The Lost Heiress

Chapter 5

The dinner turned out to be not as bad as Ivy had envisaged it to be, Caleb had simply made small talk about anything and said somethings about himself over dinner and turned out to be quite a gentle man although from some things he said and did, she had seen little of what Jordan had told her about him, a little spoilt and a little stuck up though not to an annoying degree just enough for a stranger to know that he was not just a regular guy. But one thing she was grateful for was he not bringing up their families and their supposed future marriage, it felt like she was out on a blind date with a random person.

He walked her to her car after dinner and asked if they could do lunch the next day but she declined because even though she didn’t want to see him, she did have something planned for the following day. She wanted to spend time with her mother.

As she drove away, she couldn’t help but feel sad that she was doing this behind Jordan’s back but she just hoped that Jordan would be back really quickly and then they could come up with a solid plan to end this arranged marriage. She was secretly hoping that she could use the fact that she would still be getting married into the same family as an excuse to soften her father up. But if worse came to worse, she would get married in secret although she knew, Jordan might not be on board with eloping to get married.

When she got back home, it was almost 10 pm and she knew that her dad was most likely waiting for her to come up and download the events of the ‘date’. Sighing, she made her way inside and met her mother by the door waiting no doubt for her.

“Mom?”

“Dear, you’re back, quickly go into your room before your dad comes out and finds you here, he and your brother had an argument at dinner and he’s still not cooled off, if you two get into an argument, believe me that come tomorrow, you would be having your wedding night”

Olivia said as she led her daughter upstairs and into her room.

“What happened between Dad and Allen?”

“He’s trying to introduce your brother into the idea of marriage but Allen was totally against the subject and you know both your brother and father have similar short tempers so of course they took it out on each other in words. Your dad knows how to pick the worst moments for sensitive issues. Poor Allen, his girlfriend is really important to him, this matter won’t slide so easily and the sooner we get you out of the equation the better for everyone”

“Wait, hold on, Allen has a girlfriend?”

“Oops, I said too much, but you’re going to find out anyways, so yes although he’s kept her pretty hidden away from us all, I still managed to find out two years ago.”

“That long?” Ivy was bewildered

“Yeah, it’s been longer and unlike your story, she’s not a rich princess or anything, she’s actually the opposite of what your father would accept so that makes his situation worse and if your dad finds out he could take it out on you and seal your marriage deal.”

Ivy was shocked at the new development of things but rather, she was surprised at her mother’s knowledge of their lives.

“Wow Mom, you know so much but still you don’t show it”

“Goodnight baby” Olivia chuckled and pecked her daughter before standing up and walking out of her room.

Ivy’s mind was loaded with too much information that she got so tired trying to even fathom what was going on and without even changing out of her dress, she fell asleep.

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Groaning and turning away from the sun, Ivy tried covering herself with her duvet but then she began to feel hot and slowly opened her eyes before pushing away the duvet and sitting up. She checked her the time by her bedside table and gasped when she saw the time glaring at her

12:20 PM

“How did I sleep in till this late?” she questioned as she made her way to the bathroom and did her business before taking a bath and putting on clean clothes. All the while she was reminiscing about last night and the information overload. As she arranged her room, she found the purse she took yesterday and remembered that her phone was inside and on silence then she remembered that she had promised to call Jordan. As quickly as possible, she pressed the on button and unlocked her phone and her eyes widened when she saw the amount of missed calls and messages left by Jordan.

29 Missed Calls

17 New Messages

She opened the message inbox and guilt washed over her as she was the messages he had left.

Love are you done with your errand?

Okay if you aren’t no problem, just want to hear your voice

Hey its been over three hours, are you home yet?

Okay love I’m getting worried now, can you please call me back or at least give me a missed call?

Are you okay?

IVY??

Ivy closed her eyes and groaned, how did she forget to call him? His missed calls ended at 11:30 in the morning. Quickly she dialed his number, it rang and rang but he didn’t pick up and it went straight to voice mail, she tried it again and this time he picked up.

