The Business Proposal

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ivy hid her head as they boarded the plane from Paris. It felt like everyone they passed had their eyes locked on her. She knew she was being paranoid, but that didn't stop her hunching her shoulders in silent defence.

She missed Faye already, and they'd only just said goodbye. They'd both shed a few tears, but Ivy had tried to keep a brave face until her sister was out of sight. After that she crumpled in on herself, feeling utterly defeated.

There had been no accusation in her sister's eyes, but Ivy had still seen the questions in them. Questioning if what the papers had said was true. If Ivy really was the awful names, they were calling her.

A sex pest. A dominatrix. The kinky heiress.

The names sprang out of her from every magazine and shame settled deep inside her. Maybe she shouldn't care what those people thought about her, but she couldn't stop herself. This was her private life they were talking about and ridiculing. She felt humiliated, but worse, she felt angry.

The words had been accompanied by a full interview by none other than her ex, Justin O'Donolly. Between those pages he had discussed, in excruciating detail, their previous relationship. And no detail had seemed too small.

The man was a jerk, but she never believed he would have done something like this to her. He'd laid every one of their sexual experiences out for the world to see and then some. Her toes had curled in disgust at some stuff he'd told them, things that were total lies.

But that was what these magazines did. They took a simple truth and embellished it so much it was unrecognisable. Just a collection of lies that was destroying her life.

She didn't know how much they'd paid him, but knew that's why he would do something like this. It had taken her a long time to come to terms with the fact he had only been with her because of the lifestyle her father had.

It hadn't taken him long to work out that Ivy wanted nothing to do with her father's money. There was always a catch with her father, something Sasha seemed more than willing to accept to live her life of luxury, but not Ivy.

She remembered their arguments about how she should accept her father's handouts. But it was the one thing she wasn't willing to budge on. The day Justin finally realised how serious she was on the subject was the day she'd lost him. The day the affair had started, though, she wouldn't realise that till months later.

"Welcome aboard Mr Carter, Miss Thorn," the perky steward said, breaking Ivy from her dark thoughts.

She and Ethan boarded the private jet Ethan had hired to take them away from their problems.

They weren't returning to the UK, instead they were flying to Bali, to one of Carter Holdings' new hotels. The special project that Ethan talked about.

He was treating this break as a working holiday. But Ivy knew it for what it really was. They were running away from the media storm the article was creating.

Though she loathed the idea of running, it was necessary.

She'd barely got into Ethan's apartment after he'd broken the news to her about the magazine. There were that many reports and photographers lining the street outside. And all of them were baying for blood. In particular, hers.

Ivy buckled her seat belt, watching as Ethan did the same.

They'd barely talked since the story broke the news. He seemed unable to even look at her and once again shame washed through her. She was dragging him down, and she didn't know what to do.

"Ethan, I'm so sorry," she whispered out when the plane was in the air. Not even the exhilaration of take off could brighten up her mood.

Ethan's head snapped to her, but his expression was unreadable before his eyes softened.