That’s too extreme, Ivy,” Irene frowned. Having escaped from Henry’s muffle, she said abruptly walking up to Ivy, but she stopped in her tracks when her eyes met Zack’s glare.
“And how is it extreme?” Zack responded in Ivy’s place, taking a step forward and crouched slightly to meet Dave’s height. “You heard her. Kneel.”
His powerful presence made Dave’s knees weaken, and he gave in with a thud. His knee touched the ground, only then did Ivy release her restrained smile.
“I’m sorry, Ivy,” Dave said with his head lowered as he forced himself to produce each word. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would apologize to his ex.
“Aren’t you taking this too far?” Albert couldn’t stay silent watching his son get bullied, well, that’s what he thought. He knew there was nothing he could do to stop his younger brother but had to say something at least.
Zack ignored him and held his wife’s waist, leading her to the car as the driver opened the door for the both of them. “Don’t ever let this repeat itself again.” He sounded a warning before they drove off.
Irene looked at the mute Dave who was still kneeling, “Get up, you dumbass.” It was truly humiliating to watch her husband being forced to kneel. Even Dave was too embarrassed to face anyone as he stood up and got into his car.
Irene quickly followed behind him, and the car squealed leaving Albert and Roy standing, whereas Henry had gone inside as soon as the matter was resolved.
Albert’s blood was boiling; he hated to be helpless in front of his younger brother and watch his son tremble at the sight of him. Just because he called Ivy a bitch, he felt she was truly what Dave called her after all the rumors claimed she cheated on his son. He didn’t believe one bit of what Ivy refuted. In his eyes, his son was the perfect responsible man who had the skills to take over the family business.
“Your daughter-in-law is too arrogant,” he said to Roy before going inside the mansion.
Unknowingly to Ivy, she has made another enemy for herself.
The car was dead silent. Ivy could feel the heat of anger emitting from Zack. For one, she was happy Dave was taught a good lesson that he would be careful around her from now on, and as for Zack’s demeanor, he learned how frightening he could be when angry.
“From now on, don’t let anyone bully you again. I won’t always be there to help you,” Zack said, the deep furrowed lines still visible on his forehead.
“I won’t,” she took the advice. She knew the den she would be diving into soon; it was filled with bullies ready to crush anyone to climb, and she was ready to face it all to get back on the track she chose.
Ivy stared at his face and wondered, ‘Is he still angry because Dave called her a bitch, or something else?’ “Are you still angry?”
He gave her a quick glance and lightened up. “I’m always angry every time I step into that mansion.”
She knew there was something more to it. Dave was not the only reason. “Wanna talk about it?”
“No,” his short reply made Ivy rest her case. After all, there were things she also wouldn’t like to talk about.
Getting back home took an hour, and Zack went straight to the study, leaving Ivy alone in the master’s bedroom. She opened her laptop to check for any emails and she received two. But when she saw the content of the emails, she sighed in disappointment.
Rejection from two different agencies at the same time was a real disappointment. Being blacklisted was a headache she never thought would surface when she was trying to make a comeback in her career. However, she didn’t let it faze her. There were other ways to prove she wasn’t outdated in the entertainment industry.
Typing on the keypad, she searched for opportunities online to get back on track with the latest information she could use to her advantage. If they rejected her, so be it. She needed to prove her worth; only then would she think of signing with any agency.
After searching through the internet for more than an hour, she spotted something of interest, and it was the best way she could use to announce her comeback.
An independent film producer who had gained fame recently at the last film festival was currently seeking actors for a new project. An open cast call was announced on their official website. Looking at the list of characters to choose from, she ended up choosing the one that would suit her perfectly for the meantime; a supporting character would do. Taking a step at a time would revive her career significantly.
Ivy immediately signed up for the audition that was to be held in a few weeks, and that was enough time to brush up on her skills.
Lifting her arms for a stretch, she yawned as she looked at the time; it was already 3 AM. She placed her laptop on the bedstand and walked out of the room to see if her husband was still in the study. Zack was still busy, flipping some papers as he didn’t notice someone was peeping at him.
She gave up on the peeping and went to sleep. Staring at the screen for long tired her out, and also the long and tedious family dinner of bombarding questions. She hoped she never had to meet her ex and her sister again, even though she knew that wasn’t possible. Irene was like a pest stuck to her back that would never let go until she was satisfied in achieving whatever she wanted. And Ivy planned on making her give up. When she sees that she is never ruined by her scheme, she might stop.
But Irene never planned on giving up. She sent a message to Kate asking about the video and why she hadn’t posted it yet.
Kate was currently at Irene’s old apartment, sitting on her bed, hugging her knees as she stared at her phone. She couldn’t reply to her text; what would she say? That she deleted the video with her own two hands. Irene would ruin her!
She thought of many believable excuses to give her as to how she deleted it but couldn’t come up with any.
Another ding sound made her take a deep breath, picking up her phone. Even the text was kind of threatening.
*Why aren’t there any articles regarding that video, Kate?*
*What the f**k are you doing? Won’t you release the video!*
*Don’t tell me…. no problem, we’ll see later.*
“Shit…