Ivy rolled around onto her side, staring at the clock and her phone on the bedside table. The red numbers seemed to blur together in her still sleepy state, but eventually she could make them out. 4:21am.
She pulled her phone towards herself but quickly put it back. There was no news from Ethan's security team since the last time she'd checked.
Part of her had been worried that he'd gone to his bachelor party without his bodyguards, but she didn't voice her opinion. The last thing she wanted was to make her and Ethan's relationship more strained by adding another unnecessary argument.
And besides, he was a grown man. If he wanted to make silly decisions he could, there was nothing she could do about that.
Still, when his security team had called to ask if she knew where he was, her mild worry had turned into something bordering on panic. Apparently he hadn't checked in with them in a few hours and he wasn't responding to any of their attempts to contact him.
They'd been quick to reassure her. It wasn't the first time he'd done this, but it hadn't eased her fears. Even after everything he'd done to her, she couldn't stop worrying about him. She was angry with herself for it, but still she'd checked her phone regularly in case his bodyguards called her again.
Eventually, thoroughly frustrated with herself for caring and the lack of news she'd received, she'd gone to bed. Determined to put Ethan Carter out of her mind. A task she had repeatedly failed at in the few days since their return.
A selfish part of her wanted to call off their sham of a wedding. Say to hell with him, her father, and her family's company. But she knew that was just her damaged heart talking. Her head knew just how much was at stake if she walked away. People could lose their jobs, others their investments, and she would have to say goodbye to a job she loved. It would be a total disaster that she'd feel entirely responsible for.
She knew the guilt would eat at her. So instead she'd thrown herself into wedding planning, even if it meant having to force a smile every time Ethan's mother looked at her. Trying not to be bothered when Ethan disappeared for hours or avoided being in the same room as her.
She tried not to think of the women he was undoubtedly seeing, not wanting to hurt herself more and yet she couldn't stop the thoughts worming their way into her head. She'd half expected him to stop coming back to the apartment, but without fail he'd returned every night. Always looking as exhausted as she felt.
The sounds of something moving around downstairs had her sitting bolt up in bed.
She wrapped a dressing gown around herself and tiptoed to the door. She listened carefully expecting Ethan to walk up the stairs and into his room, but Ethan never appeared. Panic rose inside her as she heard two distinct voices.
"Noooo. Stopppp." She jumped as she realised the mumbled words were Ethan's.
"Just do what I say." Came a female voice that Ivy was sure she'd heard before, but fear was clouding her mind, stopping her from making the connection.
The sound of scuffling came from downstairs, before she heard someone land heavily on the settee, so much so it screeched across the wooden floor.
Her survival instincts kicked in and she backtracked to her room. Her eyes searched for something to use as a weapon. Thankfully, Ethan used his spare bedroom to keep his golf clubs, and she withdrew the largest one.
Weapon in hand, she made her way down the stairs, her heart racing.
Her body froze a few steps from the bottom and her hands shook so much she almost dropped the golf club. A sob tried to escape her, but she pushed it back.
Ethan was led on the settee with his trousers around his ankles and his boxers pulled down. Adriana was on top of him, her hand clenched around his flaccid cock, grinding her body against his.
"Come on, baby, we need to give the audience a good show."
Ivy noticed it wasn't the usual purr that normally sounded in Adriana's words. Instead, she said it almost spitefully.
She looked over to where Adriana's gaze had briefly flicked to and felt her stomach drop as she saw Adriana's phone positioned so it was facing the settee.
Suddenly Adriana's comment of an audience made terrible sense to Ivy. Even from her position in the black room she could see the red button showing it was recording the entire thing. Just what the hell was going on here?
"Noooooooo get off me. You're not my Ivy. Only Ivy. Where's my Ivy?" Ethan's words were slurred and Ivy could see him struggle against Adriana, but his movements were weak. They did nothing but cause Adriana to grip his cock harder, which made him cry out in pain.
