Ivy studied him quietly for a moment before asking softly, "How long have you been living like this?"

For the first time since the conversation started, Xander’s gaze shifted away briefly.

"A long time." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The answer was vague, but Ivy noticed it immediately. He clearly had no intention of elaborating further.

Still, curiosity lingered inside her.

"Don’t tell me you offended someone from the underworld and now they’re after you."

Until now, Ivy had always assumed Xander’s enemies were simply business rivals. Powerful people, maybe ruthless people—but nothing darker than that.

Yet something about him had always felt different.

Her eyes remained fixed on him as if silently hoping he would deny it and tell her she was overthinking again.

Instead, Xander calmly took another sip of water before replying,

"You’re right. I’m someone who offended the underworld, and now they’re after me."

"..."

Ivy stared at him blankly for two whole seconds before leaning closer across the table.

"Have you lost your mind?" she whispered sharply, one hand instinctively covering her mouth as she glanced around the nearly empty restaurant. "What kind of nonsense are you even saying?"

Xander couldn’t help but chuckle at her reaction.

"I’m not talking nonsense," he replied calmly. "You asked me a question, and I answered honestly."

Ivy slowly pulled back, disbelief written all over her face.

At first, she genuinely thought he was joking just to tease her.

But the longer she looked at him, the more she realized he wasn’t joking at all.

And somehow, that realization only made her more nervous.

"What?" Xander asked after noticing the shift in her expression. "Are you scared now?"

Ivy immediately went speechless.

Scared?

Her eyes widened slightly.

Was he seriously asking her that after casually revealing something so outrageous?

Until now, everything she knew about Xander painted him as nothing more than an influential businessman. Rich, powerful, intimidating at times—but still normal enough to exist within the public eye.

There had never been rumors about criminal connections.

No scandals.

No whispers.

But now she understood why.

People like him would never allow such information to become public in the first place.

Ivy swallowed unconsciously as countless thoughts rushed through her mind.

Suddenly, so many things about Xander started making sense.

The way powerful men acted carefully around him.

The fear those attackers showed during the incident the previous night.

Even the terrifying calmness in his eyes whenever danger appeared.

None of it was normal.

Meanwhile, Xander silently observed every emotion flashing across her face.

"You’re overthinking again," he said calmly.

"How am I supposed not to overthink this?" Ivy shot back in a hushed voice. "You basically just told me something that sounds straight out of a crime movie."

Xander lazily raised a brow.

"And yet you’re still sitting here with me."

"That’s because you told me after I sat down."

A faint smirk appeared on his face.

Originally, Xander had planned to explain the real reason behind the attack that happened the previous night.

But in the end, he decided against it.

From everything he had observed so far, Ivy still seemed completely unaware that someone might actually be targeting her.

And for now, he preferred keeping it that way.

The last thing he wanted was to see fear constantly lingering in her eyes.

A few moments later, the food finally arrived.

Their conversation gradually faded as they quietly began eating.

Despite the tension from earlier, the atmosphere somehow remained strangely comfortable.

At one point, Ivy caught herself staring at Xander while he casually cut into his food with the same composed expression he always wore.

Honestly, it was unfair.

How could someone reveal something so terrifying and still look this calm afterward?

Meanwhile, Xander noticed her staring almost immediately.

"What?" he asked without looking up.

"Nothing," Ivy replied quickly before lowering her head and pretending to focus on her plate.

The corner of his lips lifted slightly.

Liar.

By the time they finished lunch, the sunlight outside had already softened into the warm glow of late afternoon.

The two eventually walked out of the restaurant together.

Just as Ivy was about to head toward the car, Xander suddenly stopped beside her.

"Oh, by the way," he said casually while pulling out his phone, "your sister asked me to pass along a message."

Ivy blinked before turning toward him.

Xander tilted the screen slightly in her direction.

The moment she saw Nora’s name on it, her expression changed instantly.

"Why would she text you instead of me?" Ivy asked before she could stop herself.

Xander paused briefly before looking at her properly.

There was obvious irritation in her voice.

"She said she couldn’t reach you."

"That still doesn’t explain why she texted you."

Xander stared at her for a moment before narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Are you jealous?"

Ivy nearly choked on air.

"What? No!"

The answer came far too quickly.

Xander’s amusement deepened instantly.

"You sound offended."

"I am offended," she corrected immediately. "Why is she even comfortable enough to message you personally?"

