Chapter 70: Chapter Seventy

*Domenico*

He sits there watching her carefully as he asks his question, wondering how she was going to talk herself out of this one. When he told Enzo he was going to deal with it, he wasn’t playing. For the last week he had been keeping tabs on her, following her every step. The moment he woken up from his stupidity when it came to her, he realized just how played he was.

She doesn’t love him. Never has. And he couldn’t lie to himself that it didn’t hurt. It did, horribly. He thought he had been in love with her and was blinded by the fact. But it was a hard cold bucket of water learning the truth. All those times that both Enzo and his grandfather telling him he was being a fool.

And like the fool he was he fought a losing battle without even knowing he was. They saw the truth this entire time and all he did was defend against what had been there in front of them all along. Why had he allowed such blindness to obscure his vision like that?

And through it all he didn’t even realize that he knew nothing about Ivy Russo.

She was beyond beautiful, that was definitely true. But her personality and soul were ugly as sin. When he discovered her fucking Benny in the warehouse that day he wanted to lash out at both of them then and there. He wanted to kill his cousin, but he held back. Against his warring emotions he slipped out nearly destroying everything in his room. It wasn’t until he was able to calm down that he decided to look further into who Ivy Russo really was.

It wasn’t a secret that she was the stepdaughter of Alejandro, and it wasn’t a secret that her and her mother had been poor when the man met them. He understood her insecurities of returning to the life she had grew up in, but it wasn’t like he was poor himself. Hell he was just as rich and well off as Enzo was. So, why Enzo? Why Benny? Why that old fat fuck Moretti?

That was the one thing he didn’t understand.

He was goodlooking, hell better looking than most of the men she quickly spread her legs for. He knew about them all, every single guy she went after. Virgin my ass, he thought bitterly. He still couldn’t believe he fell for that lie. He must have been doubly blinded by her to allow that lie to sit and fester making him hold back because he didn’t want to pressure her when she wasn’t ready.

What a load of crap.

When she still didn’t answer and just stood there looking like a deer caught in headlights it made him wonder if she ever faced the consequences of her actions before. He wouldn’t be surprised if he was the first one to catch her in the act and faced her head on. He slips a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolds it.

Reading the words written there a part of him couldn’t help the jealousy that went through him along with anger. Everything he has done for her, risked his life for her and this is what became of it.

“Can’t wait to be with you tonight. I’ll be waiting for you after your drink. Gabby.” He read aloud.

He looks back at her to see her face harden, but she didn’t seem bothered by the note in his hand. He quirks a brow. “You honestly think I believe this if from Gabby?”

She shrugs, looking away from him. “Apparently it is, it has her name doesn’t it?” She suddenly looks bored, looking down at her nails.

She was pretending to act nonchalant now that she composed herself enough. He scowls at her, that anger growing. Again how the hell hasn’t he noticed her conniving and manipulated ways? His anger was now turning towards himself that he could be fooled for so long.

“You left so many flaws in this plan of yours, Ivy.” He slowly stands up sensing her tense as he took a few steps towards her.

She doesn’t say anything and stands her ground when he comes less than an inch of her. Her breathing becomes a little erratic and although the past him would have delighted in the rising of her breasts and her nearness he now felt nothing back disgust.

“Firstly, Gabby doesn’t write like this. I’ve seen her writing and it’s a lot prettier than this scribble.”

Her face tinted red in anger and it just made him feel a little better at the insult he threw at her. “Secondly,” He kept on without a beat “She knows Enzo is leaving right after the party heading back to New York on business, something he only just informed me an hour ago.”

Her eyes widen at that new information, her body tensing even more. “And thirdly…”

He gets right into her face, and he could feel she wanted to take a step back, but she was holding her ground. More than likely trying to show him she wasn’t going to back down from whatever it was he was trying to do. Still staring in her eyes, not once breaking contact he reaches up and shows her a vial of clear liquid. He could see the confusion in her eyes as she skirts her eyes to it.

“The wine wasn’t drugged as you undoubtably believed it was. So, my cousin would never have came up to his room and be fooled that you were Gabby and not you, Ivy.”

“W-What-” She begins to stutter, but he interrupts her.

“I’ve been watching you. Been following your every move. I watched this get delivered to you and I know you planned to slip it in something I just didn’t know when until you seemed adamant about the party. I bid my time, watching, waiting. When today arrived I thought maybe you weren’t going to do something after all until I saw you heading to the warehouse earlier.”

He looks down between her breasts knowing the empty vial was placed there. “I swapped out the vials Ivy. What you put in that bottle was nothing more than saline water. This…” He lightly shakes the full vial he held at her. “Is the real one.”

“You bastard.” She seethes, finally taking a step back as she yanks the empty one she had and threw it across the room, the carpet causing it to thump on the ground.

“Me? The bastard? Right, I’m the bastard here. I learned a great deal about you over the last couple of days and what I’m finding out is you’re a real piece of work. I mean, the way you blackmailed the son of Trifoils Enterprises, fuck maybe I should have learned from you when I blackmailed your stepfather.” He sneered.

“I did no such thing.” She takes another step backwards.

“What you tried to do with Enzo, you did with Peter Masterson. Making sure you had everything the two of you did on camera to use against him. I saw the video Ivy. You should really learn to hide things better on your laptop. So, what is it that he provides for you, hm? What exactly do you think you could get from my cousin?”

He snaps his fingers and looks away from her. “It really doesn’t matter anymore. Don’t worry I destroyed all the evidence on Peter, he really is such a nice guy who doesn’t deserve your evilness. He has a wife and a newborn son. But you could care less about that. Forcing him to cheat on her with someone like you and all because he wouldn’t show you an ounce of attention…like Enzo.”

“Y-You did what?” She nearly went pale after his little spiel and instant rage overwhelms her. “You went through my personal belongings?!”

His eyebrows rose at that accusation. “Of course I did, love. After all we’re supposed to be engaged right?”

“What I don’t understand, sweetheart, is what were you planning to do about me? After everything I went through to get you to marry me. I went after Alejandro, blackmailed him, threatened him if he didn’t allow us to marry. I kidnapped someone I thought was you and now I have to hide for something that was never going to happen. I ruined my life for you, and this is what you planned all along.”

His voice started rising higher with every word he spoke, taking steps towards her again, causing her to hit the wall behind her in fear of what he might do. He was angry, more angry than she has ever seen him before.

“You made a fool in front of the people I care most about. I don’t take kindly to that, and you messed with the wrong people. And while you were so willing to spread your legs for everyone else I was the only one dumb enough to believe you were something that was pure and only mine. Just to find you’re nothing but a fucking whore allowing any dick inside you to get what you wanted.”

She slaps him hard across the face, heaving in her rage. He chuckles humorlessly then moves a had so fast she didn’t see it coming as he takes her throat and slams her against the wall but doesn’t put enough pressure to choke her. She immediately yelps in fear watching as his eyes sparkle with heat of his own rage.

“W-What are you going to do?” Her voice shook, clutching the wrist that held her.

In a dark and deep tone he states, “I’m going to make sure that your life is a living hell.”