Ivy sank into her bubble bath. She was in a very good mood. She sipped the champagne that she had brought to her. Ivy picked up her phone and dialed.

“ Hello?” the person at the other end said crossly.

” Michelle, it’s Ivy.”

” Ivy? Ivy, I’m on a date. A really GOOD one.”

” Michelle, you can have other dates. I need you in Harmony tomorrow.”

” Ivy, can’t this wait?”

” No. I need to here in Harmony. Julian’s agreed to a settlement.”

” You’ve agreed to the divorce?”

” Hell no. I’m getting the settlement anyway.”

” Ivy, this is confusing, I’ll call you later.”

“ Michelle, it’s for fifty million.”

There was silence on the other end. It went on so long, Ivy thought they had been disconnected. “ Michelle, you still there?”

” Did you say what I thought you said?”

” Yep.”

” It’ll take me 12 minutes to get home. I’ll call you back then.”

Ivy hung up the phone and relaxed.

Eleven minutes later her phone rang.

” Hello Michelle.”

” Did you say fifty million?”

” Yes. “

” Ivy, how?”

” I told you that if you gave me enough time, I could find what I needed to blackmail Julian.”

” You’re blackmailing him? I don’t want to know anymore, Ivy. I’m an Officer of the Court.”

” Yeah, well, Officer, I think one-third should qualm any nerves you have about my dealings with Julian.”

” Ivy, fifty million is a steep figure. Maybe Julian will wake up tomorrow and say that he’d rather reveal what you know.”

” Uh-uh. Not this. He has too much to lose.”

” Well, if that’s the case, I’ll be there by 9 a.m. I’ll need a jet chartered. “

” It’s already waiting for you on stand-by.”

” Good. How do you want the payments?”

” I want five different payments, to five different accounts: the one in Nevada, the Caymans, Paraguay, Switzerland, and Kuala Lumpur.”

” And, Julian’s agreed to drop the divorce action.”

” It is going to vanish.”

” What about that red-headed hoochie that thinks she’s going to be the next Mrs. Julian Crane?”

” Julian’s taking care of her tonight. “

” Ivy, you’re one helluva client. I honestly didn’t think you were going to be able to pull this off.”

” Just between us? Neither did I. But, I can’t thank you enough Michelle. Without your maneuvering, the Cranes would have steamrolled over me.”

” Oh, you’ll thank me with that fee.”

” We’ll share a bottle of champagne once we stick it to Julian tomorrow. See you at 9.”

” Bye, Ivy.”
 

“ Pookie, I’m glad you came to bed. I’ve been waiting awhile.”

Julian looked at Rebecca. She was ready and willing. But, he had things to do.

” Rebecca, get dressed.”

” What? Why? We’re going out?”

” No, we aren’t going out. You’re moving out.”

” Moving, why?”

” It’s over, Rebecca.”

” Over?”

” I’m not divorcing Ivy. Not now, not for the foreseeable future. We’re through. I’ll send some maids up to help you pack.”

” PACK? Where am I supposed to go?”

” I don’t know.”

” Julian, what has gotten into you?”

“ I’m not divorcing Ivy, and she doesn’t want you in this house. She is Mrs. Julian Crane, after all.”

“ I’M supposed to be the next Mrs. Crane.”

” There will be no ‘next’ Mrs. Crane.”

” Julian, I divorced Jonathan for you!”

” Not my problem, Rebecca. We had a good time. Good time is over. We’re through. I want you out of this house in three hours, and never come back.”

” Julian…”

“ It’s over.”

“ You can’t do this to me!”

” I just did.”, Julian said coldly as he exited his bedroom. He needed a friendly face.
 

“ You know..” kiss “ You are the sexiest woman alive.” Kiss kiss, Luis said, as he kissed Sheridan.

“ I’ve missed you, Luis. It’s been tough without you.”

