Chapter 119: The Confrontation

“That bastard,” Silas whispered, clutching his fists.

“What?” Rita asked, her eyes moving from Ivy to Silas, then back to Ivy. “What is it?”

Ivy held her stomach as the truth settled in; she didn’t know how to begin.

“Say something, Ivy,” Rita said urgently, her voice cracking with fear.

“Derek…” Ivy began, then paused. “You might have to sit down, dear.”

The fear heightened in Rita’s eyes, but she obeyed, lowering herself onto one of the wooden chairs in the park. Ivy sat beside her, her eyes drifting to the gorgeous Mount Tamalpais up ahead.

“Rita,” she began slowly again. “Theresa hadn’t been cheating on Ryan’s father. Derek—Wills—is her husband.”

Rita shook her head, her eyes still widened so much that Ivy wondered if this was the best moment to tell her anything.

“I don’t understand,” Rita said. “Explain.”

Then Ivy explained, telling Rita everything she knew about Theresa and Wills’ marriage. When she finished, she had expected Rita to cry or break down or something, but instead, she just pressed her legs together.

“So I was the other woman?” she asked gently, but Ivy could hear the pain in her voice.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, love,” Ivy said, pulling her closer and consoling her.

“He has a child… he’s marri… oh…” Rita trailed off, biting her fingers so hard that Ivy feared she might take them off.

“That fool,” Silas said through gritted teeth. “I’ll be back.” Then he left.

Ivy was concerned about the anger in Silas’s eyes, but she couldn’t follow him, not without leaving Rita, so she signaled to Bud, who immediately got the message and followed Silas.

“I didn’t know he was married,” Rita said in a small voice. “I guess it explains a lot of…” She paused as her phone rang, interrupting her. She took it out, and the fear returned to her eyes. “He’s calling? What should I do?”

“Pick it up and put it on speaker,” Ivy told her, her own heart leaping with fear, too.

She nodded and did as Ivy said.

Wills’s voice filled the air. “Baby, Rita, my love. I’m sorry. Please come home, I’m home.”

Rita looked at Ivy, mouthing something, but Ivy placed a finger on her own lips. “Just listen,” she whispered.

“Baby? Are you there?” Wills said, his voice softer. “Please, just come home.” Then he ended the call.

“What do we do now?” Rita asked.

Ivy racked her brain, trying to come up with a solution, and when Bud rejoined them, she got to her feet. “Let’s go.”

“What?” Rita asked, her voice strained. “To my house? I can’t go…”

“Bud will go with us, and Ryan can stay here with Hector,” Ivy interrupted her with a smile. “You need to confront him, Rita. You need an explanation for it.”

Rita hesitated before she finally gave in. “Alright, let me go tell Hector.”

As Rita left, Ivy turned to Bud. “Where is Silas?”

“He left with Victor; I couldn’t find them, ma’am,” Bud replied.

Ivy bit her lip as she looked away. Silas was angry; she could feel it, but she just hoped he was fine.

“I’m ready,” Rita said, and Ivy turned to her.

“You’ve got this,” Ivy said with a smile.

Together with Bud, they left the state park and drove to Rita’s house. The pink house looked still from the outside, like nothing had happened.

“Aren’t we supposed to see his car parked outside?” Ivy queried.

Rita leaned forward. “Derek doesn’t have a car… that I know of…” she paused, pressing her hands together, “that I know of,” she added sadly.

Ivy gave her hand a gentle pat. “Don’t worry, you’ll get through this. I am here with you.”

Rita exhaled, nodded, and got out of the car. Ivy and Bud followed behind her cautiously.

When Ivy followed Rita inside, she was surprised. Everything had been arranged neatly, and there was a fresh bouquet of roses on the center table.

“Is that you, babe?” Wills asked from somewhere in the house. “I’m making your favorite; I’m coming.” Then they heard his footsteps, and he entered the living room. Wills froze when he saw Ivy and Bud behind Rita. His eyes flashed with surprise, and then a weird smile curved on his face. “Babe,” he said softly, stretching his hand toward Rita, “I can explain.”

