“Mummy, you’re saying that Ivy has seletar origins? As in the olden days ancestors who live in the jungle as “orang asli”*?” Sandra asked over an early dinner with Andrew and her younger sister, Chloe at home. Auntie Soh nodded as she sat on the dinner table. It has been a norm for Andrew or Ivy to have dinners in Auntie Soh occasionally as Sandra would also do the same at Andrew’s or Ivy’s house.

“Yes, your Auntie Ah Jiat and Uncle Semai met because he often frequented Grandma Sim’s stall as a seasonal traveler… Ah Jiat used to adore Semai so much that Grandma Sim was so worried Semai was taking advantage of Ah Jiat because after all Grandma Sim’s family wasn’t very well off and Semai’s family was rich but Ah Jiat was very pretty… Grandma Sim was also worried Ah Jiat was not sincere with Semai and was only after his wealth …” Auntie Soh sighed.

“I heard from Grandma Sim before this that Semai’s mother met Semai’s father, who was a developer of a piece of land in the jungle where Semai’s mother and her family used to live back then when the town wasn’t so developed. Semai’s mother and her family strike gold and from there, that’s how their origins got blended into modern society. Fortunately, Semai and Ah Jiat were very fond of each other; like father, like son. Semai ended up marrying Ah Jiat despite both sides’ families disagreeing. There was very little news about Semai’s family thereafter…” Auntie Soh explained as she scooped a bowl of soup each for Andrew and Sandra.

“Wow, sounded like star crossed lovers…” Andrew commented, sending Sandra and Chloe into laughter. “No wonder Ivy is so pretty…” Chloe commented as Sandra smiled.

“Yes… Ai Lee has very good genes… It’s a miracle that Semai fell for Ah Jiat but her postnatal aggression was very unfortunate…” Auntie Soh sighed.

“Mummy, how did you hear about Auntie Jiat’s whereabouts?” Sandra questioned.

“It was Grandma Sim’s wish to watch her daughter being taken care of properly before she left. She knew she was frail and would leave anytime soon… She might look as though she didn’t care about her daughter but which mother would abandon their child?” Auntie Soh sighed again as Chloe mischievously answered her question.

“You…” Chloe pretended to sulk as Auntie Soh’s mouth gaped open at her younger daughter’s mischief.

“Cause you didn’t scoop me a bowl of soup…” Chloe complained as Andrew and Sandra laughed.

“You already had your second bowl, fatty girl..” Sandra teased as Chloe continued with her pretense while Auntie Soh sneered playfully at Chloe.

“How come you never told Ivy about this?” Andrew questioned as Auntie Soh contemplated whether to tell or not. “You all should keep this away from Ivy unless her father had told her.. When she was a toddler, due to her mother’s agression, Ivy was nearly hurled off from the roof top when Ah Jiat attempted to commit suicide with Ai Lee… Grandma Sim had no choice but to put Ah Jiat into the sanitarium thereafter…” Auntie Soh’s explanation had stunned Chloe and Sandra while Andrew dropped his chopsticks to the ground.

Auntie Soh nonchalantly picked up the chopsticks and went into the kitchen to take a new pair of chopsticks for Andrew as she knew the three of them would be caught by surprise. It took the trio a while to regain their senses.

Andrew was looking at Sandra who was staring back at him. They both finally knew the source of Ivy’s nightmares and sleep disorders as they both nodded in agreement without having to tell each other what's on their mind.

“Hopefully Ai Lee could finally seek closure with her family...” Auntie Soh said as she returned to the table and handed Andrew the chopsticks. Everyone nodded in agreement as they continued dinner somberly.

When the brothers checked into the hotel, Ray and Ray realised they had to book an extra room as there were five of them this time round instead of four. However, thanks to Jin for being smart as always, he could guess their dad would like to have Ivy staying in the same room as him to bond their long lost relationship. So, he suggested they book a twin room where three of them could share a room and still be next door whenever their father or Ivy needed something.

