Ivy closed her eyes and groaned internally. "Yes, I am. But I don’t think I ever gave you my number."

Kevin chuckled softly on the other end, making her immediately sit up with a frown.

"It wasn’t that hard," he replied casually. "I just had my manager get it from yours."

His tone was far too relaxed, almost as if he had been looking for an excuse to contact her.

Ivy shook her head before leaning back against the headboard. One arm folded across her chest while the other held the phone to her ear.

"Why did you call?" she asked coldly, though she still waited for an answer.

Meanwhile, Kevin found himself amused.

From what he remembered, Ivy had never been this distant with him before. Back then, she had always been shy and nervous around him. Seeing her act this guarded now genuinely surprised him.

Still, he ignored it and smiled faintly.

"I just called so you could save my number," he said lightly. "Since we’re working together now."

Ivy’s lips twitched faintly. Even through the phone, she could practically picture him smiling while saying those words.

"Is that all you wanted to say?"

She was already losing patience, unsure how she was even tolerating Kevin acting so persistent.

’Wasn’t he supposed to be indifferent?’ she thought bitterly. ’Why is he suddenly acting so nice?’

"No," Kevin admitted, his playful tone softening into something more sincere. "There’s actually a lot I want to talk about... but I think we should take things slowly."

His words pulled him back to the past.

Back then, the school principal had summoned him to the office after finding the love letter Ivy had written to him. To save her from humiliation and possible suspension, Kevin had denied everything.

But after that day, things between them were never the same.

Distance slowly grew between them until graduation eventually pushed them onto completely different paths.

Kevin went overseas to study modeling before returning years later, while Ivy’s life had taken an entirely different turn.

For a moment, Ivy remained silent.

Yet somewhere within that silence, she realized his voice was strangely calming her.

"Alright then," Kevin said gently, breaking through her thoughts. "Good night, Ivy. Sweet dreams."

She blinked, slowly snapping out of her trance just as the call ended.

It took her a while to relax, but the moment her phone pinged, her eyes immediately darted toward it.

The message was from Kevin.

Good night :)

Ivy scoffed under her breath before flipping the phone onto the side table, avoiding the glowing screen altogether. She climbed out of bed and headed toward the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

She could tell Kevin was trying to get close to her again, but she wasn’t sure how she felt about it.

From what Ivy remembered, Kevin had always been cold and distant, someone who barely paid attention to anyone around him.

Back in school, countless girls had liked him. His popularity had been insane, with girls constantly fighting over him, hoping he would notice them. Yet Kevin had never seemed interested in any of it.

Pushing the thoughts aside, Ivy washed her face before drying it with a towel. She stepped out of the bathroom, hoping Leo had returned by now.

"Ah... what are you doing here?"

The sight that greeted her instantly caught her off guard.

Her eyes widened when she saw Xander sitting comfortably on her bed, looking as though he was about to lie down.

Her brows furrowed as she stared at the man acting completely at home inside her room.

Meanwhile, Xander remained perfectly calm.

"Leo fell asleep in his room," he said simply.

Ivy blinked.

’Excuse me? That’s supposed to be my line,’ she muttered internally before quickly snapping out of it and marching toward the bed.

"So?" she asked, placing both hands on her waist.

Xander glanced at her before casually making space beside him.

"So," he replied smoothly, "he asked me to sleep here because he thought you’d stay awake all night." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"...What?"

Ivy’s hands slowly dropped from her waist as she stared at him in complete disbelief.

Without another word, Xander lifted the duvet slightly for her.

"Get in."

The simple command made Ivy’s heart slam painfully against her chest.

The more she looked at him, the more her composure began slipping away.

Completely unaware of the emotions swirling inside her, Ivy found herself obeying him without resistance. Slowly, she climbed into bed and lay beside him.

Xander pulled the duvet over her before lying back down and closing his eyes.

The room fell silent.

Ivy stared at the ceiling wide awake while Xander remained perfectly still beside her.

"You should close your eyes if you actually want to sleep," he suddenly said.

Ivy immediately turned toward him.

"I am sleeping," she argued.

The moment the words left her mouth, she realized how ridiculous she sounded.

Still, Xander’s sudden appearance in her room had completely thrown her off balance.

Xander slowly opened his eyes and looked at her.

"I can clearly see that," he replied dryly.

Ivy froze under his gaze.

She hated admitting it, but Xander’s mere presence felt dangerous to her already unstable heart.

