Chapter 107 IMPOSTER
\[ONE WEEK LATER, BLACKTHORN AUTOMOBILE\]
Drexton closed the last file after signing it. As he made to stand, a fleeting memory of the time Ixora sat on his thighs appeared in his memory. The day she claimed him in front of Bonnie. The proud look she had on her face when he played along, and when Bonnie passed out from shock.
Every single thing reminds him of Ixora. The office holds as much memory as the outhouse, his house, and even his car. He rarely goes to the office, but today he felt like coming.
Rickyy flew, and he didn't even go after him. That confirmed his suspicion about Ricky being the one to ruin his relationship with Ixora. He should have known. He suspected Ricky and should have paid closer attention to him. If he did, he wouldn't be here dying of guilt, nor would he be clueless about Ixora's whereabouts.
He knows she's still alive. His guts don't lie to him. She hates him now, and he understands that.
The soft creak of the door brought him back to reality.
Jaxon and Alexa walked in.
"Let's get going," Jaxon said.
Jaxon doesn't go to the hospital again. He pretends to be fine, always looking after Drexton, but Drexton knows he missed Maddox. If only Maddox hadn't insisted on handling it alone, they would have gone to get him out of that clan. They might have lain low, but that doesn't mean that as Hell Devils, they are weak. Hell Devils will forever be strong.
"You should drag Maddox back. Stop the excessive care," Drexton said and stood.
"You might do something crazy if I'm not here."
"Maddox is also suffering."
"He knows what he's doing," Jaxon replied, and his gaze fell on Alexa, who'd been unusually quiet.
He tapped her shoulder with a raised brow.
"I'm just wondering. Back when I was in prison, I kept tracking down the date because I wanted to take care of Tanya Vaughn. I'm out now, and I'm just realizing I have put a lot of effort into finding her."
"Finding her is not hard," Drexton replied, leading the way out.
"I know, but I was completely fueled by revenge back then."
"And now?" Jaxon asked.
"I've learned a lot from Drexton's story. It doesn't mean I will not find her. Reuniting with my family is more important."
Drexton halted on his strides. "I told you both not to look for Ixora," he said without looking at her.
"She's still my sister. I'm looking for her for myself. I won't get myself involved in your business," Alexa replied, tucking her hands in her pants, hurrying her steps.
Despite Drexton's company not being so popular, he didn't lose the respect of his employees. They give him the needed respect.
Jaxon shook his head. He and Drexton trailed behind her.
They got outside.
At that same time, a car drove roughly into the company, almost knocking Alexa off.
"Alexa!" Jaxon yelled.
Alexa ducked out of the road, slightly hurting her elbow. "Asshole!" she cursed, holding the wounded place.
Jaxon rushed to her. "Let me see."
"I'm fine."
Drexton stood, eyes locked on the car that was parked in the middle of the company.
Every employee came out, curious to know who drove in.
Jaxon and Alexa's eyes also went to the car.
The car did a good job of stealing everybody's attention.
For five seconds, nobody came out of the car.
The back door pushed open. Long, straight legs in high heels kissed the ground.
Murmurs broke out between the employees.
The person stepped out completely, and the cold breeze hit her skin.
Everybody's eyes went wide as they stared at the person. Shock was an understatement to explain what everyone was feeling.
Her dark hair fell on her hips effortlessly. Red heavy lipstick on her lips stretched into a smile. Her smooth legs were exposed over the short black body hug gown that stopped at her mid-thighs.
"No fucking way," Alexa muttered, her eyes refusing to blink as she stared at the girl.
"Ixora," Jaxon mumbled beneath his breath, having the same look as Alexa.
"Missed me, everyone?" Hazel(Ixora) asked, the smile still playing on her lips.
She's alive.
How's that possible?
Someone pinch me.
She's changed so much.
The boss...
They all knew of Ixora's mysterious disappearance and the reason why she left. Drexton's breakout at the station leaked the real reason behind her disappearance.
Drexton's eyes locked on her. Her body, neck and face.
