Ivyrose’s POV
It seemed so real. The way I orgasmed seemed so real. His touch, the way he trailed kisses on my body, it all felt like it really happened. But then when I thought about the events of last night, I couldn’t remember a single thing. Only at the start when we arrived in the hotel and we went to the bar and had a few drinks before going up to the penthouse suite. I remember the old bartender who was really nice to me before and I smiled remembering his jokes.
The ring on my cell phone startled me, cutting off my thoughts. I looked at the caller and it was my father, Rex Lucas Foxworth IV. He was a business tycoon who owned almost all the buildings in New York City aside from his other businesses.
“Hey, daddy.”
“Princess. How are you? I called your apartment, but your maid said you didn’t come home. Are you with Christopher?” he said, his tone disappointed.
“Dad, please don’t start. It’s too early.” I begged him and then changed the subject about the party I was planning for his 60th birthday. This in turn, distracted him from his plans of bad mouthing Christopher to me. It wasn’t always like that though. He used to love Christopher a year ago when they first met. Dad was impressed with how Chris managed to become a self-made millionaire from the young age of 29. He introduced me to Chris on one of those business parties and I remembered instantly liking him based on his looks alone. After finally making me to agree to go on dates with him, I fell in love. His kindness, his charms, his intellect and his sense of humor made my heart flutter. On the day of our first anniversary as a couple, Christopher suddenly proposed to me and I gladly said yes. But then a couple of months after our engagement, he got some bad news that somebody scammed his small tech company. That's when my father started having second thoughts about him and our coming marriage.
"I'm only trying to protect you, Rossie. I lo-"
"I told you never to call me that again." I said angrily, cutting him off.
"I'm 26 years old, dad. I have a great successful business. I don't need your protection anymore, okay? Please just give Chris some time to get back up before you judge him. For me?"
"Okay, fine. For you. But only if you promise my birthday party two months from now will be the best I've ever had. Your mom and I will be in New York by then."
"It absolutely will dad. I promise. Have fun in England. Tell mom I'll talk to her later. I love you guys. Bye"
I was alone for the whole day since Chris left for work right after we made love in the shower. Deciding to put my bad nightmare behind me, I called my secretary to ask if we had any new appointments in the city.
My father wanted me to study business management so I gave him what he wanted and graduated cumlaude at Brown. But then I realized I didn't want to work in his company just yet, so I started a flower business. I used some of the money my grandparents left for me as my capital and luckily, even without dad's connections, Ivyrose's Garden was hired as the exclusive florist in some major hotels in the city. That was the day my dad beamed with pride for my hard work.
"Good morning, Miss R." Hailey, my secretary of 2 years now, said.
"Hi. So where are we heading today?"
"Uh we got Foxworth Mansion first on the list. You want that?" she chuckled and I rolled my eyes. Foxworth Mansion was my home. It's been in our family for generations passed on by the male heirs. This was partly the reason why my father was obsessed with who I was going to marry, seeing he had only me for an heir,
"Ugh. No thanks. Next?"
"There's a new Hotel on Staten Island. Wanna come with?"
"Okay. I'll pick you up in 30 minutes. Bye."
The drive to my small and cozy flower shop in Lexington Ave., a few blocks from my apartment, was trafficless. I picked Hailey up and we drove to the hotel together with the van behind us.
We arrived shortly after in a hotel near the beach. It was not big, but it wasn't small either.
"It's so quaint." I said as we got out of the car. Hailey went to help the van driver bring the flowers in while I told her I'd talk to the manager.
I stopped on my tracks when I saw him. He looked exactly as he did 10 years ago. Back when we were still both 16 years old. Don't be stupid. I said to myself. That can't be him. It can't be Gareth, but could it be his son? Oh my god. Oh my god. My heart can't take this. Get a grip, loser. You can do this. It's been years already. Plus he could just look like him.
The boy cleared his throat. "Hey. Can I help you? You're kinda creeping me out just staring at me with your sad sad eyes."
"What? I wasn't… I'm… it's just that you look like somebody I used to know. Sorry. Are you anyway related to a ‘Gareth Coal’?" I said, breathless; my heart pounding in my ears.
"No. Not that I know of." he looked at me with his eyebrows meeting in the middle. "You should start working if you wanna finish early."
"Oh. Right. Sorry. Uhm, Hi. I'm Ivyrose from Ivryrose's garden."
I extended my hand to the teenager who clearly wasn't happy to have to entertain me. He was wearing a black leather jacket with a white shirt under it, and a pair of ripped jeans, making him look totally out of place to be assigned at the front desk.
"Hi. I'm Devon Cooper." he said, shaking my hand. "Uhm, my dad isn't here yet so you can do your thing."
"Oh, okay thanks." I said, still staring at his face. Devon Cooper. He's not related to Gareth. He just looks a bit like him. I said to myself as I walked out to meet Hailey and the crew.
