LOGINALEXAI was already preparing for bed when I heard a knock on my bedroom door. After everything that had happened, I just wanted to fall asleep and not have to think about anything right now.A few hours ago, I had asked Lona to take the wedding dresses back to the attic. There was no point seeing them and getting my heart broken over what should have been.“Lona, come in,” I said, knowing that she was the one.We were the only ones in this mansion and I wasn’t expecting anyone; not with the way Noelle left.At some point, I felt guilty, and then lonely, because I would have liked to have Noelle here with me, but then again, neither she nor Mark gave me any explanations.What did they expect from me?How was I supposed to just trust them when Noelle was lying to me, and they had had something before in the past...even though it wasn’t something intense, as Noelle had said, but now that she was going behind my back, how would I even believe her?“Good evening, ma’am,” Lona greeted as s
ALEXAI was already preparing for bed when I heard a knock on my bedroom door. After everything that had happened, I just wanted to fall asleep and not have to think about anything right now.A few hours ago, I had asked Lona to take the wedding dresses back to the attic. There was no point seeing them and getting my heart broken over what should have been.“Lona, come in,” I said, knowing that she was the one.We were the only ones in this mansion and I wasn’t expecting anyone; not with the way Noelle left.At some point, I felt guilty, and then lonely, because I would have liked to have Noelle here with me, but then again, neither she nor Mark gave me any explanations.What did they expect from me?How was I supposed to just trust them when Noelle was lying to me, and they had had something before in the past...even though it wasn’t something intense, as Noelle had said, but now that she was going behind my back, how would I even believe her?“Good evening, ma’am,” Lona greeted as s
IVYI had no idea if Jack was doing this deliberately, but he seemed to just be absent for way too long. Till this very moment, he hadn’t returned.Maybe I should be worried about him, but he had been living in this cabin for more than ten years now, and so if there was anyone who didn’t need to be worried about, it was Jack.Was he deliberately leaving me and Lina Barry here?After making me upset by telling me that I was also a guest here, he decided to disappear for heaven knows how long.“This is why I need the money to leave Paris for good. I need to get out of here and start my own life in a clean slate,” I said to myself.That was the only way out for me.“Ivy,” Lina Barry called softly from behind me, causing me to jerk.I had been so deeply engrossed in my thoughts that I hadn’t even realized that she had walked up to me, or maybe she had been really quiet.“What is it?” I asked Lina Barry harshly.And that was because I was still upset with her and the turnout of everything.
MARKAfter storming upstairs and spending a while in my bedroom fuming, I decided to come back down. I had taken off my suit jacket and loosened my tie.The anger ate deep, but after fuming and tossing back and forth in my bedroom, the anger just seemed to dissipate.Much to my surprise, I found Vector in the living room.“I thought you had left,” I said.I walked into my living room and slumped into the nearest sofa.“Well, I wanted to be sure that you were okay, Mark,” Vector said.My eyes caught the marriage certificate on the table. Vector had obviously kept it there, and seeing it again refreshed my memory on what happened about an hour ago. Vector could see that I was staring at the marriage certificate.“Alexa is going to be the death of me,” I muttered with exhaustion.“I honestly thought you two would have settled everything by now, especially regarding where she will live,” Vector said.“Alexa has refused to speak to me since she found out that Mona is pregnant for me,” I re
ALEXA“Mrs. Alexa, you are back,” Lona said, sounding shocked.She could barely believe that I would be back this soon. I wasn’t even gone for up to thirty minutes. All thanks to Shirley and Reyna, the church was just a stone throw from the house.“Just Alexa is fine,” I told Lona, cringing at the title that she had automatically given me.Lona was so perplexed that she couldn’t keep it in any longer.“Did the wedding not hold?” She asked me.“It did, Lona,” I told her dully.Still, she wasn’t convinced.“But...you are back way too soon, you don’t want to be addressed as Mrs. Alexa, and you don’t have any rings on,” she noted.Lona was still trying to be respectful about what she noticed, and at the same time, keeping within her boundaries.“First of all, it was just a church wedding, Lona. It doesn’t usually take the whole day to sign a marriage certificate, and secondly, people are allowed to get married and not wear wedding bands,” I answered.But deep down, in all of this, Mark an
MARK Was Alexa serious? Did I hear her correctly or was it a joke? A part of me knew that I had heard her correctly, which was why I felt deeply humiliated, especially as everyone’s attention was now focused on us. Worse, they had heard everything that was said. “Is there something you would like to say?” Alexa asked me cockily. She knew exactly what she was doing. First, she arrived almost late, and to make matters worse, she came dressed as though she was going to work on a random day. It wasn’t fair. It was embarrassing, not to talk of the fact that she had been avoiding me all through. Alexa signed the certificate that made us husband and wife without even looking at me. I had attended a lot of weddings in my lifetime, in and outside the city, but I had never seen anything like what happened here today. It was the coldest wedding ever! Unfortunately, it happened to me. “No, I don’t,” I said, trying so hard to push the humiliation down my throat. In the midst o
ALEXAI went to my store that morning and Noelle promised to stop by later. Meanwhile, I had already made an appointment with the detective who advised that the earlier I filed the case, the better.Ever since I heard the news of Oscar’s death and how Mark had ordered for his release, I had been ha
IVYAfter leaving Mark’s house, I didn’t feel horrible for what I did. I thought I was going to feel like shit,, because deep down, I knew that I had said too much, revealed too much, but I couldn’t help myself.I couldn’t control myself.I was controlled by grief and the desire to ruin something.
ALEXA“What do you say, Noelle?” I asked Noelle, still breathing heavily.“Alexa, are you sure?” She asked me.“Yes, I am,” I responded. “This tour I went with the pop-star has elevated my business and it will be too much for me. There is no way I will be able to handle a thousand clients at once,”
IVY“Did you hear what I just said?” She asked me when I stopped but said nothing.I didn’t turn around to loot at her either, so she couldn’t exactly tell my mood. One of the quickest and easiest ways she could get me was looking at my face or staring into my eyes.“We have to keep your name away







