Her wish

Her wish
At that point where Ivy’s eyes scrolled through and through, unraveling each slide, each document—it was not the Nate that she married. 
Nate committed a string of crimes, making the situation even more unbelievable. 
First, he was involved in a large-scale embezzlement and it was also associated with criminal organizations. 
Secondly, Nate made risky investments that led to Nitro Group's financial ruin. The company was in red—screaming financial danger. 
Thirdly, Nate cheated on Ivy. Not once, not twice, not thrice... Nate had up to ten partners. 
Ivy’s eyes looked over each girl and discovered that Lana, her best friend was the last on the list. 
In a blast of anger, Ivy tossed her laptop against the wall and let out a thunderous yell that could literally shake walls.
  “NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!”
  “How could you... Do this to me?” he cried out, staring at his picture on the wall. Ivy’s heart was in shambles, her head was battered and in pain, her body ached, and everything seemed like an awful dream that she wanted to wake up from. 
Ivy rose from the bed in full speed and alacrity, grabbing the photo from the wall as she crashed on the floor. 
Everything item that had the touch of Nate or his smell was instantly destroyed by Ivy as her tears rolled down, knowing no bounds.
  “What is this? What have you done, you freaking idiotic bastard?!” she yelled again, holding her head, her hair draping over her face as she dropped on the floor, her feet over the shards of broken glasses.

Ivy cried, a line of regret plunging through her heart, leaving her to wonder if it was truly Nate or someone else. At least, she prayed that it was someone else, but reality hit her harder than anything she had suffered before. She felt betrayed. 
  “How could you do this to me? 21 freaking years, Nate?!” she said to herself, her throat ached. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she dragged her knees to her chest. 
Just like that, Ivy saw her world crashing before her, her heart broke into shambles, and her soul was pierced. Her existence? She didn't know what to make out of it. 

…
Hours flew by, and Ivy had not had a decent sleep. How could she even sleep when all she thought of was Nate and the despicable things she saw about him? 
Her body was sore, her eyes were soaked, her thoughts reeling one after the other. There was no solution. 
A knock gently interrupted her thoughts, but Ivy remained silent. 
  “Ma’am, someone is here to see you. You’ve been locked up since last night…” said Tika, her voice breaking in concern. 
Ivy did not say a word nor did she feel the urge to do so. 
  “Ma'am?” Tika heard silence as she scampered away. 
Meanwhile, Alvin had been downstairs, waiting to see Ivy. 
Just as expected, he wanted to help her through the pain that she was already going through. He guessed right, he took calculated risks, and he knew what he was doing.
As soon as he sighted Tika from the stairway, he majestically walked over to her.
  “I’m sorry, Mr. Hart, she won’t talk to me let alone open the door,” Tika explained. 
  “Do you trust me?” he planted his hands on her shoulders. Her eyes split between his plunging sly gaze and his hands. 
  “Yes sir,” she barely said. 
  “Good!” he took off his hands and gave a light half smile. “Make sure that no one comes upstairs. I have to talk to your boss about something... important. I believe you can handle that, right?” he let out.  
  “Yes, sir!” she snapped.  
  “Perfecto! Get to work!” he said forcing a smile as he headed upstairs. 
Since that time Alvin pulled that stunt using a prop gun months ago, she has been scared of Alvin. Everyone in the household was scared of him.
No one dared to step in his way.
When Alvin got to Ivy’s room, he exhaled and knocked softly. 
  “Ivy? Ivy, it is Vin… Can we just talk—”
Before he could complete his statement, she opened the door. 
The first thing she did was throw herself at him. 
He didn't quite expect that but then he didn't push her away. He embraced her tightly, offering every support she would need. 
Like a mouse in a trap, Alvin smirked—his ego emanating. All unknown to Ivy. 
  “Nate broke my heart, I thought that he was him—I thought that he was not capable of—”
  “Shhh!” he placed his index across her lips. “Say no more, sweetheart! I'm here now! I'll be here until the moment I drop dead—that’s a promise…” he whispered calmly in her ears, his voice reassuring her as she embraced him again and again. 

