Chapter 15: Am I so cruel to her?

"Don't think that way. He's not as bad as you think, it's his personality. If you get to know him better, you'll see he's not that bad." Clover stated.

"He won't even give me a chance to speak." Ivy said. "How can I talk to someone who is bent on making my life miserable? First, he put me under house arrest and now under room arrest. How do you expect me to reason with that?" Ivy asked.

'If only you knew the reason behind all this. He cares for you too much and doesn't want you to get hurt in any way.' Clover thought.

"I'm sure pretty soon, he'll lock my windows and the doors to the balcony restricting me from seeing any form of daylight." She accused seriously. She was completely fed up.

Clover looked back at the door hoping Damian was hearing it all.

Damian was at the back of the door listening to their talk. He had sent Clover in just to know what Ivy thought of him.

"You really want to get your degree?" Clover asked.

"I do." Ivy answered.

"Then go to him. Tell him how you feel." Clover encouraged but she shook her head.

"I can't. He won't listen to me." Ivy said.

"Trust me, he will. Just be confident and don't fret. I noticed he scares you." Clover pointed out.

"Yes, I feel tense when I'm around him. I'm not clumsy in any way. His presence is to blame." Ivy pointed out.

"So you have a crush on him!" Clover concluded.

"What?! No!!" Ivy exclaimed. "He's the last guy on Earth that I want to have a crush on." She said.

"Then how do you see him?" Clover asked.

"Well, all through my life, as far as I can remember, I've always thought of him as my role model. Someone I always looked up to in the business circle. So successful and brilliant. I've always wanted to be like that." Ivy explained with inspiring eyes.

Damian smiled with satisfaction.

"She doesn't at all despise me." He muttered to himself.

"But that was before I realized he was a hot head." She added and his smile fell.

"What?!" Damian exclaimed.

"Hold the insults! You never know, he could be listening." Clover pointed out, secretly eyeing the door.

"If he were listening, it'd be good. I want him to know that he's got a hot temper and it's bad." Ivy said confidently.

"If you keep up that boldness then you're likely going to be under toilet arrest." Clover said and they laughed.

"I'd like to see him try." Ivy rolled her eyeballs.

"Foolish girl, are you trying to test me? I'll have you know that I'm not the kind of guy to mess with." Damian said to himself.

"Since you're no longer sad, it's best you go to sleep and then when you wake up, you'll have all the courage you need to go to him and tell him how you feel, then maybe if he's in a good mood, he'll let you." Clover said.

"And if he's in a bad mood?" Ivy asked.

"Let's not wish for that." Clover said and Ivy nodded. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Ivy replied and Clover left her room with a few words,

"Don't forget what I said," and she left.

Ivy gazed at the moonless night once more and sighed.

"Just a void of darkness." She exclaimed and walked inside her room. She closed the doors gently and closed the curtains, not letting the darkness peep in.

Clover met Damian in his room. He had left at the time he noticed they were fine with their conversation.

"I guess you heard it all." Clover said on getting to where he sat.

"Am I so cruel to her?" Damian asked.

"Well, if you ask me, I'd say, yes." She answered. "Lighten her burden a little bit. There's no telling if she despises you, for now, she's scared."

"I hear you." He said and stood up. "I just have to let her go to school and get her degrees but what happens after then?"

"You let her work with you." She said.

"I want to keep my eyes on her but I can't do that while she's in school."

"That's another problem." She stated.

"Anything can happen to her while I'm not there, I don't want that." He said, worriedly.

"If you want to make her happy, you'll have to let her go for now." Clover stated.

"I have an idea." He said. "I'll send Jones with her. When's she's not in school, she's with me in the office."

"That's a good idea, boss. You're so smart, especially when it comes to Flora." She pointed out with a smile.

"Let's just see how it goes." He said and she nodded. 'I won't let anything happen to you, Flora. Not again.' he thought.

The next morning, Ivy put on her best smile with a lot of confidence that she would be able to convince Damian to let her go to school. She wore her normal maid's wear and went to the dining table. Surprisingly, he asked her to sit, which was a bit unusual but she sat down anyway.

"Is there anything you want to talk to me about?" Damian asked.

Ivy felt dumbstruck. She didn't know what to say. All her morning rehearsals were going to be for waste.

When Damian saw that she was not going to say anything, he took it upon himself to start the conversation.

"Do you enjoy your job?" He asked.

"What?" Ivy asked, her attention floating upward.

"Do you like working as a maid?" He specified.

"I have no choice. It's your condition and we made a deal. If I don't work here, how am I going to pay for your coat?" She asked.

"Don't forget the ceramic wares." He shas, sipping his coffee.

"Yeah and that too." She said sadly.

"If I gave you the opportunity to work as my assistant in the office, would you accept?" He asked and her face swelled.

"Assistant? Me?" Ivy asked, surprised.