CHAPTER 4

The surprise 

"Ivy, please forgive me just this once, I promise you it won't happen again. I will break up with Lily. It's you l love, what happened between me and lily was just a fling don't turn your back on me. Give me one more chance to right my wrongs ".

Ivy turned towards Dave with her eyes filled with tears. She looked into Dave's eyes and saw his sincerity and she waved.

"I need time to clear my head and think things through. Give me some space and don't bother me. I will let you know when I decide."

Ivy left Dave's apartment after saying this. After she left, Dave got a message from Lily. When he saw the message he wanted to ignore it. He changed his mind later on and read the message.

"Dave, I am sorry for what I did. I never wished to ruin your relationship with Ivy. It  was never my plan to expose our relationship to her. I promise you I will stay as far away as possible from the both of you. I hope that your relationship with her will keep blooming as long as it makes you happy. I will continue to love you in secret no matter what happens. "

Dave tried calling her but her line wasn't going through. Lily blocked his number after sending the text. 

At Lily's place........

When lily got back she was furious, she knew the type of person Ivy was. She doesn't give up so easily. Her initial plan was to get pregnant first before letting Ivy find out about her affair with Dave.

Though she was angry, she was also pleased with what happened today. All she needed now was another opportunity. 

Everything is ruined now,' maybe even Dave won't want to see me again '. She thought to herself. After giving it some thought she drafted a message and sent it to save. This way it will look as if she's helping Dave out by not throwing a tantrum and also invoking his pity.

After she sent a message to Dave she drafted another and sent it to Ivy. 

"Ivy I know I have wronged you and am really sorry. It's all my fault I was the one who seduced Dave because I love him. I fell in love with him the moment I set my eyes on him but I found out later on that he was your lover. I tried to stay away but my feelings got the best of me. No matter how long I have been with him, I am willing to give him up. I love him but I don't want you to get hurt."

After Lily sent this message, she smiled. She knew Ivy being a smart girl will read more meaning into the message. 

Not only did she intentionally reveal that she had been with Dave for a long time, she also gave her hint of how long it had been.

......

When Ivy saw the massage she sneered, 'if she didn't want to hurt me, she should have kept her distance from my man and not hook up with him behind my back'.

Ivy wanted to close the message but something caught her attention. According to Lily's message it had been almost four years that Dave had been cheating on her.

The first time Lily had met Dave was in their sophomore year when Ivy took them out for dinner to introduce her fiance to them. They had just gotten engaged and Ivy was excited to let everyone know.

It turned out that Dave and Lily had been having an affair the whole of their relationship since Dave and Ivy confirmed their relationship with their engagement. 

Ivy was devastated, this dealt her a heavy blow. She had always been thinking of how long their relationship had been, but she never expected it to be this long.

She felt so pathetic right now. She could still remember how she bragged about how Dave would never cheat on her. Lily was always there when she said that. Lily must have seen her as a fool. 

Ivy didn't return to her apartment to avoid bumping into lily. She didn't know if she could stop herself from strangling her to death. Seeing Lily right now will further break her.

She took a taxi to a high end bar, she did not want to be in the same situation she was in last time she went to a local bar. When Ivy thought of this she remembered how she had given her first time to Dave which resulted in her accepting the engagement. 

She requested a private room on arriving at the bar. Ivy used alcohol to numb the pain she felt. Her tears wouldn't stop falling, the alcohol was mixed with the salty taste of her tears. She regretted accepting the engagement, things were too tangled up between the two families for her to end the relationship.

Cynthia called her severally but she ignored her call. Ivy knew that she would definitely let it slip that she caught Dave cheating, knowing the kind of person Cynthia was she would definitely tear Lily apart and also blow things out of proportion. 

After a few bottles Ivy felt pressed and needed to use the restroom. She was able to find the bathroom in her drunken state.

"Left or right? Which way did I come from?" Ivy stood at the door of the toilet trying to figure out her way back to her room. 

"Uhmm, do you need help?" A man asked as he walked out of the male toilet not far from where Ivy stood.

"Yeah, I can't find my way."

"Why don't I help you." After saying this he wrapped his hand around Ivy's waist leading her away. 

He had a smirk on his face as he led her towards a different direction. Ivy didn't notice that she was heading somewhere else, the whole place was spinning in her eyes and she couldn't even tell her left from her right. 

"I have a wonderful surprise for you guys. Be ready, I will be there in a minute." He whispers in response to the person on the other end of the phone who was asking what was taking him so long.