Ignoring his comment, she quickly shut her eyes.

"See? I’m sleeping," she muttered awkwardly.

She thought closing her eyes would stop her from noticing him.

It didn’t.

No matter how hard she tried to ignore his presence, she remained painfully aware of him lying beside her.

To distract herself, Ivy began counting sheep in her head.

One sheep.

Two sheep.

Three—

Suddenly, the mattress dipped.

Her eyes snapped open instantly.

"What are you doing?" Ivy gasped when she found Xander suddenly hovering over her.

Xander didn’t answer immediately.

He simply stared at her.

His dark eyes remained fixed on Ivy’s face, carefully taking in every little reaction she failed to hide. The surprise in her widened eyes, the faint pink tint slowly spreading across her cheeks, the uneven rhythm of her breathing—everything about her gave away how nervous she was.

And Xander noticed all of it.

Ivy’s throat suddenly felt dry under his intense gaze.

Before she could even think properly, Xander slowly leaned closer.

The movement alone made her heart stumble.

Her breath hitched as panic instantly rushed through her chest, and without realizing it, Ivy squeezed her eyes shut.

For one terrifying second, she genuinely thought he was about to kiss her.

Her fingers curled tightly against the bedsheet while her heartbeat pounded wildly in her ears.

But then—

A soft warmth touched her forehead.

Ivy froze.

The tension in her body slowly melted the moment she realized what he had done.

Xander had kissed her forehead.

Nothing more.

No teasing.

No hidden intentions.

Just a gentle kiss that somehow carried more comfort than she expected.

A few seconds later, Xander slowly pulled away, and Ivy carefully opened her eyes to look at him.

The calmness in his expression caught her completely off guard.

"They say a kiss on the forehead is a reminder," Xander said quietly, his voice softer than before, "that you’re not alone."

The words left Ivy speechless.

For a moment, she simply stared at him, unable to process the strange ache growing inside her chest.

Nobody had ever said something like that to her before.

At least... not in a very long time.

Before she could respond, Xander returned to his side of the bed. But instead of putting distance between them, he gently pulled her into his arms.

Ivy stiffened slightly from the sudden closeness.

One of his arms wrapped securely around her while his other hand slowly patted her back in a soothing rhythm.

"Sleep," he murmured softly before resting his chin against the top of her head.

Ivy swallowed quietly.

The warmth surrounding her instantly eased the tension in her body. His steady breathing, the slow beating of his heart beneath her cheek, and the comforting weight of his arms around her made her feel strangely safe.

Safe enough to stop overthinking for once.

She hadn’t realized how exhausted she truly was until now.

For days, her mind had been restless, constantly drowning in thoughts and emotions she didn’t know how to handle.

But somehow, lying there in Xander’s arms made everything quiet.

Slowly, her eyelids began to feel heavy.

A faint smile unconsciously formed on her lips as sleep finally started pulling her under.

"Good night," she whispered softly.

This time, Ivy didn’t resist the comfort surrounding her.

Instead, she moved slightly closer, instinctively curling against him as if she belonged there.

Xander remained silent, but his arms tightened around her ever so slightly.

And for the first time in a long while, Ivy allowed both her mind and heart to rest peacefully.

While Xander and Ivy slept peacefully, far away on the other side of the world, a completely different atmosphere unfolded.

A dimly lit room sat in silence, the faint glow from a single lamp barely illuminating the darkness surrounding it.

The only thing clearly visible was the pair of cold eyes hidden beneath the shadows.

A phone rested against the man’s ear as he leaned back lazily in his chair, his expression unreadable.

"Let them die," he said calmly.

His deep voice echoed through the quiet room, carrying a chilling indifference.

"It’s their punishment for getting caught."

On the other end of the call, panic could faintly be heard, but the man showed no concern whatsoever.

Instead, a slow smirk formed on his lips.

For a long time, everything had been too quiet.

Too predictable.

Too easy.

And he hated boredom more than anything.

"It was starting to get dull," he continued, his tone almost amused. "But now..."

His fingers tapped lightly against the armrest of the chair while his eyes darkened with interest.

"...after so long, it finally feels like things are about to get entertaining again."

The room fell silent once more after the call ended.

Slowly, the man lowered the phone and tilted his head back, a low chuckle escaping his lips.

Somewhere deep within the darkness surrounding him, danger was quietly beginning to move again.