Without another glance, he turned around and calmly walked away, leaving the devastated family behind.

Cries filled the room.

Mrs. Blare sobbed uncontrollably over her wounded son.

The pregnant woman continued clutching her stomach while breathing heavily.

****

How’s the pregnant woman doing, System? Ivy asked inwardly, worry evident in her expression.

Although she had heard every word exchanged downstairs between Desmond and the Blare family, she knew intervening personally is not right especially when she is pretending to be on Desmond side, want him to trust her.

Ding!

{She’s going to be okay, Host.}

Relief washed over Ivy’s face.

{The baby is safe, and so is the mother. I stabilized her condition, eased the pain, and prevented any internal bleeding.}

{She absolutely cannot give birth yet. It would be a premature delivery, and this is the apocalypse. Without proper medical equipment, medicine, or neonatal care, the baby’s chances of survival would be incredibly slim. So I temporarily suppressed the early labour symptoms.}

That’s a relief...

A faint smile appeared on Ivy’s face.

Thank you, System.

{You’re welcome, Host.}

Just then...

Footsteps echoed from the staircase.

Ivy immediately lifted her head.

Desmond slowly walked toward her.

Unlike the terrifying man who had just threatened innocent people moments ago, he now wore a gentle smile that looked almost sincere.

"I’m sorry you had to witness all of that," he began quietly, genuine regret seemingly filling his voice. "I didn’t want you seeing something so ugly."

He sighed before rubbing the back of his neck.

"My family’s... complicated."

He forced out a bitter chuckle.

"Things got a little heated downstairs."

His smile returned.

"But don’t worry."

"I’ve already taken care of it."

"I see..." Ivy replied calmly, carefully hiding every emotion threatening to surface.

Desmond walked over to the window before speaking again.

"They’re always looking for an excuse to blame me," he said bitterly.

"They’ve done it my entire life."

He laughed softly, though there wasn’t an ounce of happiness in it.

"I was born as an illegitimate child... born out of wedlock."

"My biological mother abandoned me."

"My father’s legal wife adopted me, but she never treated me like family."

His eyes darkened.

"She and her children looked down on me every single day."

"I never received the love I deserved."

"I was constantly reminded that I didn’t belong."

His fists slowly clenched.

"Do you have any idea how much that hurts?"

He paused before continuing.

"And now that the apocalypse has begun..."

"They still expect me to obey them."

"They still think I’ll risk my life to save theirs."

A bitter scoff escaped him.

"She claimed I murdered her husband."

His eyes turned icy.

"But what she conveniently forgot to mention was that her husband planned to sacrifice me first."

"He wanted to throw me to the monsters so everyone else could escape."

"So I made my move first."

His expression remained unreadable.

"I sacrificed him instead."

He laughed mockingly.

"And somehow..."

"I’m the villain."

He slowly turned toward Ivy.

"Tell me."

"Was I supposed to stand there and die for people who never once treated me like family?"

He shook his head.

"This is the apocalypse."

"The old world is gone."

"I don’t care about anyone anymore."

"As far as I’m concerned..."

"I don’t have a family."

"But you do have one now," Ivy replied immediately, her voice gentle yet firm.

Desmond looked at her.

"You’re part of my family now."

A warm smile appeared on Ivy’s face.

It looked completely genuine.

Yet her eyes remained unreadable.

I just have to keep pretending...

At least until I uncover exactly what you’re hiding, Desmond, she thought inwardly, swallowing nervously.

Desmond raised an eyebrow before letting out a quiet scoff.

"I’m part of your family?"

He studied her carefully.

"Are you really sure about that?"

"What do you mean?" Ivy asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

Desmond’s smile slowly faded.

"You say I’m family..."

He took another step closer.

"But it feels like you’re constantly on guard around me."

His sharp gaze locked onto hers.

"Or..."

He tilted his head slightly.

"...am I wrong?"

Fuck...

Ivy cursed inwardly.