"She asked a simple question."

"That’s not the point."

"Then what is the point?"

Ivy opened her mouth, only to close it again a second later.

Because honestly?

Even she didn’t fully understand why Nora casually texting Xander irritated her this much.

She folded her arms defensively.

"I just think she’s getting a little too comfortable around you."

Xander studied her carefully.

"And that bothers you?"

"No."

"You hesitated."

"I did not."

"You absolutely did."

Ivy glared at him.

"Why are you analyzing my every reaction?"

"Because they’re interesting."

"That sounds creepy."

"You’re avoiding the question again."

Ivy clicked her tongue softly before sighing in annoyance.

"Look," she muttered, "I’m just warning you."

"Warning me?"

"Yes."

"About your sister?"

Ivy nodded seriously.

Xander waited patiently for her to continue.

"She acts innocent," Ivy began carefully, "but Nora likes attention. Especially from people she finds impressive."

"And apparently I qualify as impressive?"

Ivy looked at him blankly.

"That is unfortunately the problem."

Xander let out a quiet laugh under his breath.

"She’s my sister," Ivy continued, sounding oddly bothered. "I know exactly how she behaves. So don’t encourage her too much."

Xander tilted his head slightly.

"And if I do?"

Ivy narrowed her eyes immediately.

"Then don’t come crying to me later."

The warning in her voice only amused him more.

For someone claiming she wasn’t jealous, Ivy was reacting far too personally to the situation.

Xander took a slow step closer before lowering his voice slightly.

"You really aren’t jealous?"

Ivy’s heartbeat stumbled awkwardly.

"No," she denied again, though this time she avoided looking directly at him.

Xander noticed immediately.

And somehow, seeing Ivy act possessive over him was far more satisfying than it should have been.

Meanwhile, Ivy internally regretted opening her mouth at all.

Because now Xander was looking at her with that dangerously amused expression again.

And every single time he looked at her like that, she somehow ended up losing the argument.

***

Meanwhile, across the city, a black sedan moved smoothly through the busy afternoon traffic.

Inside the car, James kept stealing occasional glances toward the back seat through the rearview mirror.

Something was wrong.

Or rather... something was very suspicious.

Because for the past twenty minutes, Kevin had been in an unusually good mood.

"I’ve never seen you this happy before," James finally commented, unable to hold back his curiosity any longer. "Is this because of Ivy?"

Ever since meeting her earlier, Kevin had barely glared at him once. Instead, he simply sat there looking out the window while a faint smile lingered on his face.

And honestly? It was starting to concern James.

Kevin, on the other hand, smiled even more at the question.

"Have I ever told you," he asked calmly while meeting James’ eyes through the rearview mirror, "that I liked someone before?"

James blinked in surprise. "You liked someone?" The sheer disbelief in his tone made Kevin raise a brow slightly.

"What’s so surprising about that?"

James almost laughed. "Sir, respectfully, you look emotionally unavailable most of the time."

Kevin ignored the comment completely. Meanwhile, James fell into deep thought. Then suddenly a memory hit him.

It happened a few years ago after a successful campaign event the company had hosted. That night, Kevin had attended the after-party. And somehow, against all odds, Kevin had gotten drunk. Not heavily drunk. But drunk enough to stop looking terrifying for once.

James still remembered the struggle of dragging him home afterward while Kevin remained unusually quiet the entire ride back.

At the time, James had thought Kevin would simply sleep and forget everything the next morning.

But before leaving that night, James vaguely remembered hearing Kevin mumble something in his sleep.

"Will I ever find her..."

Back then, James had assumed it meant nothing. But now his eyes widened slightly as everything suddenly started connecting together.

"Wait..." he said slowly while staring at Kevin through the mirror. "Was that about her?"

Kevin’s expression softened faintly causin James to almost choke.

Back then, when he had tried questioning Kevin about it the next morning, Kevin had completely ignored him as if nothing had happened.

But now, after finally seeing Ivy in person today...somehow, everything made sense.

"She’s the girl I liked back then," Kevin admitted calmly. "But I couldn’t tell her that."

James’ lips slowly parted in shock. For a moment, he genuinely didn’t know how to react. Because this entire thing sounded unreal.

’Was this the reason he decided to return from the States and sign with Globe Entertainment’

Kevin... liking someone for years and not saying anything? That didn’t sound like the same man who intimidated ever soul he met.

"And now I am going to pursue her"