Episode 1

Me: Yeah, so... um... this is my first story... and...

Andrew: See how unintelligent this writer is? Now, let me show you--

Me: -_- That's not part of the script!

Andrew: Lalala, oh yeah, guys, leave a review.

Me: Can't you say it with more emotion!?

Andrew: At least I read the script properly.

Me: Ugh, you weren't supposed to say that...!!

Andrew: *smiles innocently*

Me: Anyway, guys, try to enjoy the story without this idiot bothering you. Now get out, Andrew!!

** If I have any mistakes\, please point them out so I can correct them!! Also\, if you're confused\, don't hesitate to ask questions!! I'll gladly answer them. **

"Isn't there any other way?" Ivy whispered quietly, just loud enough for her butler, Carson, to hear.

    "I'm sorry, Ms. Wellington--"

    "No. My name is Ivy. Good grace, Carson, we've been friends since we were ten. That's thirteen years of friendship!"

    "Ah, my deepest apologies, Ms.--" Ivy groaned. Carson laughed. Ivy threw a not-so-pointed glare at Carson.

    "Okay, okay, Ivy. But there really is no other way. It's rare for the CEO of the world's #1 company to propose marriage. I mean, the Walker Incorporation is worth over ten billion pounds."

    "You forgot that it was the grandfather who arranged this. Not this Andrew Walker."

    "Same thing." Carson grinned cheekily, earning him a nice kick in the shin.

    He grew serious. "In all honesty, though, this might not be that bad."

    Ivy snorted. "Yeah, right. And what happened to my mother? My freaking psychopath of a father murdered her!"

    "But I thought she had depression and committed--"

    "It was my father's fault. He did that to her." Great. Already, the "strong girl" facade she always kept intact and used to shield herself was breaking apart.

    Carson sighed. So much for him trying to lighten the mood. Anyway, Ivy, I'm sure you'll get through this.

    Ivy reigned silent for a long moment. Carson shifted uncomfortably. God, why was he always so terrible at consoling people? "Hopefully I will, 'cause if I don't..." Ivy finally managed to choke out.

    "You will. Besides, you're really pretty, smart, sex--"

    "Shut up" She deadpanned. At 167 cm, her waist-length hair cascaded down her back and she had lovely eyes of blue, as if you put 3 drops of coloring in a gallon of water. Technically, she was half-Japanese, so her eyes were a genetic phenomenon. And despite being 23 years old, her skin glowed and not a wrinkle could be found, even without makeup. Her figure was nice, too. Simply put, she was a natural beauty. All the compliments she always got said so. The TV's "Most Beautiful Woman in the World" polls said so (for some reason, she was eternally ranked first).

    "Awww," Carson whined. "How mean." Then he brightened up again. Cue his teasing mode on full blast. "Promise I'll be invited?"

    Ivy looked confused. "To what? You're supposed to walk me down the aisle for my freaking wedding since my goddamn father doesn't even care. What do you mean?"

    He smirked. Ivy cracked her knuckles. Gee, he really knew how to piss someone off. "To your baby sho--"

    With a tomato face, she pushed him to the doorway. "Get out."

    It was meant to be venomous, but Carson detected a hint of a smile on her face. The door slammed behind him. At least he accomplished his mission to cheer her up!

    But as soon as she closed the door behind Mr. Joke Around, Ivy's smile dropped. What had she done to deserve this fate? Sure, with a shock of blond hair, stunning emerald green eyes, and handsome features, she should be head-over-heels for him. Should. He was only 25 year old too, only 2 years older than her. And he was also part Japanese. Well, he was 1/4 Japan and 3/4 English, compared to her 1/2-1/2. His family tree supposedly looked something like this:

Grandpa (E)  Grandma (E)

                 \    /

               Mother (E)   Mother (1/2)

                                \    /

                             Andrew (3/4 E)

(**A/N: J means Japanese and E means English)

    He was also fluent in Japanese and could write it too. Pretty impressive man. She should be crazy over this opportunity.

    So why wasn't she?

    Besides he was already running the Walker company. Sales had sprung up by over 300% since he'd become CEO a year ago. Even more impressive.

    Any normal girl would've fallen for him already. So why hadn't she?

    With trembling fingers, she held up a picture of her mother. All of Ivy's features had come from her, and she was grateful that she didn't have any of her father's looks: The silky black hair, tanned skin, her delicate face, and her dainty features were all from her mom. She could've been her mother's twin. But her crystal blue eyes made her all the more stunning.

    And, not to mention, she was rich. It was the least that her father could've given her. Especially since her mother had done most of the work anyway.

    With a value of 8.9 billion pounds, the Wellington company was the second best in the world, beating the third one by 3.1 billion. She was the youngest businesswoman in the world. She attended parties almost every two weeks and droned through most of the speeches. She'd gotten plenty of marriage proposals, and she'd patiently declined all of them.Only, she hadn't expected to get one from the one and only company who topped her's. And who was she to decline?

    "It's for the company," she reminded herself. "I just won't merge it with their's. It's mine after all. Then everything will be okay. Right?" Right, she thought.

    It sounded more like she was trying to convince herself. Keyword: Trying.

    Why was it that everyone, except her younger sister, Suzuna, and Carson, always abandoned her? No one else ever told her the truth. Besides those two, and her mom. But her mother was gone.

    Her sister's phone wasn't on. She was probably packing to fly from Japan to England for Ivy's wretched wedding next week.

    She was already regretting her decision of chasing Carson out of her room.

    Her mother, who had died when Ivy was 7 and Suzuna was 5 -- just three months after her husband left -- was all Ivy had right now. On a piece of flimsy card-stock.

    Ivy was supposed to be strong. She had to be strong. She'd been raised up that way in Japan, until she left for England when she was 18. She almost never saw her father, who was "working" in England where the company was. And she'd perfected her English too. Despite being an orphan and having to take care of her younger sister, she'd still gotten into Harvard University in America and graduated from business school there. And it looked like Andrew Walker had as well. She hadn't paid him any heed before, but she recalled that he'd set the record for the highest scores in the school's entire history. Ivy had been second after him. He had beaten her by just a couple of points. How embarrassing.

    Tears rolled down her cheeks and splashed onto the photo she held in her hand. Where had her strength gone when she needed it?

    There Minako stood in the photo, in her early twenties. Before she met her husband. She was smiling without a care in the world. She looked so happy and so young in that picture. It had been taken in a park. Ivy didn't know which one. She wished she did.

    If only she could smile the way that her mother had. If only the world didn't seem like it was against her.

    "Mom, what do I do?"

AA's Rambling Corner

- Okay\, that sucked even more than I thought it would... sorry for the lousy plot so far\, guys. -_- Tell me how you liked it (even if you didn't)!

- I'll gladly accept any thoughts.

- Hopefully\, I can do this without giving up!! It mainly depends on the support I get\, so if you guys don't like the way it's going\, just tell me and I'll stop the story.

- BTW\, if you've read Kaichou wa Maid-sama! by Fujiwara Hiro [and if you haven't you really should!!! It's been translated from Japanese to English on MangaSoul and Manganelo]\, you might be noticing some similarites!!)

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***