Chapter 71: Chapter Seventy One

*Ivy*

He releases her after his admission. He then sneers at her as he backs away looking disgusted. “Go home Ivy.”

She felt the words punch her in the gut like an iron fist had slammed into her. He doesn’t give her another look as he turns to leave and slams the door loudly, leaving her all alone. Reaching to her neck she absently rubs where his hand had been and as the fear subsided slow rage soon takes over.

Rage that her plan had been ruined before it even could be done, rage that he found out her secrets, rage that he took away the one thing she had relied on for the last four years against Masterson. Not only did she have the leverage of the sex tape she created of the two of them but the fact that she had only been sixteen at the time while he had been twenty-five. His assets and monthly payout was what she lived on the most and has been saving on over the years.

Now that was all going away once he finds out that all evidence against him has been wiped out by none other than Domenico Giordano, the bastard who she was pretending to be in love with. What had changed? Was she not careful enough to appease his insecurities? Maybe she should have been a little more forward, a little more affectionate. It was too late now.

Somehow he became fully aware of her treachery and was kicking her out of the house. She couldn’t go back with her tail between her legs, to show she had failed like so many others before she was given the chance. Her mother would laugh in her face if she knew her plan didn’t work. And with Alejandro going bankrupt she’ll once again be casted down to barely living on paycheck to paycheck.

Her body shaking she slumps down onto the bed, her chest heaving in slight panic. It was pointless to try anything now that Dom was aware of everything. What was left for her to do but to go back home?

Sudden laughter rang down the hall and her hands turned into fists. Gabriela’s voice muffled down below, and she snapped. Why did she get everything when she’s had it all her entire life? A wealthy important father, a mother who loved her unconditionally, living freely without a care in the world and getting the love from a man that showed no interest of ever settling down and was highly successful himself.

It wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair. All she did was come into everyone’s lives and turned them all upside down destroying everything she worked so hard for. For years she plotted and schemed to get where she was, relying on no one but herself, receiving no help from anyone.

And this was what she gets?

Absolutely not happening. If she was to lose everything, then Gabriela was going down with her. If she didn’t get her happy ending then neither were they. Standing up she stomps to her travel bag and ruffles through it until she finds what she was looking for. Turning on the cell phone she immediately hits the call button on a certain contact waiting as it rang on the other end.

As soon as the line connects she doesn’t allow the other person to speak and instantly states,

“I know where your precious daughter is located. But before I disclose where, you have to make a deal that you can’t back out of with me first. And this time I call the shots.”

On the other end of the phone Alejandro leans forward on his office desk, eyes flashing with irritation and interest. In a deep rough tone he demands,

“What grounds do you have for me to believe you know where Gabriela is at?”

She smirks as she walks across the room, yanks the door open and holds out the phone in the hall just as more laughter rings out followed by the voices of Gabriela and Maria. Snatching it back and slamming the door she spats,

“Is that proof enough for you?”

A long silent pause reaches between them and just when she thought he hung up on her he growls lowly,

“What kind of deal?”

***

*Gabriela*

Ivy had left the next morning. I wasn’t sure what had caused her sudden departure, but I was glad for it. The house felt more alive, more free like it was able to breathe again and I was sure everyone felt it. The tension that always seemed to be present was now gone completely.

She never came downstairs when we were saying our goodbyes to Enzo who had to leave for his flight within the hour and I was thankful for that. It would have ruined my mood if I had to sit back and watch her fawn and give him sultry eyes like she had been doing most of the night throughout the party.

And she hadn’t been trying to hide it either.

It was one of the reasons why I wouldn’t leave his side. I didn’t trust her, and I felt like she was just waiting for me to walk away from him. I wasn’t willing to give her the chance.

Before, after the men went inside, I watched her leave the backyard while the rest of us were cleaning up, I didn’t expect her to help so that was a given, but it made me nervous on what she was planning to do next. But when I went inside to put things away she was upstairs by herself, and I haven’t seen her since. She never came back down, and she left before the rest of us was up.

But that tidbit didn’t ease my mind one bit. Did she follow Enzo back to New York? Now that I thought about it, it was odd that they both left nearly hours from each other. But was she even heading back to New York like Enzo was doing? It was risky to be seen with each other anyways due to be rival families. Father would have a fit if he saw the two of them socializing.

“I must say it’s a nice quiet morning we have for once.” Giovanni commented as we were all gather around the table for breakfast.

I smile my agreement as Maria started immediately complaining about the character of Ivy. Looking across the table to Domenico he seemed awfully quiet himself as he slowly ate his food. I wanted to ask him how he was doing and how he felt about Ivy leaving so suddenly but I wasn’t so sure we were close enough to ask such personal questions.

So, I just went back to my own food and half heartedly listened to the conversations at hand. It wasn’t until mid-afternoon that he decided to approach me himself. I was sitting in the gazabo enjoying the cooling breeze in the garden waiting for Enzo to call me after his meeting that movement caught my eye.

He slowly walks up to me and for once, since I’ve known him, he wasn’t wearing a suit. I had wondered if that was all he owned he seemed to like wearing them and a part of me wondered if it was because of Ivy.

He looked nice in a pair of light washed out blue jeans, clean white sneakers, a white shirt paired with a overshirt of a plaid long sleeve of white, black, and different tones of beige. He looked like a college kid and definitely not something I ever thought to see him in. It was nearly out of character of him and makes him look completely different.

He comes to sit next to me and sighs heavily like his entire world was over.

“I’m sorry about Ivy.” I say gently because I knew her leaving only meant one thing.

The two of them are over.

He grunts looking out at the flowers that bloomed all around us. “Yeah, me too.”

We sit there in the silence since I didn’t know what else to say. Honestly I was surprised he was sitting out here with me at all.

“She wasn’t the one anyways. I don’t think I ever really loved her, more like was infatuated with her beauty.”

He said it with such bitterness that I couldn’t help looking over to him. He stared at the ground, brows furrowed and lips thin. My heart went out to him to see such pain lying there in his eyes.

“Everything is my fault.” Looking over at me he states, “I owe you an apology Gabby. It’s because of me that everything happened. And because of that I’ve decided that I’m going to turn myself in to your father.”