After the registration, the brothers obediently continued on to catch up with their school assignments and monitor their office tasks as they left the father-daughter duo in another room to catch up with each other.

“Do you like the room, my dear?” Peter asked nonchalantly. Ivy nodded as she observed the spacious space in a five star hotel’s room.

“I often sleep in smaller rooms and slightly lower star hotels when I am on business trips with my company’s director. So, this had really exceeded my expectations.” Ivy complimented before pouring a glass of water for herself and her dad.

Peter couldn’t help but to chuckle at her comments and knew it was Jason she was referring to. Peter wondered how in depth her daughter was taught during her internship that she needed to attend business trips with her boss.

“Your director must be on a tight budget I see… I’m surprised an intern could attend business trips…” Peter said as he took the glass of water from Ivy before leading her to the couch by the window panel.

“Hmmm…. Yes, they are on a tight budget. This company is a bit special… it’s small but has plenty of potential. The management is the asset of the company, especially the director himself. Unfortunately, they are in a crisis at the moment…” Ivy sighed as her mind wandered back to Jason and her proposal. She had forgotten all about him after the reunion with her family as she reminded herself to catch up with him later.

“What crisis is it about?” Peter attempted to test how far Ivy knew about the deal before revealing the details to her as they both sat on the couch.

“They have received a large event request of conducting a roadshow at regional level for a rather renowned company and they require a lot of funds to support this including manpower as well. I know it may be weird for such a small company to be so ambitious to take on such a large scale event but the client insisted because of the prestige of the director himself. So, the company had been struggling to find investors or even collaboration due to another issue…” Ivy loosen her shoulders at the thought of the internal family rival Jason had.

“What issue is it?” Peter attempted to prompt Ivy to explain as he wanted to know if it would affect the merger he was going into with Rahi’s Consulting business.

“Apparently, there was an internal family rivalry between his family and himself. Although he has all the prestige and recognition, each of his potential investors in town are being controlled by a more powerful upperhand superior which is his father. I’m not sure which industry or what business his father is in but all I know is that having power and money beats it all I guess. It’s so unfair to the weak ones.” Ivy pouted as she looked on the ground.

Peter wasn’t aware of the severity of the family rivalry impacting Jason’s business although he had heard from business partners about it but thought it was just a normal passing by comment.

“Ai Lee…” Peter called out as Ivy lifted her head to pay attention to her father. “If you’re in power with money, how far would you go for this business?” Peter asked his daughter as Ivy looked surprised but pondered awhile.

“Hmmm… I will definitely save the company. I will invest in it as I know it’s going to be worth it… I wrote a proposal lately… Suggesting on taking up a loan but I doubt the company can afford it as their equity in their accounts are close to becoming negative soon else they wouldn't resort to finding investors instead… In fact, they are still negotiating with one of them. I’m not sure what the progress is but I do hope it falls through…” Ivy gave a sad smile.

“Ai Lee…” Peter cleared his throat after calling her name solemnly.

Ivy noticed the seriousness as she felt something was amidst. “What is it? Why are you being so serious suddenly, daddy?” Ivy questioned as Peter took out a file from his office bag and passed it to Ivy.

“Like I said, if you’re in power with money and after you listen to what I have to say, think again will your answer be the same on how far would you go for his business?” Peter held on to the file tightly while Ivy held on the other side of the file gently as he spoke.

She nodded skeptically as she wondered about the content of the file when she flipped it open. It showed a contract agreement between Rahi’s Consulting and Ophal’s real estate merger where her name was under the shareholder's signature column. There was another resolution on transfer of shares from her father to her.

“Your director's name is Jason Rahi?'' Peter asked as Ivy was surprised he knew. “How did you know? What is the meaning of this contract?” Ivy covered her gaping mouth in surprise but she could half expect the answers of her questions as anger slowly slipped into her.