“Ivy, Christ, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you since last night, are you fine? Is everything alright? Is there-“

“I’m fine Jordan, nothing happened to me, I’m so sorry I didn’t call you back and making you worry, please forgive me” she felt like crying, she could feel his worry over the phone and she felt even worse.

“Hey, baby, I’m not angry, I’m just glad that you’re okay, just please, let me know that you’re fine okay, I can’t help but worry” With that, Ivy burst into tears, she just felt so bad and couldn’t control her emotions.

“Baby, why are you crying? Was it something I said? Or did something happen? Please don’t cry, I’m sorry” his apology seemed to make her cry harder and he stayed on the call with her throughout until she got herself together.

“Do you feel better now?” he asked and she nodded but remembered that he couldn’t see her so she whispered a small “yes”

“Sorry, I don’t know what caused that outburst, I’m okay now”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes”

“If you say so baby? I love you”

“I love you too”

“Are you really sure you don’t want me to bring you anything?” he changed to subject and she shook her head again before remembering again that he can’t see her and she felt like face palming herself before she quickly responded.

“Nothing my love, just come back on time, I’m missing you badly”

“I’m missing you as well, don’t worry I’ll try to wrap up here as quick as I can okay?”

“Hey don’t rush yourself okay, I’ll still be here when you arrive” she assured him even though all she wanted to do was tell him to get on the next flight and come back immediately but she restrained herself and her entire body relaxed when he chuckled.

“Yes Ma’am” he joked and they both laughed.

“Ivy? Are you awake now?” she heard her mother’s voice

“Hey can we talk later my mom is on her way here”

“Okay baby, but please take care of yourself and call me if there’s any problem at all, okay?”

“Yes Jo, I love you”

“I love you too baby” and with that they hung up just as her mom entered her room.

“You know dear, when I told you that you needed to avoid your dad, I didn’t say you should sleep till the middle of the day” her mom said as she stood at the door of her room with a small smile on her lips indicating that she was not at all angry or anything.

“Believe me Mom, it wasn’t intentional, I still don’t understand how I slept till late, but why didn’t you wake me up?”

“I tried but you didn’t even budge, I had to check to be sure that you were still breathing” her mom said with a hint of amusement and curiosity.

“What about Dad? And Allen?”

“Well at least they managed to be civil at breakfast with one another, and oh your dad asked you to call him when you wake up” at that Ivy stiffened.

“Which brings me to the question, how was your date yesterday?”

“Oh, please Mother, stop calling it a date, it makes me feel even more guilty, right now, I can’t believe I broke into tears on the phone with Jordan no less, I just hope he doesn’t think too much about it”

“What do you mean you broke into tears on the phone? Were you hurt?” her mother asked concerned

“Don’t worry about it, Ma, I was just being silly” Olivia didn’t look too convinced but decided to drop the issue.

“I’ll have someone send your food up here, or will you prefer eating with me in the garden?”

“Let’s just eat in the garden”

“Alright then, are you ready to go?” Ivy nodded her head and grabbed her phone and followed Olivia out of the room.

“Oh yes, tonight we are having Christmas eve dinner with the Martins’ something about business”

“I really don’t know why we either hold or attend these Christmas dinners with these people who don’t even know jack about what Christmas is all about, not that our family is any better but I just wish that Dad will at least spare us the trauma of sitting through a long, boring and meaningless dinner only to discuss how much profit they can make on business deals”

“Well honey, you never did complain in the past”

“That was because I didn’t have anyone to complain to, Allen was always busy with work and you were usually lost in your own little world-“ she paused when she realized what she was saying and she sighed “I’m sorry”

“Oh, don’t be dear, I also have faults, lots of faults, so I don’t mind what you say, I’m simply glad that you are able to share your thoughts freely with me”

“Why don’t you talk with Allen as well?”

“I’m just waiting for the right time, your brother is more sensitive than you think, anyways enough chit chat now, let’s eat”

Ivy noticed that they were in the garden already and her stomach growled as she saw the food on the table, quickly she sat down and began to wolf it down, not bothering to wait for her mother. Olivia chuckled and settled down and began eating.