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Oɱɳιʂƈιҽɳƚ NσʋҽɱႦҽɾ 22ɳԃ Mαɳԋαƚƚαɳ, NY
The night air was thick and heavy as Ivory stood outside her gallery after sneaking out, she couldn't believe this was her reality now after all the bright, lively energy that had filled this space literally less than an hour ago. Now, all that remained was silence, broken only by the occasional hum of passing cars and the quiet, choked sobs coming from Ivory as she stood against the cold brick wall, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.
Her body trembled—not from the cool night air, but from rage, heartbreak, and disbelief. None of this felt real, for the longest time she thought of Xaier as someone who would never do something like that to her, regardless of all his faults. Especially after knowing what she'd been through, but maybe the temptation was stronger than his love for her.
She didn't want to believe it, but as far as Ivy knew, it was true.
She had seen it with her own eyes, heard it with her own ears. Princess, moaning, calling his name, and then seeing her—
The memory made her stomach churn all over again, she shook her head trying to erase the image but couldn't. She felt nauseous just thinking about it,and a fresh wave of tears burned her eyes as she gasped softly. Wiping at her face with shaky hands, she tried to pull herself together before anyone saw her like this.
But before she could completely, the sound of an approaching car made her flinch, followed by the unmistakable screech of tires coming to a stop just a few feet away.
Ivory couldn't barely see through her tears to register the driver stepping out, but when her vision did clear up enough, she recognized the figure almost instantly.
It was Jeremiah.
"Ivory?" His voice was smooth and laced with concern as he shut his car door, his eyes scanning her tear-streaked face as he held flowers in one of his hands, dressed nicely for the occasion. "Hey... I heard about your gallery and came to support but- what the hell happened? Why are you out here crying like this?"
Ivory sniffled, looking down as she tried to regulate her breathing and control her emotions. She wanted to answer him, but the words stuck to her throat, thick and heavy like cement. Ivory shook her head, trying to swallow the lump, but all she could do was choke out, "I—I don't know. Thank you for c-coming." she stuttered.
Jeremiah frowned and took another step closer, tilting his head as if assessing her in concern, but really he knew exactly what was happening. After all, he was the one who set this thing into play in the first place.
And he had been waiting for this moment. Watching. Lurking in the shadows. He had spent the entire night sitting outside the gallery, waiting for her to come out alone, knowing that once she did, she would be vulnerable and emotional. The perfect time to strike.