“Jason has been a great business partner all these years whether it’s at the events we had as our emcee or referring clients to us. I met him during a charity event years ago in Landsfield where he was the emcee. In our family, we run a real estate business. Although we only focused on Landsfield because it’s a trading business hub, we intend to expand into Manes.” Peter took a sip of water before continuing as Ivy watched him meekly.

“Manes is known to be underdeveloped but there are alot of heritage buildings and properties where there’s a potential the government would want to preserve them and lease out as tourist attractions and food stalls which many corporate clients in Landsfield had expressed their interest in this area. Hence, your brothers and I intend to also work alongside this goal with Jason’s company. Because Jason and I had the same business ideas, I decided to offer Jason the financial help while in return he would ensure the presence of his office here would aid with the expansion of our family business as after all he runs a consulting firm and he would easily adapt to the sales pitch.” Peter explained as Ivy was slowly connecting the missing puzzles in mind.

Ivy was filled with rage at being deceived all along as she wondered was it his plot all along to get her sticking by his side and was all the fake relationship as his girlfriend all a show with Nancy. She couldn’t bring herself to think anymore of it as she shut her eyes tightly before she opened them up again.

“Of course, there are also other aspects of the business which we have yet to discuss in detail with Jason yet. We are slowly thinking of ways to let the business merge in terms of operations. As of now, he would be able to still run his consultations, talks, and roadshows as usual with the addition of our real estate roadshows. In every event of his company, he would need to allow our company to set up a booth as part of our real estate company’s marketing strategy. In return, we will provide him with financial aid and also manpower…” Peter watched Ivy slowly understanding his point of view as she tried to nod meekly.

“The only thing that is holding us back with the business venture is… you…” Peter said solemnly as Ivy furrowed her eyebrows.

“Why?” Ivy asked but her voice came out as a whisper instead.

“Because you’re the sole shareholder of the company…” Peter watched Ivy eyes widening. “When I left you and your biological mother to your grandma, I vowed to return one day and provide for you at least… I started this company right after I left all of…” Peter’s voice unexpectedly broke as Ivy quickly went over to hold on to his hand as she squatted in front of him.

“Daddy… It’s not your fault… None of this is… I …” Ivy paused a moment to control her emotion before she continued.

“I may have used to blame you but as I grew older, I realised you had no choice. She was, after all, very young. Both of you were so young…” Ivy looked sadly at the pair of hands she was holding on.

“Your mother was indeed very young. We were seven years apart, Ai Lee… But she was determined to get what she wanted and that was to have a family with me despite all the obstacles she had to face from my family as she was from a poor family. That’s what moved me to propose to her… But her postnatal aggression…” Peter kept quiet as Ivy looked at him surprised at the new piece of news of her biological mother as tears welled in her eyes while she tried to blink them dry.

“Could you tell me more about her and my stepmother?” Ivy asked as Peter wiped her tears which spilled off her cheeks. Peter wanted to but he knew there were more important things on hand that Ivy had to handle and the dark past truth of her biological mother might give her more trouble if everything came at once.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Next time… We have plenty of time my dear… I promise…” Peter patted her daughter’s hand as Ivy nodded with a smile. Her smile was shortened by her chaotic thoughts and wonders of trying to link the entire situation to Jason as she frowned.

“You were saying? You set up the company and what does it have to do with the business venture with Jason? Did he know I was your daughter all along? Was he using me all this while? Were you aware he knew who I am?” Ivy questioned back to back as she got angrier at every question. Peter knew he had to quickly clear away the misunderstanding and tell her every single detail.

“Ai Lee… patience my dear… Jason told me about all this before… When I set up this company, you were my only child whom I have given all my company shares to under custody. The boys were not born yet.. At that point of time, my second wife, Auntie Lenny, was probably pregnant with Ray but it was towards the end of incorporating this company so I didn’t add the boys in at all. Rest assured I wasn’t having an affair but with your mother’s restraining order and Auntie Lenny’s support at that point of time, things just work out as it flows…” Peter explained as Ivy nodded understandingly as she continued to hold onto Peter’s hand as she sat on the floor.

