The air inside Xander’s office suddenly turned grim as he held the phone close to his ear, his lips pressed into a serious line.

Xander had already made sure that Ivy would have access to everything she needed while staying under his roof. So receiving her sudden message caught him completely off guard.

Without wasting another second, he immediately called her.

But when she stayed silent after answering, his frown deepened.

Meanwhile, Ivy was equally caught off guard by the sound of his voice.

She hadn’t expected Xander to call her the very second she sent the message.

Is he upset... or is he just repeating what I texted him? she wondered in confusion.

However, the moment she heard him clear his throat, she quickly snapped out of her thoughts.

"Y-You read it correctly," she replied while trying to regain her usual confidence, lifting her chin stubbornly as if he could somehow see her through the phone.

Xander’s eyes sharpened instantly, and his grip around the phone tightened slightly.

"I decline."

"..."

Ivy blinked at his blunt response.

And before he could hang up, she immediately shouted,

"I wasn’t asking for permission! I was simply informing you because I didn’t want you to think I was planning to run away!"

Xander’s expression remained unchanged.

He understood what she meant. She was assuring him that she had no intention of breaking the contract.

But even so, the thought of her working when he could already provide her with everything she needed was something he simply couldn’t accept.

"And I still decline," he repeated calmly.

Ivy’s lips twitched in irritation.

Before she could reach through the phone and personally shake some sense into the man, she abruptly ended the call with an angry huff.

"What is his problem?" she muttered furiously. "I already told him I’m not running away, so why did he reject it immediately?"

Her pulse pounded as frustration surged through her.

But this time, Ivy was determined.

No matter what, she was not going to let anyone stop her.

***

Meanwhile, inside his office, Xander continued staring at his phone long after Ivy had abruptly ended the call.

His mind replayed her words repeatedly. And more than that— the way she had confidently defied him.

"Hah..." he exhaled quietly while leaning back in his chair. "Is this her way of getting on my nerves now?"

Xander had always known Ivy wasn’t someone easy to control.

Still, he had believed that as long as the contract remained intact, she would continue following the rules they agreed upon.

And in return, he intended to give her everything she could possibly want.

After all, from what he had seen growing up, women found happiness in luxury.

Designer bags, jewelry, and expensive clothes. A comfortable life without struggle. That was the world Xander had always known.

Which was why, the moment Ivy agreed to the contract, he made sure her life became easier in every possible way.

Anything she wanted would immediately be placed within her reach.

Yet now... instead of asking for expensive gifts or privileges—she wanted freedom.

And somehow, that realization unsettled him more than it should have.

Xander remained silent for a long moment.

But then, he suddenly remembered what he had told Ivy the other night.

I’ll consider it.

And just like that, the frustration building inside him slowly disappeared.

Xander had no real understanding of how a woman’s mind worked or what truly made them happy. But recalling how his father used to fulfill every little wish his mother had made him realize something important.

Perhaps...

He had handled this the wrong way.

His expression shifted from stern to strangely conflicted, concern flickering faintly in his eyes.

At that moment, the office door suddenly opened.

"Boss, this document needs your review," Taylor said while stepping inside without knocking.

However, the moment he noticed Xander lost deep in thought again, his footsteps immediately halted.

Taylor’s heart skipped a beat.

That expression.

It was the same dangerous expression from earlier.

And somehow, his survival instincts immediately warned him that trouble was coming.

"Hehehe..." Taylor let out an awkward laugh while slowly bending down to place the file on the table before attempting to quietly sneak away.

"Taylor." Xander’s calm voice instantly stopped him.

Taylor froze on the spot. Very slowly, he turned around with the expression of a man ready to write his final will.

"Yes, boss?" he asked cautiously.

Xander looked at him for a few seconds before suddenly asking, "What do women usually like?"

Taylor blinked. "...What?"

Xander frowned slightly, clearly dissatisfied that he had to repeat himself.

"When they’re upset," he clarified, "what do women want?"

Taylor stared at him in complete disbelief.

For a moment, he genuinely wondered if someone had secretly replaced his terrifying boss overnight.

"...Boss," Taylor said carefully, "are you asking me for relationship advice?"

"I’m asking a question."

Taylor immediately straightened up. "Yes, boss."

A heavy silence filled the office as Taylor’s brain worked at maximum speed.

"Well..." he started cautiously, "usually women want attention, care... emotional understanding..."

Xander’s expression remained unreadable.

Taylor swallowed nervously before continuing.

"And maybe... support for things they want to do?"

Xander’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"So if I stop her from doing something she wants, she’ll stay upset?"

Taylor blinked. "...Yes?"

Xander fell silent again.

Taylor, meanwhile, suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to protect Ivy from whatever emotional confusion was currently happening inside his boss’s head.

’I’m just helping her because she saved us the other day,’ he concluded.

After a long pause, Xander finally spoke again.

"What if it’s dangerous?"

Taylor rubbed his forehead.

"Boss, respectfully... women don’t usually like being locked inside a mansion twenty-four hours a day."

"I’m not locking her up."

Taylor looked at him silently.

Xander looked back.

"...That sounded worse out loud," he admitted after a few seconds.

Taylor nearly choked. Because this was perhaps the first time in history Xander Emerson had willingly admitted he might be wrong about something.

Taylor stared at Xander as if witnessing a historical event unfold before his eyes.

Did the boss just admit he was wrong?

Voluntarily?

Without threatening someone afterward?

Taylor suddenly felt emotional.

Meanwhile, Xander remained completely serious, his brows still slightly furrowed as if he were trying to solve an impossible business problem. But, before Taylor could say anything, Xander made an announcement that caught him off guard.