Where is Ivy Rose?

Chapter 6

I paced back and forth my office, whisky glass in hand as one hundred and one thoughts went through my mind. Who called me the other night? Did she know what I was doing? Where I was? Was it her that told my wife about my affairs? My wife. The look on her face that day broke my heart. It was the first time in our marriage I've seen her so broken.

As the never-ending thoughts consumed my already fragile and tormented mind, I downed the whisky in my hand, relishing in the burning sensation as the golden amber liquid slid down my throat. I shook my head, feeling the effects of the alcohol in my system. This was already my fifth glass. I slammed down my glass on my desk and with shaky hands roughly pulled the top of my drawer, grabbing the last and only spare bottle of whisky I had left. I intended to sip every last drop of the addicting alcoholic beverage, wanting to rid my mind of all these panicked thoughts and the pain that consumed me.

The cap popped off, falling on the desk as I slid my glass to the rim of the bottle. The photograph of my wife and daughter caught my eye as I filled my glass right to the very top, not caring as it spilt over my desk and down my trousers. I remembered that day as if it was yesterday, it was one of the best and proudest moments of my life. My daughter just graduated at the top of her class. My wife and I were so happy and so proud of her that we bought her a car that very same day, an Audi A3, her dream car. Seeing her eyes light up with excitement that day melted both our hearts.

I placed the bottle down, grabbing the photograph in my right hand, admiring my wife's face as my fingertips traced her smile, the smile that I would never get to see again due to my greed and stupidity. I knew it was about time before my past caught up to me before it would swallow me whole and tear my insides open, I just didn't expect it to be now.

I placed the photograph back on the desk, feeling my eyes begin to water as the memories of that day came flooding back to me. I remembered that day very vividly, the day my wife found out the truth, the very last day I saw her smile and her eyes light up with excitement.

'Honey, have you seen my watch? The one you have me on our last anniversary? I can't seem to find it anywhere!' I grumbled, staring at myself in the mirror as I tried to undo and redo my tie for the hundredth time. The damned thing was giving me a headache and I wanted nothing more than to throw the retched ugly thing in the bin. But I couldn't. My wife had gotten me this tie a few years ago, and although I hated it, I found myself loving it at the same time.

'God damn it!' I snarled. Why can't I do my own bloody tie-up, today of all days! 'Abi, Abi! Can you come in here and help me with this?! I'm struggling to do it up, I feel like I'm going to lose another brain cell if I keep trying!'

'Abi!' I yelled, frowning when I was met with nothing by silence. Where the hell is she? Any long and we could miss our reservation at her favourite restaurant. It was a very important night, we couldn't afford to miss this reservation, everything had to be perfect. I was planning on asking Abigail to marry me again so we can redo our wedding vows and start our marriage on a clean slate. I knew I wasn't the best husband and I wanted to change that. This is exactly what we needed, a fresh start, a clean slate. Abigail has given me more than enough chances, I couldn't fuck up this time.

I smiled at the thought of asking for her hand in marriage, taking the small red velvet box out of my pocket, looking at the ring I had picked up the other day. It was a ring I caught Abi eyeing up the other night when we went shopping. I looked at the large diamond in the centre of the ring, surrounded by lots of other smaller diamonds, caught up in its magnificent alluring beauty. It's true what they say, diamonds really are a woman's best friend.

'How could you!?'

Abi's shaky voice caught me off guard and I closed the box, shoving the ring back in my pocket. 'Answer me!' She screamed. I flinched at the tone of her voice, detecting a lot of rage behind her words. With cautious but steady steps, I turned around, catching a glimpse of her tear stricken face. Confusion overtook me at the sight as I willed my body to move forwards. My arms went to circle her body, only for her to slap me hard across the face, then another, and another, each slap harder than the last. I stumbled backwards, holding my hands out to protect myself.

'Abi! What's going on? I don't understand, what did I do?!'

Without saying a word, she picked up the large manila envelope that had fallen to the floor when she slapped me, and shoved it in my hands. I took the contents out of the envelope, eyes widening as I saw photographs of myself and Charlotte Penny......my last secretary, in several sexual positions.

'Keep going till the end.' she whispered, her voice trembling as she tried to hold her tears in, trying to silence her cries with her hands. Her body shook, and my heart ached at seeing her look so broken and fragile. I swallowed the lump in my throat, going through the photographs one by one, carefully surveying each one till I reached the end. Fuck! No, no, no, NO! Fuck. Two birth certificates.

'Father, Andy Sharpe, Mother, Scarlett Sinclaire' I whispered, hands shaking as I gripped the certificates tightly in both hands, creasing the edges. Her cries echoed throughout the room, getting louder and louder. I knew at that moment that I had fucked up and nothing would ever be the same again.

The door slammed wide open, Tom's annoyingly loud voice filling my ears. 'Andy! Stop whatever you're doing, you need to see this!' He said in a panicked voice, quickly grabbing the remote and switching on the TV. Hearing the panic in his voice, I frowned. Tom never panics, and if he does it usually means something bad has happened or is about to happen.

'In breaking news, the body of a young woman was recovered today, a woman known to be the former secretary of none other the Andy Sharpe. According to the source, Miss Charlotte Penny was last seen in....'

'Turn it off, turn it off!!' I screamed. This cannot be happening, not now! This cannot be fucking happening. I paced my office once more, stopping when I saw my staff looking through the door at my shocked and distraught face. Tom sensed my agitation and shut the door with the back of his foot, watching my every move. 'Fuck! Fuck, this cannot be fucking happening!'

'Andy! Andy!'

'What?! God damn it, what Tom?!'

'Your phone, it's ringing!'

I snatched my phone off my desk and hit the green button, pressing it against my hear. 'Hello?' That same melodic voice laughed on the phone, and I slammed my hand on the desk, anger coursing through my body as the woman continued to laugh. It was her, I knew it was, it had to be, whoever she is! Tom just stood still near the door, surprised by sudden angry outburst, mouthing 'Who is it?'

'Nervous yet? You better be, because this is just the beginning.'

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There it is guys! Chapter 6! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. What did you think? Do you sympathise with Andy? Or do you think he deserves what's coming to him? Comment below and let me know your thoughts, and if you loved the chapter please vote!

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