IVYI waited for Oscar to arrive at the restaurant that I paid for. He wouldn’t meet up at a hotel, so I decided to opt for a restaurant, and it did take a whole lot of convincing to be able to drag him out here.Well, it had been twenty minutes, and there was still no sign of Oscar.For the first time since Oscar and I got together, I became worried that he would stand me up. Oscar usually ran to me instantly, but ever since he met Alexa, he had been acting like a tough nut.“If it wasn’t for me, he would never have gotten anywhere close to Alexa,” I sulked angrily.A part of me was already feeling embarrassed that he might not show, but when I was almost giving up, I caught sight of Oscar strolling into the restaurant. Then I waved for me to notice where I was seated. It as a risky thing to meet up here, which was why I intentionally got dressed in a formal outfit, so that I could easily tell a lie if anyone saw us together.Things were looking good between Mark and I, and soon enou
ALEXAI wasn’t sure that this was the right thing to do, and I swallowed hard as I stood right in front of the home I grew up as a child.The week had started well enough and things were going on just fine, especially with Noelle’s help, but I just couldn’t shake off the feeling of my dad off me. I did not mean to hide it away from Noelle, but I feared that she might dissuade me from trying out my luck again.I knew that she was only looking out for me, but then again, I just couldn’t sit by and not do anything.This was the very first time that my dad and I were having such misunderstandings. We had never fought before, talk more of getting thrown out of the house, so there was no way I could just wait for him to come around. What if he never did?So I had told Noelle that I was going out on a lunch date with Oscar.It was true, because I actually sent him a text message, but I left earlier than the time I scheduled to see Oscar because I wanted to try another shot at gaining my fath
ALEXA“I am sorry, I shouldn’t have just jump on you like that,” I quickly untangled myself from the hug, feeing flushed with embarrassment.“It’s okay,” Oscar said. His voice sounded calm and it made me relieved. However, he was still a stranger whom I had agreed to meet with last minute just as curtsey, and because Noelle would not have let me have peace until I accepted to have lunch with him.“Please, sit,” he offered a seat to me and I sat down almost immediately.The brunt of my encounter with my dad and Clara was still weighing heavily on my head, and just being here made me feel less sad. Also, there was something soothing about Oscar’s presence that just made me feel less horrible about everything that had happened.“Thank you,” I said.“You have been crying,” Oscar said.It was not a question but a statement of fact, one that showed that he was very observant of me, because right before I came into the restaurant, I had dried my tears. “What happened?” Oscar asked, his voi
MARKOnly one day at the company and one minute with the stakeholders had made me realize the depth of risk I was into. They were truly nothing but greedy and hungry men, seeking to take the company away from me.However, the fact that I was now engaged would put them on hold for now.“You should get married soon, because they would always look for ways to ensure that they get what they want, which is the company. The company’s clause is that the CEO must stay married otherwise he would be declared unfit to run the company. You have already breached that twice now. I would not advise you to do it again,” Mr. Devon had warned.“But what sort of clause is that? Why should it ever be there in the first place? What are they bloody stakeholders doing in the company?” I had asked Mr. Devon.“Now is not the time to start questioning what you cannot change,” Mr. Devon had answered tightly. “What you should be concerned about is ensuring that they have no reason to pull you out,” Mr. Devon had
ALEXA“There was something off about all the things he said over lunch, Noelle,” I told Noelle as we sat at the dining table to have dinner later that day.“Really?” Noelle asked, her mouth filled with food, so much so that she would have choked if I hadn’t handed her the nearest glass of water.I had to wait for her to be stable before responding.“He mentioned places that I hadn’t been to in the last year,” I explained to Noelle. “You know that I dedicated all my time into nurturing the home that Mark and I were supposed to share as a couple. Every errand was run by the maids while I handled literally everything in the home,” I added, and it was true.Oscar had mentioned that he began noticing me a year ago, which just didn’t add up, coupled with mentioning names of places that I had not stepped foot in for a long time now.“Did you tell him that he was lying?” Noelle asked me.I shook my head. “I didn’t tell him. In fact, I allowed him say whatever he liked even though I knew he wa
MARKI had to invite Vector to be present when interviewing the potential maids even though I had already initially given the task to Ivy, which she seemed excited to do.Somehow, a part of me just didn’t trust her to do a fantastic and perfect job like Alexa would have done, and I was right, because after seeing her interview about six women, I knew that she was doing a horrible job at it.“How come she can’t even find a suitable maid for me?” I asked Vector, sounding low so that Ivy would not hear what I was saying.We were all sitting in the living room, but because my living room was spacious enough, Ivy and the women being interviewed occupied one part of the living room while Vector and I stayed at the other corner of the living room. If Alexa had been in charge, there would not even have been need for me to stick around like a supervisor. When Alexa was here, I knew next to nothing about the affairs of my home, and I never envisioned that I would be, but with the way Ivy was g
