14. Ivy
Ivy
Fall in New York City is strangely captivating, giving one a sense of misplaced optimism, loss interlaced with intrigue and confusion.
Some days are abundant with crisp air, clear blue skies, and beautifully browning leaves scattering the streets making for a Pinterest-ready photo.
Other days are windy, rainy, and cold.
Then there are inexplicably stagnant days where nothing feels real, right, or reasonable.
Before I know it, two weeks have gone by and tonight is D-Day.
It’s also been two weeks since I last heard from Emmett.
He told me to wait, and that he’d come to me, but he never did.
Emmett not keeping his word is close to impossible, but this time around, he just disappeared and never bothered to contact me again.
Is it because I want him to give me a baby? If so, he’s a coward!
Meanwhile, I had a tough time being in Beverly and her husband’s house.
True to his word, Vaughn came nearly every single day to take me out to ‘get to know’ one another—much to Senator Hughes’s joy.
The worry over Samuel’s sudden disappearance coupled with Emmett’s silence in the middle of all this mess was enough to induce a horrible migraine.
I’ve been down for three days. I’m groggy, my throat is like a desert, and I’m feverish, but tonight I don’t have a choice but to get up to go do something I’ve been racking my brain to try and get out of.
My one issue about tonight is seeing Emmett’s grandfather…
But I’m the one who put myself and my loved ones in this situation.
I sought out trouble because I couldn’t take not being loved, and now…
An acute pain blooms behind my left eye as the migraine intensifies some more.
I gasp for breath, then go back to baring my teeth so I can brace myself.
This is the worst migraine I’ve had in a very long time and rightfully deserved.
With as much strength as I can muster, I reach for my phone and tap it to see if Emmett sent me a message, but just like all these other days, there’s nothing.
Is he ignoring me, torturing me so ruthlessly knowing damn well that I’m about to enter the gates of hell if Senator Hughes gets his way?
Unable to take it anymore, I go to my chat with Emmett and see all the texts I sent from the last few days are undelivered.
Unease trickles down my spine.
Emmett is many things but for as long as I’ve known him, he’s never ignored my texts, no matter where he is in the world.
In fact, when I returned back to Westbrook Blues, he made me promise to always answer his calls and texts no matter what.
Back then, I preened and felt so incomparably happy at the command.
I translated it as him wanting to keep in touch with me, but looking at it now… it was nothing more than him controlling his puppet.
But still, each time I initiated conversation between us, even if it was just asking after our friends, he’d respond almost immediately.
He’s never left me hanging like this before.
Annoyed and in agony, I dial his number, but it sends me straight to voicemail.
Just then a knock sounds at the door before it’s pushed open gently.
“Ivy?” A low, soft voice speaks. “It’s me.”
Beverly has the sense not to refer to herself as my mother, which is a relief because I don’t have the strength to deal with her right now.
“It’s so dark in here, let me open the curtains,” she says instead.
“Don’t!” I gasp out.
“Okay. I won’t open them, but I heard you didn’t eat anything again today, is everything all right?” she says almost gently, like she cares.
This lady is something else.
When her husband or daughter are near, her tone toward me is hard, cold, and no-nonsense, but when no one is around, she’s like this.
It’s disquieting.
“Not hungry.”
“You haven’t left your room either,” Beverly says. “You know we’re not keeping you hostage, right?”
I scoff, but it’s a mistake as pain makes me hiss slightly.
“The security detail outside is for your protection,” Beverly explains as if she’s trying to convince herself. “Teddy doesn’t want anything to happen to you.”
“You mean he doesn’t want me to escape before he seals his deal of a lifetime,” I say straightforwardly, already tired of this same conversation we’ve had for over a week.
Beverly awkwardly falls silent for a while before she clears her throat.
“That boy has been coming to see you every day, though,” she says inquisitively. “Everything is going well, right?”
Ah, right. This is all she cares about.
“How has it been with him? I heard he took you around the city on romantic dates,” Beverly says happily, but I can only lie there in the dark, grimacing in pain.
I only agreed to go out with Vaughn simply because I needed to get out of this prison.
I needed to think of my next move, but another reason was because I was hoping Emmett would come find me.
“Did you come in here to gossip like we’re familiar?” I snap.
“Oh, I just wanted to tell you that we’ll be leaving in a few hours. Let me know if you need something,” Beverly says softly.
“Gee, how kind of you, Beverly.”