"Fucking shut up about her. Whether or not you're willing, we will make this look good." Adriana coldly spat at him.
Ivy watched on in horror as Adriana ducked her head no doubt to wrap her mouth around Ethan's cock but the movement allowed Ethan to see her for the first time.
As their eyes locked, Ivy couldn't help but notice how dilated his pupils were. A sheen of sweat covered his face, and he looked deathly pale. Despite all that, his face broke out into an enormous smile when he saw her.
"Ivy, my Ivy. Stop. I want my Ivy." He began struggling harder against Adriana.
Something was definitely wrong with him and this whole situation. Ivy wasn't sure what was going on, but she had to stop this.
"What the fuck have you done to him!" She screamed out, raising the golf club, hoping she looked braver than she felt.
As Adriana jumped and attempted to turn, Ivy had a moment of satisfaction as her unbalanced body crashed to the floor, sending her phone spiralling towards Ivy.
Trying to be as swift as possible, she picked it up before Adriana could realise what had happened, and pocketed it. She didn't know if it was still recording, but she dared not touch it in case something more disastrous happened.
"Y-you shouldn't be here." Adriana mumbled out trying to get to her feet. A spasm of fear skated across her features, but she pulled herself together quickly. A well rehearsed smirk now gracing her face. "Ethan said you'd be too busy planning your oh so precious wedding and that the apartment would be free for us to let off some steam." She giggled prettily, but it felt forced.
On the outside she may have been trying to portray confidence, but it was all an act. Seeing Ivy had really shaken her and from the look on Ethan's face everything she'd just said was a complete fabrication.
"No Ivy. I never. Something in my drink. Love you."
Both women looked back at Ethan who was trying to push himself into a seated position, after having pulled his boxers up, but his arms shook with the effort and he collapsed back against the cushions, exhausted.
He seemed incapable of complete sentences, and yet Ivy felt hope bloom in her chest for the first time in days. His eyes had been locked on her and although the words were slurred she'd heard him say he loved her. It gave her the courage to face Adriana again.
Adriana had a disgusted look on her face as she looked over at Ethan who was completely ignoring her. He only had eyes for Ivy.
"I'm not buying that so I will give you five seconds to get your slutty arse out of my house." Ivy's words were stronger than before, but Adriana only laughed at her.
"You really think you can make me leave. You're pathetic. Ethan and I are meant to be. You're just some insignificant pawn in our plans. A business proposal, nothing more. He would have married me to fulfill his parents' demand, but you came with the bonus of an entire company. On paper you would have been his wife, but I was always the one who he'd belong to."
Ivy felt Adriana's words chip away at her sudden confidence. "How do you know about our deal?" She managed to ask but even she could hear how shaky her voice was.
"Oh, sweetie, my Ethan has told me the truth from the very beginning." Adriana's smile was cold, and it made her once pretty face look ugly.
Ivy searched for something in Ethan's expression as he shook his head and tried to form words, but even that seemed too strenuous. Still, as she looked into his eyes, she could see the longing in them.
She thought about all the times they'd laughed together. The small insignificant touches that had passed between them and the closeness they'd discovered in Bali before Adriana had ruined everything. Everything that had happened between them couldn't have been a lie.
And yet she'd been so quick to jump to conclusions when confronted with Ethan and Adriana together. She hadn't even allowed him to explain himself.
Looking at Ethan now, she knew just two things. Firstly, she'd grown to love the man in front of her. And secondly, he'd told her he loved her.
Ethan had been the one who had saved her from the hordes of reporters outside her apartment. He was the one who'd understood her well enough to propose in Kew gardens, a place she had loved since she was a child. He was the person who made her feel able to be the real her and because of that she'd let herself go with him. Something she hadn't been able to do since Justin.
Suddenly it was like Adriana's words meant nothing to her. The weight she'd been carrying since Bali fell away.
Clinging to the love she knew existed between her and Ethan, she raised her golf club for what she hoped was the last time.
