Accidentally Rejected A Billionaire

A Change In The Plan

Ivanka followed Ellie out of the room with her heart in her throat. She didn't know what to expect, but whatever it was, she knew it couldn't be good.

Getting downstairs, her skin prickled with fear when she found her mother on the floor, blood running out of her wrist. Her father was on the phone with the emergency workers.

"Mum!" She ran to the unconscious woman and jolted her, but her eyes were firmly closed.

Her eyes mirrored with horror, realizing what her mother had just done. She tried to kill herself!

"Will something bad happen to mum?" Ellie whimpered from behind.

Swiftly, Ivanka ran to her mom's room, returned with a first aid kit and began doing the little she could. The cut wasn't so deep, she'll survive.

In a short time, the ambulance arrived and Cora was taken to the hospital.

Ivanka and the rest of her family were asked to wait in the lobby while her mother gets treated. She knew the cut wasn't deep, the woman will survive. Still, she was frozen with fear to know she'd made an attempted on her life. What is wrong with her?

After a long while, the doctor came out and informed them her condition wasn't too critical and that she was fine. He told them she was awake and they could see her. Immediately, they hurried in.

Cora was lying on the bed when they arrived. Her wrist had been bandaged, she had a drip going into her, and her face was still pale.

"Mum!" Ellie called and ran to her for a hug.

"Oh! My dear child, I'm so sorry." She patted her back.

Mr. Ambrose went closer and touched her hair.

"How're you feeling, dear?"

"I'll be fine. I'll be fine "

Ivanka stood at the door, feeling like the villain. She didn't even know how to react, but seeing how pathetic her mum looked filled her with so much guilt.

"How could you, mum?" She finally asked, her voice breaking. "How could you even do such a thing?"

"And why wouldn't I? You're a part of this family, Ivanka, you know everything. Your father is in serious debt, and any moment from now, he might even get arrested. Our house will be taken from us by the bank, my business will crumble. We'll be left with nothing!

"God sent an answer to our prayers. He sent us a suitor who will be able to take care of our needs,yet you've chosen not to accept this offer simply because you're in love with a nobody!"

Tears dropped to her face.

"Ellie isn't as old as you are, else, I'd have asked her to marry your suitor. You're only our hope, Ivanka, why can't you help us? Help your family? There's no point in living anymore. Few weeks from now and we'll be as good as dead anyway. So, it's better I just die now."

"Mum! Can you stop saying that?" Ivanka half-yelled. Her eyes glistened with tears. "Stop acting like I don't care for you or this family. You know very well I'd do anything to..."

"Then, do it." Cora interrupted, another tear slipping her eye. "It's not like I'm asking you to get married to an overaged man, Ivanka. You don't even know who he is. Why don't you give him a chance?"

She started sobbing.

"Our life is gone. We're finished. If you don't show up to that date tonight, he'll take it you're not interested and the deal will be off. The engagement will be canceled. Everything will be gone."

"Please stop this tears." Mr. Ambrose made her rest her head on his waist.

The woman's tears were uncontrollable, and at that point, Ivanka began crying as well. She didn't know what to do. For the first time in her life, she felt trapped.

****†****†****†

Cora was discharged later in the day, and as soon as they got home, she began primping Ivanka for the date.

Ivanka was helpless and didn't know what to do. She decided to start with the date first.

She was making use of the bathroom while her mother was in her bedroom, getting her dress ready. Ivanka's phone suddenly started ringing and since she was taking a shower, it wasn't loud enough for her to hear.

Cora checked the caller and hissed when she discovered it was Alaric.

"Foolish boy." She declined the call.

Glancing at the bathroom door, it dawned on her that Alaric might keep calling and end up ruining Ivanka's date. She didn't want that to happen.

She cogitated on what to do for a while and the best option she had was ruining her phone.

She took up the phone and made it fall so hard on the floor, it broke the screen. When she noticed the damage wasn't too much on the phone, she hit it continuously until the screen was perfectly damaged. Then, she left it there on the floor and ran out of the room.

When Ivanka was done bathing and came out, she was shocked to find her phone in that state. She picked it up and was even more infuriated to know her screen was damaged and wouldn't respond.

"Mum!" She ran out of her room with just a towel around her.

Getting downstairs, she found Ellie in the living room.

"Ellie, did you do this to my phone?" She asked angrily.

"What? No! I haven't been to your room."

Cora came in immediately, acting like she had been busy with something.

"Ivanka dear, is something wrong?"

"Yes. You were the last person in my room. What happened to my phone, mum?"

