Sweet Little Lies

Chapter Twenty-One

"Are you ready?"

Ivy glanced over at Harry who had been ignoring her most of the night. They were about to enter their engagement party. Every politician, millionaire, and socialite in Queenstown was there waiting for them. They would have to spend the next few hours glued to each other, smiling and speaking with people they barely knew, all while they barely spoke themselves.

Things had not gotten better between them. Ivy hadn't expected them to, but there was a moment of hope when she was meeting his mom. Something passed between them, yet neither were willing to acknowledge it let alone dissect it.

"Yes." She answered simple, walking up to him and taking his arm.

He didn't look at her, his face impassive.

Without another word, they entered the small ballroom to cheers. Half their guests were probably already drunk. Ivy's lips turned up in a wide smile, her face lighting up. She had perfected this smile years ago. She could do it in her sleep.

Looking up at Harry, she saw he had his own version. It wasn't as flashy as hers, but they also had much different personas in the public eye. His was subtler, not necessarily a smile, but more of an attitude. An air of confidence and pride.

Feeling her eyes on him, he finally looked at her, his hand covering hers on his arm. His touch was cold, and she felt her smile falter for one second before she was able to recover it. Harry's brows twitched, but once again, he didn't say a word.

Instead, he led her down the staircase, keeping a slow pace for her. She could see the phones pointed in their direction and knew images of tonight would be everywhere. They would be documented in stories and posts celebrating them from people they didn't give two shits about.

Ivy had been dreading tonight more than anything. Not only did she not want to be around Harry, she also was finding it harder and harder to put on the fake happiness. Everything was falling to shit around her, and here she was, faking it for cameras. Everyday she was lying and giving everyone what they wanted, taking nothing for herself.

For a moment, she believed it all might be worth it. That she and Harry could find some semblance of a life together. There were sparks and obvious attraction, which was the base for any relationship. Then he had to go and ruin it. And, of course, she had to go and make it irredeemable. She lashed out and made everything worse. Harry might have been distant and restrained before, but now he was angry, resentful.

Regardless of what she was really feeling, they had a job to do tonight. Her father had been less than pleased about them missing their last public date. They had broken the contract, which technically meant some type of punishment was expected. Those were the unwritten rules of the city.

Maybe Cillian and Patrick thought this was punishment enough. It certainly felt like it. The first hour was spent just talking to people. The mayor, a few billionaires, an oil baroness. It went on and on.

Ivy felt Harry's patience waning, so she silently began taking over. She would be the one answering most of the questions. She was the one who repeated how they met or how he proposed. After every interaction, she made sure to point them in the direction of the bar, or made sure to call a waiter over who was carrying champagne. The more they drank the less likely they were to come back and speak with them. It was exhausting, but she was well prepared for this, and knew it was best to get all these people out of the way. The faster she did, the more they could relax later.

She could practically feel the tension radiating off Harry. His silence wasn't out of the ordinary. Ivy figure most people expected that of him, and she was sure no one else could see his discomfort growing. She almost thought he was nervous at points, but asking him would just lead to more rejection.