"I think you're lying Adriana." Ivy watched in delight as Adriana's smile dimmed. "Or did you not hear Ethan say he loved me?" She couldn't help but taunted her, watching as pure rage took over Adriana's features.
"He's lying to you. He loves me!" Adriana raged, her eyes wild. But Ivy knew what it really was. It was mania.
The woman was unstable, and she felt a flicker of fear. Just how far would she go because of her unreciprocated feelings for Ethan.
"You have five seconds to get the hell out of my home." Because that was how she saw the apartment. It had been the first place she and Ethan had bonded. A place she'd looked forward to returning to after a long day of work. It was where she felt safe. In one word, it was her home.
When Adriana continued to stare at her not moving, Ivy decided she had to show her just how seriously she should take her words.
With as much force as she could master, Ivy swung the golf club, knowing it would fall very wide of Adriana but in the hope it would at least scare her.
The golf club made contact with the electric fire, smashing the screen with a loud crack. Ivy winced as she thought about the amount of money it would cost to replace.
Adriana jumped with wide eyes as Ivy pulled the club away and took aim again, only this time advancing slightly.
"Y-you can't hurt me," Adriana stuttered out, fear visible in the way she moved backwards, always keeping Ivy and her club in full view.
Once again Ivy swung, knocking the dirty dishes she'd left from her quick dinner earlier. She didn't even notice when the pieces of ceramic bounced across the floor. She was too intent on forcing Adriana to leave.
"You come into my home, drug the man I love and sexually assault him and you think I don't have the right to defend myself?" Ivy's words finally did the trick and as she raised the club, she watched happily as Adriana ran out the front door.
Ivy didn't lower the club until she could hear the elevator doors shut and the sound of the machine descending. Her grip on her impromptu weapon slackened, it to fell out of her hands. It was completely mangled and most likely unfixable, very much like the other items she'd destroyed.
A loud bump made Ivy jump and for a moment she wondered if Adriana had come back but then her eyes found Ethan's crumpled form on the floor. Pausing only long enough to find the phone, which had thankfully survived her attacks, she ran to him.
Kneeling down, she rested his head in her lap.
"Ivy? You love me?" His words were garbled and his eyes continued to close as if he couldn't keep them open.
She quickly pressed the speed dial for reception downstairs, feeling grateful Ethan had had the forethought to programme the number into the main phone as she'd left her mobile upstairs.
"Yes, I do." Tears pricked her eyes at Ethan's crumpled form.
"I love you too." He whispered before his eyes shut and his breathing became laboured.
"Ethan?" She shook him, but he wouldn't wake. "Ethan!" She shouted, panic taking over her as he just flopped pathetically in her arms.
"Miss Thorn? Miss Thorn, is that you? Is everything alright?" The worried voice of one of the reception staff broke through her fear and she pressed the phone back against her ear with new urgency.
"I need the police and...an ambulance for Ethan. I think he's been drugged. He's not responding anymore." She cried out, tears dampen her cheeks.
"I'll contact them right away as well as Mr Carter's bodyguards. In the meantime, I'll send someone up to help. Don't worry Miss Thorn, we'll take care of the both of you."
She continued to hold on to the phone even after he'd disconnected, her body too frozen with fear to do much.
The sound of breaking glass under some's foot made her scream and she turned as two men cautiously entered the apartment.
"Jesus, what the hell happened here?" The one said, his eyes widening as he took in the damage Ivy had inflicted on the apartment before they narrowed on her tear stained face. Both of them rushed forward to help.
"It's okay, Miss Thorn. We're part of the security for the building. The ambulance should be here soon. I just need you to breathe and tell me what happened." The one man said comfortingly to her, drawing her away from Ethan whilst his colleague checked his pulse and put him in the recovery position.
"Okay." She said tearfully and began recounting the night's events, praying that the ambulance would arrive soon. She finally had Ethan back, and she would not lose him now.