Seated in the living room, Ivy tried to coax the little boy who clung to her like a koala, completely unwilling to let go.

"Ha. After making you cry buckets of tears, how can you still hug her, Leo?" Aaron scoffed, clearly annoyed that Leo remained glued to Ivy after his early morning meltdown.

Ivy shot him a sharp glare. Aaron immediately pressed his lips together, swallowing whatever he had been about to say next.

She never wanted Leo to think she had left him. The idea had never even crossed her mind. She had no clue that simply not being in her room would send him into such panic that he would cry like the world had ended.

Feeling guilty for not understanding his emotions better, Ivy gently pulled back and cupped his face.

"I’m sorry, Leo. I just went for a walk in the garden because I couldn’t sleep last night."

Xander, who heard that, frowned slightly. From what he remembered, she had been hugging him like a teddy bear the entire night. And now she was lying without hesitation just to comfort Leo.

Ivy caught his gaze and quickly mouthed, "Keep quiet."

There was no way she was letting Leo or anyone else in the house find out that she had somehow sneaked into Aaron’s room and then sleepwalked into Xander’s. Her dignity simply refused to participate in that discussion. Also, explaining that to a child was absolutely not happening.

"So sad. My nephew slept perfectly well with me beside him," Aaron chimed in, clearly enjoying himself as he watched Ivy’s expression twitch.

Leo blinked, then frowned at his uncle. "You slept first, Uncle. You were too tired from trying to make me sleep."

Silence.

A soft snort escaped one of the maids. The others quickly covered their mouths, but the moment Aaron sent them a dangerously sweet smile, they all scattered like disciplined pigeons returning to work.

"Anyway," Xander stepped in smoothly, cutting through the lingering chaos, "now that we know your mother was around, can we finally end the search operation?"

He looked at Leo and added firmly, "And Ivy is not going anywhere. Fix that in your mind."

Leo nodded seriously, as if signing a lifelong agreement.

"Now go get ready. You have school," Xander said.

Leo nodded again... and stayed exactly where he was, firmly seated on Ivy’s lap.

Aaron clutched his chest dramatically at the sight, while Xander simply sighed in relief and walked away. The staff also quietly disappeared, leaving the two on the couch.

To an outsider, it might have looked like Leo was the clingy one. In reality, Ivy was holding on just as tightly. After seeing how upset he had been, she simply could not bring herself to let go.

She did not realize how much time had passed until Leo suddenly leaned back and looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"Mommy... did you come to Uncle Aaron’s room last night?"

Ivy froze.

She forced a casual expression and shook her head. "No... why would I? Your Uncle Aaron wouldn’t like that."

Her voice wavered just a little, which only made Leo think harder.

"Then why did it feel like I hugged you to sleep?" he asked, pouting slightly, as if trying to figure out whether his own brain had betrayed him.

Maybe he had just dreamed about her because he missed her.

When Ivy shook her head again, his shoulders slumped in disappointment.

Ivy, however, looked at him carefully.

Even fully asleep, he had felt her presence. And for some reason, she couldn’t help but feel amazed at how easily he recognized her.

***

[Upstairs]

The moment Xander stepped into his room, his feet instinctively carried him toward the window. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

He looked down, his eyes narrowing as he assessed the height. It was far too high for someone like Ivy to jump from. And yet, she had somehow managed to walk in before them completely unharmed.

A frown formed on his face.

Was she a thief in her past life? There’s no way a woman like her could make that jump without breaking something.

He had no idea how long he stood there, lost in thought, before a quiet sigh escaped him.

This was not the first time Ivy had surprised him. Her strength, hidden beneath that seemingly fragile frame, had caught him off guard more than once. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized... of course she could have done it.

A faint smile crept onto his lips as her image surfaced in his mind.

But the next second, his expression froze.

His gaze dropped instinctively, noticing the unmistakable reaction of his body. The corner of his lips twitched in disbelief.

Standing under the shower, water cascading down his body, Xander ran a hand through his hair before suddenly slamming his fist lightly against the marble wall.

He had always believed he was a man untouched by desire.

But that belief had shattered the night he spent with Ivy.

It was the first time he had ever felt that kind of reaction to someone’s presence. The way her voice, her softness, her very existence had stirred something in him... it had been enough to break through a part of himself he thought was permanently sealed.

He had never felt that rush before. Never imagined his cold, controlled world could come alive like that.

And then she was gone the next morning.

At first, he had been disappointed. But when Taylor revealed Edward’s involvement, that feeling faded into indifference.

Why would she stay? She had only been doing what she was sent to do.

At least, that was what he had told himself.

Because after that night, Xander found himself replaying those moments over and over again... yet nothing came of it. No reaction. No spark.

It was as if that side of him only existed when she was there.

And once she disappeared, so did everything she had awakened.

"Damn it..." he muttered under his breath, frustration slipping through as he braced his hand against the wall.

Even now, his body refused to settle easily, reacting in a way that only deepened his irritation.

By the time he finished his shower, the tension had finally eased, though the lingering restlessness remained. And that, more than anything, unsettled him until...

RING...

Xander reached for his phone that continued to ring on the side table and answered the call.

"Yes, Hunter," he replied, but what he heard next turned his expression cold.