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Fucking answer me, Ivy.
In the end, I turned off the phone.
***
ACOUPLE OF DAYS LATER, I managed to find the energy to go back into university. I didn’t want to talk to anyone, and, even though I’d been sleeping every hour possible, I was still utterly exhausted.
My heart was broken, and more than anything, I wanted Jay to come and put it back together again.
I’d completely lost my appetite, but I needed caffeine more than ever to function. I stopped at one of the high street coffee shops and bought a large latte with a double espresso shot to take away.
As I left the shop, a body blocked my way, and my heart caught. It was his familiar shape, the dark hair and tattoos, his fierce eyes.
Jayden.
He was furious.
“What the fuck is going on, Ivy? Are you ghosting me?”
I couldn’t look at him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t have any choice.”
“There’s always a choice.”
I shook my head. “Someone saw me outside your hotel the other night. They reported it back to my father.”
He dragged his hand through his hair. “Fuck. What did you say?”
“I denied it was me.”
“And he believed you?”
“He didn’t have any photos or videos, thank God, but yes, I think he believed me. If he hadn’t, he would have checked up on where I said I’d been and would quickly have discovered I’d been lying, and that never happened.”
“We’ll have to be more careful.”
I raised both eyebrows. “No, we won’t, because this can’t happen anymore.”
He looked crushed. “You don’t want to see me?”
“I mean, I do, but we can’t. If my father finds out for sure, he’ll kill you.”
Jay squared his shoulders. “Let him try.”
I sighed. “I knew you’d do this. That’s exactly why I didn’t message you back.”
“Do what?”
“Do the whole macho, bravado bullshit.” I glanced from side to side. “Seriously, Jay. I don’t even want for us to be seen together here. My father has eyes everywhere. You need to go.”
I was still paranoid about who might see us together. No one was around right now, but all it would take was one person. The wrong person. Just one confirmation of a sighting of us together would be enough to prove to my family that they’d been right. I doubted this time they’d forget to take a photo either.
“Fuck that. I want you, Ivy. Screw what your family think. I thought you felt the same way about me. We’re meant to be together.”
Tears formed in my eyes. “You’ll find someone else.”
“I don’t want anyone else. Is that what you want? Some other man? ’Cause I’ll tell you this right now, I’ll fucking kill any other man who puts a finger on you. You’re mine.”
“Jay...stop.”
