Chapter one

Dressed in a beautiful white dress which accentuated her figure, falling in a wavy flounce beneath her knee, her wrists and neck adorned with sparkly diamonds, her nails beautifully done with natural colours, her subtle but elegant face glam which made her brown eyes pop, even more, the pearly white shoes that gave her the gait of a princess, her cathedral veil that seemed to have no end topped it all to make Ivy Jakes the perfect fairytale bride.

It was her wedding day, a day she had anticipated all her life. She had pictured herself walking down the aisle on her father's arm, with her friends and family smiling at her. She had imagined the aisle beautified with rose petals and had gone over her vows a million times to make sure that she had the perfect words to express her love to the love of her life.

When Ivy's phone beeped with the message tone she had especially for her fiancè thirty minutes before the solemnization was to begin, she was so eager to read the beautiful text he had probably sent her. What she never imagined was that her husband to be, the one she had spent most of her adult life loving would shatter her heart and dreams.....via a text!!..a text that simply read "I'm sorry Ivy, I didn't mean for it to end this way", those were the exact words that broke her heart.

Ivy was devasted and all she could think about was how she was going to explain to her friends, and especially her family that Luke, the man she had insisted on getting married to, against their advice had decided to dump her on their wedding day. How was she supposed to tell them that they were right about Luke not being reliable from the onset? Ivy was a beauty to behold, she had big brown eyes that seem to see into the souls of those she looked upon; Born the second of three children in an average family where their father had lost his wife when Andre, Ivy's younger brother was born had refused to get married again and had struggled to give Ivy and her siblings the very best of everything he could afford, ranging from education to housing, and so many other things from his income as a university professor. Her older sister, Beth had studied to become a medical doctor and now owns a thriving hospital in Los Angeles where she lives with her husband and adorable kids.

Her brother, Andre was a renowned criminal lawyer in Manhattan where he lives with his pet and girlfriend who was also a lawyer. Life was definitely good to them, and here she was with a stagnant career and now without a man.

She had chosen a career being a marketer, another thing her family, especially Beth, and Andre had opposed, they had thought that Ivy would also choose a "prestigious" career, but she was determined to rise to the peak of her career against all odds. She was a devoted employee at a world-class marketing firm; the kind of person you would describe as a workaholic, someone that was ready to put in extra hours at work and give her best to every task assigned to her. She was the typical nerd; the type to lounge on her living room couch, instead of hanging out with friends on a Friday night. She had put in the work- had paid her dues and although she loved Luke deeply, she had thought that getting married to him would be the icing on the cake for her, after all, he was the CEO of a top marketing firm.....and being his wife would surely secure her the promotion she had been hoping for at her firm....who doesn't want to be an ally to a top firm??

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"How foolish I was", Ivy wondered out loud

"Oh, love, Don't say that", replied Amy.

Amy was Ivy's best friend since college. Although Ivy was the quiet and reserved one, Amy was the direct opposite- Loud and outspoken. Ivy was the first person Amy spoke to on her first day in school and they've become inseparable since then; she even had her name Amanda, shortened to Amy, just so she could twin with Ivy.

"But it hasn't happened to anyone I know", Ivy retorted

" I never liked the jerk, anyway"

Ivy scoffed in response

"Look on the bright side, Ivy; we have 3 days to enjoy the luxury of this beautiful hotel"

Ivy had agreed to a destination wedding in Las Vegas, and they had booked a luxurious suite for three days in one of the best hotels in Vegas. The hotel which had a beautiful view of nature during the day and the beautiful lit-up streets at night was located in the heart of Vegas

"I just want to go back home, Amy"

" Oh please, Ivy", Amy whined "we're not about to let all this luxury go to waste. It could be our own girls' hangout"

"A girl's hangout is the last thing on my mind right now"

"Oh my dear," Amy said sympathetically, "why don't you just live a little"

"I should get back home and just bury myself in work," Ivy said, frustrated

"You're not going to deny yourself the fun you deserve because of a man", Amy said in a fake angry tone

" Okay, Tigress. You win", Ivy said smiling

At that very moment, Ivy thought of the time she took part in their school's karaoke competition, regardless of the cold she was suffering from- Amy had told her that it would make Lee, her high school crush notice her. Nothing had changed since then; Amy knew just how to get Ivy to do things she never thought she would do.

"Have I ever told you that I love you, Amy"?

"A million times, but I don't mind hearing it again"

"I love you Amanda ", Ivy said with puppy dog eyes

"Awwwwww" Amy cooed "I love you, Ivy"

"Let's go paint Vegas red"