Undressed By His Arrogance-Chapter 256: You Are An Honourable Man

"I feel it in my gut, Sam. That my... that Tom had something to do with hurting Ivy." His jaw clenched hard as he spoke the name. He almost spat it out. "I don’t want to start something I won’t be there to finish. And if I dig—really dig—I might uncover things that change everything. Things that won’t let me walk away clean. I cannot put her through that."

He leaned back, jaw trembling once before he steadied. "I also want to keep her safe."

Sam nodded slowly, tapping his cane gently on the floor. "Thank you," he said finally. "You are an honourable man. Not a perfect one—but you are honourable."

"But I need you to listen to me right now," Sam continued, leaning forward. "When you need help, I will be there for you. I can be there for you. Even if you think you’re walking into fire—you will not walk into it alone."

Sam tapped his cane once—firm, decisive. "Since you are so convinced you’re not the man for her right now... I guess I’ll have to give her my blessings then."

Ivy deserved stability. She deserved peace. She deserved every soft, calm thing he could never give her while he was hunting the truth.

Winn forced a smile. "I guess you should," he said quietly.

Sam saw through the smile.

Instead, Sam stood slowly—bones popping, joints complaining—then placed a hand on Winn’s shoulder. A brief squeeze.

"Like I said, I will not have this conversation with you anymore." Sam reiterated, tapping his cane once for emphasis.

Winn exhaled, shoulders loosening. "I understand, Sam. I hope that doesn’t affect our golfing sessions."

Sam snorted, his lips twitching upward. "I look forward to the next one. You really have to make your office old-men friendly."

"Come on, I’ll help you down the stairs," Winn said, already moving to Sam’s side.

Sam paused mid-step, turning his head sharply. "I’m not an invalid."

"And I’m not suicidal," Winn countered dryly. "Look—if you trip and fall in my building, Ivy is going to chop off my balls and feed it to vultures. So no, you are not pulling that stubborn crap with me."

Sam burst into laughter. "Oooh... I’d love to see that." He rubbed his chin. "Now I have half a mind to trip on purpose."

Winn stopped, stared, then leaned forward. "Would you wait a minute so I can grab my phone, hit record, and you say that again?"

"Not on your life," Sam grumbled.

Their laughter mingled echoing down the hallway as they exited the office.

Sam always had a way of making Winn feel steadier.

The stairwell loomed ahead. Winn automatically shifted closer to Sam, subtly ready to catch him—not that Sam would allow it without grumbling.

"Stop hovering," Sam muttered.

Winn chuckled. "Fine, fine."

They descended a few steps, Sam walking stiffly but steadily. Winn matched his pace, one hand hovering behind him—not touching, not assisting, merely ready.

Sam noticed. Of course he did. The old man sighed. "You would’ve made a good grandson-in-law, you know," he murmured.

Sam glanced at him. "I gave her my blessing because you asked me to. But don’t think for a second that ends your story with her."

Winn swallowed hard.

They reached the bottom of the stairs, and Sam clapped him on the back. "Next time, maybe consider elevators like the rest of civilization."

Winn bumped his shoulder lightly in response, and Sam shook his head, smiling.

*****

Ivy was caught in a whirlwind of preparation for the engagement party. Days blurred into one another. Irene had become her rock through all of it, her quiet support system, her unbothered voice of reason. They had shopped until they nearly cried, their arms aching from bags and boxes. Some stores even closed around them while they lingered over colors and fabrics, laughing deliriously.

Finally, they collapsed into the sofa in the Everest’s home, sinking into the cushions. Shopping bags flanked them. Ivy kicked off her heels with a groan, her toes wiggling in relief.

"I can’t believe I am doing this all over again," Ivy sighed, tilting her head back, letting her hair fall against the cushion.

"I know my husband is glad you are doing this with Eugene," Irene said, pulling her legs up and hugging a throw pillow.

"Yeah, I know." Ivy rubbed her forehead.

"And Theresa is excited to be a little bride," Irene added, smiling. "She literally practiced walking down the hallway with a basket of petals. She kept throwing them into the air. The maid is going crazy."

Ivy let out a tired laugh.

