Chapter 12

With a slow, confident smile, Anastasia extended her manicured hand. “Anastasia, Damon’s girlfriend ”

Ivy didn’t flinch she took in a deep breath and calmed her racing heart she even smiled while she accepted Anastasia's handshake.

"Nice to meet you but I am not a house girl " ivy said bluntly.

That threw Anastasia off a little.

“What? Then who are you ?? ” Anastasia asked with annoyance written all over her face.

The moment she had stepped in she had felt threatened by ivy unusually beautiful face the fact that she wasn't putting on any layer of makeup and was dressed in a simple white dress didn't hinder her beauty at all in fact she looked so unreal like a fairy.

This had made Anastasia angry so she wanted to deal with Ivy thinking she was a house girl.

Also Anastasia never met Selena so she had no idea what Selena looked like but she knew how important the name Selena is to Damon.

"Oh how rude of me I didn't introduce myself " Ivy said sarcastically.

She shrugged then smirked before saying the next word that left Anastasia shocked. "My name is Selena I am Damon's wife "

"What?!!! Are you trying to deceive me ?!! Damon's wife is long dead!!! " Anastasia lashed out.

Before Ivy could respond, the front door burst open again and Damon walked in.

He stopped in his tracks the moment he saw Anastasia, his dark brows pulling together instantly.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he asked sharply, his voice colder than ice.

Anastasia turned around slowly, her expression mock-hurt. “Aw, Damon That’s not how you greet your girlfriend also this ugly thing here is claiming to be your wife ”

“Firstly You’re not my girlfriend, and secondly she is not a ugly thing she is my woman ” Damon snapped and walked towards her and placed his hand around her waist.

Ivy looked at him with confusion in her eyes.

"Is he seriously choosing me over her ? This man is really nuts " ivy thought inwardly but didn't say anything and just continued to watch her.

Anastasia pouted, walking toward Damon. “Damon you are only doing this to make me jealous right , you can't be with her you know your parents adore me and we look good together ”

“I believe I am old enough to choose who I want to be with, Get your things and leave ” he said flatly.

Anastasia’s smile cracked, but she quickly composed herself. “I’m not going anywhere, This place feels like home. Besides…” she threw a quick glance at Ivy."This ugly thing isn't good for you "

Damon clenched his jaw. “Leo!”

Almost immediately, the tall, intimidating figure of Leo, appeared at the hallway entrance.

“Yes, sir ”

“Get this trash out of my house Bags and all ”

Anastasia gasped. “Damon you can't throw me....”

“I can and I just did ”

Leo didn’t hesitate. He walked over, grabbed her suitcases in one hand like they were empty boxes, and gestured toward the door.

“Ma’am,Let’s go ” he said coldly.

Anastasia looked from Damon to Leo to Ivy, then scoffed. “This isn’t over, your parents would hear of this!!!! ” she yelled.

She tried to hold her head high, but the embarrassment was obvious as she stormed out behind Leo.

The second the door slammed shut, silence returned to the room.

Damon sighed heavily and turned to look at Ivy who was staring at him like he was the most confused being on earth.

"You really have no taste " She mumbled.

“She’s nothing, Anastasia was just someone my parents kept pushing at me. I never wanted her ” he said quietly, he didn't want her to misunderstand , only God knows what lies Anastasia had told her before he arrived.

Ivy looked up at him, her expression unreadable. “i am not talking about that , I am talking about you picking me over her ”

Damon’s brows furrowed. “ what are you saying ? Why can't I pick you ? ” he asked his strong hands were still around her waist.

“ She seems more beautiful and intelligent than me that kind of lady is the one best for you should just let ugly me.......”

Before she could complete her words Damon's cold lips met with hers, one of his hands left her waist and found itself around her neck.

He gently griped her by her waist and neck as he kissed her.

Ivy’s breath caught in her throat.

Her hands instinctively pushed at his chest, but Damon didn’t stop. His lips moved with a slow, deliberate passion, nothing rushed or wild just raw, aching emotion. As though he had been holding back for too long. As though he needed this her.

And before she knew it, she stopped pushing.

Her fingers curled around his shirt but she never kissed him back.

For a moment, the world was quiet. No drama, no chaos, just the thud of her heart against his.

But the moment shattered as Ivy pulled away slightly, breathless and shaken. She stared up at him, her lips slightly parted, her face flushed.

“You shouldn’t have done that…” she whispered.

Damon’s eyes darkened, voice husky. “I don’t regret it ”

“But I do ” she said, stepping away, her voice low but steady. “You don’t get to kiss me just to shut me up ”

His jaw clenched. “I don't care what you think but I will always shut you up with a kiss whenever you say something foolish, never call yourself ugly again , you are the prettiest girl I have ever laid my eyes on Selena and you are mine ”

Ivy blinked rapidly, as she stared at him then she scoffed.

“Now you’re just saying that to try to get into my pants ”

His lips twitched then he smirked dangerously. “ Selena If that’s all I wanted, I wouldn’t have waited this long I would have slept with you a really long time ”

Ivy’s face turned crimson at his honesty.

She looked away quickly, biting the inside of her cheek.

"Shameless " She spat and tried to walk away but he grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Where are you going ? " He asked.

"Far away from you " She mumbled and yanked her hand away from him then ran upstairs to her room.

