Ivy

by Willa Nash

You mustn’t let them see you upset.

You’re better than them.

Cassia refused to let herself feel sad about her number of contacts. She’d had countless numbers in her last phone, and when she’d needed someone, anyone, to call, she’d been alone. She’d take three people over three hundred, even if one of them was Ivy.

What was the point? To end up like her parents, in a hateful marriage overflowing with lies and betrayals? Fuck love.

Before she’d passed out on the staircase, she’d had this endless, empty feeling. Hopelessness, and the realization that she was truly on her own. But maybe she wasn’t as alone as she’d thought.

She should have expected Zain to clear the fog. He had a way of balancing her moods. He was steady. He was nearly infallible. He was everything she needed.

So along with her secrets, she carried a mountain of resentment. The weight was so heavy on her shoulders that by the end of each day, she felt like she’d run a marathon. Each morning, it became harder and harder to get out of her bed—her empty bed.

Zain was the king of his own destiny and deserved a worthy queen. Maybe Elora had the strength to be everything he needed. Maybe. But her fears had a grip on her heart, and when—if—she conquered them, it would be too late.

Fuck, but she was exhausted. Of herself. Ivy was so goddamn sick of herself. No wonder the only person with her tonight was Michael.

one of the quickest ways for a woman to bruise a man’s ego was to critique his driving.

He was too good for her, but she was going to keep him anyway.

Who made Ivy better? It certainly wasn’t her parents. It wasn’t her brothers or her friends. In the absence of someone to challenge her, maybe she’d have to push herself.

But that means fuck all if you can’t trust me. If I’m not yours too. Decide, Ivy. You’re either in or out.”

They’d found happy lives these past two years, mostly thanks to the fact that they’d cut ties with toxic people