"My goodness!" Cora gasped. "Of course, I have no idea, Ivanka. What reason do I have to damage your phone? I left your room a while ago and your phone was still intact."

Ivanka sighed in frustration.

"Where is Theo? He might know something about this. That boy is always causing a mess around the house." Cora looked around.

Ivanka was losing her mind. Who the hell ruined her phone? She had intended calling Alaric to postpone their dinner. Not reaching out to him might get him really worried. Goodness! This wasn't what she planned.

Cora didn't want Ivanka to come up with any alternatives, so she quickly broke into her thoughts.

"You're running out of time, dear. You should get dressed first."

She led the frustrated Ivanka to her room.

After a while, Ivanka was all dressed and ready to leave. Although, her heart was aching terribly, it didn't stop her from being beautiful.

She was clad in a black knee-length dress and a pair of gold shoes. Her bag was black as well, and staring through the mirror, she knew she was exceptionally beautiful.

She should've been looking this way for Alaric, not some stranger. She's never been so confused her entire life.

Cora was all smiles as she walked her out of the house to where a car and driver was already waiting. Her date had sent someone to pick her up.

"Goodluck, my dear child." Cora pecked her cheek.

With a sullen expression, Ivanka got into the car.

***

Alaric became worried when Ivanka's line was unreachable. He'd called her at first, but she declined the call. And now, her line wasn't recheable.

It was time for their dinner. He was completely dressed, and the garden he had prepared for both of them was ready as well. Everything was set. The happiest moment of his life was about to begin. But why wasn't she recheable?

His Ivanka would never ignore him, he trusted her that much. What if there was something wrong with her? What if she's in some sort of danger?

He couldn't stay calm anymore. Grabbing his phone, he hurried out of his room, making up his mind to go to her place.

****†****†****†****†

Ivanka stepped out of the car, the driver being the one that opened the door for her. A waiter was already outside, and with a warm smile, he led her to the VIP room where her date was already waiting.

Ivanka was pretty nervous, especially as she approached the single table in the room. Her heart gave a light skip when she saw the face of her date on the table. He'd been facing the entrance so, he was quick enough to see her coming as well.

He rose to his feet immediately, putting on a warm smile.

"Ivanka Laforge?" He asked as he pulled out her seat, like a gent.

"Yes. Good evening." She greeted perfunctorily, taking her seat.

Ivanka realized her mother was right. He wasn't an overaged man, he was young and looked... responsible. But no man could be as handsome as Ric was.

"Wow." He bobbed his head after taking his seat. "I must say you look better in person than in pictures. You're... gorgeous."

"Thank you." Ivanka muttered, unable to smile.

"So, well, I'm Baxter, and I must say it's a pleasure getting to meet you. When my mother told me about you, I was kind of... uninterested. She kept nagging, so I decided to give to a try. And trust me, I must say I'm not disappointed."

Ivanka lowered her gaze, not knowing what to say. If it were to be Alaric in that seat, she'd have had a million things to talk about. But this was a total stranger she wished she didn't have anything to do with.

Baxter called for a waitress afterward and placed their orders. Then, they ate for a while, talking about themselves with Baxter doing most of the talking.

He was free-spirited - Ivanka noticed. Unfortunately, she couldn't give him her attention.

Along the way, she had to tell him little about herself, especially the fact that she just graduated from the medical field and looked forward to working in an hospital. That was when she got to know that the man in front of her was no small man at all. He was a manager in one of the most prestigious hospitals in the country - The Grand Stones Hospital! It has always been her dream to work there.

For a moment, it nearly got her excited. But remembering Alaric, she went back to being sad and instead, wished he was the one in that position. How amazing it would've been.

"Obviously, getting to work in the hospital will be nothing difficult. That is...if this works out and we get married." He chuckled after revealing himself.

Ivanka reached for her glass and took a sip. The whole thing made her pretty sad.

"Although, I must warn you - I have a brother who's a díckhead and loves frustrating people. But don't worry, I'll do all I can to keep you away from him." He laughed.

Ivanka rose a brow. "You have a brother?"

"Yeah. A step brother, actually. And although, he can be pretty grumpy and arrogant, I won't deny the fact that he's a good doctor - more like the best in our hospital. He just has an attitude problem, that's all."

Ivanka couldn't explain why she felt different hearing of his brother. Well, that shouldn't be of concern to her.

They continued eating and talking about a lot of things, until Ivanka felt they've had enough. She requested to be taken home.

"Sure. I'll drop you off." Baxter said with a smile as he rose from his seat.

Together, they exited the place.