Chapter 103: Hi Mom, it’s been a while…

Ivy’s pov

The world came crashing back on me.

I was flushed, panting, my body still humming with the aftershocks of my orgasm, staring at the open door in a blissful haze.

The shrill voice cut through the fog like a shard of glass, and my blood ran cold.

What on earth? Tatiana?

She was standing there, dressed in a tiny scrap of a red dress that barely qualified as clothing, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and anger as she took in the scene.

I was disheveled on Gideon’s lap, his hand still buried under my uniform.

"Oh my god, how could you?!"

Gideon ignored her, and almost absentmindedly, tugged my panties back into place. I have no idea why that felt so intimate, it made my heart clench.

"Tatiana, give me a few minutes, I’ll meet you in the living room."

"No, we’ll discuss it right here," Tatiana snapped, her eyes narrowing as she glared at me.

"Is it because of her? This slut? I should have known she was up to no good when she was peeking at us! You neglected me because of this bitch?"

Gideon’s jaw tightened. "I won’t repeat myself,"

Her face soured into a petulant pout. With one last, venomous look in my direction, she flounced out of the study, slamming the door behind her.

I bit my lip, my face burning, embarrassed as hell. I just barely got out of one shitty situation with Milo, the last thing I needed was Tittyana on my case.

I blinked rapidly when Gideon reached out, his thumb gently freeing my lip from my teeth. "You’ll bruise it," he murmured gazing all softly at me.

"My driver will drop you at home. You should get some rest."

"Thanks... Deon,"

I could swear those blue eyes twinkled before their usual blank look filled them and he left the study. With him gone, I sagged against the couch, my limbs feeling like jelly.

Oh my god. I did it. I finally got rid of Milo.

Even if he tried to talk his way out of it, the brothers would never trust him again. The memory of Roman pounding the shit out of him flashed in my mind and I shivered. Was he okay? I hoped he wouldn’t go too far.

I left the study and started wandering through the mansion, looking for Kai and Ro. But the place was eerily empty.

Duke really must have carted Irene off. And I tried getting into the secret room through Kai’s room but it was locked firmly.

I met Donna in the hallway and almost passed out. Partly because I completely forgot the staff was around and mostly because she was looking at me with all judgy eyes.

Well shit, she had heard everything. She knew I was sleeping with them. She probably was disgusted by me or something.

I didn’t know what to say so I just ambled towards the door where Gideon’s driver was waiting outside. At least now they knew Milo wasn’t a trusted best friend and they were safe. I could sleep at night.

Wait a minute.

Shouldn’t I be relieved that I’d gotten rid of Milo because he was blackmailing me? Why was I more relieved because he wouldn’t be able to betray the brothers anymore. What the hell? When did the lines start to blur so completely that my own survival had become secondary to theirs?

***

Two days later, in the afternoon, I walked through the cemetery, my black flats hitting against the stone. I hadn’t seen the brothers in two days because I had pretty much been banned from working for the rest of the week.

It meant I could catch up on work. But it also meant being away from them and I didn’t really want that.

I found my mother’s grave, the black granite gleaming in the afternoon sun. I dropped the bouquet of white lilies I had brought and sat down on the floor beside it.

"Hi, Mom," I whispered, my voice thick. "It’s been a while."

I traced the elegant script of her name, Leticia Harpley, with my fingertip. "I’m sorry I haven’t come in a while. Things have been... complicated. So much has happened."

I took a shaky breath. "Well so far, Angel cheated on me with Jake and Pamela, and God knows who else. We’re separated currently and I’m thinking about a divorce but Dad isn’t going to be happy. What am I supposed to do though?"

I groaned, picking up a stone. "Angel moved his mistress into our home. Pregnant or not, she’s still just a mistress, I’m his wife for good news sake. Well was. I don’t see myself as his wife much these days... especially after, I don’t know, these things with the Knights."

My voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, as if she could hear me and she could judge me. "I went in there with a mission, Mom. I know I am doing this for us, for the company, to finally make Dad proud of me, if I just did this one last thing, he would finally see me."

A bitter laugh escaped my lips. "But it’s all a mess. Everything is tangled up," I looked up at the sky, at the wispy clouds drifting by.

"It scares me. When I exposed Milo, I wasn’t just saving myself. I was saving them. I know there supposed to be devils, but it is hard to... it’s getting hard to see them like that. Gideon’s like this solid block of ice but he’s so protective of his brothers and kinda of me."

"Kai’s insanely funny and he’s an asshole but he’s a good asshole- ugh, even I sound insane to myself. And Ro is so sweet. He’s terrifying too. Jesus, when he was beating shit out of Milo, I was scared, but then, I also thought Milo wouldn’t be able to use them anymore or hurt innocent people like Tyler anymore. Hilarious,right? Cause I’m also a spy?"

I buried my face in my hands, laughing dryly. "When did that happen? When did my enemies become... my people? When did their safety start to matter to me? I don’t know who I am anymore. Am I Harper Kingsley or Ivy Harpley? Can I really, really keep this up without getting my heart torn to shreds-"

My phone buzzed in my pocket, yanking me back to the present. It was my father.

"Where are you?" he demanded, "Jake said you aren’t at the conference."

"I’m... out," I said, wiping hastily at my tears. I didn’t even realize I was crying. "What conference?!"

"We have a new face of the industry, Harper. A major new client. Jake said he told you about it."

A sigh left my lips as I rose to my feet. Another win for my stepbrother. "I’ll be there in a few minutes-"

"You had better. You’re managing this client. Don’t let me down!" He ended the call and I rushed out of the cemetery, dialing my assistant’s number.

"Jenny, meet me in the Kingsley & Co. car park, I’ll be there in ten.."

Ten minutes later, I was sliding into the back of the town car. Jenny was waiting, a garment bag and a makeup kit in her hands. I ripped off my brown contacts, my natural amber eyes blinking in the light and changed into a sleek, navy pantsuit.

Jenny worked her magic, covering my tear-stained face with professional makeup.

"Ready, Ms. Kingsley?" she asked.

I took a deep breath, nodding. "Ready."

A short elevator ride later, I walked into the conference room, my head held high, ready to face my father and face the client. I turned to greet the new face of the company and almost fainted.