Chapter 2 - Plain ivy, no more.

Author's pov

She had told herself that it didn’t matter.

That she could survive anything for just one year.

That Liam Calloway was just a name on paper and nothing more.

But as she walked out of her father’s penthouse, her heels echoing through the marble floors, something clenched tight in her chest.

Plain Ivy.

The name hit her like a whisper and a scream at the same time.

She hadn't heard it in years, but suddenly she was seventeen again.

Alone. Cold. Humiliated.

Her grip on her purse tightened.

She didn’t cry then, and she wouldn’t cry now.

But the memory came crashing back, uninvited and merciless.

“Last night was a mistake. Don’t you dare tell anyone, or I will make sure you regret it. Got it?”

His voice was flat. Icy. Like nothing had happened, he stood at the top of the bed staring down at her like she was nothing but dirt beneath his shoes.

Ivy sat up slowly, still clutching the soft hotel bedsheet to her chest. Her body was aching in ways she didn’t want to think about, and her heart? It was already cracking.

“…Yes,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Liam didn’t even wait for her to finish. The door slammed shut behind him without so much as a backward glance.

And just like that… her first time was gone, and she was alone.

That night wasn’t supposed to happen. It wasn’t even planned.

They were on a senior year class vacation, three days at a luxury resort. The school called it a bonding trip before graduation. For Ivy, it was torture. Parties, bikinis, and fake laughs everywhere. She’d stayed quiet in the corner like always, holding her book and praying to be invisible.

But Liam?

He was everywhere.

Popular. Loud. Smirking.

He’d had three girlfriends that semester alone. One of them being Bianca Winters. Miss Queen Bee herself.

But Bianca was already yesterday’s news by the time the trip rolled around. Liam had dumped her like he did with everyone else, with zero warning and a lot of attitude.

Bianca didn’t take it well. In fact, she had been whispering nonstop about “getting even.”

And Ivy? She hadn’t even been on anyone’s radar.

Not until that night.

She had snuck out for air. He was already drunk by the pool. One sarcastic comment turned into a real conversation. Then a kiss. Then more.

Ivy should’ve known it didn’t mean anything.

But for a second.......for one stupid second, she had let herself believe it did.

By morning, the whole resort knew.

Bianca had seen Liam walking out of Ivy's room, shirtless, before sunrise. She wasn’t subtle. She screamed, made a scene, and dragged people to look.

“She slept with Liam!”

“You’re joking.”

“HER? Seriously?”

They had forced the door open and were crowding around both the room and the hallway.

Phones were out. Recording. Whispering.

Ivy stood frozen in the room, with only the blanket covering her nakedness, face pale, eyes wide. She wanted to disappear. Melt into the floor.

And then Liam arrived.

Still shirtless. Still reeking of liquor and sleep.

Bianca marched up to him, furious. “Tell them! Tell them you hooked up with her! Tell them she’s a homewrecker!”

Liam stared at her. Then at Ivy. His lip curled in disgust.

“First of all, you and I aren’t a thing anymore, Bianca. Haven’t been for weeks. Second…” He turned to Ivy. “I don’t even know this girl’s name. Stop spreading rumors.”

Ivy’s heart snapped.

Everyone gasped. Some laughed.

He wasn’t just denying it. He was mocking her.

“Seriously?” he added with a chuckle, “You think I’d hook up with Plain Ivy? I was drunk, not blind.”

Laughter exploded through the hallway.

Bianca smirked like she’d won.

Ivy stood there, humiliated. Betrayed. Destroyed.

She didn’t cry.

She just walked away.

But that moment branded itself into her soul. That nickname......Plain Ivy had followed her like a curse. Through graduation. Through college.

She never forgot. Never forgave.

And now?

Now she was no longer that awkward girl with oversized glasses and oversized hoodies.

She was Ivy Monroe.

CEO. Fashion mogul. Ice in her veins and power in her heels.

And the man who humiliated her..... who was about to be her husband, if her father had his way.

Ivy stared down at the marriage contract on the desk, Liam’s name printed boldly at the top.

She let out a dry laugh and tapped her nails on the paper.

“Fine,” she murmured. “Let’s play.”