The Billionaire Son-in-law

5. Ivy Mochi.

A quote once said: “The strength of a woman is not measured by the impact that all her hardships in life have had on her; but the strength of a woman is measured by the extent of her refusal to allow those hardships to dictate her and who she becomes.”

Ivy Mochi was exactly that type of strong woman. 

There was no doubt she learnt well from her husband, Lucas Williams. 

Somehow, they had both grown to understand each other, and it was difficult to break their connection, otherwise, Ivy would not have still been married to him. 

Her skin was copper-brown, like a windfall autumn leaf and her eyes were bliss of wonders with an electrifying smile that made Lucas fall in love with her. 

Ivy's hair was coral-black and it crashed over her shoulders. She had been blessed with a smoldering, doe-brown eyes and a queenly figure.

She had been waiting patiently for her husband's returns, and since she trusted him, she knew he would be fine. They never kept secrets from each other, so her mind was at ease. Only, it had been over two hours and he wasn't back yet. 

She wasn't exactly worried, but she was anxious. Anxiety was no friend to the woman. Soon, she started trembling and sweating, feeling nervous, restless and tense. The sense of an impending danger, panic and doom started to worry her more. 

She paced around the room, thinking of what might have happened. 

The doorbell rang, and she thought to herself her husband must have arrived. Running towards the entrance, she got there and saw it had only been her mother. "Mother?" She called and the woman strode in like it had been her own house. 

Soon, she began to scream. "Ahh my love! There is a problem. A big one!"

Ivy's heart sank in fear. "Problem? What is it, mother?"

The woman was still crying when her tone suddenly tubed into another one, much more firm and bold, and less in a crying tone, commanded. "We need to talk!"

She sat down and her mother did so too. 

Ivy's mother was a woman in her early forties. Her skin was starshadow-black and she had eyes of galaxy beauty. Blanche Mochi had dazzling, champagne-brown eyes and half-moon cheekbones. Although her hair hadn't been as long as her daughter's, Blanche's hair was velvet-black and it caressed her pinched-in cheekbones.

As if the woman just caught a glimpse of her daughter's face, she busted out in another much louder tears. There was something about that moment that Ivy could instantly tap her fingers at and call fake. Her mother was acting, exaggerating the tears and wailing. But something was up. 

"My love, we're doomed!" She said at last, and Ivy paused to hear the end of her announcement. "Everything's gone! We're doomed-" 

"Oh just tell me the end already, mother? What is it?" Ivy asked with a menacing frown on her face, and the exaggerated acting of her mother was suddenly brought to an halt. Her nose scrunched with detest, but she began to explain. 

"The company is dying, my child." She announced, and Ivy didn't hear her well. 

No. She did, she just didn't want to believe it. "What?" 

"Company's dying, my sweet Ivy. And it's quite scary if you ask me. I don't know what to do. I'm so afraid for my life-" 

"-our lives?--" 

"-our lives. Whatever." 

"What happened?" Ivy questioned with fear pounding on her heart. Then it struck her. As if all her mother's lavishly spending and her brother's ridiculous money usage hadn't been enough for their family's wreckage. 

"The business is dying. We don't even know how it happened." She explained, "and we need to get a huge contract soon. Very soon, else, we're done for. Unless, you choose to save us." The woman said, her head cowering low as she struggled to meet her daughter's face. 

Of course there was something on her mind. They might have been in trouble all these while, but now, the solution was linking to her and that's the only reason they need her. 

"What could I possibly do?" She asked, and almost regretted her action. There it was. The menacing dubious smile from the face of the woman who had birthed her. She was onto something. 

"Marry Andreas, and all of this would be settled." She said in a convincing tone, but Ivy wasn't falling for it. 

"What! Andreas? Never!. You know that already. I'm never getting married to that old man. Besides, I am already married to Lucas!." 

"Come on, my dear Ivy. Leave that moron of a man and marry Andreas. He is stinkin' rich and well known in New Jersey. He is the solution to our problem at hand." 

"And what about my child? Huh! What's going to happen-" 

"-oh for god sake, abort the damn child!" 

"Don't say that, mother!."

"Listen sweetheart, Andreas is such a daring man and I'm sure he will take care of you. I know that." 

"Have you ever been in love with anyone before, mother? You can not understand how I feel." Ivy said, and that alone kept her quiet for a while. "Mother, I love Lucas so much. He can take care of me, I know so--" 

"But my love, he isn't the one for you. Andreas is." Said Blanche, in a convincing manner. "And I wish that you can see this and realize that he will make you happy. You will get to love him with time, I know so."

"The same way you got to love father too?" Ivy frowned. She had said a hurtful sentence and she was starting to regret it. 

The shock in her mother's eyes was undeniable. It changed to anger, just a slight one though. "Andreas is not your father. He is a rich and resourceful man that can help the family pull through. If only you can leave that husband of yours, abort his child and start a new life with Andreas." 

"Mother, you can not do that to me. Never! I am your only daughter and you should love and respect my decisions to remain with my husband."

"Oh shut up, Ivy!" The older woman's eyes flamed up in anger. "I am sick and tired of hearing my only daughter speak about that rubbish poor rat as if he were someone important! You will marry Andreas. You have no choice but to!"