Chapter 2

Ivory POV

Zooming fast and furious, into my father's castle like I've got nine lives, I parked my black Ferrari at the lot.

From the moment we both stepped out of the car, Aiden resumed nagging me.

"C'mon ivory tell me what happened. What's got you this boiling inside collars?" Aiden buzzed behind me as we were both waking towards the mansion. I honestly hate when Aiden just don't know when I'm not in the mood for some stupid talks.

Ignoring her once more, I continued heading my direction.

Luckily for her, her phone came ringing she had to leave me behind to Take the call hindering her from asking me stupid questions of which could have made me slit her throat already.

As I walked into the mansion, everyone stopped whatever they were doing to acknowledge my presence—the daughter of Their boss.

I've always love the honor of having hundred of people worshiping me like I'm the goddess that I am but right I suddenly hated the idea of having dad accommodate this much people.

I'm just not in the mood for any fucking thing.

I swear, if I hear one more, "Good evening, ms Blade," I will take the person to my torture chamber and do everything I intended to the man that rejected me to them instead and...

"Good evening Mrs blade." Cutting into my thought, a tiny voice was heard beside me and twirling to my side I was met with the cyan eyes of one of the maid, holding her cleaning towel to her chest. After scanning her from head to toe, I decided against the earlier plan. Her luck is that I've always admire her eyes and pet harp she was already trembling like a jelly fish instead what I do is

"Shut the fuck up everyone and get back to your fucking post." I directed at everyone.

"Yes capo" filled the air.

no one comes across me when I make my way up the stairs of west-wing of the mansion. Oh, that's until I see Jericho. Great! He just might be my unlucky victim. I frown at that thought.

He must have a ton of good luck because what he says is, "Whoa! Who the hell touched the tail of the lioness?"

Ah, Jericho! He's still the only man that knows when I fight to hide my fury.

"I'm fine," I murmur and walk past him.

"Nuh-uh." He grabs my shoulders, in thar split seconds I noted the new battalions of diamond rings his fingers were wearing. Hmm. Jericho will never change. Always changing jewelries like diapers and justifying my hutch, when he twirls me around, I was welcomed with sharp glistening of the chains in his neck.

Then he leans down to my height as I've already removed my heels. "You're obviously not good. Tell me: who offended you? And I'll be sure to make them understand you don't go finding trouble in the world of Ivory Blade and get away with it."

A chuckle, so soft I can hardly believe I'm capable of expressing joy after tonight's events, leaves me. "It's nothing, really. I handled things myself."

He narrows his eyes at me as they flit from one corner of my face to another, searching for whatever. "You're sure you're fine?"

I nod lightly and briskly.

He doesn't appear to buy it but says anyway, "I'll send Aiden over to cheer you up. Or..." He stands upright and looks at me from head to toe while his thumbs massage my shoulder blades. When his green eyes come back to my face, there's a glint in them I'm all too familiar with.

I shrug his hands off my shoulders and give him a warning look. "Not. Gonna. Happen."

He raises his hands in surrender. "A man's got to try with you, you know."

"Ha, ha," I say, sarcasm spilling over.

"Or I can just come with you now!"

With my heels still in my hand, I raise up that hand and give him the middle finger.

I don't need to see him to know he playfully has his hand against his chest. "You break my heart, Ivory," he shouts.

"It's what I do best, love," I yell back before making a final turn down the hallway to my room.

***

"Oh, Aiden," I moan with a mouth full of vanilla ice-cream, "you're the best."

She chuckles. "Take it easy, okay? The ice-cream isn't going anywhere."

After a few spoonfuls of non-stop munching, I drop the spoon in the tub and massage my temples. "Brain freeze," I choke, overwhelmed by the way everything around me freezes and for a while there, my mind too.

Aiden picks the Ben and Jerry's four-point-five liter tub of ice-cream off my laps and drops it on the bed far out of my reach. "I think that's enough for now."

"No," I whine, reaching out to the tub. "I want more. Right now, this is the only thing that makes me happy."

She shakes her head and waves her finger as if scolding a child. "No more until you talk. You know it's—"

"It's better if I talk about it than binge eat," I complete for her. I roll my eyes and shake my head. There's no way she'd let me have my moment of temporal bliss unless I voice it out instead of acting out or eating food to push it down.

So I tell her everything. Well, I briefly tell her about my mission in Miami so she can understand why I decided to have a fun night. Then, in excruciating details, I tell her what happened in the club: right from the dancing to meeting that filth, and finally that breathtaking man. In the moments of telling my tale, I got lost in describing him I nearly forget he had vexed me.

"So that's why you're angry?" Aiden says when I finish telling her everything. Her light brown eyebrows are quirked in a queried manner. She's astounded in a way I don't expect her to be, as if she's confused about what's gotten me upset.

"Isn't that a good reason for me to be?" I reply. Seriously, what sort of question is that? Did I miss any descriptions when I told her what happened?

"I—" She waves her hand. "Never mind. It's nothing."

"No," I insist, crossing my hands over my chest, "humor me."

She looks away and nervously touches the bouncy curls of her blonde hair. Then, with a voice so low I almost can't hear her, she says, "I just don't think it's something worth getting upset for." She summons courage to look me in the eye. "You have a boyfriend, Ivory. You shouldn't even be making moves on any guy unless you and Derek are over."

Has Aiden's level of idiocy elevated to a level there's no more hope for rationality? Who gives a damn if Derek and I are still together or not? She ought to know I can get any man I want whenever I want with no obligation to anybody. Apparently, her senses have gone on a journey and deemed it fit to stay at their destination which clearly isn't home. Even Jericho as my ex knows I can have him whenever I want, which is why I'm sure he jokes about it.

"Get out," I spit.

"Wh—what?"

"I said get out!" I bark. "And don't come back until your sense of reasoning finds you." I point at my door. "Out!"

She jumps off the bed, muttering, "Sorry." It doesn't take long before she's out the door.

"Idiot," I say to myself before swimming in the pink silk sheets towards the tub of ice-cream.

I'm about to dump a scoop in my mouth when a knock on the door comes.

"What?" I scream at whoever—for her sake, hopefully not Aiden—is at the door.

The door open and in steps the man I take after. "Is that a way to talk to your father?"

Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no! It's never a good thing when my father comes to my room. It means trouble is lurking around and I hope it wasn't something I started because if that's the case, things assuredly will get ugly for me.