Portier-K'alani family home, San Diego, the following morning...

Gentle reader, if you pardon me to make a small detour regarding Asha Montrose. If there is anything you need to know about her aside from her being the former friend of one Ivy Levine; she was known to be beautiful, sensible, and very atypical to the aspiring model stereotype.

She came from a strong family that was known to be full of diversity, given that she was not only related to the Deveraux family lineage of Louisiana but also had strong ties to the K'alani family of Samoa and Tonga and also the Portier family of Mississippi- all three clans living alongside Southern California stretching from Los Angeles to San Diego.

She was also dedicated to her studies at UC Irvine where she was majoring in finances while attending photoshoots and modeling go-sees as directed by her agent who encouraged her to continue her studies and have a backup plan in case her modeling aspirations went nowhere.

And she was known to be a good friend who stuck by her principles as taught to her by her late paternal grandfather (a preacher who was devout to his faith). "Never let anyone dictate your future or use you to their advantages," he would remind her when she was a little girl. "Never be restricted to what people say that you are and what you're not. But most of all, never be friends with anyone who is too toxic in their ways."

That last statement was all the more apparent when she cut ties with Ivy Levine after the fiasco at Mama Kaneva's Coffee and Treats. She and Candide knew that Antoine's words would ring true in some way or another after he cursed the egotistical influencer. And when the time came, all she would do was say "I told you so."

****************

"Thanks so much for tagging along with me, Candy," Asha said gratefully as the duo made through her aunt Estelle's mini-mansion where the place was full of laughter and enjoyment. "You honestly have no idea how I could use this weekend getaway after what Levine pulled yesterday."

"That's for sure," Candide agreed, nodding twice while waving hello at two of Asha's pre-school twin female cousins who were having a breakfast-themed tea party with their dolls as their mother was on her computer for a video conference call. "Your family was cool enough to let me  come with you since my parents are out on business. I'd stayed with Mrs. Levine and Ivy, but I remember that I'm blackballed in Ivy's eyes."

"True," Asha hummed as the duo arrived in the kitchen where the head matriarch and her Samoan husband Horatio (a large former wrestler were cooking the last of the waffles while her older twin cousins Jerome and Jace (both of them EMT workers) were chatting with Jace's wife Nia. "Hey, y'all."

"Asha, Candide," Estelle crooned in her French patois while serving the girls their food. "So the incident with Antoine and the coffee shop regarding Ivy Levine's true, yes?"

"It's true," Nia replied as Reva K'alani (a female wrestler who was also a college student at Pepperdine) joined them as she carried her laptop computer. "I got the footage from Instagram. Looks like Levine's heading downhill with all her followers dropping her like flies, last time I checked."

"Serves her right," Reva grunted as she opened her laptop. "I heard her sponsors are also turning on her. Turns out that they are big fans of Mama Kaneva's and some of them stopped by for their coffee breaks and lunches."

"Won't be long before Ivy will become yesterday's news and a bigger pariah than she already is," Jerome noted, pausing to sip on his glass of orange juice. "Her mom's a saint to put up with her bull, but I wouldn't be surprised if Olivia Levine's ready to give her eldest daughter the boot."

"Wonder why Ivy's so anti-male and homophobic," Horatio asked.

Before Asha could reply, the house phone began to ring. "All right, y'all, put all your devices on hold," Estelle announced, knowing that the wifi and the phone couldn't run together. "We got a phone call."

"Just finished my paper," Reva said. "And it's submitted."

"Finished my conference call," came the voice of the mother in the den where her twin daughters were having their tea party. "All good."

"Same for us," Jace replied as he, his twin, and his wife turned off their wifi.

Estelle picked up the phone. "Hello?" she answered. "Yes, Asha's right here. Hold on."

Asha looked confused as she took the phone. "Hello?" she said. "Hey, Mrs. Levine. What's going on? Uh-huh. Yeah, I remember what happened. Well, Candy and I are- hello? Hello? Mrs. Levine?"

She looked around. "Who's on the internet?" she hollered. "I'm on the phone."

"My bad," came the voice of her cousin Marcus from upstairs. "I was streaming with my homeboys. I'm now off. Go ahead, Asha."

"Thank you," she said before returning to her phone call. "Sorry about that, Mrs. L. My cousin's on the internet, that's why I can't hear you."