MARKI completely speechless seeing Alexa in my living room…the living room we once shared as a couple, unexpectedly.She looked downright angry, but it was nothing compared to the shock I was feeling for her unannounced visit, and I instantly began to wonder what she could be doing here.“What are you doing here, Alexa?” Ivy asked angrily and harshly.“I am not here for you, yet,” Alexa answered confidently.Each time she spoke since the divorce, she always seemed like someone who I hadn’t known, or was even married to. Alexa Silver had become a feisty woman that dominated the room that she was in, and it made me drawn to her even more. Right now, although no one knew about it, I was deeply aroused. It was a good thing that I was wearing something that prevented my arousal from being obvious.The words of Doctor Jones flashed through my head and I quickly shook my head to dismiss it. She certainly did not barge in here to let me have my way with her or experiment with her, so that w
IVYAs soon as Mark and Alexa walked out of the living room to Mark’s study, I knew that I couldn’t take it. I just couldn’t stand here and watch Alexa work her charms on Mark, even though I was angry with Mark for demanding privacy with Alexa instead of kicking her out.I began to follow them angrily, determined to disrupt whatever private meeting Mark wanted to have with her when I felt a strong arm grab my wrist.For a moment, I thought that it was one of Mark’s bodyguards, and I was ready to bite his head off when I realized that it was Vector. I had totally forgotten that he had been in the living room as well all along.“What is the meaning of this, Vector?” I asked Vector, glaring at him.“Don’t do anything stupid,” Vector said, carefully releasing my hand. “Let them be, Ivy,” Vector said.It was not a command; no, there was no way Vector would be able to command me, because he knew exactly what I held over his head, but it sounded more like a plea.“You are asking me to let th
MARKMr. Devon had advised that I paid Donald Shell a visit and have a conversation with him. He had told me that a man like Donald Shell would not back down, and that the earlier I paid him a visit, the better.“If you play your cards right, he could even throw in some investment that would help you get back on your feet,” Mr. Devon had chipped in that last piece of advice.So I had booked an appointment with Donald.Seeing him had made me jealous of him. He was almost about the same age as me, but yet, he was filthy rich and powerful. His name alone had caused quite a stir in most companies, and he had a huge influence and control in the city.“Mark Ronaldo, to what to do I owe this visit?” Donald had said when we eventually met up at one of his establishments.“Donald Shell,” I had also called. “Thank you for meeting me,” I had said.“As you already know, Mark, I am a very busy man with a tight schedule. I suggest we don’t beat around the bush,” he had suggested coyly.“I was told
MARKThe name Donald Shell brought back a lot of horrible memories that I thought I had left buried inside, especially when he left the city. As I thought of him and his face flashed in my head, my mind flashed back to one of the worst days of my life.I had just been appointed as the CEO of the company, taking my rightful inheritance and position, and it was revealed to me by Mr. Devon, who had always been there that the company had been going through some rough patches, majorly because some bad deals have been made.I was hardworking and determined, so I wanted to fix things at all cost.“What do I do now, Mr. Devon?” I had asked him, because even though I wanted to fix things, I didn’t exactly know where to begin from.“Some people have been exposing the secrets of the company,” Mr. Devon had revealed to me.I trusted him so much, and I still do, because even before I officially became the CEO, he had always been very helpful. He was a man that was very trustworthy. My dad trusted
IVY“How the heck did this happen?” Clara asked worriedly.“I think we should get her to a hospital,” Mr. Silver suggested.“No, not yet,” Clara declined. “Why not, Clara? She is badly injured and bleeding from her forehead, and I am certain that she has lost a lot of blood,” Mr. Silver insisted.“Not yet, honey,” Clara said. “Why don’t you call your doctor to come in and take a look at her first?” Clara suggested.“He is not going to get here in nothing less than thirty minutes, Clara, and that is if he is not tied down at the hospital. Are you saying that we should let her continue bleeding and putting her life at risk simply because you want home service when we could easily take her down there right now?” Mr. Silver asked.“I bet if it was Alexa you wouldn’t be talking about time and your doctor’s schedule,” Clara fired, consciously ignoring the other things he said.Mr. Silver’s mood took a nosedive instantly.“Ivy treats you as though you are her biological father, and instead
