Chapter 8 Eight.

Ivy

I stayed at home, entertaining myself by watching movies and dancing to songs until I suddenly became bored. My mom had left for work, so I was free to do whatever I wanted. Going through my phone, I decided to call one of my old friends, Sabrina Moore, asking if we could meet up at my house. She immediately jumped at the offer, informing me she'd be there in an hour.

While I waited, I arranged the things we would be having fun with. True to her word, an hour later, she arrived. I immediately jumped out of bed, skipped down the stairs, and rushed to the front door. I pulled it open before she had the chance to ring the bell again.

"Ivy!!!" she screamed excitedly, flailing her arms.

"Sabrina!!" I repeated, pulling her into a bear hug. She tightened her arms around mine and we twirled around, giggling.

"I missed you!" she said into my neck. "God, you were gone for so long!"

I chuckled, pulling away from the hug to look at her. "I missed you too. Come in, we have so much to talk about!" I said, and she squealed, walking in. I closed the door and led her up the stairs to my room. Sabrina immediately jumped on the bed and I followed after her, sitting at the edge.

Resting her chin on her hands, Sabrina glanced at me, a twinkle of curiosity in her eyes. "So, tell me. How have you been these past few years? Anything major that you did?"

I let out a sigh, looking away from her. "Nothing really. I'm laying low at the moment. Taking a break from my acting career."

"Yeah... I saw that," she muttered, her eyes widening. "Blogs said you were in a scandal with a married actor."

"The bastard didn't tell me he was married at the time I was dating him!" I gritted through clenched teeth, anger flaring in me.

Sabrina scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Typical with male actors," she muttered, and I hummed in agreement. "Anyway, that's in the past. I really missed you, you know? Imagine my surprise when I learned you'd moved to Russia for your high school education all of a sudden-from your mother. I thought it was a joke at first. I remember trying to reach you, but your number kept saying unavailable."

I smiled sadly at her, remembering how traumatic that period had been for me. I had gone halfway across the world with no knowledge of how to navigate it. I still bore deep scars from it-scars I didn't want to address at the moment. When I glanced at Sabrina, she was looking at me with concern and curiosity in her eyes.

"So, how was your life there? Did you have any fun?"

"I don't want to talk about it right now, but it did eventually end up becoming fun after I learned the language. Moved to New York right after," I said, and she grinned.

"Damn... I can only imagine. You're fluent in Russian now?"

"I guess. I haven't spoken it in a while," I said.

"Aww... Maybe you can teach me someday. So, what are you doing now? Just chilling or what?"

"I'm supposed to be looking for a job, but I want to have fun first. Do you know any cool spots in Vegas?" I asked, glancing at her.

Sabrina shrieked in excitement, immediately jumping to sit, clasping her hands together as her eyes gleamed in delight. "Oh, I know tons of spots in Vegas!"

"Tell me about it!" I answered, interested.

She went on to give me a list, based on so many criteria it became a struggle to keep up. Eventually, she was done, and she took in deep lungfuls of air, trying to catch her breath.

"That's a lot of places to check out. I'll definitely check some out," I said, and she giggled.

"I'm happy to be at your service," she muttered, delivering a mock bow, and I giggled.

We discussed other things that caught our fancy until Sabrina perked up again. "By the way, I saw a post of your mother announcing that she'll be getting married. Is that true?" she asked, and I nodded. Her eyes grew wide. "Really?"

"Yes."

"To who?"

I shrugged, rolling my eyes. "His name is Julian Ashford."

There was an odd silence for a bit as Sabrina stared, gaping at me.

"THE JULIAN ASHFORD?!" she parroted, and I was taken aback by her shock.

"Are... there any other Julians?" I asked in confusion.

Sabrina brought out her phone, scrolled something on it, and showed me a picture. "This guy?!"

I glanced at the picture. It was my stepfather-to-be, alright. "Yes..." I murmured.

"No way! He may be old, but he's such a hot cake. He's got a shitload of money too!" she rambled on, squealing excitedly. "He owns so many tech and telecommunications companies and is always listed in Forbes every year! How did your mom bag him?!"

I furrowed my brows at Sabrina's words. "I don't know. I'm actually curious about that too. Anyway, he's my new stepfather now. I'll have to learn to accept it," I said with a shrug.

Sabrina gave me a suspicious glance. "You? Learn to accept this kind of man as your stepfather?"

"Why can't I?" I asked, and she let out a chuckle.

"Yeah, right," she muttered in a dismissive tone. I peered at Sabrina, finding her actions uncanny. Letting out a breath, I looked away.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," I mumbled, suddenly pissed off.

"Me too. I'm hungry. What's for lunch?" Sabrina announced, glancing at me. I rolled my eyes.

Glutton.

.

.

.

Sabrina ended up leaving by early evening and I was left alone once again. I spent most of my time scrolling through social media and researching Julian. He was truly wealthy like Sabrina had said, owning a lot of tech and telecommunications companies, but there was nothing about his personal life other than the fact that he was marrying my mother. That in itself was strange. It looked like he had wiped everything about himself off the internet. Just what kind of man is Julian Ashford?

My search continued until it was time for dinner. My mother arrived then, but Julian was still nowhere to be found. I had dinner alone with her, and even she seemed distracted throughout. She wouldn't stop calling him, though he didn't pick up any of her calls. Eventually, she had to leave a voice note.

"Maybe he's with another woman," I muttered under my breath.

"Don't you dare finish that statement!" my mother snarled at me, her eyes narrowed into slits. "Julian is not that kind of person."

"Really? Okay."

I continued with my meal until I was done and retired to my bedroom, but I couldn't sleep. I guess a part of me was waiting for Julian to return as well. It was well past midnight when his car finally rolled into the house, and I immediately slipped out of bed, quietly sneaking out of my room. Surprisingly, my mother was still awake, and the two of them seemed locked in a heated conversation.

No matter how I tried to listen in, they were both talking in hushed tones, so it was hard to make out what they were saying. Eventually, they broke apart, and I immediately fled to my room before I was caught. Waiting for a while, I brought out my phone and began texting him.

I: Hey, why are you so late tonight? Were you running away from me?

I clicked send, pacing around the room as I waited for his reply. The bubbles appeared and I held my breath.

J: No, I was busy. Got caught up with something.

I: Really? What is it?

J: It's none of your business, really.

I: Touché. Anyway, I missed you.

There was some sort of delay this time. Then, the bubbles appeared.

J: Oh, really?

I: Yes. In fact, I'm about to touch myself thinking of you. Using the dildo, of course.

J: Ivy, stop this right now

I sent him some laughing emojis, tumbling back onto the bed. Ending the conversation, I stood back up and went to the wardrobe, pulling out the cabinet that held the sex toys. Bringing out the dildo and lube, I placed them on the bed. Masturbation wasn't really something I did, but I needed to take my seduction game up a notch. Luckily, I knew how to fake moans and orgasms. Through a recording, it wouldn't look any different.

I poured the lube over the dildo and began to stroke it with my hands, getting the sounds just right before hitting record. I recorded an audio clip of myself moaning and muttering his name, ending it with a fake orgasm, and sent it to him.

I: Goodnight. Have sweet dreams.

I added afterwards and waited. I watched with glee as he viewed the recording.

That's right. Think of me.