"And you?" Ivy asked after a breath, turning her head toward Irene.

"What about me?" Irene blinked.

"How do you feel about it?" Ivy pressed, tucking one leg under herself. "Every other person has expressed how they feel. You haven’t said anything. I want to know."

"Doesn’t matter how I feel, Ivy."

"It does to me."

"Fine," Irene said at last, rolling her eyes as if Ivy were dragging the truth out of her with pliers. She pushed back her curls and sighed again. "I have a feeling both of you are rushing into this for different reasons. You, to escape your true feelings." She nudged Ivy’s shoulder meaningfully. "And I don’t know Eugene enough to figure out why he is doing this."

Ivy’s fingers curled into the sofa fabric. "It’s not the first time I will plan to go into a flash marriage."

"Well, back then, your intentions aligned with Winn’s. Now? Have you and Eugene even spoken? Have you felt that connection with him? have you had sex?" Irene asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I think we will figure all of that out. It’s not that hard. I’m sure he knows where everything should go." She gave a wicked little smirk, waggling her brows, clearly trying to lighten the tension before the conversation sank deeper into feelings she didn’t want to address.

"God, you’re ridiculous. Is your mum coming?"

"No." Ivy sighed, picking at a thread on the throw pillow. "But she will be coming for the wedding."

Irene nodded slowly. "Good. Tomorrow, you announce your engagement to the world. You need to get your beauty sleep. I don’t want to see one single blemish or bags under your eyes. If you ruin your own photos, I will beat your ass."

"Yes ma’am." Ivy stood slowly, stretching her back until it popped.

"Where is Sam?" Irene asked, scanning the hallway.

"Probably in his pad." Ivy shrugged.

"I’ll say hi to him before I go," Irene said, gathering her purse and slipping her feet into her flats. "Now go, go get some sleep." She flapped her hands at Ivy.

"Fine, fine." Ivy headed toward the stairs, pausing halfway to turn back with a soft smile. Irene answered with one of her own before disappearing deeper into the house.

*****

Joey decided to spend the Saturday with Winn so he wouldn’t do anything stupid, even though Winn had assured him he was "fine"—a word Joey didn’t believe even when used by mentally stable humans, let alone his emotionally volatile best friend. In fact, the moment Winn said it, Joey heard a silent translation whisper through his brain: I am absolutely about to self-destruct.

So, Joey showed up to Winn’s door with several packs of beer and pizza, his arms wobbling under the ridiculous weight of it. He kicked the door loudly. Winn yanked it open with a scowl, shirt hanging loosely off one shoulder.

"Are you crazy? It’s nine in the morning!" Winn said.

"Yup!" Joey grinned, completely unbothered. He lifted the beer triumphantly. "And we are going to binge Stranger Things, eat pizza, and drink alcohol all day like men."

Winn blinked, unimpressed. "What kind of man are you?"

"Go to hell!" Joey laughed, pushing past him and marching to the kitchen. He opened the smart fridge and started loading in packs of beer, humming off-key.

"I know what you are doing," Winn said, leaning against the counter, crossing his arms. His biceps flexed.

"Hanging out with my best friend?" Joey replied innocently.

"You think I’m going to crash her engagement party," Winn said flatly.

"Whaaaaat????? That’s today?"

Winn raised an eyebrow.

"Shoot!" Joey continued, slapping his forehead dramatically. "Ivy sent me an invite and all, but in case you still want to convince her to change her mind, there is still time."

Winn moved away, grabbing a bottle of water from the counter just to keep his hands busy.

"Why would I do that?" Winn muttered.

"HENCE," Joey said, dramatically pointing two fingers at him, "why we shall be Netflixing and chilling."

"Gosh! Fine." He shoved a hand through his messy hair. "Can I brush my teeth first?"

"Hurry." Joey waved a slice of pizza. "I’ll save you some pizza."

Winn squinted at him. "Dude, you have like five boxes of pizza there."

"Exactly. You snooze, you lose." Joey strutted back into the living room. He plopped down on the sofa with a full box of pizza balanced on his knees, legs spread. The TV flickered to life as he grabbed the remote and started scrolling through Netflix.