Just like that he led Ivy to their private room where his friends were waiting for him and the surprise he was bringing.

Chapter 5

As planned 

Just as he walked towards his private room, the room opposite his swung up, he was too excited to care. Leo, who had stepped out to avoid his friends nagging, happened to see the man leading Ivy, who was drunk, into his private room. 

"Hold on." Leo said, as he walked towards them. The man presented not to hear him as he rushed to pull into the room.

Leo realised what he was about to do, he pulled ivy away from the man. He kicked the man, sending him crashing into the private room. They drew the attention of the people inside, everyone turned to look at the man on the floor who was trying to get up.

"What's going on?"

"Shhhh. You better keep quiet if you don't want to disappear suddenly."

His voice wasn't loud but people around him heard what he said. They turned to him waiting for him to explain but he shook his head as he motioned for them to keep quiet. While they were still wondering what was going on, someone came and knocked the man out before taking him away.

Leo had long disappeared with Ivy in his arms. He carried her back to her private room before taking to the room she had booked earlier on.

He gently placed Ivy who had fallen asleep a long time ago on the bed.

"Why are you always careless?" Leo sighed as he helped remove her shoes while going into the bathroom to get a warm towel to wipe her face before leaving her to rest.

He stood at the corner watching her sleep, the thoughts of that night keep flashing through his mind.

"I've finally found you, there's no way I'm never letting you go."

Leo said walking towards her bed to sit, he ran his hand through her head as she slept.  The more he watched her sleep the more he was tempted to kiss her.

"Haha." He chuckled when he saw her pouting her lips. He leaned her and grazed her lips softly with his before pulling away, his finger tracing the corner of her lips gently. 

"Go away." Ivy said, using her hand to brush Leo's finger away. He smiled before laying down beside her.

Leo left just before Ivy woke up, Ivy woke up feeling hungover, she rubbed her temple trying to ease the pain.

"Where am I?" She looked around trying to figure out where she was. She looked down at herself.

"Thank goodness." She let out a sigh of relief after confirming that there was nothing off about her. Ivy picked up her things and left the hotel room. 

She couldn't stop wondering how she got to her hotel room in the first place. 

Ivy returned home, she still hadn't informed her parents of her success. When she got home her mother was in her herbs garden tending to the herbs.

Ivy knew her father wouldn't be home at this time, he should still be in his company so she didn't bother looking for him.

She walked to her room and sat at the window. She was looking at the scenery outside her window. Thinking about everything that had happened the previous day. 

It made her sad but she couldn't cry, she tried to find relief from her tears but they just refused to flow. Ivy sat there for a while thinking about what she should do next. 

After some thoughts she decided to follow her original plan of getting married to Dave after her graduation. Things with the family business were too tangled up and she didn't have solid evidence to prove her claim. 

"I should have taken pictures first before confronting them, now I am stuck with him. Since I won't be happy neither would they."

Ivy picked up her phone and called Lily. The phone didn't ring for long before Lily answered. 

"Ivy, I am really sorry ".

Before Ivy could say anything, Lily started apologising to her. Ivy wasn't in the mood to play nice.

"Lily, I don't care about your feelings for Dave, all I want to let you know is that my wedding with Dave will be held as planned. Since you've promised to stay away from him you better keep that promise. Remember to always keep your distance from him, your feelings are meaningless when you're the third party."

Ivy hung up after saying what she wanted. Lily was pissed, she knew Ivy won't give up easily that was why she sent the message to her. Lily never expected Ivy, who could be unforgiving, to actually continue with the wedding. 

Lily was certain that Ivy was going to call-off the wedding. When Lily picked up Ivy's call she never saw this coming. 

Lily thought that Ivy had called her to tell her that she had won and that Lily could have Dave, but that did not happen. 

How could Ivy forgive Dave and still hold the wedding as planned even after finding out how long they've been together.

After Ivy ended the call with Lily, she called Dave to inform him about her decision. 

"The wedding will hold as planned, inform your family so they can start preparing and you better not make another mistake cause I won't forgive you the second time."

Ivy didn't wait for Dave's reply before she ended the call.

CHAPTER 6

 Fine by me 

Dave was surprised at this, after everything that happened he had already given up on marrying Ivy. He knew how stubborn she can be and there was nothing she despised more than someone being unfaithful. 

