A deafening silence filled the private room of the restaurant.

Ivy could practically feel Xander’s gaze fixed on her from across the table.

The problem was—the man hadn’t said a single word since they arrived.

At first, she tried ignoring it by pretending to focus on the menu.

Then she tried drinking water.

Then she even attempted staring out the window.

None of it worked.

Because no matter what she did, she could still feel those sharp eyes on her.

Finally, unable to endure it any longer, Ivy placed the menu down and looked directly at him.

"Did you bring me here just to stare at me?"

Xander remained leaning lazily against his chair, one arm resting on the table while his dark eyes calmly observed her.

Under the warm restaurant lighting, his cold features somehow looked even more unfairly attractive.

And annoyingly enough—

Seeing him look at her like that made Ivy’s heart flutter slightly.

Realizing her own reaction, she quickly looked away.

Unfortunately, that small movement didn’t escape Xander’s notice.

His pupils darkened faintly.

"Am I not allowed to stare?" he asked calmly.

Before Ivy could answer, he added casually—

"Or were you too busy talking to your old crush to notice my texts?"

Ivy immediately snapped her eyes back toward him.

"Excuse me?"

Her disbelief only made Xander raise a brow.

"You heard me."

Ivy stared at him for a second before narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

"I didn’t purposely ignore you," she defended herself. "I just didn’t want Kevin to see us together."

"Why?"

The question came instantly.

Without hesitation.

Ivy blinked at him.

The way Xander looked at her so directly suddenly made her feel oddly cornered.

Since he clearly intended to overthink everything anyway, Ivy decided to answer in the most straightforward way possible.

"Why?" she repeated. "Obviously because we don’t want him knowing about our relationship."

The moment the word left her mouth—

Xander’s entire expression subtly shifted.

"Relationship?" he repeated slowly.

For some strange reason, the irritation sitting heavily in his chest moments ago suddenly disappeared.

Completely.

Meanwhile, Ivy instantly realized what she had just said.

Her eyes widened slightly.

"I-I mean," she corrected herself quickly, "we don’t want unnecessary attention."

But Xander barely seemed to hear the correction.

The faintest curve appeared at the corner of his lips.

Ivy immediately regretted opening her mouth.

"You’re impossible," she muttered under her breath.

Xander leaned back comfortably, looking far too pleased with himself now.

"So," he said casually, "Kevin Herthwart was your crush?"

Ivy nearly choked on her water.

"No!"

Xander gave her a look that clearly said he didn’t believe her at all.

"You looked nervous around him."

"I was not nervous."

"You avoided eye contact several times." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"You were observing that?"

"I observe everything."

Ivy stared at him speechlessly.

This man was genuinely unbelievable.

Xander, however, looked strangely relaxed now compared to earlier.

Truthfully, seeing Kevin walk beside Ivy outside Globe Entertainment had annoyed him far more than he expected.

The two had looked comfortable together.

Familiar.

And Kevin’s attention toward Ivy had been obvious enough to irritate him the entire drive here.

But hearing Ivy casually refer to whatever existed between them as a "relationship" had unexpectedly erased most of that irritation.

Even if she clearly panicked afterward.

"So you liked him," Xander concluded calmly.

Ivy rubbed her forehead tiredly.

"Every girl in school liked Kevin back then," she admitted reluctantly. "He was popular."

"And now?"

The question slipped out naturally.

Ivy looked at him suspiciously.

"Why do you sound invested in this?"

"I’m simply curious."

"You don’t look curious," Ivy muttered. "You look competitive."

For the first time, Xander actually looked mildly offended.

"I don’t compete."

Ivy immediately snorted.

"Sure."

The corner of Xander’s lips twitched faintly.

Then after a brief pause, he asked—

"Was he your first crush?"

Ivy slowly lowered her fork.

"...Why are you interrogating me like this?"

"Because," Xander replied calmly, "I don’t like how familiar he seemed with you."

The blunt honesty in his answer caught Ivy completely off guard.

And somehow that unexpected possessiveness made her ears warm slightly.

Xander watched the way Ivy suddenly avoided his eyes, and the faint redness creeping toward her ears almost made him smile.

Almost.

Instead, he lazily rested his chin against his hand and continued staring at her with obvious amusement.

"So you do get flustered," he murmured.

Ivy instantly looked back at him defensively.

"I am not flustered."

"Hm."

"That ’hm’ was very judgmental."

Xander’s lips twitched faintly. "You’re overthinking it."

"I’m overthinking it?" Ivy repeated in disbelief. "You’ve been interrogating me about Kevin for the past ten minutes."

"And yet," Xander replied calmly, "you answered every question."

Ivy opened her mouth to argue before immediately realizing he was right.

That only made her more annoyed.

Meanwhile, Xander seemed entirely entertained by her reaction now.

The tension from earlier had noticeably faded, replaced by something strangely lighter.

But after a few more seconds, the amusement in his eyes gradually disappeared.

His expression turned serious again.

"About last night," he said suddenly.

The change in tone instantly made Ivy straighten slightly.

Xander leaned back against his chair while lightly tapping his fingers against the table.

"I had my men investigate the vehicles that attacked us."

Ivy’s brows furrowed immediately.

"And?"

"They were following us long before the first hit."

That made Ivy pause. "What do you mean?"

Xander’s gaze darkened slightly.

"They tracked our movements from the moment we left the city area." He looked at her directly. "Which means the attack wasn’t random."

Ivy slowly processed his words.

"They planned it beforehand..."

"Yes."

A brief silence settled between them.

The lighthearted atmosphere from moments ago faded almost completely.

Ivy lowered her gaze toward the untouched food in front of her.

"Did they find out who sent them?"

"Not yet."

The calmness in Xander’s voice somehow made the answer even more unsettling.

"But we captured two men from one of the vehicles," he continued. "Unfortunately, they were only hired hands."

Ivy immediately looked back at him.

"Hired by who?"

"They claimed they never met the real person behind it."

Xander’s expression remained unreadable, but Ivy could sense the dangerous tension hidden underneath his calm exterior.

"They were given orders through an intermediary."

Ivy frowned slightly. "So someone powerful enough to hide themselves properly."

Xander nodded once. "And careful enough not to leave direct traces."

Ivy slowly leaned back against her chair.

For some reason, hearing the details directly from him made last night feel even more real.

She could still remember the sound of tires screeching.

The violent impact against the car.

And the terrifying realization that those people genuinely intended to kill them.

Xander noticed her sudden silence immediately.

"You’re thinking too much again."

Ivy looked at him. "You say that like getting chased across the city is normal."

"For me, it is."

The simple honesty in his answer made her chest tighten unexpectedly.

There was no arrogance in his tone. No dramatics. Just acceptance. And somehow, that felt worse.