"What's happening?" Candide asked, setting her half-finished plate of food to the side. "Asha, what's going on with Mrs. Levine."

"Hold on," Reva said.

"Yeah, Candy and I can be there," Asha said after a bit. "Yeah. I called it, Mrs. Levine. It's about damn time that- of course. Reap what you sow. We'll be there in two hours after Candy and I pack. All right, then. Did you call up Mariah and Ebony? Good. Have them meet up at your place. We're on the way right now. Bye!"

Asha hung up. "Good grief!" she exclaimed.

"Who was that?!" Nia asked, chocolate eyes lit in confusion.

"That was Mrs. Levine," Asha remarked, eyes wide as saucers. "Remember what happened at the coffee shop and Antoine's curse?! Well, it came to pass and now...well, let's just say that Ivy Levine is no longer around as we speak."

"No way," Candy breathed. "You don't mean-"

Asha nodded as she downed the last of her milk. "That's right, Candide," she intoned. "Ivy got her wish and it's irrevocable."

"Then we better move the hell out right now," the redheaded replied. "This is something that I gotta see for myself."

"You girls pack your things," Estelle directed as she fluttered around in the kitchen. "I'll pack a little something for you to take to Mrs. Levine and your other friends in LA. No doubt that they'll need to eat something and talk about  what's going on."

"I'll bet," Asha agreed as she and Candide headed upstairs to pack. Well, Ivy, I can only imagine how much damage you received from Antoine Deveraux, she thought as she headed to her guest bedroom to change clothes and pack her briefcases. Don't blame me for the mess you created. It's all custom-made by your hand, now you gotta pay the full price.

*****************

Levine residence, two hours later...

"We're here," Asha hollered as she and Candy brought in trays of Estelle's famous muffins that the older woman made the day before.

"We're in here," came Ebony's voice from the large family room. "Mariah's ten minutes away since she's been with her parents for brunch. I just got here myself."

Asha and Candide soon entered the family room where they were greeted by their Cuban-American friend while the maids took the muffins away. They also said hello to Mrs. Levine as well as Ciara and Lorelei. "So, what's the scoop?"

"I was the first one to see what happened," Ciara, a raven-haired young woman who resembled her father, said. "Lorelei and I were already in bed when Ivy came home, but even we already knew what was going on after Mom showed us the video of the fiasco from the coffeehouse. Anyway, I was the first one to wake up and was out of the shower with plans for a quick jog around the block when I heard the screams. I raced to Ivy's bedroom...and got a good look of-"

There were a set of footsteps coming down the stairs before they were soon growing louder. A string of curses from an unfamiliar voice and then...

"Holy shit," Candide breathed as she and Asha's mouths dropped low. They were soon staring at a young man who looked out of place as he wore a thin bathrobe that covered his entire naked glory. He was well-built yet had a slender lower body. His skin was a bit tanner while his strawberry-blonde hair was cut low enough to be called a crewcut. His face was the stuff that women would fawn over while the men would dream of punching: square jawline, slightly-plumped lips, and a small beard that was beginning to form.

But the one thing that captivated everyone's attention was how his eyes were similar to the other members of the Levine family: a shade of blue that was nearly close to the blue coming from the Mediterranean Sea.

He was the epitome of every woman's dream fantasy.

He was the vision of masculinity that even Michaelangelo would weep over.

And Asha recognized him at once judging how she saw the familiar crescent-shaped birthmark under his neck. "Ivy!" she exclaimed.

"Ivy's no more," came the voice of Antoine Deveraux as he and his mother, both dressed in matching blues, came into the room. "Say hello, cousin dearest, to Ian Vincent Levine!"

The young man turned to glare at the non-plussed Antoine. "What is this?" he growled.

"Justice," Mrs. Deveraux purred. "And my, young man, my son did pretty good work.

Asha couldn't believe what she was seeing. And gentle reader, there was only one thing she could do at a time like this: she felt her legs give out as she went down like falling timber.

Of course, there will be more to the story in due time. So turn to the next chapter if you dare...or even better, if you don't.

Don't even think about getting comfortable just yet, folks. There's going to be more to come in the next chapter as Ivy's life as Ian is about to begin. And starting now, Ivy Levine is no more and Ian Levine is in full play until the end of the final chapter.

Dedicating this chapter to T_A_Onkowe and unleashed-sin. Media: "Supernatural Voodoo Woman" by the Originals.

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