By the ti Ivy stepped out of the bathroom, Xander was already awake.
The mont she saw the solemn expression on his face and her phone in his hand, the corner of her mouth twitched.
"Soone wants to et you," he said as soon as he noticed her.
Although his tone was calm, Ivy could easily hear the underlying displeasure.
Still, his gaze softened as he watched her climb back into bed and settle beside him.
Taking the phone from his hand, Ivy glanced at the screen.
Kevin.
A sigh escaped her lips.
"Should I feel threatened by this?" Xander asked, finally turning to face her fully.
His expression remained composed, but Ivy could sense the insecurity beneath it.
Xander had never considered himself a possessive man.
At least, not before Ivy.
But ever since she had entered his life, he found himself becoming wary of every man who got too close to her.
It didn’t help that Percy had inford him about Kevin visiting Lola’s apartnt while Ivy and Sal had been there. Then there was Kevin’s strange statent the other day.
And now this ssage.
Everything felt connected.
Too connected.
Ivy looked at him before setting the phone aside on the nightstand.
"No," she said gently. "You have absolutely nothing to feel threatened about."
"But he was your crush."
Xander rembered reading it in the information Taylor had given him.
At the ti, he had dismissed it as an old schoolgirl crush.
He never expected Kevin to reappear in Ivy’s life, much less beco soone she worked with.
The thought of Ivy still harboring feelings for him made Xander unexpectedly territorial.
A smile tugged at Ivy’s lips.
For so reason, seeing Xander jealous was oddly amusing.
"As you said," she replied, "he *was* my crush."
The emphasis made Xander pause.
Ivy shifted closer and wrapped both hands around his arm before resting her chin on his shoulder.
"Now I only have eyes for one person."
Xander blinked.
"And who would that be?" he asked, though the hopeful look in his eyes betrayed him.
Ivy rolled her eyes.
"You."
The single word hit him harder than he expected.
Every trace of jealousy vanished instantly.
"M-?" he stamred.
Ivy couldn’t help laughing. "Yes, you." She squeezed his arm.
"We agreed to give this relationship a real chance. That ans there isn’t room for my old crush or anyone else." Her voice was firm and sincere.
For a mont, Xander simply stared at her. Then a smile slowly appeared on his face. A genuine one, and the sight made Ivy arch an eyebrow.
"But I’m still upset with you." Imdiately, the smile disappeared.
Xander frowned. "What did I do now?" His confusion was so genuine that Ivy almost laughed.
Instead, she pulled away from him and crossed her arms. The pout on her face made Xander’s heart skip a beat.
She was adorable.
And unfortunately for him, she knew it.
"Why didn’t you tell that you found the n who attacked us that night?" The question caught him off guard.
Ivy recalled Sal telling her who learned from those guards talking outside his guest house.
Xander watched her, but instead of denying it, he decided to answer honestly.
"I didn’t tell you because I didn’t have any useful answers."
Ivy frowned. "What do you an?"
Xander exhaled heavily. "I thought finding them would lead straight to the person behind the attack. " His expression darkened. "But it wasn’t that simple."
"There were no leads?"
"Almost none."
His frustration was evident. For soone used to solving problems, the lack of progress irritated him more than he cared to admit.
After a mont, he looked directly at her. "That attack wasn’t ant for ."
Ivy blinked. Then realization dawned on her face.
"Wait." Her eyes widened.
"Don’t tell it was ant for ."
Xander’s silence was answer enough, and Ivy couldn’t help but stared at him in disbelief.
"Just what have I done to deserve being attacked like that?" suddenly a dry laugh left her lips
The question was mostly directed at her. But when she looked up and found Xander watching her intently, her smile faded. Sothing about his gaze made her uneasy.
"Why are you looking at like that?"
Xander didn’t answer imdiately. His eyes carefully studied her face.
Every reaction. Every expression. As if he were trying to solve a puzzle.
Ivy narrowed her eyes, and then a sudden thought crossed her mind. "Wait a second."
Xander remained silent. The silence only made her more suspicious.
"Are you doubting ?"
The question hung between them. For several seconds, neither spoke. Then Xander sighed.
"I don’t think you’re involved in whatever happened."
His voice was calm.
"But I do think there’s sothing about your past that neither of us knows."
Ivy’s expression froze. The words instantly reminded her of the nightmare she had just woken from.
The blood. The little girl. The gunshot. And the strange feeling that it wasn’t rely a dream.
Xander noticed the change in her expression.
"Who are you, Ivy?"
His words caught her off guard.
The truth was, Ivy didn’t know everything about herself either.
Ever since waking up in this body, she had only seen scattered fragnts of mories—small glimpses that helped her understand enough to survive and navigate the life she had inherited.
But there were still countless gaps.
Questions with no answers. And now, hearing Xander ask about her past made a thought surface in her mind.
Who was Ivy, really?
The question lingered longer than she expected.
"It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it."
Xander’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. When she looked up, she found him watching her with a gentle smile.
There was no pressure in his eyes. Only patience.
Xander simply wanted to know her better—not the information he had gathered through investigations or reports, but the person sitting in front of him.
And if she wasn’t ready to share, he was willing to wait.
Ivy’s chest tightened. Seeing him like this only made her feel worse.
What was she supposed to tell him when she herself didn’t know the answers?
There were things she could explain and things she couldn’t. Things she understood and things that remained a mystery even to her.
For a mont, she lowered her gaze. Then she reached for his hand. But she would tell him everything she had finally co to understand about herself.
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