“Hence, for the business venture to fall through, you’re at a legal age to exercise your rights as a shareholder of the company to either approve or object the investment with Jason. Your brothers…” Peter paused as he gently combed Ivy’s hair.

“I’m sorry, I should have told you about them first before diving in straight to business…” Peter apologised as Ivy smiled and shook her head.

“It’s alright, we have plenty of time… You could tell me a little now…” Ivy smiled as Peter nodded.

“Hmmm… The three of them are in charge of different segments in the company because of their skills set. Ray, the eldest of the three, is in charge of logistics and operations matters because he didn't like the indoors and he is very strong…” Peter explained as he lifted his right arm to show her his muscles which Ivy giggled.

“Therefore, Jin had to be in charge of the management eventually and he is the smartest of them all. As for Ryu, he is a socialiser who is in charge of the…” Before Peter could tell Ivy helped to continue.

“...marketing segment…” Peter smiled as Ivy giggled. He didn't need to ask how Ivy knew as it was obvious for someone who is well versed with the business industry.

“Yes… They all are accompanied by a manager who oversees their work when they are in school. Therefore, Jin has already suggested a cheaper way for the merger that is to let Rahi’s consulting join Ophal’s real estate as an associate who holds less than 50% of shares. This will save on compliance costs if Rahi’s consulting is not a subsidiary of Ophal’s real estate. I’m not sure how much do you understand from this explanation but in simple layman terms; you’re the ultimate beneficiary and you are required to decide to accept or reject this investment…Your brothers will worry about the cost and operation matters…” Peter explained as he patted Ivy’s hand.

“I understand… I took an extra class which is accounts and my tutor is Jason…” Ivy said as she wavered a little with her decision while pondering with thousands of questions on Jason and their friendship. Peter was surprised at Ivy’s impressive skills and started to wonder if she could be Jin’s assistant and work alongside him as after all, Ivy would definitely graduate earlier than Jin.

Peter seemed to be able to read his daughter’s face as she weighed the pros and cons of the mergers and the cons she could find were those affecting their personal relationship as she pouted and sighed. Peter decided to give her the clarification she sought as he recalled her questions asked in anger earlier.

“Jason told me he didn’t know of your identity at first… When he found out, he did indeed want to take advantage of it but he is backing out now because…” Peter held on tightly to Ivy’s hands as she furrowed her eyebrows even more in disappointment.

“... he cares alot about my little princess and he wants the best for her. That’s why he said he would only agree to the business venture only if… my little princess agrees…” Peter gently patted her soft and silky hair as Ivy looked up at her dad and her tears flowed unwillingly down her cheeks.

Peter wiped them away knowing his daughter must have felt the same as Jason that the both of them just didn’t want to confess their feelings due to the complicated situation.

“I know it’s hard for you to decide now… We are supposed to meet him tomorrow… I can postpone it…” Peter gently coaxed Ivy to calm down but Ivy’s thoughts were all over the place as she closed her eyes and forced herself to sort them out.

She recalled the times where Jason kept asking her about finding her father.

The times where he helped her out everytime a mishap happened; was it genuine or was it fake?

“It wasn’t possible to be fake if he even brought me to the psychiatrist and helped me overcome my sleep paralysis issues…” Ivy gripped on tighter to his dad’s hand.

“The times where he even got into trouble for me to save me from Kyle. All this couldn’t be fake. Why would he go to such an extent only to pull back at the end? Was the fake relationship we had really turning into a real one?” Ivy shook her head. “Yes, it has…” Ivy could hear her mind replying to her as she finally registered her dad’s question.

“No… Don’t postpone it. I am going to stick to my answer as before. I will accept this business venture. I understand his business needs it, and so does yours. Business is business…But I would want to request for these shares transferred to me to be shared among us and my brothers other than Rahi’s Consulting…” Ivy said firmly as Peter smiled, caressing her face.