Ivy stepped forward, narrowing her eyes. “Start explaining, Wills.”

“Don’t listen to anything she has told you, babe,” Wills said, still trying to reach Rita.

Ivy saw the conflict in Rita’s eyes and nudged her away. “If she’s truly your love, you’ll explain things to her, Wills.”

Wills chuckled as he moved to sit on one of the black couches; he tilted his head toward Rita. “How do you know, Ivy?”

“I am her cousin, and I know for sure you were relying on nobody finding her,” Ivy said, her eyes blazing with anger. “Your game is over, you—”

“I need an explanation,” Rita said softly, moving closer to Wills. “Why did you lie? All the years we’ve been together? Why?”

Wills crossed his legs, amusement gleaming in his eyes. “It just happened.” He shrugged. “I couldn’t control it. How did you figure it out?”

Ivy wanted to speak, but the anger in Rita’s eyes stopped her.

“That’s what you want to know?” Rita scoffed bitterly. “Okay, then. I found the hotel receipt in Theresa’s name, so I Googled her. Unfortunately for me, I was more concerned about knowing how she looked than finding out what her life was about.”

“I saw your text to her about her coming over to Eagleheart hospital, so I went there. I was going to confront her, stupid me,” Rita laughed dryly. “I was going to beg her to leave you alone, but I couldn’t, because that was the day I saw Ivy.”

Wills chuckled again. “I have to give it to you; you’re actually smarter than I thought.”

Anger surged inside Ivy at Wills’ casual statement, and she leaned forward. “That’s what you’ve got to say?! You cheated on Theresa, lied to Rita and Ryan, and this is the shitty attitude you’ll put on?!”

Wills waved his hand. “Oh, please, Ivy. It’s not your business.”

“But it is!” she snapped. “Theresa is my friend, and Rita is my cousin. It is my business!”

“Fuck!” Wills snapped, jumping to his feet. “You know nothing!” He pointed a finger at Ivy, causing Bud to quickly move in front of them.

Wills shook his head as he began to pace. When he spoke again, his voice was soft. “You have no idea how hard it is to live with an alpha woman, a woman who controls you, who makes you feel less of a man.”

Ivy blinked. “So you did this because you’re a bitch? Because you couldn’t stand a powerful woman?”

“No.” He shook his head. “I did it because I am a man. I deserve respect, I deserve to be treated like a God, to be worshiped every day, and Rita did all that. She gave me my respect, she doesn’t bark at me for shit, she doesn’t expect anything from me. She takes it as I do it!”

Ivy’s chest tightened with anger, but she didn’t speak. She couldn’t believe Wills had indirectly called Rita a bitch.

“You’re despicable!” Rita snapped, tears falling from her eyes.

“Don’t be so mad, baby,” Wills said with a mocking smile. “It’s you I love. You and Ryan complete me.”

“Then… why didn’t you just divorce her? Or tell her the truth about us?” Rita asked, her tears increasing.

“I couldn’t, baby,” Wills said, shaking his head. “I already started a lie with you, you know, my name, my family, my career, everything was a lie. Besides, Theresa is a salty bitch; she is not going to let me go easily.”

“Is she?”

All of them turned to Theresa, who was standing by the door with anger burning in her eyes.

Ivy hadn’t heard Theresa when she walked in. She moved closer to her. “Theresa…”

“It’s okay,” Theresa said with a smile, but Ivy could see the sadness, pain, and anger in her eyes. “Thank you for today’s conversation. Your talk about Derek got me thinking, and I confronted this fool.” She pointed to Wills.

“That’s why you even came home in the first place,” Rita sobbed.

“Baby,” Wills said, but he was talking to Theresa, trying to reach her. “Let me explain.”

“It’s too late, Wills,” Theresa said, her eyes sharper as she moved closer. “I want a divorce.”