Mint 1108

Ivy

Ivy felt her heart pounding strongly in her chest as she stared at the man sitting in

front of her. Something fluttered in her stomach as she watched his every little movement,

every little gesture. The man was a magical, mesmerizing sight to behold. His sparkling blue

eyes were as breathtaking as the Hope Diamond, and they were the pair of eyes that stole her

heart from the moment she first laid eyes on him. It was love at first sight. There was no way

for her to escape, or rather she didn’t want to escape.

Her heart calmed and bloomed with affection as he gently smiled to the young

waitress. She wondered how a human being could make a simple smile look so ravishing and

wondrous. Was this a spell cast by him perhaps? She asked herself, but deep inside her heart,

she knew she cast a spell on herself.

The man ordered an iced espresso for her without her saying anything. She was a little

taken aback, but after she let it sink in, the corners of her lips raised faintly. Of course, he

would remember that she liked to drink iced espresso, not hot americano. He was different

from him, from the rest of the world. Ivy took a quick glance at her phone in her hand as the

waitress walked away, before putting the phone face down on the table.

“You look gorgeous today,” he complimented her with his deep and raspy voice. His

English accent was pleasant to her ears.

Ivy recalled how she got out of bed very early in the morning and spent hours doing

her hair, makeup, and nails, and rummaging through her fancy closet. It was all worth it after

hearing his sweet remark. He made her feel youthful, something she hadn’t felt in ages. She

replied as heat climbed her cheeks, “Thank you, Ansel.”

The gorgeous man in front of her ran his hand through his ash brown hair as the Rolex

watch on his wrist sparkled, before resting his hands on his firm laps.
 “We haven’t met for a while. I miss you so much,” he said with an adorable pout on

his lips, staring into her round brown eyes. Ivy felt a sharp twinge of guilt amidst her

happiness, but she shrugged it off and beamed at Ansel.

“I miss you too. I really wanted to see you but I had been very busy with my work,”

she replied slickly, as if she had told the truth. Her eyes didn’t flicker and her voice didn’t

tremble as she looked at her beloved. She knew she was going to nail it like she always did.

“I’m so tired. My customer was very hard to please.”

“Design my garden. I promise I won’t be difficult,” the man said as he chuckled

warmly.

“In case you have forgotten, you live in a condo,” Ivy responded, rolling her eyes

jokingly. He chuckled again. She noticed from their very first date that he would laugh at

every little thing that amuse him, and she loved his joyous nature. Ansel was a bright man

with a bright life, a life she indubitably yearned for.

Ansel opened his mouth to say something, probably a flirty remark, but he was

interrupted by the waitress from before. The young waitress served them their orders, one

iced espresso and one iced latte, before walking away. Ivy naturally grabbed her phone and

took a quick photo of their drinks. Ansel cleared his throat.

“You know, condos are very boring. When will you finally let me come over?”

The phone almost slipped out of her pale hand, but she quickly got a hold of herself.

Ivy slowly placed her phone face down on the table and with her voice as clear as crystal, she

said, “Well, tell me why condos are boring.”

“Are you dodging the question?”

“Oh, no,” Ivy replied, wringing her hands under the table. “I’m truly interested in

condos. Really.”
 “Sure,” he said in an amused tone, sipping his iced latte. Although Ansel liked to talk

about coming over, he never cornered her into saying yes and Ivy appreciated his chivalrous

behavior. It made things facile for her. “You’ve been to my condo so many times. Isn’t it

boring?”

“Not really.”

“Why?”

“Because you are there with me.”

The man grinned after hearing her answer.

They started to talk about random things, but it didn’t feel boring. Minutes felt like

seconds when she was with him. Ivy laughed as Ansel told her about a hilarious mistake his

co-worker made during their business meeting. Before she knew it, there was no espresso left

in her glass. A sudden and immense joy filled her heart when she thought about how nice

today was. Spending time with Ansel always made her feel a great sense of elation and for

the moment, he made her forget the reality.

“When I was--”

Ansel’s phone suddenly rang while he was speaking. He made an apologetic face

before grabbing his phone on the table.

He froze.

“What’s wrong?” Ivy asked slowly and carefully. The look on his face was a mixture

of shock and indignation, and Ivy had never seen him like this before. Ansel was still silent,

staring at the phone ringing in his hand.

After a long pause, the man finally declined the call and put his phone in his pocket.