“I don’t need the shares…” Peter said gently. “It’s always good to take the minority shares. After all, it’s a business and you never know. Don’t judge minority shares though. They can be very strong. Say five percent is even stronger than 80% daddy…” Ivy explained with conviction as Peter, who was so proud of his daughter’s outstanding self, finally nodded in submission.

“Fine, alright I will take the minority shares and I suggest you be the biggest shareholder among five of you including Rahi’s Consulting…” Peter suggested as Ivy pondered awhile.

“Hmmm… Let’s discuss with my brothers first later… Let me sign these first…” Ivy replied as Peter nodded and smiled.

Ivy took a pen from inside her bag and opened the file to read the agreement and resolution again before she pen down her signature proudly while touching Jason’s name gently as her eyes twinkled. However, a part of her was still upset with the way he handled the entire situation. After all, they had gone through so far and she felt she deserved to be told the truth directly from him.

“Jason indeed trained you well… I also knew you were helping him out with his personal matters?” Peter said as Ivy returned the signed documents to him. Ivy was surprised once again at how transparent Jason was which made her not doubt her decision at all.

“About that… You can just leave it to us to handle… After all, I have decided to move to Landsfield to further my studies with Andrew and Sandra…” Ivy said firmly.

That reminded Peter of the video Jason sent him of Ivy’s debate competition. “You did very well in your last debate… I didn’t know I have such a talented daughter… Why didn’t you take up law in Manes?” Peter asked as Ivy lamented the fact that Jason had literally told her father about everything.

“Jason showed you the video?” Ivy couldn’t help but to speak her mind as Peter nodded with a smile. She recalled her reason for needing to be realistic with her career and debating can just turn into a past hobby.

“In life, the road leading me down made me stay realistic…” Ivy sighed sadly. “But now you have all you needed… I can support and provide you…” Peter offered but Ivy shook her head.

“With you around, even more, I should pursue business administration. Then I could proudly take over from you and also handle grandma’s stall for legacies to come…” Ivy smiled as she explained with conviction. It made Peter feel very proud of her as his mind wandered back at her relationship with Jason.

“Ivy, it’s not that I want to pry into your privacy but I think you should sort out things with Jason soon on personal matters as it wouldn't be ideal once this business venture falls through and you would need to meet him often… You understand?” Peter suggested as Ivy nodded and laid her head on Peter’s right lap.

“It’s so nice to have you, daddy…” Peter smiled widely as he gently combed her hair.

“After this, you could continue your internship in Ophal's real estate alongside your brothers since the business is going to merge and being wherever you are is just the same isn’t it?” Peter suggested as Ivy looked up at him excitedly.

“Really? I can? But how come my brothers are so into the business when they haven't even left high school?” Ivy asked curiously as she furrowed her eyebrows.

“That’s because we all wanted to keep the business going strong for you my dear… Oh yes, I have also spoken with Auntie Soh to let Andrew and Sandra stay over with us in Landsfield. After all, take it as a gratitude in taking care of you all these years.” Peter announced as Ivy smiled till her eyes closed.

“You know that’s the greatest news ever for them especially when they had just started to date each other lately… Don’t let Auntie Soh know.. It’s a secret..” Ivy made her dad do a pinky promise with her as she giggled.

“So… tell me more about my brothers?” Ivy asked dreamily as Peter smiled.

“Your brothers are scary cats… You’re so much braver than them to even stay so long in grandma’s run down house...” Ivy laughed along with her dad.

“I will find contractors to fix the old house since it holds so many memories for all of us…” Peter said as Ivy nodded.

“Guess I will have to study for my finals while doing an internship in Landsfield then.. Oh yes, I have a motivational camping trip this weekend with Andrew and Sandra… It’s the college’s arrangements…” Ivy announced.

