Chapter 1941
“I know everyone around here. Just tell me who you’re looking for, maybe I can help ya out!” The man blocked Ivy’s path as she tried to sidestep him. “Hey, lady, hold up! Don’t be so cold. I’m just trying to lend a hand here! Why the silent treatment?”
Ivy, finding herself cornered, reluctantly engaged in a verbal dance. “I’m meeting someone, my date actually. Would you mind stepping aside?”
She thought her request was polite enough, but for some reason, the man bristled, “And who’s this date of yours? Do tell.”
“Sorry, that’s none of your business,” Ivy replied, not keen on entertaining his advances.
Yet the man remained an unyielding obstacle.
With a sigh, Ivy’s patience wore thin. “Sir, what will it take for you to let me pass?”
“Want to leave, huh? Simple.” He casually grabbed a glass of wine from a nearby table and held it out to her. “Just down this drink, and you’re free to go.”
Ivy eyed the proffered glass with no intention to take it. While she wasn’t adept at drinking, managing a single glass of wine was within her capacity. However, after a couple of bad experiences, she was wary.
Who knew what might be spiked into that drink? She was not naive enough to believe that it’s as straightforward as having just one drink.
Once she takes the first drink, there will be a second, a third, until she’s completely intoxicated!
“No thanks, I don’t drink,” Ivy said, lifting the hem of her dress to step around him.
Nash, that was his name, reached out and yanked her back. “Not so fast, Miss High-and-Mighty. It’s not that easy.”
“Ah!” Unaccustomed to high heels, Ivy stumbled from the push, about to make a scene in front of everyone.
Just as she braced for embarrassment, a man appeared behind her, his arm snaking around her waist, steadying her with a firm grip. “Are You okay?”
Ivy regained her balance and turned to see a familiar face that left her speechless.
The man who had come to her aid, Nolan Harris, looked coldly at the interrupter. “This lady is a friend of mine. You got business with her?”
The man who had been so forward with Ivy suddenly shrank back, shrugged, and slunk away with his glass of wine.
Once the rude interloper was dispatched, the heroic Nolan turned to Ivy with a smile and concern. “You alright? Did it scare you?”
Meeting Nolan’s gaze, Ivy felt an inexplicable sense of inferiority.
Why was he here?
Observing her silence, Nolan spoke again, “What’s the matter? Don’t you recognize me after all these years?”
“I…I do,” Ivy stammered, suddenly realizing she seemed too eager. She promptly lowered her head. “Of course, I do, Nolan.”
Memories flooded Ivy’s mind the day Nolan stood as the freshman representative, addressing the new students while she looked up at him from the crowd, captivated by his radiant presence.
From that moment on, Nolan had been a light in her life.
Ivy often found herself gazing up at that light, but like the shy person she was, she never had the courage to reach out and touch it.
