A Graduation Gift

Ivy immediately sensed that something was wrong when she got back to the villa. Uncertain of what it was, she decided to stand
outside the yard. From there, she saw the brightly-lit house and the chaos happening inside.
Knitting her eyebrows with suspicion, she went back to the car and started the engine. Then, she saw someone suddenly walk
out into the lawn beside the hallway, and start to throw up. The person was clearly intoxicated.
'What kind of people did Joel bring home?'
Ivy said to herself, irritated. She just had a very disappointing date with Clark who still seemed so indifferent to her. She was
feeling very upset about it. Now, her brother just made her feel worse!
Fed up, she got out of the car and slammed the door of the car behind her fiercely. Then, she started to march towards the
house in huge, heavy steps. Unexpectedly, a man walked out.
He was very tall and quite good-looking. The drunk man who just finished spilling his guts bumped into him on his way stumbling
back into the house. Instead of being angry, though, the good-looking man helped him by holding on to him to keep him from
falling over and smiled.
His name was Adrian. The party was starting to bore him so he decided to go out and get some fresh air. He was conserving his
energy because his current priority was to get the girl he liked, drunk.
Ivy froze. Realizing how close she was to him, her knees wobbled. She could not seem to stand still.
That was the man who had a one-night stand with her! She couldn't believe her eyes.
Adrian took a deep breath, exhaled, and looked around the yard. Then, he saw Ivy. She was standing not very far away from
him.
He was not so sure at first. Then, he smiled. Gradually, his smile started to spread across his face. Stretching out his hand, he
waved in greeting.
Ivy, on the other hand, was frightened out of her wits. She found herself stepping back unconsciously. She did not know what to
do.
Adrian laughed even more when he saw Ivy's expression.

He recognized her. She was the rich woman he slept with one time. That was a fun night. What an interesting coincidence it was
that she also happened to be the owner of the villa: Joel's sister!
Suddenly, his interest on the girl inside the villa was replaced with an intense fascination with the woman outside. Adrian started
to walk towards her, looking at her intently and appreciating every curve of her body.
Ivy felt the hair on her limbs stand. The reason why she had a one-night stand with Adrian was because she wanted to be
pregnant. When that failed, she did not bother to contact him again.
More than that, Adrian's sister seemed to know Cassandra. It was another reason why Ivy wanted to avoid him.
She didn't expect to see him tonight, especially in her own house!
Adrian continued approaching Ivy with a huge, charming smile. This time, Ivy was too frightened to even step back.
"Why are you so afraid of me, beauty? I'm not going to eat you!"
Adrian laughed mischievously. He was like a wolf that saw a rabbit vulnerable and alone in the forest.
"Do not come any closer! This is my house!"
Ivy said, raising her chin as an attempt to feign confidence in hopes that this would stop Adrian from getting any closer.
"Well, technically, I'm your guest. I don't think it's polite for a hostess to avoid her guest like that!"
Adrian replied sheepishly. Ivy did not intimidate him at all. He slept with her once. He was certain that he'd be able to do it again.
He was really good with women. Whatever he wanted, he would get.
Ivy felt her mind go blank. She suddenly remembered what Joel told her:
"My friend lied to everyone that his family was rich so he wanted to borrow your villa to patch up his lie."
Ivy's body grew stiff when she recalled that.
"Beauty, you have nowhere else to go. If you keep stepping back, you'll soon be out of your own yard..."
Adrian smiled slyly as he continued stepping forward. He was moving closer and closer. Soon, Ivy found herself against a rail.
She couldn't step back anymore.

"What is going on between you and Amanda?"
Ivy felt her feet grow cold. If the man before her were faking his wealth, what happened in the beach villa? Were he and Amanda
both pretending?
This stopped Adrian, making him hesitated. Soon, he responded, "Beauty, why do rich women like you believe that true
friendship exists between women? When you think about it, we, the scum of this society, are actually the ones who are the most
honest. Look at us. Look at how well I treated your brother. Look at how well I took care of him. From the moment he dropped
out of school and started hanging out with us, I've been covering for him. We got each other's backs! That's what men are! We're
loyal to our friends!"
Now, the smile on his face was back.
Adrian's words made Ivy sad.
Even though he did not directly answer her question, he told her the truth.
Ivy thought that Amanda was helping her but she was wrong. Amanda was actually plotting against her.
At that time, she was still Lionel's girlfriend. Amanda used her so she could drive Lionel mad. This, in turn, would please Rufus.
She suddenly realized that Amanda had been fooling her the entire time.
This made Ivy furious. Maintaining her composure, she forced herself to smile at the man in front of her.
"Yes, you're correct. Thank you for taking care of Joel. I hope you can really take care of him and help him do better in his life.
Help him turn away from crooked ways," she said.
Joel was her younger brother—her only brother. In her heart, she always wished that he would stop doing things that could
possibly risk his safety.
"Well, if I'm not mistaken, I assume it was you who asked Joel to get an aphrodisiac from me. Am I right? What was it for, I
wonder. Something...crooked? Come on, sweetheart. Life is a survival of the fittest. Do you think I care about what other people
think? Are they the ones who will put food on my table? Honey, I don't care what people say about me or how people see me. I
will do what I have to do to survive. Do you understand me?"
Adrian said as he moved his body closer to Ivy. He moved in so closely that his face was only inches away from hers.

"Now, for example. I suggest that we forget everything and just enjoy the moment..." he whispered.
"Adrian, if you're Joel's real friend, I need you to do me a favor,"
Ivy said as she held Adrian's chest with her hand to stop him from moving closer.
She knew that a man like Adrian, someone who didn't hold anything back, would be useful. It wouldn't hurt to take advantage of
it a little.
"Well, anything. Just say it. I'd be happy to do it, as long as it's within my means," he replied.
"You said that there is no real friendship between women, right? Well, I have two enemies and they're both women. Would you,
by any chance, be able to help me make them suffer?" she asked.
Without a doubt, Ivy knew what Adrian wanted. He wanted her body. For men, they would do anything to get what they wanted.
As long as they had desires, they had weaknesses.
"Didn't you just ask me to turn away from my crooked ways? What made you change your mind so quickly?"
Adrian teased her because of how she said one thing but actually meant another.
"Be honest with me. Don't you want to have a rich family? I have a suggestion: Why not be a rich man yourself, instead? You
know about me, I'm sure. I have a great deal of money overseas. When everything is settled, I plan to leave, take Joel with me
and never come back. If you like, you can go with me and we can make a fortune together,"
Ivy reached out to touch Adrian's face while she said.
Adrian's eyes became bright when he heard what Ivy said. 'She seems to have wealth. If I could go with her, my life will be easy!'
he thought.
"Sure. I would do anything for you!"
Adrian took Ivy's hand and pressed it to his lips...
Ivy gave him a charming smile. She gently grabbed his hand and opened the car door, invited him in and closed it behind her.
She hated those two women.

''Let's wait and see. I'm not afraid of anything. I will go ahead regardless and make you pay, since you don't want to see me
happy!' she swore silently.