ALEXAThe meeting with Donald Shell had gone well enough, and I was happy. Asking to be his friend wasn’t a big deal. Also, he was cordial and reserved all through.Donald Shell had this air of authority around him. It was almost as though I was speaking with a man who was flawless.“I only went away to start another branch somewhere else. Now that I have established it, I decided to come back and continue right from where I stopped,” Donald had answered after I asked him why he had left.The discomfort I saw in his eyes was forgotten. Maybe he didn’t want to talk about it, and so I simply believed his response. The rest of the meeting had gone well, and as I got to the front door of the apartment that Noelle and I now shared, I had a smile on my face.And I had Noelle to thank for it, even though she had been expecting me to go out and return with news of me and Donald getting into a relationship. I shook my head at Noelle even though she wasn’t present. She was always full of roman
ALEXA“Noelle, this is supposed to be a business meeting and not a date,” I complained to Noelle as she beautified me.Noelle knew that I wasn’t interested in meeting anyone romantically as I vehemently turned down her intentions. She eventually gave up and talked about meeting him and pitching my business to him, which was why I was right here, allowing myself to get dressed for the meeting.However, Noelle was doing too much.She had insisted that I wore an alluring dress and went through the hassle of looking dazzling.“I am not going to sell myself to him to date me,” I added as Noelle lined my eyes with mascara for the third time in seconds.“This is one of the richest men in town, Alexa. Now that he is back in town, he would be needing a good stylist, and you know what I always say about appearance when pitching your business,” Noelle said.“Somehow, I have a feeling that you are not talking about business alone,” I said and Noelle laughed.“I just want you to have a good time a
MARKI arrived at work and immediately sent for Mr. Devon. There were things that needed to be sorted out and I wanted to get right to it.“You sent for me,” Mr. Devon said as he walked into my office a few minutes later.“And it’s a good thing that you are here early,” I told him. “Please sit.”Mr. Devon took his seat.“You look really troubled, Mark. Did something wrong happen?” Mr. Devon asked.Usually, I would have kept this to myself, especially knowing that it was not out in the public yet, but then again, the video that Ivy showed me had been on my mind. I barely slept a wink last night, and I was still restless.Seeing the video had left me speechless, because I had no idea how that video came about. Since the accident, I had had trouble getting it up, but then in the video, I was having sex with another woman. It was strange.And confusing.“How discreet can you be?” I asked Mr. Devon.He looked at me with surprise. “I am surprised at your question, Mark. I have always had yo
ALEXAI patiently waited for Noelle to return to the apartment that we now shared together. I just wanted someone that I could talk to, and there was no one else that I wanted except my best friend.Things had spiraled out of control in the blink of an eye.In less than forty-eight hours, a lot of things had been revealed and changed. First of all, the threat that came from Clara and Ivy again, and secondly, Mark trying to get back with me. I wasn’t dumb, I knew that that was why he came to my store.Thinking about it put me in a rollercoaster of emotions.I was angry, because after everything I had sacrificed for Mark, he never thought that I loved him until he had to hear it from Ivy. If Ivy hadn’t made that revelation which I was certain that she regretted, otherwise they wouldn’t have come to my store trying to keep me away from Mark, Mark would never have wanted me.Then I also had the tiny feeling of regret.If all of these had happened without Ivy and her mother in the picture,
IVY“How did it go?” Clara asked.I understood her eagerness and dragging me right into her bedroom to question me as soon as I arrived from Mark’s house, because I had almost the same feeling right before I went.“Tell me, Ivy, how did it go?” She pushed eagerly.“I think Mark fell for it,” I answered.Well, he was pretty speechless after I showed him the video. I knew that he would have loved to deny it, but then again, it was a glaring truth he could not deny, and so he had been silent and quiet, and not wanting to make it stale, I had walked out.“You think?” Clara asked, her eyebrows furrowing. “Ivy, that wasn’t the answer I expected from you,” she added.“We didn’t come to a conclusion,” I told her. “Did he kick you out of the house?” Clara asked worriedly.“Of course he didn’t, because he wouldn’t dare,” I said with a smile.My mother was always right about everything! After using the video to get what we wanted months ago, I had wanted to delete it completely from my phone be
MARKThere was nothing that I could have said that would have changed Alexa’s mind. The resolve in her eyes had been firm.There was nothing else I could have done than to walk away with the last dignity that I had.Leaving didn’t mean that I would stop trying. Everything just happened, so I tried to understand that Alexa was still dealing with the emotions of her secret being revealed. All I needed to do was to give her enough time, and also impress her.“She cannot continue to turn me down when she eventually sees how important I am to her business,” I said to myself.Alexa was a businesswoman now, and surely, she would come to understand the power of influence and power over businesses sooner than later.As I drove back home, I began to think of ways to step in as her savior. I wasn’t a man who chased after women, but right now, the only thing I could think of doing was chasing Alexa Silver and wooing her all over again. Something shifted in me the moment Ivy made that huge reveal,