Hazel turned to him, and their eyes met.
Without breaking the smile, she began walking to him.
Her heels clicked softly against the floor. Time stalled. Gentle breeze slapped their skin. Their gazes didn't break as she took graceful steps towards him.
The long stretch came to an end as they stood face-to-face with each other.
Everybody had their eyes on them, wondering what she'd do.
"Drexton," she called. "I missed you." She wrapped her arm around him and placed her head on his chest.
Drexton stood without hugging her back.
"Are you surprised?" she whispered, tightening her arm around him.
Slowly, he raised his hand. Everybody held their breath, thinking he was going to hug her back, but he did something that drew a gasp out of everyone's lips.
He grabbed her shoulder and pushed her to the floor.
Ixora landed on her butt, eyes wide with shock.
"You are not her," he muttered, voice dangerously low.
Alexa quickly rushed to the scene.
"Have you gone mad? Can't you see Ixora is standing in front of you?" She held Hazel and helped her up.
"She's not Ixora!" Drexton yelled, and that caused everybody to jerk.
"Drexton, can't you recognize me? I know it's been eighteen months since we last saw each other. I've changed a lot, but I am your Ixora," she said, holding his hand.
Drexton slapped her hands off his body.
She staggered and would have fallen if not for Alexa.
"You are Ixora, right?" He took two steps.
Before anyone could blink, he ripped off the upper part of her clothes. Not too much to expose her body, but enough to expose her chest.
"Drexton!"
Hazel held her clothes.
His eyes landed on her chest. There was the mark. The scar. Same spot. He had given her a cut on her chest. This person has the same, but something was off. The scar was longer.
His gaze darkened as he looked at Hazel in the eyes. Her soul.
Only one thing was ringing in his brain.
How dare this person try to impersonate Ixora?
Hazel took backward steps as she saw the look he was giving her.
"D... Drexton. I'm your Ixora," she stuttered.
"Lies," he growled and gave her a backhand slap.
She fell again, losing her sight momentarily.
"Drexton!" Alexa stood in front of him with a glare. "I won't stand by her and watch you hit my sister!"
Jaxon stood without interfering. Drexton doesn't make false claims.
Hazel stood after she had gotten herself.
"You know what, fuck you. You should be glad that I came back to you after everything you did to me. You deserve to get a taste of what you did, and mark my word, I'm going to destroy you," she said venomously, and got into her car.
Alexa wanted to go after her, but she drove off.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Alexa asked.
Without waiting for them, he got into his car and drove off.
Alexa released a heavy breath and faced Jaxon. "Why didn't you say a thing?"
"Let's just go."
A black tinted car parked on the far road, eyes on the chaos that took place.
"He's still so smart," Nikita said.
"We should have stuck to our original plan of getting revenge. Why pretend to still love him? He humiliated me in front of everyone. Argh!" she grabbed a fistful of her hair and screamed.
"Drexton will always be Drexton. It's time to implement plan two," Nikita said, and their eyes went to the rearview mirror.
A girl sat in the back of the car. Her hair was shoulder-length, and some fell on her forehead. She wore a long skirt and a shirt that covered her entire body. She had a point-blank expression as she stared ahead. Her face was cold, almost like that of ice. She hadn't blinked as she looked ahead emotionlessly.
"What's your life mission, Winter?" Nikita asked.
"Destroy Drexton Blackthorn," Winter replied, her voice cold and distant like that of a robot.
"Good." The two girls smirked, bringing the engine to life.
\[HELL DEVILS HIDEOUT\]
Jaxon's finger punched the keyboard as the new Ixora's picture was displayed.
"I see no difference between her now and then. Her body stature, face and even her hair length are the same."
Drexton's eyes fell on the pictures of the two Ixoras.
"She's not the one."
Alexa paced around, giving up on talking some sense to Drexton.
Jaxon slammed the computer shut, frustration wearing in.
"If she's not Ixora, tell me, who's she?"
Drexton balled his fist.
"An imposter."