15. Ivy
Ivy
“I hope to get to know you more!”
I stop when I hear Vaughn’s words.
“What?”
“I said I hope to get to know you more and be one of the people in this world you consider as part of your untouchable bottom line,” he says seriously.
I stand there with my head throbbing and body weak, but his words confuse me.
Vaughn quickly catches up to me in a few strides.
“I promise, I’m not going to hurt your family,” he says softly, looking at me with an almost pleading look. “I’m not like him. I’m not going to hurt or manipulate you.”
“Him?”
“My cousin,” Vaughn says, looking at me with an earnest expression that does tug at my heartstrings, somewhat. “I’m not like him.”
“Then what is this, Vaughn?” I ask boldly, resuming the slow walk toward wherever it is we are going. “Isn’t this entire thing a form of manipulation?”
“No, not at all…” he starts, looking agitated and uncomfortable.
He then grabs my hand to stop me. When I look down at his hand on my hand, he reluctantly lets go.
Confused by this change in disposition, I watch as he shifts on the balls of his feet, looking like a nervous school kid, running a hand through his hair.
“Can you just hear me out for a minute?” he asks silently.
“I’m all ears.”
“I…” He trails off, his eyes on the ground one moment before they come up and land on my face with a heaviness that makes me stand at attention. “I like you, Ivy.”
“Oh, how nice,” I say dismissively, then resume walking.
Vaughn stops me again. This time he doesn’t let go of my hand.
“Ivy, I like you. I like you so damn much, at this point I think it’s something deeper.”
Almost instantly, a chill goes down my spine.
“What?” I whisper, feeling stunned.
I think of the fact that I’m literally being blackmailed and threatened to marry this man and yet here he is, looking at me with sincere eyes, confessing that he likes me.
The absurdity…
“I know this sounds and feels crazy,” Vaughn says, his voice low and deep.
“But you have to understand, I’m not the type of guy who gets to do this sort of thing or work this hard for a girl.
I don’t have to do any of that, but from the moment I met you, I don’t know what it is that happened to me.
I suddenly feel like I’m in a sprinting marathon to get your attention, to get you to notice me, and when I asked myself why I need your attention so bad, I realized it’s because I like you and I’m hoping that after tonight, you’ll be able to see my earnest feelings for you. ”
I tilt my head slightly to really look at this tall, handsome man.
I can tell he’s being somewhat sincere, but sincerity doesn’t always mean absolute honesty.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from being buried so deep in unrequited love all these years, it’s that actions speak louder than words.
Some acts have the power to fundamentally change one’s soul to such an extreme degree, so much so that one’s perspective of such things like feelings become… skewed.
The thing about a scorned heart is that no matter what comes after, whether it’s authentic or made-up, or a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing, it’s all like pouring water into a chasm, hoping it’ll fill up.
So, I clear my throat and change the topic.
“How long has your father been friends with Senator Hughes?” I ask.
Vaughn looks at me strangely. “For a few decades now,” he answers. “Why?”
“Just checking if you’d be truthful.”
Vaughn stares at me and it dawns on me that he’s still holding my hand. Feeling uncomfortable all of a sudden, I pull away.
Vaughn’s expression falls a bit, but he quickly recovers and smiles again.
“Like I told you that night we met, I’ll always tell you the truth,” he says softly. “I’m not my cousin.”
So he keeps pointing out.
Vaughn might be honest with me, but so far, he hasn’t revealed his real intention.
For example, I know Emmett’s goal. He’s never hidden or lied about it to me, ever.
Of course, Emmett’s moves are severely unpredictable, and it’s impossible to know the many contingencies he has in place even with seemingly mundane things, but all of that is for one goal: revenge.
Emmett using me is to that effect, but Vaughn… is he only after power?
What drives this man to make him say such things to me when we barely know each other?
Is it to weigh me down? Use my broken heart to his advantage?
Anyone who is unaccountably solicitous is likely hiding malicious intentions… Emmett taught me that.
There’s no way I’ll take Vaughn’s words seriously, nor will I take them at face value either.
“Thank you for your sincerity,” I say calmly, my head still pounding like crazy.
“Of course,” Vaughn says kindly. “You can always trust me.”
Trust? I’d be an idiot to fully trust anyone ever again, but I can’t tell him that, so I just smile.
With his hand at the small of my back, Vaughn leads me farther into the room.
Senator Hughes is talking animatedly with two other men standing beside Vaughn’s father.
One of them being the one who was staring at Vaughn when he was laughing.