“It’s nothing,” he said, forcing a smile.

 “Do you really expect me to believe that?” Ivy asked in a worried tone. She noticed

the discomfort on his face. He looked like he didn’t want to talk about it, and it sparked both

her concern and curiosity.

“It’s my mother,” he finally said, letting out a deep sigh.

Ivy didn’t say anything, or rather she didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know much

about Ansel’s parents. He used to talk about his father several times, but he never mentioned

his mother before.

“I’m sorry that I never told you. I don’t really like to talk about it,” Ansel explained

with a solemn expression. It was unusual to see him so serious. “My parents are divorced and

my mother rarely calls me, so I was quite shocked to see her calling.”

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” Ivy said, looking him in the

eyes. Ansel looked upset, and she didn’t like it.

“It’s okay,” he replied. “It just makes me mad when I think about it.”

“Okay.”

“So, my father loved my mother a lot,” he said, looking down. “Long story short, she

had an affair.”

The moment he finished speaking, Ivy felt a strong pang in her heart. If Ansel had

paid more attention, he would have noticed her bizarre reaction, but he was looking down,

being too absorbed in telling the story. Ivy opened her mouth to tell him to stop, but the

words wouldn’t come out.

“She was his everything, but she betrayed him,” Ansel said angrily, clenching his

fists. “It was an insensitive, heartless act. She showed no remorse when she was found out. At

that time, I was young, but old enough to understand what she had done was terrible. To be

honest, I still can’t forgive her. How could she do that? Isn’t being faithful the most important
thing when it comes to relationships? I will never cheat on you, and I know you will never

cheat on me.”

Ansel finally looked up and Ivy knew she was doomed. She had always been a good

actress. She could tell lies as if they were true. She could fake a sincere smile even if guilt

was stabbing her. However, right now, she couldn’t do it after seeing those eyes of his.

She needed a break.

All of a sudden Ivy put her phone in her pocket, stood up, and murmured, “Sorry, I’m

not feeling very well.”

Before Ansel could say anything, she walked away from the table quickly. As she

walked, she felt her heart pounding strongly in her chest. This time, it wasn’t something

pleasant. It was agonizing. She stopped in front of the café’s vacant restroom before rushing

in and locking the door.

What am I doing? Am I giving up?

The questions flashed into her mind as she sat down on the toilet, holding head in

hands. As minutes passed by, thoughts started to flood her mind.

She thought about when she first saw Ansel, where she didn’t hesitate to take her ring

off and hide it. She thought about all her plans and efforts to make everything work. She

thought about all the happy days and sexy nights she had spent with him. She thought about

Ansel, the perfect man with beauty, affability, humour, kindness, and wealth. Most

importantly, he always tried to make time for her.

“I’m not going to lose him,” she whispered madly to herself. “If he doesn’t know,

then I’m not hurting him. If I’m not hurting him, then I’m not doing anything wrong. If I’m

not doing wrong, I’m not going to lose him. I just have to make sure he doesn’t know. That’s

it. Yeah, that’s it.”

Ivy took a deep breath. Another deep breath. Another one.

 She stood up, checking herself in the mirror. After one more deep breath, she opened

the door.

“Hey.”

Ivy jumped with surprise after hearing a familiar sound. It was Ansel, standing

awkwardly in front of her. He also brought her bag that she left at the table.

“Ansel? What are you doing here?” she said, faking a painful expression.

“I was worried so I tried to find you. I thought you would be at the restroom,” Ansel

answered in a concerned tone. He looked like a sad puppy. “Are you mad? I’m sorry. I was

being too emotional about my parents, right? I’ve calmed down now. Did I ruin our date?”

“Oh, no, don’t be sorry,” Ivy said, placing her hand on her stomach. “It’s just that

time of the month. I suddenly felt awful so I rushed here.”

“Oh, are you feeling better?”

“Yeah, a little,” she replied with a slight smile, taking the bag from him. “Don’t mind

me. Let’s go and pay the bill.”

Ansel nodded and they walked together towards the cashier. When they arrived, Ansel

took out his wallet. As he was busy paying, Ivy heard a text notification sound, coming from

her pocket. She took a quick glance at the clock hanging on the wall. It was 4:10PM, and

today was Friday. She didn’t need to look to know it was a text message from her husband,

telling her he’s going out drinking tonight.