Dave could not hold his excitement, so he called his mom to start preparing for the visit. Dave's mom was happy, to her Ivy and Dave had almost the same social status and she knew Ivy's family's company will be inherited by her in future. She felt like Ivy barely satisfied her, she had long forgotten that it was Ivy's dad that kept them where they are.

To Dave's mother there was no better way to boost the family better than merging it together with that of the Albert's family. After she received the call from her son she quickly started making arrangements, she made sure every gift she bought was up to standard. Catherine, Dave's mom, did not want to give the Albert family a reason to look down on them.

After making sure the arrangements were in order, Catherine called Ivy to inform her of the arrangement. She told her the date and time they planned to visit. According to the information she gave Ivy they plan on coming to Albert's family next week.

......

Ivy waited patiently for her parents to come home so she could inform them. She did not want a situation where she would end up forgetting and then they wouldn't make out time to host Austin's family. 

Ivy's brother was the first to return which actually surprised Ivy. From what she remembered it was either this brother of hers return when everyone is already asleep or he never returns at all. 

Since he was a well known doctor he was always on demand he had more on his plates compared to other doctors in the hospital.

"Hey bro! You are home early today, what's up?"

He glared at me without saying anything, he picked up some cherries from her plate and tossed them into his mouth.

"It seems you want to be taught a lesson? Is that how you welcome your elder brother? For someone who is to be married you still have a lot to learn. "

After saying that he hit the back of my head before walking to his room. 

"It's not as if being good at welcoming someone makes you a good wife. Mom does not welcome dad. Does that make her a bad wife? Okay then, I will let dad know that you said mom is not a good wife".

The moment Ivy ended her sentence, Williams ran back towards her.

"Don't you dare, when did I ever say that mom wasn't a good wife."

"Well you didn't say but you implied that she was not a good wife so it's still the same thing".

Williams was fuming, reasoning with this sister of his can be very annoying. He knew his father very well and he would believe whatever comes out of his daughter's mouth. Williams did not bother with her anymore, he rushed back into his room. 

Ivy laughed as she watched her brother return to his room defeated. This improved her mood a lot, since they were young she has always been treated as a princess whatever she says goes well except for taking over the company from  her father after she graduated. This was the reason a lot of guys set their sight on her, after all it was only a matter of time before she took over from her father.

A while later her parents returned, she quickly got up and ran to Mr Albert's side. She wasn't surprised her mom came back with her father, her herbs garden wasn't far from the house. She had her husband's car drive in which was why she came out. 

"Daddy! You are back! What did you get for your lovely daughter? And mom you finally decided to come back right when dad returned. "

"I just happened to finish what I was doing."

"Oh really? How convenient."

"Yeah."

Her mom pulled her out of her father's embrace as she spoke. Ivy giggled as she let go, she did not want to be on her mothers bad side. Her father was her mother's private property and no one was allowed to touch him.

Her dad laughed and rubbed her hair as he walked into the house. Ivy walked behind them so she did not end up annoying her mother.

Ivy let her parents freshen up while she helped the maids set the table for dinner. After everything was set she called out to them to come down for dinner. Not long after her brother came down first and her parents joined them later on.

After dinner as the maids were clearing the table, Ivy called for the attention of her parents. 

"Mom, dad I have good news".

"If it's about your project we know you have been announcing for over a month."

Ivy glared at her elder brother 'if you don't say anything no one will think you are dumb' she thought to herself. 

" That's not it, Dave and his family are coming over next week to propose so I am letting you guys know so you can add it to your schedule. "

Diana, Ivy's mom was not excited but since she wasn't against the marriage she did not say anything. For some reason she felt like Dave and his family's intention toward her daughter wasn't pure but since her daughter chose to be with him, all she could do was to try her best to protect her.

"Oh! Well that's good news I will start making arrangements to receive them next week. Just so you know I will not give you your dowry until the day after your wedding."

Ivy did not understand what her mom was doing but she didn't want to question her. She lets things be if she receives it earlier or later what difference does it make. She also felt that it was for the best.

"Fine by me".

After Ivy informed them, they all returned to their rooms. When Ivy entered her room she was still wondering why her mom decided to give her her dowry later.

Ivy suddenly had a thought 'maybe mom does not like dave' but she kicked against it, her mom has always treated dave well so that could not be the reason..

......

In Ivy's parents room Mr Albert pulled his wife towards the bed and sat her down. After their daughter broke the news to them his wife's mood had been off and he needed to know why.