Chapter 1

The car gradually came to a halt right in front of the garage, while the driver rushed out to open the door of the backseat. Out came the glamorous, flair young man dressed in an ash-colored suit vest with a white shirt, sleeves rolled and ash pants to match, a watch on the left hand with a ring on his pinky finger, a pair of black brogue shoes, some dark shades and a smile to match it all up. He was charming and of a good height. He was none other than Alexander.

Alexander Keller is the only child of the owner of the prestigious Marketing Company, Haven Marketing Corporation, Jayden Keller. A man that the nation looks up to which in turn leaves a lot of pressure on Alex, given the fact that his interest is not in the family business, but in music. But who in the world would let that happen? His parents were definitely not the answer.

He took off his shades and heaved a sigh as he was escorted to the entrance of the building with other servants handling his belongings behind him. The door was opened and he was welcomed with a bear hug from his mother. She had missed him, but he figured that now he is done with his final exams, she would be seeing more of him, so why the dramatic welcome? His dad came next and gave him a handshake beaming with smiles. He went straight to his bathroom to freshen up as his belongings were taken into his room.

***

"Please tell me this is a joke," Alexander said gently as a forced chuckle found its way out of his lips.

"It isn't a joke darling. You really need to deliver these documents." His mother had a straight look on her face and it unnerved Alexander to know that they weren't actually joking. His face twisted as his brain began to work out the reason for their action. Coming up with nothing resourceful, he decided to hear it from the horse's mouth.

"Mom, dad, why would you send me on an errand? I mean, it's so strange because we have more than a billion maids who could do this job, and besides, I just got back from writing my final exams and instead of a party to be thrown for me, you are sending me on an errand?" Alexander cringed as he thought of how awful it will be to sit in a car for minutes whilst the driver drove him to his uncle's house.

"Look, say whatever it is you want to, but you will still have to deliver those documents yourself. Now, come on, it's not that big a deal and besides, it will give you time to see your uncle. Remember, you haven't set your eyes on him for a while now." His father was the master at emotional blackmail, he did it so effortlessly that Alexander wondered if he was even aware of what he was doing.

"And you can get to taste your aunt's cookies. I heard she got better at making them after she got a bad review in the newspaper during Christmas," his mother spoke with wide eyes as she drew closer to him. His aunt was a chef and a pretty good one at that. Alexander never understood why she would ever get a bad review.

"Okay, fine," he said and watched as his parent's faces lit up like the fourth of July. They motioned him along as quickly as they could and after a few seconds, Alexander was on the road to meet three people he cared about.

"Mateo, can we make a quick stop along the way before heading to uncle's house?" He asked the driver who made eye contact with him from the driver's mirror.

"Of course, sir." The man responded with a smile on his face. Alexander had decided to meet a beautiful, lively, smart, and fun woman before meeting his uncle. A smile crept into his face as his brain took him down memory lane…

"Hello, is this seat taken?" Upon hearing a voice that Alexander could have sworn belonged to an angel, he lifted his head from his book and stared into the eyes of someone who looked so much like an angel. A pair of arched eyebrows looked down on sweeping eyelashes. Alexander was about to speak when her angel-like dazzling white tooth gleamed as she smiled at him. The butterflies in his stomach came alive and he took a minute to soak in her beauty. She had a bubbly outlook, the type that was inviting but also screamed at perverts to stay off. Her moon-shadowed black hair flowed over her shoulders and Alexander finally got a glimpse of her attire. She had on a summer dress that complimented her glossy skin but did no justice to her shapely figure, though Alexander could see her wasp-waist through the dress.

"Hello?" As much as Jasmine enjoyed having a stranger stare at her, she had been standing for close to an hour and desperately needed to rest her legs.

"Oh, I'm sorry, the seat is not taken. Please have a seat," Alexander said with a smile on his face. He watched as Jasmine lowered herself into the sofa that was opposite him, and he immediately craved to know everything about her.

"So, what's your name?" He asked when she was finally seated.

"It's Ivory, but you can call me Jasmine, it's the name almost everyone calls me. What's yours?" Her bubbly appearance was in sync with her bubbly attitude.

"Alexander," he said as he extended his hand, and Jasmine confusedly took it in a handshake. Alexander had never believed in love at first sight but his heart couldn't help but change its beat after having encountered Ivory.

From that day, they spent a remarkable amount of time together, and soon they were in a relationship that no one apart from the two lovebirds knew about. Alexander wanted nothing more than to show Ivory off to the world, but he knew the world he belonged to, they might have a difficult time accepting a woman who wasn't of the same class and standard as them. And so they kept their relationship hidden from everyone that cared about them.

"We are here, sir," Mateo said as he brought the car to a halt and looked at his boss from the driver's mirror.

"Okay, thank you, Mateo. Just wait here for me, I'll soon be back," he said as he opened that car door and walked away.

The birds sang a melody that soothed his heart the more as he walked joyfully to see Ivy, as he often called for for short. He got to her company's building and smiled at the receptionist who was used to seeing him around the company and had stopped asking him if he had an appointment. Alexander had visited Ivy so many times at work that he was sure that everyone knew who he was.

