"What the hell?" Tarquin exclaimed, his jaw clenched in anger. He stood in the bedroom, staring in disbelief at the contents of the suitcase that had just been delivered to him. Inside were several women's undergarments and clothing - obviously not his own belongings. He fumed as he tried to wrap his head around what had happened. His assistant had been sent to pick up his luggage from the airport, so how could this have happened? He wondered if his assistant had made a mistake, or if something more sinister was at play. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he picked up the phone and called his assistant. "Get up here, now," he barked, his voice cold and commanding. There was a moment of hesitation on the other end of the line, then a stammer, "Yes, sir." Tarquin ended the call without another word, his mind racing. Who had taken his belongings? And what were they doing with his things? He had to find out what was going on, and fast. In the meantime, he had to figure out what to
Ivy closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to wrap her mind around what had just happened. She looked down at the suitcase again, but the contents were still the same: someone else's belongings instead of her own clothes and underwear. "How did this happen?" she wondered aloud. It was hard to believe that she had accidentally picked up the wrong suitcase at the airport. She was usually so careful about these things. Cursing under her breath, she searched through the contents of the suitcase, hoping to find some clue as to who the suitcase belonged to. Then, with a sigh of relief, she spotted an ID card tucked into a side pocket. Maybe she could find a way to get in touch with the owner and sort this whole mess out. But her relief was short-lived, as she saw that the ID was completely devoid of any contact information. Just a name and an address in a city she'd never heard of. She groaned in frustration, wondering what to do next. She closed the box and kept it s
The taunting look on Tarquin's face said it all; he was the boss and he had ordered Ivy to leave his company. Ivy knew this wasn't the time to be rude so she went on her knees and started pleading but he refused to give her a listening ear nor hear her out. Ivy refused to leave when he asked her to leave his office to get ready to be sued in court. Tarquin also promised to tarnish her image with his influence so she would never be able to get employed by anyone. Ivy didn't even know what to do, because she didn't have any money with her. She just moved into the country, "How will I survive and cope when everything is already turning out like this?" She quietly asked herself. "I'm sorry sir," Ivy pleaded with a shaky voice for the hundredth time, but Tarquin refused to listen. He stood up from his desk and put on his suit when a young lady came to inform him of the board meeting which was about to begin. "Before I return, throw this thing out of my company," Ivy heard him say to hi
Prepared and dressed to leave, Ivy took a long last look on the wall mirror in her room. Tarquin’s assistant John had contacted her that morning stating that Tarquin wanted to meet with her and sent an address. Ivy had been nervous after the call, she was afraid that he was going to take her to meet his lawyer and didn't want to honor his invitation at first but she later changed her mind, preparing for whatever it would turn out to be. She had spent the previous night drowning her sorrows in a bottle of wine, but the call from John that morning had given her a strange sense of strength and resolve. She knew she didn't have a lawyer or the money to fight this, but she was determined to face Tarquin head-on and talk this out like adults. They were both at fault, and she was ready to accept responsibility for her part in it. It wasn't going to be easy, but she was ready to face whatever came next. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, encouraging herself for the difficult
As Ivy paced back and forth, her heart was pounding in her chest. Today was the day she was going to get married, and she couldn't deny that she was terrified. She was scared of what marriage to Tarquin would mean. She remembered how she'd tried to act tough and challenge him, only to have him turn into a devil right before her eyes. In a moment of panic, she had signed the contract, but immediately regretted her actions. She had begged Tarquin to cancel everything, but he had refused. Now, she was stuck, and she didn't know what to do. Tarquin had made it clear that she wasn't getting out of this, and that there was no turning back. The deal was done, and she would have to live with the consequences. He told her to keep her copy of the contract safe, because without it, she wouldn't be able to leave the marriage. She sat in the room, watching as a team of maids fussed over her. It was a simple court wedding, but it felt like the biggest production. She didn't understand why they w
On hearing Ivy say stop, Tarquin somehow felt nervous that she was going to reject him in front of the guests and cancel the wedding. He clenched his fists, already thinking of how to deal with her if she had the nerve to do so. "I need to use the restroom," Ivy said and excused herself. One of the workers in the court followed her out to show her where the restroom was located. Tarquin signaled John to come over, John quickly did and he whispered in his ears. "Ask some of the guards to guide the restroom and stand by at every exit in case she wants to run away," John nodded, receiving his command before leaving to mobilize the guards to do so. Ivy thanked the worker who showed her the restroom and walked into one of them. Everywhere around the restroom was very quiet and calm, she slumped on the floor not minding her dress being messed up, and allowed the tears that had already gathered to flow down. She was regretting everything, the circumstances that brought them together, th
On getting home, the ankle pain had stopped and the swell had gone down a bit, making it easy for Ivy to walk inside. She headed straight to her room to take a bath and change. When she first got in, she saw a room decorated with lots of flowers which left her surprised. There were rose petals on the white bed, and a red bulb lit the place, blending with the white interior which made the room look beautiful. When she got into the bathroom, she saw Rose petals filled inside the bathtub. Ivy wondered who might have ordered all of this. She knew that Tarquin would never do it, she thought about his Mom, she was the one she thought. Ivy sighed, Mrs Caroline might be thinking they were going to consummate the night of their wedding but unknown to her Tarquin left while they were heading back home to wherever he had in mind and hadn't returned. Even if he didn't, he wasn't showing any interest like he was the type who loved intimacy and would want her at least to be intimate with him e
Tarquin relaxed back on the door looking at Ivy who was now restless. She quickly avoided his eyes as she looked away. "He is home, we are about to have dinner," Ivy replied. She heard Mrs. Caroline sigh in relief over the phone. "I thought he didn't go back home with you and had disobeyed me," Mrs Caroline said, getting Ivy confused. "Was there any time he didn't want to go back home with her?" Ivy thought. "Besides he didn't go home with her and left in the middle of the road," she thought to herself. "Alright, enjoy your dinner. I will come to your wedding party," Mrs. Caroline said and ended the call. "Wedding party?" Ivy wanted to ask but the call had already ended. She remembered Tarquin, who was still at the door of the room. He was looking intently at her. She was still feeling uncomfortable but didn't know what to do next. She adjusted her pajamas and decided to head downstairs to have dinner and at least breathe, she couldn't stand the sight of him. She wondered how