Chapter two

She arrived at the courthouse, patiently waiting for her soon-to-be husband, but there was no sign of him yet. A few hours passed, and he still hadn't arrived. Ivy was getting impatient. She tried calling him, but he wasn't picking up her calls.

"What is taking him so long, he should be here by now," she said, wiping the bead of sweat from her face. Worry was making her sweat, even though it wasn't hot. It was a bright day, and she wanted to get married. Yet here she was without her husband by her side.

She calmed her nerves and distracted her mind from worry by recalling good moments with him. How he confessed his love to her and how she reacted by running away to hide. She was only eighteen back then and knew nothing about love. Even when other guys asked her out, they never made her feel the way Dave made her feel.

She called him again, and the same thing happened with the same result. No answer. Her makeup might get ruined before the actual event.

Two more hours passed, there was still no sign of Dave, and her worry grew. She called him again, but this time there was a little change. It was not reachable. She frustratingly tossed her phone back into her purse and sat down, tapping her feet to kill time. One more hour passed, and her heart started beating rapidly with one thought ringing in her head. 'What if something happened to him, oh no, I hope not. Or maybe he was stuck in traffic, no that's not possible, it's already noon. Did he change his mind or is he nervous, no that's lame. Oh no.' She stood up immediately when a different thought crossed her mind. 'Was he kidnapped!' She scratched her head as fear overtook her.

She dialed his other number, and it was also switched off, making her worry and fear only intensify.

She quickly got into the car, her hands shaking on the steering wheel. She tried to steady her hands on the wheel, but it was proving really difficult as her mind was a mess. Her breathing was heavy as her thoughts were running wild. 'Please don't die, Dave. What is wrong with me? He won't die; he is... he is... oh no... I... I have to go home and see if he is there...'

She tried calling him again while driving, but his phone was still switched off. She almost ran into another car while driving in a hurry. Luckily, she halted before a terrible accident would occur. She continued her journey home to check on Dave, praying silently for his safety. She didn't know what she might do if something bad happened to the love of her life.

It seemed like the traffic light became an enemy trying to stop her from progressing. She impatiently hit the steering wheel while her legs were tempted to step on the acceleration and speed off.

After a while, the light showed ready to go, and she blasted away with full speed, not caring if she ran into any car that obstructed her way.

Finally, after a forty-five-minute drive, she arrived home. She didn't even take off her high heels and dashed inside hurriedly to see if he was inside. She didn't notice that his car wasn't parked outside. She searched the whole house but couldn't find him, called his name, but there was no reply. She didn't know any of his friends because he never introduced her to them, and she now regretted not pushing him to know his close friends and family members.

She ran back to her car with no direction on how to find him. She thought of many places, but she wasn't sure she would find him there. She decided to wait until nighttime before reporting to the police station. But she needed to calm down at least before nighttime, she needed somewhere to go for the meantime. Someone crossed her mind, Irene, her elder sister and only family. They were really close, but ever since she started dating, she hardly spent time with her sister like before. When she told her that she had found true love, she wished her good luck, saying she would find hers too.

She arrived at her sister's place; her apartment wasn't that fancy compared to hers, but it was cozy just like it was back when they had parents.

She still remembered where Irene kept her spare keys, so she took them and unlocked the door. She got inside and noticed her apartment had changed compared to before. It was well-decorated and nice. She had a new set of furniture that was better than the first ones she had. And the new TV was the product she was invited to advertise years back at the time she decided to cancel her contract. Everything reminded her of her past career.

She still looked around and found other new stuff that was not there when she visited last time. 'Isn't she home?' She didn't find Irene in the sitting room, then she went to her bedroom.

As she got closer, she heard moaning sounds coming from her bedroom. She paused, not believing her ears. Her sister was hooking up with a man. She hadn't told her she had found her true love too. No, it couldn't be. She had never seen her sister with a man before. When she told her she would find hers too, she didn't believe, feeling she couldn't spend time with a man. She was too picky, deciding no man was good enough for her. Or maybe, she had finally found the 'man good enough.'

She was about to turn back before she heard her sister's voice.

"F**k me harder like a man, or is it that she couldn't pleasure well that you lost your ability to f**k properly."

Ivy moved slower as she was interested in hearing their conversation. The 'she' she heard got her curious. The man must have a girlfriend before f**king her sister.

"Massage my breast and kiss me harder." She went on. "Ah, that's right, that's right, ah... oh."

Ivy face-palmed herself. What was she doing listening to the conversation of two people having sex? She really had crossed her limit, listening to their private conversation.

She shook her head and turned around, but her movement halted when she heard someone.

"You have no idea how happy I am to finally dump her today, ha, ha. The naive thing must have waited for me to arrive and marry her. She must be so sick."

That voice was too familiar that she placed her ears on the bedroom door to be sure she wasn't hallucinating. The man's voice sounded like Dave. No, it can't be, she refused to believe it. She was missing him too much to think he was here. But the next words shook her to her core.

"Ivy is such a foolish woman. Who did she take after, her dad or her mum?"

"Her dad, of course."

Who else had hatred for her father except for Irene, and why was her name mentioned in their conversation? She was the one they had been talking about ever since. 'No.' She shook her head. She refused to believe; it can't be; her Dave would never do that, never.