"Hey. You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost or that all the bees had died." Hailey said, holding a bouquet of yellow tulips.
"Yeah. I mean, no. I'm fine. Uhm do you mind if I go get some fresh air?" I said, feeling like my heart was going to be squeezed into oblivion.
"Yeah, sure. Go right ahead boss. We'll start working here and be done by the time you're back."
"Thanks, Hail. I'll be right back to help you guys." I walked toward the beach and sat on one of the cement benches. The cloudy blue sky looked magnificent against the shimmering blue green sea. I looked on to the horizon and my tears started falling.
Gareth. Gareth. Gareth… my mind kept repeating until I allowed myself to think about that night again.
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Foxworth Mansion (10 years ago)
“But you said you love me.” I said in between sobs. “You said I can trust you. I gave my all to you! How could you lie and hurt me, Gareth? Tell me my father is ordering you to leave me! Tell me this is all his doing and that you do love me. Please, say something! Why are you just staring at me?” I hit his chest again and again. My heart felt like a million people were squeezing it at the same time, but Gareth, just stood there, taking all the blows. He didn’t even shed a tear.
“It’s not him, Rosie. And it’s not you either. It’s just me. When I found out your father will never accept me into your family, I decided it’s better to end it now while we’re still young.”
“Did he tell you to stay away from me?”
“No. But he said not to get my hopes up because I should know that you deserve only the best. And he’s right. He found out about us. He didn’t get mad at me. In fact he offered me a million dollars to leave with my family. To stay out of your lives, forever.”
“And you said yes?”
“What poor idiot wouldn’t?” he chuckled. “I’ll get over you soon enough just as you will easily forget me after he introduces you to society; To his billionaire friends’ sons! And then you’ll see I was only a waste of time. A waste of breath.”
“Fuck you, Gareth! After everything we’ve been through. We fucking grew up together. I’m your best friend! How could you play with my heart like this?”
“I really do love you, Rosie. I never lied to you. But let’s be practical, your father will never let us be together. So grow up and move on. Forget me. Take care of yourself, okay?” Garret tried to touch my face, and without any pride left, I still let him. My tears flowed helplessly as I felt the warmth of his palm.
“Please, Gareth. What if we ran away together? I don’t care about being rich. I can find a job and we can survive this. Please. I love you so much.” I put my hand over his, but he pulled it away and he stepped back from me.
“And what about my family, huh, Rosie? You want me to just leave them here? You think your dad won’t kick them out? And what about your dad and mom, huh? You think it’s that easy for you to leave them? You think two sixteen year olds can easily find jobs? Do you think stale and cheap food tastes good?” He turned his back on me and started to walk toward the door, but I ran and hugged him from the back.
“I don’t care. I only care about us. Please don’t do this. Please, Gareth.” I cried and held on to him for dear life. He has been my best friend since the day I was born. I couldn’t believe all the things he was saying, but somehow I knew it was all true because he pushed my arms off him and he walked away.
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Christopher’s POV I put the empty bottle of wine on the dining table. The effects of its content, already making me a little light headed. I was alone in our house because Ivyrose was waiting for me at Foxworth mansion, taking care of last minute details for her father’s 60th birthday party. The party of the year, the magazines and newspapers called it. I looked at myself in my full length mirror and almost didn’t recognize the man I’ve become. I used to be so simple and poor, yet the man in front of me was wearing a black armani suit. I looked great although it was a little tight around my biceps considering everytime my mind stressed over that night, I went to my gym and punished myself —Forcing extreme pain to push the morbid thoughts out of my head, and forgeting my conscience with too much exhaustion. I also went to see a shrink once or twice a week and it helped a bit to vaguely talk about my secrets. For the past two months, I found a way to say it, disguising it as troubles
Ivyrose's POV The moment my car entered the gates of Foxworth mansion, memories of my heart breaking past all came flooding back. I sighed as I thought of the first memory I had of him. It was my 5th birthday and Gareth was crying. His dad, Mr. Cole, our gardener, had he scolded Gareth for opening one of my presents, a rocking horse. "He can have it." I said to his dad. "You can have that so stop crying now. We can be friends and I'll share all my toys with you." Gareth listened to me and wiped his tears. He kept sniffing and blowing his nose until a huge snot bubble formed and it burst on his face. That was the first time he made me laugh so hard. I shook my head as I parked my car in the driveway. Stop thinking about him and just focus on the party. "Ivy darling." My mother greeted me, wearing her big gardening hat and loose plain brown clothes. Gardening in the early mornings was the only time she looked unfabulous, she used to tell my dad. "Hi. Mom. You're up early. How's