” Couldn’t have been any worse than me trying to live without you. Sheridan, I love you. I hate your brother. Mistrust him as much as I can breathe, but I love you. I don’t have to like it, but I understand you trying to be a family with him. I think it’s a waste, but you have to learn for yourself.”

” Why does that sound so patronizing, Luis?”, Sheridan said, with a little fury in her voice.

” It’s not patronizing. You want me to be honest with you. I’m being honest. I don’t see these new spots on Julian that you see. My loyalty is to you. I’m thinking about you. I don’t give a crap about your happy Crane family. Don’t make me pretend something I don’t feel.”

Sheridan looked at Luis. She knew he was being honest. Honesty counted above all else for them. After had so many lies in her life, honesty is brutal sometimes, but it’s refreshing. She had to accept it.

” Ok. I understand. So, are we going to spend a marvelous night together, making it up to one another?” Sheridan answered her question by pulling Luis in for a deep and heavy kiss. Just then, Luis’ beeper went off, and there was a knock at the door. They separated and looked at one another with disgust.

“ I’ll get the door.”, Sheridan said. She went to the door and opened it. “ Julian?”

” Sheridan, I need to talk to you.”, Julian said, rushing into the cottage. He saw Luis and stopped in his tracks.

” Um, hello, Luis.”

” Julian.”

” I, sort of need to talk to Sheridan.”

” Ordinarily, I’d say tough, but, “ Luis turned to Sheridan. “ That was the station. There’s been a bad train wreck. They need every available Officer. I’ll probably be gone all night.”

” Sorry.”, Sheridan told him. Luis kissed Sheridan and left the Cottage. Julian was by the bar.

“ I thought you were going to cut down on that.”, Sheridan scolded Julian.

Julian put it down. “ You’re right. I have to be sober to face my enemies.”

” Julian, what enemies.”

” Well, I guess you’ll be the first to know. I’ve called off the divorce to Ivy.”

” Called it off? Why?”

” Because, my dear wife likes being Mrs. Julian Crane. Not only is the divorce off, but I’m forking over a nice settlement to Wifey-Dear.”

“ Julian….”

” Sheridan, she knows about Eve. She threatened to tell the world, unless we stayed married. So, I’m giving in.”

” Julian?”

” Sheridan, if she tells, and the truth is revealed, Eve will lose her baby, and Chad will never forgive me. If I cost him a relationship with his unborn sibling over MONEY?”

Sheridan finally connected the dots. “ Oh.”

” Yes, ‘oh’. I have to do whatever I can to help my son, Sheridan. This family has let him down all his life. This, I can do for him.”

” Julian, it’s not that bad. You weren’t in love with Rebecca. You were angrier with Ivy about Ethan. Outside of that, you have to admit, Ivy’s been the perfect Crane wife.”

Julian snorted. “ Outside of that, Sheridan? Is this a joke? The woman robbed me of my son!”

” Only if you let her. You can have a relationship with Ethan if you want. It’s up to you. It’s always been up to you, Julian.”

” I know.”

” So, perk up. You did what you had to do, Julian. You protected Chad. You’ve never lacked female companionship, Julian. Rebecca won’t be that big a loss.”

” So true. Sheridan, could we have dinner here? I don’t feel like going back to the house just yet. I want to be with company who actually likes me.”

” Sure, Julian. We can eat the dinner Luis and I were going to have.”

” Sounds good.”
 

Chad looked at Theresa. He looked into her big brown eyes. She wanted to comfort him, and he needed it. He kissed her on the lips with a passion that Theresa never expected. Then, his mouth devoured her naked body. Theresa was stunned at the ferocity of his passion. She had been with Ethan, and though their lovemaking had been tender, it didn’t have this kind of fierceness. Theresa wasn’t naïve  - she knew that Chad needed her, but she wanted him. His desperation spoke to something inside of her. She knew that desperate feeling, even though she hid it from so many people. When you get that kind of desperate, you don’t tell anyone. You can’t. She knew that about Chad, and it was something she would use if she had to in order to become Mrs. Crane.