Stepping into the elevator, he pressed the button to her office and waited patiently to be blessed with the sight of her. When the elevator doors opened up, his face got brighter as he immediately sighted her. She was as radiant as she was the first day they met and Alexander made a silent promise to himself to always keep it that way.

He walked toward her after realizing that she hadn't seen him yet and slightly grazed his hand on her shoulder. She turned immediately and the smile on her face got bigger when she saw Alexander standing in front of her. Overwhelmed by her emotions, she pulled him in for a hug.

"We need to talk," Alexander said with urgency in his tone.

"Okay, let's go into my office," Ivy responded as she led the way. Immediately they got into the office, Alexander had her backed up against the door and his lips devoured hers. Her lips were lilac soft and Alexander groaned upon realizing that he had to leave as soon as possible. Breaking up the kiss, he held her hand as he spoke.

"Babe, I need to go a little bit out of town to meet my uncle. My dad sent me on an errand to him and I need to get it done today."

"But what about our date?" Ivy said with pouting lips.

"I promise we will have our date as soon I get back, okay?"

"Okay. If you say so."

"I gotta go now," Alexander said as he hugged her, kissed her forehead, and walked out of her office, leaving Ivy behind with her work.

The drive over to his uncle's house went faster than he expected, mostly because his thoughts were full of Ivory. He jolted back to reality when he saw the familiar house that he had spent most of his childhood in. The walls were a little dull but he knew that his uncle would never get around to renovating the house.

He stepped out of the car and carried the documents with him into the homely house that belonged to his uncle.

"Oh my goodness, look who's here," his aunt exclaimed as she rushed towards him with open arms. "Alexander darling, you look so big now." Enveloping Alexander in a tight hug and allowing him to perceive the stake smell that had covered her dress.

"Did I hear somebody mention Alexander's name?" A middle-aged man who had on simple blue jeans and a white polo walked into the room and hugged Alexander as well.

"It is so nice to see you, son. Come, sit let's eat." Alexander knew that there was no way he would get out of having dinner with them and so he decided to rush through the meal and get back home to his woman. The small talks that went through the table while they ate did nothing to excite him. Immediately after they were done, he handed the documents over to his uncle who refused to collect them immediately, asking him to hold onto them a little longer. Alex tried protesting by telling his uncle he has to be on his way back home as soon as possible.

"It's already late, Alex, it's a four-hour journey and it's already past six, you have to wait till tomorrow," The uncle said, which made sense to Alex, as he was a bit sore, but at the same time, he felt really disappointed because he was seriously looking forward to spending the evening with Jasmin. But, either way, he was back for good, and he could have all the time in the world with her, so, being away from her for one more day won't kill him, he thought to himself.

He had to excuse himself to call Jasmin, to inform her that he would not be coming back that day because of the time factor, but he will be back the next day and they will spend the whole day together, which was her day off from work and she agreed. That is one thing he loves about her. She is so understanding. She is one he can die for.

***

At about 7 pm, Alexander's uncle and his wife came out to meet him engrossed in the show he was watching on the television.

"Alex, your flight leaves in two hours," his uncle said, breaking what seemed like a piece of bad news to Alex.

Alex averted his eyes to his uncle and his wife, looking really puzzled, not sure if he heard his uncle properly.

"Sorry… What flight are you talking about?" He asked.

His uncle gestured to the document laying beside him, "the document is for you," he said with folded arms.

"What do you mean, uncle? Dad actually sent me here to give these documents to you, saying it is confidential," Alex tried explaining to his uncle while wallowing in a sea of confusion.

"Open it and see, son. The documents belong to you."

Opening the documents, still very confused at the entire drama going on before him, Alexander's eyes widened as he saw plane tickets to UK and a flight ticket that indicated that his flight was to leave in the next two hours. His face cringed as he stared at the documents and hoped that it was a mistake of some sort.

He was so angry and confused. A flight ticket to fulfill his dreams? Yet no one told him about it? Why trick him into it without prior notice from his parents? Something must be wrong somewhere. He dropped them on the table, picked up his phone, and called his dad, immediately, he picked up the call, questions were flying around from a confused Alexander, but all he could remember was the last thing his dad said.

"Son, this is your only chance. You don't want the company, now, I've given you a chance to study music in the UK. I have made it easy for you to chase your dreams. But know this, if you don't take up this offer now, you will never be allowed to bring up any conversation concerning your music dreams ever again in my house, and if you ever go into music, you won't ever get my support on it. This is your only chance, son. The choice is yours to make."

With that being said, his dad ended the call.

Alexander was filled with anger, pain, hurt, and frustration. He was with nothing, his clothes, his shoes, everything was back at the house. But what occupied his mind the most was Ivy. How could he leave her now that he finally had the opportunity to be with her forever? How could fate do this to him? He was in between the devil and the deep blue sea. He could only choose one; to leave now and follow his dreams, leaving Ivy behind, or to leave his dreams and follow her. He would not be happy either way. It was down to two, Love or Passion.