She sighs. “Ivy, I know this is hard, but I do believe that young man is truly interested in you.”
I want to refute it, but I can’t help but think back to the way Vaughn has treated me these two weeks.
I confronted him for using me as his ticket to be the next head of his family. He didn’t deny it all, but what he said next made me pause.
“I’d leave it all behind for you, if you want.”
Now, if this was another time where I was still my old, na?ve, delusional self, I would take Vaughn’s words to heart and believe him.
But I also noted the other unspoken actions I noticed that weren’t there before. At least not in full display.
Like how confident Vaughn was.
He was smiling more, as if he got rid of the dark cloud that has been hanging around him for a long time.
He even attempted to crack jokes to make me laugh.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know the source of that ease… especially when Emmett has been unavailable the entire time.
Did Vaughn do something sinister to Emmett?
As much as that makes me extremely uncomfortable, I still can’t see anyone getting the better of Emmett. Least of all Vaughn.
While Vaughn seems to be honest and straightforward, he doesn’t have this disconcerting edginess, and the kind of darkness that is beyond hints and suggestions that Emmett possesses.
But then… where on earth is that green-eyed indifferent man? Urgh!
“You know what to do tonight, right?” Beverly questions. “Teddy’s father will be attending tonight, as will the elder in the Easton Family. You’ll have to announce it in front of them.”
“And what would happen if I go against your husband?” I mock.
An audible flinch sounds in the room.
“Ivy…”
“I’m just asking.”
Beverly’s breathing is labored and forced. “He has people monitoring your grandmother, ready to take orders.”
“What?” I screech, and then groan as waves upon waves of agony crush into me.
“Now you know,” Beverly whispers. “I just found out myself, but you should know your decision tonight is already set in stone. There’s no going back.”
She gets up like the elegant debutante she is and gives me one last look. “You have two hours.”
“Melissa should come too!”
“What?”
“Bring your daughter.”
“Ivy—”
“I owe her something that I still need to pay back. Let’s all go!”
I can feel Beverly’s gaze on me, but I don’t say anything more.
She sighs then agrees. “Yes, maybe a change of pace would do some good for her. She’s been on edge these days.”
Oh, I bet she has.
Beverly leaves, but I’m left reeling with panic and worry.
I grab my phone and try calling Emmett again, but once again, it goes to voicemail.
So, I text him.
WHERE ARE YOU???
It looks like the decision is being made tonight! WHERE ARE YOU?
But by the time we arrive at the Easton mansion three hours later, Emmett hasn’t answered at all, but an ominous feeling has firmly taken root in my bones.
To be clear, I don’t do rebellion quite well… but I endorse feminine rage.
It’s in that spirit that I’m dressed to the nines in a particularly interesting dress Scar added to the rack of clothes that Beverly believes were arranged by Vaughn.
No one is as thoroughly organized as Emmett Easton.
And I need to find him without cluing Vaughn in on my actions.
I want to know what’s the deal with Vaughn.
My birth parents’ affinity is one thing. It’s Emmett Easton who’s the real situation indicator here.
Is he genuinely casting his lot with Vaughn, or is he up to something?
When we arrive to the Easton’s residence, I’m floored by the grandeur of it all.
I spot Vaughn, together with over a dozen tough-looking men, all standing at the brightly lit entrance of the huge mansion as the car goes around the circular driveway with an impressive fountain in the middle, and stops behind the car Beverly and her husband were in.
Melissa was desperate to join them, but I insisted she join me instead.
I only smiled at her, complimented her dress even, but she was freaked out and backed herself into the corner of her seat, as if expecting an attack from me.
“What are you playing at?” she finally snapped just before we arrived. I only smiled at her, which was even more of a shock to her.
Eh, guess some people can’t handle receiving kindness… during retaliation.
When my door is opened, I ignore Senator Hughes and his wife who are greeting Vaughn and look up at the huge mansion.
This one is much bigger than my mother’s house. I bet she envies that.
The huge mansion, double Emmett’s Westbrook Blues estate, has a timeless look to it. It’s both modern but with pre-war features. The pillars at the front also have a distinct Southern Italy touch.
This home fits the description of a fancy, beautiful, dazzling mansion with an eerie feeling to it that belongs to old money.
“The residence was built in 1827,” Vaughn’s sexy Italian voice suddenly speaks when he sees me looking at the huge structure in front of us.
“It looks modern,” I mutter, my voice still groggy, but he hears me.