Betrayed (23)

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

Xerxes was a bit taken aback by the fact she'd been wearing contact lenses, but that was not the most remarkable thing, it was her eyes. Xerxes had never seen eyes like hers before, it was a dull gray and a stark contrast to the black eyes he'd come to associate her with.

"these are the cold eyes of a killer xerxes…his eyes…" her voice was neutral as she spoke. When she said his eyes, she had been referring to the man who was supposed to be her father.

Xerxes was quite as he looked into her eyes. Taking his silence as rejection, ivy's fist clenched tight as she turned to walk out on him, but before she could take another step xerxes grabbed her arm in a firm grip, stopping her from walking out on him.

"…you know, you're wrong about one thing..." he started.

"you don't need to explain anything to me xerxes I already know what you want to say to me…" ivy tugged her arm, but xerxes kept his grip firm.

"…you're right…nobody loves leah…but they love ivy…but now, here's where you've gotten it all wrong…Ivy isn't a fraud or a persona you've created. She is part of you, the you that is true, sure she might be stubborn and loud, but that doesn't make her a different person from who Leah is. The way I see it, Leah is the darkness and ivy is the light, when Leah gets too intense, ivy pulls through for her and vice versa, I know it might not sound logical, but it's the truth. A name or your past doesn't define who you are. Whether you're ivy or Leah, everybody who's ever gotten to know you will agree that you're a glowing ball of energy that makes us smile. And why would you think nobody loves you? Charlie loves you, Millie, Noah, Phil, sem, Nora…your mom…me…" closing the distance between them in one stride, with xerxes being slightly taller than she was, he tilted her chin up so he could look her square in the eyes. "…if you truly want to be strong…be strong enough to let go of your past…"

Ivy remained quite still as tears fell down her cheeks, he wiped them dry and kissed her forehead, assuring her she had nothing to be worried 0ff. it would be false for him to assume the amount of despair she had endured over the years, but the best he could do for her now was lend her his strength and also help her find hers.

Xerxes was warm and his heartbeat was steady, like a sweet symphony to her. Ivy's own heart beat to the rhythm of his.

"Xerxes…I'm…scared…"

"It's okay Leah, I'm here…"

Pulling back from the hug, ivy stared into his red eyes with her gray ones.

How did she end up with this hot headed guy who surprisingly had a soft heart, full of kindness and warmth. Her thoughts wondered off to what he had told her about his own family.

Ivy felt inconsiderate, her she was crying about her life when xerxes' wasn't exactly a bed of roses. The look in her eyes softened and her brows slightly knitted together.

"wha-" the words fell out his mouth, but ivy attached her lips to his in a kiss. He hadn't expected her to kiss him, xerxes had made it clear earlier that he would be the one to steal kisses from her, but right now he didn't mind as he leaned into the kiss.

His hand slid down her back and curled round her waist, tugging her closer to him as he tilted his head to deepen the kiss, not too long into the kiss and he already took over, dominating ever inch of her senses.

Pulling back, ivy's lips parted themselves ever so slightly as she huffed for breath.

"I…love you, chuckles…"

A smile plastered itself on xerxes lips as he let out an airy chuckle. Leaning down, he pressed his forehead against hers, his jet black hair coming to fall on top of hers with the bridge of their nose touching. He remarked. "Off course you do…"

Through the course of the day, ivy and xerxes remained in each other's company, but somewhere along the line, she fell asleep in his arms.

Xerxes was troubled, because he kept having this gut feeling that something bad was about to happen. It was frustrating to not know sometimes, but then again, it would be foolish to worry about circumstances he had no control over.

But none of that mattered for as long as ivy was here with him, everything will turn out fine. He was ready to protect her no matter what; after all, what kind of hero would he turn out to be if he can't save her.

That's right; ivy also wants to become a pro hero. If she hadn't decide to come here or even had a dream like that, they would never had met.

But this one singular thought made him think, what if they had met based on different circumstances, where she would still be a villain and he would be a pro hero. Would he still love her the way he did right now?

Seeing as she had fallen deep into her sleep, xerxes let her stay a little bit longer in his bed, she must have been tired. Allowing her rest, he stepped out of the room, but not before sparing her one last look.

Somewhere, far away from school and meddling eyes, a familiar face lurks in the shadows wearing a hooded cloak to hide their faces. They were on the phone, speaking to an unknown party.

"Yeah…I confirmed it…" the person replied to other party over the phone.

"It's true…ivy scarrow is Leah…" the conversation continued on, until the other party dropped the call abruptly.

"…it's time to come home…Leah…" the person who had the lower half of their face exposed smiled as their grip on the phone tightened in annoyance, crushing it in the process.

Unawares to ivy, a monumental betrayal was about to happen. Only time would tell and time was unfortunately something she didn't have..

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A/N: thank you for your support (^^)

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