged woman who earlier guid
∆PEARL POV∆"So beautiful!" Looks like it's not exaggerating when they said that the flowers found in Kingston family garden can't be found anywhere.The garden was glowing under golden sunlight, the gentle fragrance of roses, jasmine, and lilacs filling the air as I walked in between those flowers.It was one of those rare peaceful moments where I could simply admire nature without any distractions. The vibrant petals were dancing in the light breeze, and for the first time in a while, I felt a sense of calm which I never felt before.That was until I heard his voice."You look like one of these flowers, you know, pretty but probably hiding thorns."I sighed before turning around, Eric Lawrence stood a few feet away, hands in his pockets, with an usual smirk on his face.The sunlight made his sharp features even more strikingly attractive, and I hated how effortlessly charismatic he was when people struggling hard just to look attractive, but look at him no need to worry about anyt
∆NO POV∆"I'm not angry with you," Old Master Kingston said, his deep voice filled the living room, "Why would I even angry with you, my dear? In fact, I couldn't bring myself to be angry with you, because you did nothing wrong." Ivory, who had been sitting in a stiffened position finally took a deep breath in relief.For some reason, those words brought an odd sense of relief, as if she had unknowingly been waiting for his approval."I'm actually quite pleased," the old man continued, a rare smile formed up on his face unlike his stern expression like always.His sharp eyes shifted to Alexander, and his smile turned into something smug. "Finally, this aloof and clueless son of mine has managed to marry someone sweet and kind like you, I can be rest assured now thinking my dumb son is in safe hands." Ivory blinked in surprise, while Alexander jusr rolled his eyes.Eric, standing beside Alexander let out an exaggerated gasp before bursting into laughter."Did you just call your own
∆NO POV∆"I'm scared," Ivory whispered the moment she stepped out of the car. Her fingers clenched the fabric of her dress as her stomach twisted in knots, just as standing in front of a huge mansion, which is intimidating as a hell made Ivory to think about running away without even turning around.She hadn't even taken a step forward, yet she was already regretting coming here.Pulling Alexander's sleeve, Ivory mumbled, "Is it okay to leave?" Eric, ever the bully, snickered beside her. "You can leave if you want, but take your husband with you because that old man is definitely going to kick him out."Ivory swallowed hard, turning to Alexander with pleading eyes. "Maybe we should just...." Before she could finish, Alexander smacked Eric on the back of his head, making him yelp. "Shut up before I bury you in the garden, idiot." Eric rubbed his head with a glare. "Why are you hitting me? I'm just speaking the truth! I'm sure your father is gonna explode when he hears about this ma
∆NO POV∆"What'll happen?" "Old Master is so furious, this time young lady can't escape!" "I never expected long lost daughter of Collins family would be this promiscuous!""Though an adopted daughter, young lady Ivory is very elegant and matured!" The servants of Collins mansion whispered among themselves watching the scene in front of them, the mansion had never felt so suffocating as today.The grand living room was silent except for the sound of Jacob Kingston and Jessica Collins kneeling before the wrath of Old Master Collins.The old man sat on the couch gripping his cane so tightly as if he was controlling his frustration.His aged face, twisted in rage eager to discipline two people kneeling infront of him.His granddaughter, his own flesh and blood, had humiliated their family in the worst possible way, he tried his best to hide everything till now, but things got out of control in the wedding."You ungrateful disgrace!" His voice roared through the room like a violent sto
∆NO POV∆"Yours?" Ivory asked, her voice sounding almost a whisper. "Are you claiming ownership on me?"Alexander didn't even hesitate, with a proud smile, he nodded, "Yes, any objection?" The priest cleared his throat and announced, "You may kiss the bride."Ivory’s heart jumped to her throat. "Oh no, the kiss! It's not like the first time we are kissing each other, but... But, that and this are different, what am I supposed to do now?" She braced herself, cheeks already burning, mentally preparing for the inevitable. "Is he really going to kiss me in front of everyone? Right here, right now?" The entire hall was silent, holding its breath, watching with anticipation.Just as she thought he would lean in and claim her lips, Alexander did something completely unexpected, he pressed a warm, and gentle kiss on her forehead instead.The crowd gasped. Even Ivory’s breath caught in her throat in surprise."I love keeping things private," Alexander whispered in her ear, "Whether a kiss