[Ford House]

Since Nora had absolutely nothing important to do that day besides admiring herself in the mirror, her peaceful moment was suddenly interrupted by the nonstop buzzing of her phone.

Her brows furrowed in irritation.

"Why are they being so noisy?" she muttered while reaching for the device beside her.

The notifications were all coming from one particular group chat.

Curious, Nora immediately opened it.

Eli: [Ivy agreed to come to the get together. She even said she’s looking forward to seeing everyone.]

Nora’s brows slowly knitted together as she reread the message carefully.

Then more notifications appeared.

Polly: [Now this is what I call entertainment.] followed by a laughing emoji.

That response alone made Olivia smirk from the other side of the chat.

Olivia: [Nora, you better not go soft on her after everything she did to you.]

The corners of Nora’s lips slowly curled upward.

She quickly typed a response.

Nora: [No, I’m actually happy Ivy is coming. It’s about time we let go of the past and try being friends again.]

The message was so perfectly polite that anyone reading it would immediately assume she was the victim trying to reconcile.

Exactly the image Nora always maintained.

Olivia replied almost instantly.

Olivia: [There you go again, acting all forgiving and kind. You can do whatever you want, but I’m definitely not being nice to her.]

Olivia had been close friends with Nora for years.

And according to the version of events Nora had carefully fed her over time, Ivy was the selfish outsider who constantly mistreated Nora inside her own home.

Naturally, Olivia had grown to despise Ivy without ever questioning the full story.

Another message soon appeared.

Polly: [Same here. She may have agreed to come, but I doubt she’ll survive the gathering for long.]

Nora’s smile widened further while reading their reactions.

Over the years, she had carefully built the image of herself as the kind and neglected daughter while portraying Ivy as unstable, jealous, and difficult.

And unfortunately for Ivy, she had always been too straightforward and emotionally impulsive to defend herself properly.

By the time Ivy tried explaining anything, Nora would already have twisted the situation enough to make herself look innocent.

Honestly speaking, manipulating people had never been difficult for Nora.

Especially when they already wanted to believe her.

Resting her chin against her hand, Nora stared thoughtfully at the group chat.

’So Ivy finally decided to show herself again,’ she thought slowly as a strange excitement flickered in her eyes.

She had honestly expected Ivy to avoid the gathering entirely after disappearing from their social circle for so long.

But now that Ivy had agreed to come willingly... things suddenly became interesting.

Very interesting.

Her fingers lightly tapped against the phone screen as a new thought crossed her mind.

She quickly typed on her phone and sent a message before returning to admire her.

***

[Globe International]

"Have you explained everything to Lola?" Xander asked calmly while reviewing the documents on his desk.

However, the moment he looked up and saw Taylor’s expression, his eyes twitched faintly.

Taylor still had not recovered from his meeting with Lola earlier.

The man stood there smiling like a lovesick idiot, completely ignoring the deadpan stare directed at him by his boss.

Xander silently watched him for several seconds.

Then he finally cleared his throat.

"Ahem."

Taylor blinked and slowly snapped back to reality.

The second he realized Xander was staring directly at him, his entire body stiffened awkwardly.

"Oh, Boss," Taylor coughed lightly while instantly straightening himself. "Miss Lola has already been informed about everything. She said she’ll personally take care of Miss Ivy."

Xander simply nodded and returned his attention to the files in front of him.

But instead of ending the conversation there, Taylor’s expression slowly turned troubled.

"...But who’s going to take care of Miss Lola?" he muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?" Xander suddenly asked from the side, clearly hearing him despite the whisper.

Taylor immediately looked conflicted.

Then he forced out an awkward smile.

"Boss," he started cautiously, "I still think we should encourage Miss Ivy to pursue another career instead of modeling."

Xander finally looked up again.

Taylor sighed dramatically before continuing.

"Didn’t you see how dangerous her walk was?"

The moment he mentioned it, the memory of the video Benny had secretly sent him resurfaced in Taylor’s mind.

He still remembered almost choking on water after watching Ivy attempt a runway walk inside the mansion.

Unfortunately, his reaction had ended up attracting Xander’s attention too.

And once Xander saw the video personally...

Even he had gone silent for several seconds.

A rare moment, honestly.

Meanwhile, Xander’s expression subtly stiffened after recalling the same memory.

A trace of uncertainty briefly crossed his mind.

But he quickly pushed it aside.

"She asked for this herself," he replied calmly. "There’s nothing I can do now."

Taylor stared at him in disbelief.

’Yes, there is,’ he screamed internally. ’You literally own Globe Entertainment.’

