Surprise

Ivy tiptoed up the grand staircase, her bare feet silent against the cool marble. The third floor really felt… forgotten. The air grew colder the higher she climbed, carrying with it the faint scent of dust, old parchment, and something… floral? Gardenia? No. Something older. Older than even this place.

She paused in front of the hallway the maid had described. The painting of the ship loomed ominously on the wall, its masts cracked, sails torn, and storm clouds rolling overhead. It felt like a grave where she had to be reverent. It felt like somebody's resting place.

“Why am I being so damn cautious?”

She rolled her eyes at herself but did not speed up.“ Ahh…it feels like I am officially inside a gothic novel,” Ivy muttered under her breath.

The door creaked open when she pushed it, the sound echoing like a scream in a canyon. Too loud for her comfort!

The room was massive. Towering bookshelves stretched up towards a vaulted ceiling painted with fading frescoes of constellations and angels locked in celestial battles. A spiral staircase coiled around a central pillar like a metal vine, leading to a second level of shelves above.

Dust motes danced in the shafts of light filtering through stained glass windows lined with portraits of stern faced men and women who looked like they would rather stab her than smile at her. Their eyes seemed to follow her as she passed, judging… just like those paintings downstairs.

Creepy as hell!!!

The scent of old paper and leather hit her instantly…intoxicating.

Her breath caught.

She looked around. The ceiling was crammed with leather bound tomes, their spines embossed in gold. Ladders on rails.But that was not the strangest part.

Between the shelves stood stone sarcophagi, their surfaces carved with intricate, unsettling designs. Angels with hollow eyes. Demons with too many teeth. Ivy’s fingers twitched at her side, torn between the urge to touch and the instinct to run.

What the hell kind of library was this?

But she stepped further inside nevertheless, the floor creaking under her weight. More dust motes swirled in the slanted sunlight, catching like fireflies.

Her fingers trailed along a row of books, the leather cool beneath her touch. She hummed softly under her breath…a tune she did not quite recall, one that had been stuck in her head since the maid had walked away.

“Where did I hear this before?”

And then…

A sound.

Then…

A whisper of movement.

Ivy froze.

Her pulse spiked.

She was not alone.

Her first instinct was to bolt. But curiosity was a stubborn b***h.

The hair on her arms stood up. Her breath hitched but she spun around, eyes scanning the room.

“Hello?” she called, voice barely above a whisper.

Nothing.

Silence.

Then…a thud.

She nearly bolted this time for sure.She turned a corner around a tall shelf.

Something moved in the shadows.

“I swear to God, if this is some Scooby Doo kinda trap, I am leaving…please don't kill me,” she hissed, clutching a heavy book like a weapon,ready to strike.

She figures the sound was coming from the far corner, behind a shelf of ancient looking grimoires.

Ivy swallowed hard and forced her legs to move. One step. Then another.

The air grew colder.

Her skin prickled.

She rounded the next corner…

“ Geez!”

Axel stood there, arms crossed, leaning against the shelves like he had been waiting for her.

“I….AHHH!” She spun, jumped, lost her footing.Ivy’s heart lurched into her throat. She stumbled back, her elbow knocking into a precarious stack of books. The whole shelf wobbled dangerously.

Axel moved faster than should have been possible. One hand shot out to steady the shelf, the other snagged her wrist, yanking her forward before she could face plant into a sarcophagus.“The hell are you doing?” he growled, his grip tight.

Ivy wrenched her arm free, glaring. “Me?” Her face was inches from Axel’s.Her hand was pressed flat against his chest, his arm banded tight around her back, fingers splayed against the bare skin just below her bikini top, where the shrug had slipped open.

And then…

“You…” she gasped. “You asshole!”

He did not let her go. His eyes…stormy, unreadable…roamed her face, then flicked to her lips, then back again. Ivy swore her heart stopped beating.

“What are you doing lurking in here like some kind of…”

“Like some kind of what?” His voice dropped, low and dangerous.

But she did not back down. “Like a stalker.”

His lips twitched. Not quite a smile. More like a challenge. “You followed the sound, sweetheart. That’s on you.Besides…this is my house.”

She tried to squirm free, but he did not move, did not loosen his grip.

And suddenly, the air between them changed.

Her breath caught again…but not from fear this time.

Axel’s gaze had softened, but something darker smoldered underneath. Like restraint.

Her fingers curled against his chest, suddenly hyper aware of the heat between them. His thumb moved absently against her lower back, drawing slow circles.

Ivy swallowed. Hard.

She should pull back. Say something sarcastic. Shove him away.

But instead…

“You okay?” he asked, voice low.

“No,” she said truthfully. “I think I am losing my mind.” She was being absolutely honest.

His jaw ticked. “You are not. But yeah… This house can mess with your head.”

Their eyes locked again.And for one dizzying second, Ivy was sure he was going to kiss her.

His gaze flicked to her lips again, and hers parted slightly, instinctively.

It felt like he leaned in… she closed her eyes… anticipating… and then…

"Surprise!"

A shrill voice shattered the moment.

Ivy jerked back as Ashley, Mason, and Beatrice (the blonde who sat beside Ivy at the poolside dare game. She did not know her name back then but now she did) came barging into the library. Their footsteps echoed too loudly in the sacred silence. Disruptive.

Axel's grip on Ivy tightened for a split second…possessive? Before he let go, stepping back like she gave him blisters.

Ivy’s face flamed. Her heart was still pounding, but now for an entirely different reason.

What the hell was that?

Ashley’s sharp eyes flicked between them, taking in Ivy’s flushed cheeks, Axel’s clenched jaw, the way they stood too close. A slow, knowing smirk curled her lips.

"Well, well," she drawled. "Looks like we interrupted something."

Mason let out a low whistle, while Beatrice just blinked, looking vaguely uncomfortable. Beatrice’s platinum blonde hair caught the light as she gave Ivy a deliberately curious once over. Like she was jealous? Disgusted?

Mason looked half bored, half annoyed, like he had been dragged into this.

“What…what’s going on?” Ivy finally asked, her voice hoarse.

Ashley grinned, clearly enjoying the awkwardness. “We came to check on you. You know, since you were sick and all.”Ashley gave a low chuckle. “You look fine now. Better than fine, actually.” She c****d a brow. “So… since you are not dying, how about we go out? There’s a game in the old arcade room. We were heading there anyway.”

Axel’s voice cut in, cold and sharp. "You don’t just walk into people’s houses uninvited."

Ashley batted her lashes. "Oh, but we were invited, Axel. Charles said we could drop by anytime.Some what insisted we dropped by today since it was a day off."

Ivy stiffened.

Charles? Or her mother?

Of course.