…
After some time that he had successfully dragged her out of anguish, Ivy took a shower and slept off. 
And for the next three hours that she slept, Alvin had been beside her—clearing the mess. 
By the time her flickered, gently opening, her weak gaze landed on Alvin. 
He was staring at Nate’s picture. Although the frame and glass were ruined, the photo remained. 
Alvin burned with fury, his other hand balled into a fist. 
He found out about Nate’s dirty business five years ago. He hadn't been himself ever since knowing that Ivy and the kids adored him so much. It was the reason why Alvin acted the way that he did whenever he was around Nate. 
To him, Ivy deserved a better man, so none who was worth while. 
Adding to his pain, Ivy rejected him for Nate, only for Nate to ruin Ivy’s life and break her heart. 
Alvin had made it a lifetime mission to avenge and so he had to start somewhere. At least, Ivy needed to know that the angelic Nate wasn't an angel at all. 
  “You hate him too, right?” Her voice interrupted his thoughts as he freed his fingers. Her voice was like a melody in his head that he longed to hear every moment that she was around. 
Nate tore the photo into nearly equal halves before gently turning to her.
  “More than you do,” he blurted as he slowly walked over to her, both hands in his pockets.  
  “God, I didn't think Nate would—”
  “Embezzle, be a thug or cheat on you?” he interrupted, opening presenting his question while her fingers slid into her hair. Ivy was confused. Not even she could explain why he did what he did. 
  “Nate had perfect credit scores, he was devoted to us—to me. He would never cheat or steal, let alone be a part of something terrible. Nate was a good man, Alvin…” her voice gradually rising.  
  “Am I the bad guy for showing you the truth?” he asked her and scoffed. “I knew you would try to say that, you would defend him—convincing yourself that he was a goddamn saint.” he blurted. 
  “All of that could have been made up, you don't know, yourself…” her voice fell flat. 
Just like Alvin had stated, she tried to convince herself that Nate would never do what she had seen. 
Alvin drifted away from his steps, making his way onto her balcony. It smelled like fresh roses and fresh leaves from the flower pots. But just as he had suspected, she followed him to the balcony as he continued speaking. 
  “Nate was evil and full of arsie stuff that could and would implicate you. You don't know you've been dealing with, do you?” his tone was sharp and penetrable while Ivy remained. 
  “I sacrificed a month to get these for you—I know—you wouldn't have agreed. Nate backstabbed you right in the cord, he was a facade that you would wake up from… The sooner, the better…” he stated firmly. 
  “For how long have you known the truth—everything?” she asked, braving for whatever that would come next. t
  “For as long as you can think of but… does it matter?” he let out. 
  “You could've told me,” she charged angrily. 
   “Told you?” he yelled, veering to face her. “Told you what exactly? That he freaking deceived you and kept you in the dark?” he scoffed. “Ivy, aside from loving you to death, I would never want to see you hurt…” he indignantly admitted. 
  “Heck yeah, and so he had to die first before you could confess?” she charged again, her anger spilling over. 
  “What would you rather have me do? I needed an excuse—a perfect time. And so… I made one…” he swallowed firmly as he looked away. His arms crossed over how chest. 
Alvin was lost, he thought that he had won her over with the facts that he presented, but she was adamant. 
It was hard to tell if she had agreed with him or not. 
  “Vin?” she called out calmly. “I'm- I'm really sorry if you feel bad over your efforts to make me see the truth. It's just... too much to handle, I swear it. I'm lost. It's one thing to know that your husband died of unnatural causes and it's another thing to know that he was not the sweetest soul you thought that he was. I can't take it all in and pretend that I agree—”
Her voice trailed off as he turned to her again. 
Seeing her hurt was, of course, far from what he wanted. 
Despite his motives being a mix of manipulation and honesty, he loved Ivy too much.  
  “Hey?!” he let out calmly, his deep tone rang out softly. He planted his hands on her shoulders, proudly towering over her. “This was the toughest thing that I've done in a very long time. I had to gather the balls to do this. A day of hiding the truth would be more detrimental than not knowing. Ivy, I want the best for you—with all that mourning and drowning… You deserved more than the truth. You can… always trust me with your decisions or intentions. I would always be here for you, Ivy. I left once, I won’t leave again.” he stated, swooning Ivy as best as he could. 
He embraced her tightly, rubbing her hair, gently resting his chin on her head.
  “Ask anything and I will do it,” he proposed to her in a whisper. 
 “Anything?” she repeated softly. 
 “Your wishes are my command,” he added with a smirk.