You,Me and the Past

A promise kept

As I heard that, my whole world paused, questions flooding my brain, but I couldn't utter a word. Every muscle in my body stopped moving. I collected myself and mustered to look at Ivy, who was sipping her wine. From my perspective, her whole aura had changed. I could hear Andrew trying to make me understand, but all I could see was Ivy.

She looked at me and smiled. In the next moment, she got a notification. She glanced at her phone and saw the text, which snatched that smile off her face. She looked up at me, her gaze darkening, and that's when it hit me. "Tyler, don't let her know that you know it's her," Andrew warned me from the other side. "Andrew, I think she knows," I said as a smirk emerged on Ivy's face. "I do."

There was nothing but silence. We usually found ourselves in silence, but this time it was different. There were unspoken questions and answers. She continued to sip on her wine while I could barely breathe in the same room as her. "Do you want to ask anything?" she asked. "How?" I asked. "How what?" she tried to clarify. "How did you know?" I pressed. She gave me a sarcastic chuckle and pointed at my phone. "It is said that you should not leave your phone unattended. I guess you never learned that." My phone? That's when I remembered yesterday. If Amber never knew when Ivy came home, how did Ivy know about the tea and me being in her room?

"Why are you doing this?" I asked with betrayal in my voice. "Madeline Anderson, your to-be fiancée," she replied. "What?!" I was in shock. What does she mean by that? "The dinner you are going on Monday is nothing but an announcement of the merger of Adnexa Innovations and Luxeline, also the engagement of you and Madeline. Madeline is the daughter of the CEO of Adnexa. Your mom is in debt to them, and hence the merger and marriage," she explained. "What?!" I jumped off my seat. This was too much for me to digest. "And I know nothing about this?! But you do?! And does Madeline know?!" I bombarded her with questions. "It is Madeline's plan. She has to know," Ivy said.

I chugged a glass of water and sat back down, trying to put back pieces of the story. "Take your time, I will wait," Ivy said, sipping her wine. "What do you mean?" I asked. "Relax yourself, then I will further explain the plan," she said.

"Plan? I am now involved in your petty game?!" I exclaimed angrily. "Game? You really think this is a game?!" She scoffed. "I can't blame you because you don't know what I have gone through," she continued, now tearing up. "I have lost a friend, I have lost my people, I have lost my teenage, I have lost my god damn youth!! I have lost so many things to a mere jealousy game of some people who live like a dream now!" She had lost control. As soon as she realized everyone had their eyes on her, she quickly apologized and gave me one last glance before leaving.

Leaving me sitting in the midst of swirling emotions, I felt torn. I felt drawn to Ivy's revelation and wanted to support her, but I couldn't ignore the deceit and manipulation involved. I wrestled with conflicting thoughts, my mind a battlefield of loyalty and uncertainty.

But as I replayed Ivy's words and the vulnerability she displayed, I couldn't shake the feeling of empathy and understanding that had blossomed within me. In that moment of clarity, I made my decision. Despite the chaos and uncertainty, I knew I couldn't turn my back on Ivy. With resolve firming in my heart, I ran outside searching for her.

"Ivy!" I called out as she walked towards the bus stop. She paused and turned back, facing me. I huffed, gasping for air, but managed to say what I wanted to. "I want to be by your side. If I let you go this time, you may never come back again. Now that I have you here, letting you go is the last thing I will do! I promise you! Just please let me be with you, please don't walk away like you did before, stay!"

She walked up to me, tears glistening from her eyes. "This time I will stay," she said as a smile crept up her lips. I smiled, still gasping for breath. "You are a fool! You have a car; you should have driven over here," she said, laughing and wiping her tears. "That wouldn't have made this emotional, would it?" I said and laughed.

Whatever might be the reason, I want to stay with her because she isn't a person whom I can just forget. She is engraved in me, she is engraved in my life. The past ten years, not a day went by where a rose didn't remind me of her, where a walk to college didn't remind me of her, where a child didn't remind me of her innocence, or the sky which didn't remind me of her personality, free and soulful. She may not have been with me for the past 10 years, but her presence was always felt by me...always.