“Go ahead… It would be fun…” Peter encouraged but Ivy was pouting.

“Hmm.. It is supposed to be… Just that Jason would be there too as an instructor…But I’m not sure if he will since he had an injury from saving me from a mishap last weekend…” Ivy wondered how Jason was doing as she bit on her lips.

“What happened last week? What was the mishap? Are you alright, Ai Lee?” Peter began to panic as Ivy patted his hand to calm him down. “I’m fine… I was lucky that Jason came at the right time to fight the boys at a party I was in with my friends but the boys apparently were from an underground mob… They went to assault Jason separately on Monday at his office block… He is fine now as his wound on his thigh is slowly recovering…” Ivy explained as Peter pulled Ivy in for a hug as Ivy’s head was resting on his chest. Peter was extremely grateful to Jason for all that he had done.

“If you wanted to know how he was doing, I could check for you now… After all, I needed to confirm tomorrow’s appointment…” Peter took the opportunity to tease Ivy as she blushed, caught off guard when they broke away from his embrace.

“Daddy!!!” Ivy squealed as she hugged him again and buried her face into his stomach while he sent a text message to Jason to confirm the appointment and ask him to get well soon from his injuries.

Jason who was resting the entire afternoon with Lucky in his room’s window panel couldn’t help but get his thoughts wandering back to Ivy. As he wondered how the progress of her reunion was and its hundreds of possible outcomes alone in the dark with Lucky, the text message from Peter brightened up the room. As he read the text, it had chased away all of his worries as he replied with his gratitude and continued enjoying the starry sky feeling extremely relieved but he knew he had to think of ways to speak with Ivy separately as he owed her an explanation and apology after all.

“There… he just replied. Looks like he is fine…” Peter teased as Ivy sneered playfully at her dad before the thought of the promise she made with Nancy flocked her mind and turned her smile into a frown.

“He is fine, that would be all I could ask for… After all, it will be impossible for us to be together…” Ivy said sadly as she hung her head looking down at the floor.

“Why? You haven't given the relationship a try…” Peter prompted.

“Cause there’s someone else who loves him more and deserves him more...” Ivy explained as Peter instantly could link the story.

“You mean his ex-girlfriend who cheated on him?” Peter questioned which took Ivy by surprise again that Jason would share such a story with her dad. “He even told you that?” Ivy asked as Peter nodded.

“Looks like he was completely honest with you… I didn’t expect it… It just proves my decision was right…” Ivy thought through the entire situation.

“Yes, it’s Nancy, his ex-girlfriend whom I made a promise to that after my finals I will leave Jason and let them be together. I promise to not stand in between them. After all, it was a fake show anyway…” Ivy pouted.

“Sweetheart, love isn't just about one person alone but it’s about two people… You may think this way but he might not… Communication is very important…” Peter tried to advise only to be rejected by Ivy.

“Daddy… I know what to do… Don’t meddle in this. I will ensure the business venture falls through alright? The rest, just let me handle myself…” Ivy pleaded as Peter had no choice but to nod as he began to admire his daughter even more.

“Indeed you’re living up to the meaning of your English name; Ivy… Do you know how sturdy ivies’ veins are? Regardless of how you try to break them, they stay strong together and it hurts to pull them apart… They could also stay strong in a harsh environment… Just like you, sweetheart…” Peter complimented as Ivy giggled.

“If only I found you earlier… If only I fought for you back then… You would have a brighter prospect and future…” Peter mumbled as Ivy smiled.

“Having you here now, it’s already a bright future… I wonder if this is a dream?” Ivy giggled.

“If it’s a dream, we shouldn't wake up, should we?” Peter joined in the fun with his daughter.

“No…” Ivy smiled as she watched the starry night outside with Peter from their hotel room’s window panel as Peter enveloped Ivy into a hug in his arms, feeling more grateful than ever.

*orang asli : a collective term for the indigenous peoples of Malaysia