Chapter 51
At the sound of Samantha’s scream, Lionel and his mistress had separated at once and both of them looked at her and the slowly growing crowd in shock.
“What the hell is going on here?” Samantha looked at Lionel, then at his mistress and her eyes turned red. “You, you’re trying to steal my man. How dare you?!”
Without any warning of sort, she charged at the mistress, grabbing her by the hair and pulling
her down.
“Bitch, you wanna steal my man? Then I’ll fucking kill you.”
The mistress shrieked and fought back, but Samantha was fueled by the fire of revenge and jealousy and was determined to win.
“Samantha!” Lionel quickly rushed to separate them, but much to Samantha’s surprise, he took the side of his mistress. “Stop this madness Lay your finger on her one more time and-”
“And what?!” Samantha barked, paying no attention to the crowd of onlookers that were growing.
She tried charging at the mistress again, but Lionel came in front.
“Stop this at once, Samantha! Don’t cause anymore of a scene than you already have.”
“Cause more of a scene?” Samantha bellowed. “You’re making out with this whore and expect me to remain calm. Move, move out of the fucking way so that I can teach her what happens when she tries to steal another woman’s man!”
Lionel stood his ground and warned. “Samantha-”
“Ah, why the fuck are you defending her? What is she giving you that I haven’t?!”
That question made Lionel become tight–lipped. As he remained silent, the whispers of onlookers began to get louder.
From behind, Ivory knew it was her queue to leave. While she would have loved to stick around and watch her lovely stepmother and father fight with a mistress in between, the discovery about her mother’s death had ruined the thrill she should have felt.
Quietly, she moved the curtains aside and stepped out, Gadreel following right behind her.
He kept his eyes on her for some reason, watching the way she walked, stopped, glanced at her father. It was clear she wanted to ask questions, but didn’t know where or how to begin.
So quietly, she began to exit the room. Gadreel’s feet moved for some reason, wanting to catch up with her before she stepped out of the room.
“Ivory-”
Chapter 51
“Gadreel!” Evangeline’s voice drowned out his call the moment he tried to call out to Ivory.
She rushed into his arms and buried her face. “This is a mess. How ca way?”
my family turn out this
She wept. Gadreel’s hand twitched as he glanced in the direction Ivory had walked out from, but the moment he caught the glimpse of her shadow, it disappeared and he sighed, wrapping his arms around Evangeline.
“It’s okay,” he comforted. “Everything will be alright.”
Evangeline nodded her head as a soft sob escaped her lips and she hugged him tighter, but beneath the fake sorrow, a malicious look took over her expression.
She had seen Gadreel and Ivory step out from behind the curtain together. She didn’t know what they were doing there and as much as she wanted to know, she also didn’t want to know.
What she wanted, however, was to make Ivory know her boundaries, to teach her a lesson of what happens the next time she tries to steal her man.
She had put that lesson off for far too long, now, it was time to start teaching her that lesson.
The conflicted and suffocating feeling in Ivory’s chest continued to grow, even as she stepped out into the fresh night air.
“V,” Lucien called out to her, pushing himself off the body of his car and flashing her his signature smile. “How was it?”
His question caught her off guard, confused her even. “What?”
“The little display, Martha Hart, your father’s mistress.” He paused. “How did it go?”
Ivory blinked her eyes rapidly, almost as if she were trying to process his words.
Then suddenly, everything clicked in place.
The mess with her father’s mistress was orchestrated by Lucien.
Lucien, however, didn’t let her revel in her realization.
“I told you I’d make sure to give him a special birthday present. Now, tell me,” He reached out and cupped her cheek. “Was I successful?”
From where she stood, with the moonlight shining down on Lucien, Ivory saw a flicker of something in his eyes.
But she didn’t dwell on it, rather, she brushed his hand off her cheek and glared subtly.
“This was your doing?” She asked. “You knew about my mother’s death and this was the best way you thought of letting me know?”
Chapter St
The smile on Lucien’s face faded. “Your mother’s death,” He paused. “Was your father behind her death?”
Ivory didn’t say anything, but the look on her face was a dead give away.
“I didn’t know, V,” he stepped closer to her, looking truly apologetic, but only for a few seconds. “If I had known he had committed such a heinous crime against you, I would have made his punishment worse. I’m truly sorry.”
Like always, hearing an apology out of him soothed her anger.
“I don’t need you doing the dirty work for me, Lucien,” She started. “If there’s someone who should punish my father, it should be me, so please, don’t get your hands anymore dirty than this.”
“But,
I’m willing to do anything if it’s for you.”
Ivory couldn’t help but frown. “What?”
“If it’s you, I’m willing to do anything.” He repeated, placing his hand on her cheek once more and staring into her eyes. “That’s just how important you are to me.”
Ivory unconsciously flinched. She had heard those words several times, but today, it seemed different because as he looked down at her, she could see the emotions burning bright in his
eyes,
What…
No, whatever it was, Ivory didn’t want to deal with it, not today.
“Don’t say nonsense, Lucy.” She tried to play it off cool, but her attempts were twatted when Lucien suddenly leaned in.
“Don’t say nonsense?” he echoed, his voice low, almost dangerous, as his face stopped mere inches from hers. Ivory’s breath hitched, her chest tightening as her lashes fluttered under the intensity of his gaze.
His silence was deafening, his piercing eyes devouring every flicker of emotion on her face. Then, slowly, a smile curved his lips–dark and dripping with something unspoken but undeniably consuming.
“Surely,” he murmured, his voice soft yet brimming with a feral edge, “don’t tell me you’re oblivious to my feelings for you. Or just how deep they run.