All four men look chummy and close. An alarm goes off in my head.
Is Senator Hughes that close with most members of the Easton Family?
When Vaughn and I get closer, Vaughn’s father suddenly looks at me with a huge smile.
“Senator, is that your lovely daughter?” he says loudly.
My eyes almost bulge out when I hear that familiar question from a couple of weeks ago.
“Yes, yes! This is my daughter!” Senator Hughes responds just as happily. “Ivy, come and meet the Eastons!”
What in the ever-loving freak is this?
Why is he and Senator Hughes acting like this is the first time we’ve met?
“Relax,” Vaughn suddenly whispers to me. “They have to make it seem like we’re unfamiliar with each other.”
We very much are still unfamiliar, but what’s with the act?
Apprehension courses through my veins as Vaughn ushers me closer to the men with a smile on his face, clearly going along with this charade.
“Senator, this is my pride and joy, my firstborn son, Vaughn,” Emilio says with pride, gesturing to his son who comes forward to shake Senator Hughes’s hand as if they’ve never met. “From now on, he’ll be taking on more responsibilities. He’ll be treating you just right, Senator. No need to worry.”
“Is that so? Young men that are sincere and considerate are in short supply lately,” Senator Hughes responds happily. “Your son has a bright future ahead of him.”
“Of course, of course,” Emilio says cheerfully.
“You said he’s your eldest son. Do you have another?” Senator Hughes questions.
“Yes! Lucien, he’s seventeen and away at school,” Emilio states with pride.
So, Vaughn has a brother… something he never once mentioned during the many ‘dates’ he took me on.
“That’s good,” Senator Hughes praises. Then he turns to look at me with a huge fake smile on his face. “Gentlemen, this is my daughter, Ivy.”
I almost hurl right there and then.
I fight hard to remain calm, but my weak body almost sways with repressed rage.
I look up at the three men in front of me, all handsome, tall, with a slight tan, and dark hair, and dark eyes.
The Easton Family resemblance is slightly there, but Emmett is by far a creation of utter reverence. None of these ‘uncles’ even come close.
“Ivy, this is my father, Emilio,” Vaughn says calmly, introducing me, but I can’t help but notice his hand tighten at the small of my back. “And these are my uncles, Giovanni and Angelo.”
“Pleased to meet you, Ivy,” Emilio says happily as he shakes my hand. His acting ability is worthy of a Golden Globe at the very least.
When I go to shake Giovanni’s hand, he’s staring at me so intently, goosebumps appear on my arms.
“You look familiar,” he says, his Italian thick. “Have I seen you somewhere before?”
A chill goes down my spine.
“Of course she does!” Angelo cuts in. Taking my hand, he squeezes it gently, then kisses the back of it. I recognize him as the man that was staring at Vaughn earlier. “She’s the spitting image of her mother. Very beautiful. An unrivaled beauty, indeed!”
They all laugh as Beverly pretends to look shy, like a blushing bride who’s not at all cunning.
Standing next to Beverly, Melissa’s heated gaze is on me, but I ignore her.
The men start conversing with each other mostly about politics, approval ratings, and the like, lighting cigars and drinking, while some women I hadn’t even noticed are now conversing with Beverly.
It doesn’t escape my notice how familiar they all seem… and yet they had to put on an act like we’re meeting for the first time. Why?
“Is everything on track on your end?” Senator Hughes questions in a low voice, looking at Emilio and then to Giovanni.
“There’s no need to worry,” Giovanni says with the first genuine smile I’ve seen on his face tonight. It makes a shiver go down my spine. “It’s certain this time. That militia has never failed, not once!”
Militia?
“Yes, and around the residence we have sixty-five of the toughest men ready for anything,” Emilio says confidently. “My son will be in command of the entire Outfit after this. I want to see who dares to challenge him.”
Senator Hughes laughs happily, as does Emilio.
“This is basically assured then,” Senator Hughes says.
“Of course! Or else Father would not have allowed this dinner tonight. He also knows it’s over.”
Another powerful, bone-crushing chill goes down my spine.
From the corner of my eye, I notice Vaughn is watching me, so I look back at him.
I understand then that Vaughn wanted me to hear that.
“Is there something going on?” I ask him directly.
Vaughn looks at me with a strange light in his eyes.
“You’ll be pleased to know that I now have the power to make sure he pays for what he did to you.”
Every organ, vein, artery, and blood cell in my body screeches to a halt.
“What?” I ask softly, forcing my voice to keep all emotion out of it.