Christopher’s POV I could see him staring and smiling at her. What are they talking about? I'm going to kill him. This can't be happening. I wanted to shout for her, but my voice wouldn't come out, and running through the crowd was not an option either as my legs wouldn't dare move; I was paralized in a mixture of panic and rage. Our eyes met, and for a split second his lips formed a sinister smile exactly the way it did that night after he fucked her, and my mind became flooded with morbid thoughts. I imagined him naked kissing Ivy on the neck, taunting me. His hands all over my woman. Closing my eyes, I shook my head to get rid of the gut wrenching thoughts flooding my brain. That night didn’t happen! Stop this! Open your eyes and see that you’re just imagining it. I opened my eyes and cursed out loud when I saw the fucker touched her hand, kissing it before letting go. And as if the heavens were truly punishing me, a group of guests suddenly blocked my view of them. “Fuck my lif
Ivyrose's POV I heard my mother call out to me when I left her mid sentence. My parents didn't recognise him, but in my heart I knew it was him. He may have changed so much physically, but I could still tell from the way he looked at me while I was up on that stage. I saw longing in his eyes although when we were talking earlier it all disappeared as if he really was a different person. Maybe I'm going crazy. First I saw a teenage version of him and now a current one. I walked mindlessly as I thought about the possibilities that it could be Gareth and what would happen if ever it was him, when I found myself beneath the old oak tree. This place was our holy ground. It was our hiding spot when we were kids and we didn't want to eat our vegetables and Mrs. Lolita, my nanny, chased us around. She would always lose us when we got to mother's greenhouse and turned the corner, then climb up the old oak tree with its massive branches and so many leaves to cover us. I sat on one of th
Christopher’s POV “Hey, Rose.” I held her as she swayed to the music with her eyes closed. I took her hand and noticed all the dirt in her fingernails and on the hem of her gown. “Rose!” I said louder, thinking she might not have heard me through the loud music the band was playing. “Are you okay, babe? Where have you been?” I asked her, a knot formed in my gut as she continued to dance. Softly, I shook her shoulders and Ivyrose stopped dancing, and opened her eyes. “What happened? Why have you been crying and why are your hands so dirty?” Her eyes were red and her nose puffy. I sighed as I looked around us. Nobody was paying us any attention. “Come with me, Chris.” she said suddenly, pulling me through the crowd as fast as she could. “Rose, stop! Where are we going?” She made her way toward the greenhouse, her hand still pulling mine. “I wanna show you something special to me.” “Okay, but slow down. Are you okay? You want me to carry you?” I said when I realized she was barefoo
Ivyrose’s POVAfter having sex in my mother’s greenhouse, Christopher and I took the back stairs leading to the west side of the mansion where my room was. We took a shower together and once clean, Christopher made us transfer to the bubble bath in the tub. I got in and sat with my back to him. Christopher started lathering the bubbles on my breasts and I closed my eyes, surrendering to ecstasy. I rubbed his thighs, squeezing it from time to time as he continued to play with my breasts, his fingers circling my nipples. The hardness of his cock grew and pressed on my back. I felt myself getting so aroused again. “I want you to try something.” Christopher whispered, the warmth of his breath and the way his lips brushed my skin sent tingles down my spine. “What?”“Have you ever heard of letting fast running water hit your clit?”“Like the shower? Yeah. From magazines, but I don’t think that’s true though. Wait. Have you tried that with a girl?”“That’s a trick question and that’s not
Christopher's POVIvyrose shouting my name chased sleep away and made me sit up right on the bed in a daze before realizing what was happening and running to where her voice was. She was sitting cross legged on the bathroom floor, hugging her legs. Her face was hidden on her knees. I rushed to her and was about to help her up when I saw what was sticking out of her hand. “You're pregnant?” She looked up to me and nodded. Ivyrose blew her red nose on a tissue and her tears fell again. I kneeled on the floor in front of her. "Oh my God, Rose. This is amazing!" I said, wiping her tears away. She stared at me with her gorgeous blue eyes while her stubborn tears still kept falling."Really?" "Of course. Why? Aren't you happy about this? We're going to have our own family now, Rose.""I am happy… but Chris, I'm also terrified. I feel like I don't deserve this kind of happiness. I lost my first baby. It was all my fault that he di—.""That was not your fault Rose. That was nobody's fault
Ivyrose's POV Daddy told his secretary to assign a lot of bodyguards around the four of us for the rest of the week to keep the press and paparazzi away. I told him I wanted Chris and mine to be invisible and he agreed. Christopher and dad put so much on my plate once we sat down to eat breakfast and my mom just laughed at them. For the first time in my life after what happened in the past, I finally felt truly happy again. Everything was finally perfect. I held Christopher's hand and squeezed it. He smiled back at me before putting a spoon full of chocolate pudding in his mouth. "It always amuses me how you're such a sweet tooth, Chris." my mom said and we chuckled. He smiled sweetly at me and swallowed before speaking. "I believe that's the orphan in me. When we were kids we didn't get any deserts. We only ate sweets on Christmas day if some people donated cakes and stuff." "Awww that's so sad. Rex we have to do something about this. How many orphanages are here in New York?"