If Xander wanted to stop the entire thing, all it would take was a single sentence.

Which was exactly why Taylor found this situation so shocking.

Xander ignored Taylor’s suspicious stare and returned his attention to the documents on his desk.

For a while, the office remained quiet except for the sound of papers turning and keyboards clicking.

Then suddenly—

Ping.

A notification appeared on Xander’s phone resting beside him.

Taylor’s curiosity immediately activated.

Before Xander could even reach for the device, Taylor had already leaned slightly forward to peek at the screen.

"Why is Miss Nora texting you, Boss?" he asked in surprise.

Xander’s brows instantly furrowed.

Despite changing his number before, Nora had somehow managed to get his new contact through Allen.

Honestly, the woman’s persistence was starting to become concerning.

After their last interaction, Xander had assumed Nora would finally understand where she stood and stop contacting him altogether.

Apparently, he had underestimated her determination.

Without wasting another second, Xander picked up the phone, fully intending to block her number immediately again.

But the moment he read the message, his hand paused midway.

Nora: [Mr. Emerson, could you please thank Ivy for agreeing to attend the get together? I haven’t been able to reach her.]

Taylor subtly leaned even closer, trying to read the message properly.

Unfortunately for him—

"Taylor."

Xander’s cold voice instantly made him straighten up like a soldier caught committing treason.

"Yes, Boss."

Xander’s gaze remained fixed on the screen for another second before his expression darkened slightly.

"Get back to work."

Taylor blinked in confusion at the sudden order.

"Huh?"

The temperature inside the office seemed to drop another level when Xander slowly lifted his eyes toward him.

Taylor instantly sensed danger.

"Right away," he answered immediately.

Without daring to ask further questions, he practically sprinted out of the office.

The moment the door shut behind him, silence returned once more.

Xander eyes remained fixated on the screen.

’Get-together’ he muttered to himself.

Xander didn’t wanted to invade in Ivy’s life now that he finally decided to give her things she want to achive. But knowing her sister who earlier tried to poison his mind, he wondered why would she even reach out to him rather then text Ivy herself.

"Maybe I should let Ivy deal with her by herself"

Ivy wasn’t someone who needed protection, and Xander had come to understand it after knowing her for these few days. And if it was Nora she would be dealing with, then maybe he should just sit back and see how she handles it.

***

[Old Emerson Residence]

"You seem to be in quite a good mood today, Master," Butler Ben commented as he stood beside Edward on the balcony overlooking the garden.

A gentle morning breeze passed through the old residence while sunlight spread warmly across the balcony.

Edward slowly nodded, the smile on his face refusing to disappear.

Usually, around this time every year, Edward would lock himself away after returning from the cemetery where he paid respects to his late son and daughter in law.

But today was different.

The moment he returned home, he had asked Butler Ben to join him outside instead of isolating himself in silence.

"I can finally see a little hope, Butler Ben," Edward said quietly while gazing into the distance.

His conversation with Xander earlier in the car kept replaying inside his mind.

No matter how much his grandson tried to deny it, Edward could clearly see the subtle changes in him whenever Ivy was mentioned.

The old butler tilted his head slightly in confusion.

Then Edward suddenly added with complete seriousness,

"Maybe arranging for Xander to get laid years ago wasn’t such a terrible decision after all."

The smile on his face widened proudly.

Meanwhile, Butler Ben nearly choked on air before quickly coughing into his hand.

"...Master," he said helplessly. "You really shouldn’t phrase it like that."

Edward only laughed softly.

It was then Butler Ben finally realized the true reason behind Edward’s unusually good mood.

After meeting Ivy personally, both of them had slowly come to the same realization.

Ivy was honest.

The way she openly admitted her mistakes regarding Leo already spoke volumes about her character.

Most people would have hidden behind excuses or pride. But Ivy did not.

Instead she accept her mistake and even promise to make tit up for it. And somehow, that sincerity had gradually softened even Xander.

"It really has been a long time since Young Master looked comfortable around someone," Butler Ben admitted thoughtfully.

Edward nodded in agreement.

"Exactly."

"Then does this mean Young Master Leo might soon have a sibling?" A mischievous look suddenly appeared in Butler Ben’s eyes.

Edward’s eyes instantly brightened.

"Very possible," he answered confidently while nodding in satisfaction. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

The moment those words left his mind both Ivy and Xander sneezed in their respective workplace

"Achoo!"

Both of them paused briefly in confusion, completely unaware that two old men elsewhere were already planning the future of the Emerson bloodline with far too much enthusiasm.