Damon ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, watching her silhouette disappear.

He wanted to go after her but he didn’t follow her .

Meanwhile, outside the mansion…

Anastasia sat sulking in the back seat of her sleek black car. Her lips were curled in anger, her nails tapping on her phone screen rapidly.

She dialed a number on FaceTime with her expensive smartphone.

“Pick up,pick up…” she muttered under her breath , as she stared intensely at the phone screen.

Finally, the line connected and a mud age woman popped up, only her face was visible to the camera but one could tell that she was an elite , respected woman.

“Hello Anastasia ” her refined voice came through the phone.

Anastasia’s face instantly changed to a sorrowful one and she even managed to burst into tears.

“Aunt Raine… your son ,Damon just threw me out of his mansion like a dog… all because of a girl he even called her his wife ” she wept as she spoke.

Mrs Raine's face turned red with anger after hearing Anastasia's words.

"Damon did what?!! " She yelled.

"Anastasia Don't think about it or cry he is probably doing that to annoy you and chase you away just go back to your house for now , me and his dad are not around presently but we will pay him a visit once we get back " Mrs Raine and Anastasia sniffed.

"Thank you aunty Raine i am sorry for disturbing you " she said pitifully.

"Don't say that , you are disturbing me you should go and get some rest we will talk later " Mrs Raine said then ended the face call.

Once the call had ended Anastasia wiped the tears off her face with a handkerchief while laughing.

"No wonder I am called the best actress I just fooled that old rag without wasting my energy " she said and threw the handkerchief Out of the car.

"Let's see what Damon is going to do now I have his family wrapped around my fingers" she mumbled then drove away.

THAT SAME DAY ~ A WORN-OUT BUILDING

Katie stood in front of the rusted, creaky door and took a deep breath before pushing it open.

The familiar stench of smoke and mildew hit her immediately. Her face tightened as she stepped inside.

There, sprawled out lazily on their old, smelly couch, was her older brother shirtless, barefoot, and puffing on a cigarette like he had no worries in the world.

Worthless. That’s the only word Katie ever used to describe him.

She looked around the tiny, crumbling living room, the peeling walls, and the broken fan turning slowly above their heads. It was a far cry from the image she portrayed at school.

Katie wasn’t who she claimed to be.

At Blackridge, she was the rich, stylish heiress the girl who wore designer clothes, the girl with the latest phone, expensive shoes, and a different luxury car dropping her off each week.

But it was all a lie.

The truth? Katie was a poor orphan, barely getting by. Her parents had died years ago, leaving her in the care of a brother who contributed nothing. She worked odd jobs and borrowed whatever she could to build the image of wealth she needed to survive in a school filled with elites.

Most of the things she wore were rented or fake knock-off designer bags, fake diamond earrings, and secondhand heels polished to shine like new.

No one knew. No one could ever know.

Katie had live her whole life as a poor rat and had to come to the conclusion that the only way to make it big in this life is to get married to a wealthy man.

In a search for a wealthy man she met Matteo who fell in love with her at first sight and started doing everything to make her fall for him.

At a point Katie fell for him and decided to give him a chance and date him but later on she started to fall out of love and crave from money.

So she got into BLACKRIDGE by sleeping with one of the executive directors , luckily for her Blaze took a liking to her and immediately made her his girlfriend , making things easier for her.

She dropped her bag to the floor and sighed deeply as her brother looked up at her through bloodshot eyes.

“Back so early? You better have brought food ” he mumbled, flicking ash onto the stained carpet.

Katie clenched her jaw, but didn’t answer.

She just walked past him back straight, eyes cold and entered her small, dimly lit room.

This wasn’t home. It was her secret prison.

She threw herself on the bed closing her eyes from frustration.

Her stomach suddenly started to growl loudly and she groaned and brought out her phone from her pocket.

(Blaze I am still waiting for the money you promised me )

She typed then sent the message to blaze, she drew her pillow closer and hugged it tightly as she waited for blaze response.

THAT NIGHT ~ DAMON'S MANSION

It was late in the night and all the maids had gone to bed already, the mansion was quiet , it was so quiet that if a needle dropped to the floor one would hear it.

Inside Ivy's room , she was turning from one side of the bed to another , she had difficulty falling asleep.

"Maybe I should just stroll around I should fall asleep after strolling around " she muttered and gets off the bed she put on her flip flops and stepped out of the room.

Dressed in a short red silk sexy lingerie, she stepped out of her room without a jacket on.

She started walking around the huge mansion until she stumbled upon a huge black door.

She stood in front of the door looking at it with curiosity.

She placed her hand on the door knob and twisted it to check if it was locked.

To her surprise it wasn't , the door opened easily she peeped inside the room but all she saw was darkness.

A part of her Told her not to go in and just leave but a part of her was curious about the dark room.

Though she was scared she still managed to gather courage and enter inside the room.

Once inside she started to move around in the dark , touching things through the dark.

She managed to find the switch on the wall and pulled it, almost immediately the dark room brightened up with light.

The room lit up revealing Damon, slumped lifelessly in his chair.

A knife stuck out of his abdomen. Blood soaked through his white pajamas.

Ivy’s eyes widened in horror. Her face drained of color.

“ARGHHH!!!”Her scream pierced the silence of the night......................