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He had only chuckled and walked off, completely ignoring her protest. She had chased after him, lowering her voice into a frustrated hiss.
“Are you listening to me? I said stop calling me that!”
“What?” he had asked, pretending not to understand.
“Your girlfriend!” she had snapped.
Hearing the words, his smile had only widened. Without another word, he had strode into the CEO’s office, leaving her standing there, fuming in the hallway.
And now, five years later, she was signing her name on a white document again.
Only this time, it wasn’t for him to call her his girlfriend.
It was to become his wife.
The déjà vu hit her hard, an ache settling deep in her chest.
Nothing had changed.
In front of Christian Evans, she was still the same Ivy—the girl whose breath hitched when he was near, whose body trembled at the mere sight of him. Shocks running through her body, her hands trembling, and her words getting stuck in her throat as she struggled to remember what she wanted to say in front of him.
But she could never let it show.
Back then, it had been because she was young and nervous in front of her crush.
Now, it was because she couldn’t let him know he still affected her this way even after five years.
She was waiting for him to disappear, just like he had five years ago. Because if he left this time, maybe—just maybe—it wouldn’t hurt as much. So that it wouldn’t hurt as much as it had five years ago. So that she wouldn’t feel like she was suffocating every time she opened her eyes.
She couldn’t let herself drown in heartbreak again.
Never again.
With her fingers tightening on the pen, she took a determined breath.
Just one year.
One year, and then it would be the same as before. He wouldn’t bother her again, and she wouldn’t have to sit in fear, wondering if he was just bored and would disappear just like last time. She wouldn’t live in that constant fear. She would be free.
With a sharp breath, Ivy scribbled her name on the document, the pen gliding smoothly across the paper. Then, she handed the document back to him.
Chapter 14 Lethal
Later that evening, Ivy snapped a picture of the marriage certificate and sent it to Celia.
‘Got married today. To Christian.’ She texted.
Within seconds, Celia’s response came.
‘What the fuck? Are you serious?!’
‘Things just happened,’ Ivy texted back. ‘I’m marrying him for a year, then he agreed not to disturb me again.’
‘Meet me at seven. Blue Orchid Bar.’ Celia answered.
‘Sure.’
That evening, Ivy left the office early.