Even if the two managed to bury the hatchet, the best they could hope for was an awkward friendship across a wide gulf of years.
The idea was almost laughable.
The next morning, Ivy was just about to head out when her phone rang.
She glanced at the screen, arching an eyebrow.
Emma.
A soft, mocking smile curled Ivy’s lips.
After Micah’s outburst yesterday, she’d deliberately held back, planning to deliver Emma a little “surprise” of her own.
But before Ivy could make her move, Emma came knocking first.
Clearly, Micah had already come clean to her.
Ivy answered, her tone unhurried, “Hello?”
“Ivy!” Emma practically screamed, her voice shaking with rage. “How did you seduce Micah? He’s breaking off the engagement! He says he still loves you and wants to get back together! How shameless can you be? We’re about to get married, for God’s sake-|· even lost a baby for him!”
Ivy had just slid into the driver’s seat, Jamison’s clothes draped over her arm. With no free hand, she set her phone on the dashboard and let Emma’s furious tirade roll through the
car.
She waited until Emma had shouted herself hoarse. Then, cool and detached, Ivy replied, “Micah’s the one who doesn’t want you. Why are you blaming me? Besides, if something never belonged to you in the first place, even if you managed to snatch it, you were never going to keep it. Isn’t that just how it goes?”
“Snatch? What are you talking about? Micah loves me! He was the one who confessed!”
“Really?” Ivy’s laugh was light and cutting. “Funny. He told me you were the one who threw yourself at him. That you seduced him.”
“You–you’re lying!” Emma’s voice broke, turning shrill and hysterical. She spat curses for a few more seconds before suddenly pausing, realization dawning. “Wait. He told you that? You saw him yesterday?”
“Yeah, I did.”
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“Then the cut on his forehead-?”
“I gave it to him,” Ivy answered matter–of–factly. “He wouldn’t leave me alone. He kept pestering me, so I lost my temper and hit him. If his uncle hadn’t shown up, who knows–he might not have made it out alive.”
“You-” Emma was speechless, stunned by Ivy’s calmness. She stuttered for a few moments before managing, “You’re a monster! If you’d killed him, you’d be a murderer!”
“Hah. He broke into my house and tried to assault me. It was self–defense–what else was I supposed to do?”
Emma was silent, her confidence crumbling. After a pause, she began muttering, almost to herself, “No way… You must’ve tempted him… There’s no way he’d try to hurt you…”
“Emma, leave me out of your drama. The whole thing yesterday? I recorded it. If you don’t believe me, I can send you the audio.”
With that, Ivy hung up first.
She’d been recording the entire confrontation with Micah, having switched on her phone before heading downstairs.
Later, she’d carefully edited the recording, highlighting Micah’s desperate declarations.
Once she sent the audio file, Ivy added Emma’s number to her block list. She smiled coolly,
Maserati, and headed to the hospital.
sta
tate.
a’s screams echoed through the house, drawing the rest of the Windsors to her room
in concern.
The moment her youngest daughter hung up, Rosetta hurried over. “Is it true? Micah’s really calling off the wedding? He wants to get back with Ivy? But doesn’t Ivy have AIDS–she’s practically-”
Before she could finish, Emma’s phone chimed.
A message from Ivy: an audio file.
Scowling, Emma pressed play.
“Micah, you’re insane! Ivy cut you off long ago. You and Emma are getting married, and now you’re harassing Ivy again? Are you trying to ruin her?”
Baillie’s eyes narrowed. “That’s Katrina’s voice, isn’t it? Did Ivy move in with her after leaving here?”
The audio kept playing.
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“Ivy… I just can’t let you go. If you didn’t have AIDS, even if you’d had a child, I wouldn’t care… Emma can’t compare to you. The worst thing is she lied to me-
The room froze in shock.
“What? Ivy doesn’t have AIDS? What’s going on?”
”
“Emma, that’s Micah’s voice, right? Why is he saying Ivy doesn’t have AIDS?”
The Windsors were fixated on that line, but Emma’s mind was stuck on something else: Micah’s betrayal–him casting her aside.
“She seduced me! The first time was all her! I’m a healthy, normal man-
“Micah, get away from me!”
“What’s your problem? You’d better leave right now, or we’re calling the police!”
“Ivy, we can start over-”
“Pig! Get your hands off me! Micah, you’re disgusting! You wish!”
The rest was a mess of shouts and scuffling–sounds of a struggle as Ivy fought him off.
Emma listened to it all, trembling with fury, Micah’s words echoing in her head like a curse. She felt like she was about to lose her mind, her chest heaving with every breath.
To make matters worse, Rosetta, desperate for answers, grabbed her daughter’s shoulders and shook her. “Emma, say something! Ivy doesn’t have AIDS? How could we be this wrong? Where is she now? Emma, if—”
“Shut up!” Emma exploded, her eyes wild, her cheeks twitching uncontrollably.
