Scandalized Ivy Owens Novels & Stories

“Renowned Lawyer, Dahlia Hayes, reveals how she built her career by sleeping with married judges and sending them explicit photos of herself to win her cases.” Some even claimed I had an exclusive OnlyFans account. Before I could recover from the shock, my boss barged into my office, his eyes blazing with fury. “Miss Hayes. To my office. Now!” I followed him, eyes straight ahead, body stiff as if under a spell. I didn’t dare look around, but I could feel the stares burning into my skin, judging and condemning me. I held back my tears, even though I was breaking inside, because I knew once I started crying, I wouldn’t stop.

Rose’s vision blurred as tears streamed down her face. She clutched her phone tightly, the screen still glowing with the hurtful comments as she was reading them. (“She is so disgusting.”) (“Despicable”.) (“I thought she was an innocent type. I can't believe she will do this type of thing.”) (“Upstairs, don't you know? The most evil people turn out to be the innocent type.”) As she was walking hurriedly down the hallway at her former workplace, the mummers from her former colleagues also added to her despair.

She didn't interfere whenever I used her card to frequent upscale restaurants and hotels, though she'd occasionally call to complain when I spent a bit too much. "Do you not have ambition at all? You're spending a woman's money. Where's your dignity?" Dignity? Wasn't that crushed long ago by her entire family? Eventually, after I blew through eight million dollars in one go, Rosalie finally called and demanded I return it. I looked at the scenery flashing past the window and quietly sneered. The eight-million-dollar urn was already shattered. There was no returning it. This was Rosalie's and Mona's retribution. Rosalie and those animals were next on my list.

Ivy Smith's parents gambled away everything they owned, leaving her drowning in debt and constantly on the run from hazardous debt collectors, despite her longing for an opulent life. When she unintentionally hops into a stranger's fancy car while fleeing a gang of criminals, her life takes an unexpected turn. However, the affluent family mistakes her for someone else. Diana Reynolds. The daughter of one of the city's wealthiest families. Two years ago, a woman was said to have passed away. Ivy accepts their absurd suggestion to pose as Diana and rejoin the Reynolds family as their long-lost daughter because she is desperate to get away from her terrible life. It ought to be easy. A

Her mind was racing with fear and desperation as she contemplated the consequences of her actions. In reality, Ivy was terrified. She had orchestrated Damian's abduction, not just as a passive participant, but as the mastermind behind it all. Her intention had been to expose Sebastian's deepest secret to the world, a move she believed would give her the peace that a psychopath would be found out. However, now that the plan had been set into motion, Ivy found herself grappling with the horrifying realization that her life would be utterly destroyed if Damian revealed her involvement to Sebastian.

Not when her own father had stormed out, jaw clenched, a storm behind his eyes, one she didn’t yet understand. She should feel guilt. But all she felt was fire. They wanted to shame her. Brand her. Reduce her to a scandal, a problem to fix. They forgot who she was. She is a ivy Lancaster. And whatever that name had meant before tonight, it meant something different now. It meant survival. Ivy peeled the engagement ring from her finger. Her skin was raw beneath it. She set it on the vanity like it was cursed. Then, she did something she hadn’t done in years, she opened the drawer in the corner, the one where she kept her old paints, her brushes, her sketchbooks filled with dreams.

Ethan stepped between us. “That will never hold in court.” Ivory smiled wider. “We don’t need it to. We just need the chaos. The headlines. The scandal. The delay. While we make the next move.” “Which is?” Ethan asked. Ivory’s smile turned knife-sharp. “You’ll see.” And with that, she handed over a thick envelope. “To be opened together,” she added, eyes flicking to me. “It concerns your past.” Ethan didn’t take it.

“But if he was serious about her, he’d have made it official by now. We’re all still waiting for that announcement to prove the story true.” I stood slowly, smoothing my skirt with trembling hands. None of this surprised me. That’s the price of fame — even if it’s the wrong kind. I pushed the stall door open and stepped out, meeting their eyes. I recognized them instantly. Alice and Laney. Of course. The IT department’s resident gossip. Alice’s lips curled into a smirk. “Oh, speak of the devil.” She leaned against the sink, studying me like I was her afternoon entertainment. “Well, well,” Laney drawled, her eyes glinting. “Didn’t mean to talk behind your back. Guess it’s better when you hear

“I’m sorry. I didn’t see him. Why don’t you come back inside?” “Ugh,” Ivy mutters, but she comes with Eleanor back into the restaurant. What Ivy doesn’t know is that Eleanor is already plotting something. No one is allowed to speak to her this way, not even Ivy. Because Ivy is out of it, Eleanor manages to bring her back to the table that Melissa and Ross abandoned. Eleanor hands her the glass of drugged wine that’s supposed to be for Melissa, and Ivy drinks it all. “I’m basically offering Zane everything,” Ivy whines. “And he’s insulted that I want him? What kind of man is that?”

It seemed something in that reply had set him off, and he fired back with another long comment. [Rumors? Are you kidding me? I've seen it with my own eyes. She hooked up with someone in broad daylight. Didn't even bother going to a hotel—they just went at it in a corner. She only fools the freshmen with her innocent act. Everyone knows her scholarship and outstanding student titles were earned by improper means.] My hands trembled as I read the comment. The phone slipped out of my grasp and hit the floor. "Yvette, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost," my roommate asked, picking up my phone. Her eyes scanned the screen before she gasped.