Warning: This chapter contains content that may not be suitable for some readers

Jeremy was standing by his room's window panel in the middle of the night after a busy day ensuring his drug dealings were in order. As he took a sip of his whiskey on the rocks, he let the burn lingering in his throat ignite the sparks of his idea.

He was contemplating pestering Peter to transfer his minority shares over to himself. With that, he would be able to slowly work his way up against Ivy’s brothers and dominate the authority to run the business. When Ivy’s awake, he intended to make her his wife by all means. It was essential for him to get back his brother’s inheritance which was under their mother’s custody at the moment.

As he drank the entire shot of whiskey, he knew his mother was planning to return all of Jason’s inheritance to Ivy when she is awake. Hence, he had to plan one step ahead of his mother.

The next morning, Ryu who had just finished classes for the day walked out of the school by himself while adjusting the strap of his guitar bag and bouncing his basketball as he walked. He was recalling the days when Ivy was around. He would have looked forward to heading home but now, he dreaded it as he would then return to an empty house.

Jin’s classes were longer now considering he was in the last year of high school whereas Ray, had taken over all of the brothers’ responsibilities to run their father’s business. Ryu for once wished he was much older to be able to help out Ray as Jin at least was still helping out with the secret investigation at Cassandra’s boutique.

Feeling all dejected, he sat by the park’s bench and kept the ball in his guitar bag after he took out his acoustic guitar to strum a low sad tune. As he was so into his thoughts, he didn’t notice his fan club leader was tailgating him. Melody had always been updated about whatever Ryu has been up to and it was not to be missed about his family situation and Ivy’s condition considering the death news of Jason and Nancy was still a piece of exclusive news in the business industry despite happening weeks ago.

Remembering how Ivy had acknowledged her during the new year’s event, Melody was curious about Ivy’s condition considering it was nearly a month since she last heard of her. As she tried to approach Ryu who was in his own world, she sat by his side momentarily holding on to a gift she had gotten Ryu long ago but didn’t dare to give him. However, instead of finding herself to be nervous having to have sat so near Ryu, she found herself drawn to the sad tune he was strumming to as though it was resonating with all the agony and loneliness he felt in him.

When Ryu noticed Melody was seated so close, he was startled but he recognised her. He was about to chase her away when he realised he didn't want to trigger any negative news which would result in fan harassment again. Hence, he decided to bravely play along with her. Ever since Ivy’s incident, Ryu had been slacking on his basketball training to stay in Landsfield to wait for Ivy to wake up from her coma. That’s why he no longer had as many responsibilities or companions as before. So, getting to know a fan wouldn’t do much harm he finally thought.

He snapped his fingers in front of Melody but she was not moving at all while her watery eyes were fixated on him. When she finally heard him snapping, tears flowed down her eyes before she gave him a hug.

“Errr… Excuse me?” Ryu said awkwardly as Melody began to sob while hugging him.

“I didn’t know you were this sad! Oh, my poor Ryu!” Melody said as Ryu awkwardly slowly moved his hands which were up in the air to pat her back.

In the midst of it, he realised he was indeed sad as she said. However, when he noticed other passersby had their eyes on them strangely, he quickly tried to stop Melody from crying.

“Err… Could you stop crying? People might think I am bullying you!” He hissed as Melody quickly sat up and took a tissue from her pocket to sniff and blow her nose. Instead of being nervous, Ryu was amused as he watched her clean herself up. He noticed an ice cream tuck shop by the park nearby so he quickly rushed over to buy two and returned to offer her one.

“Here… You will feel better after you have this.” Ryu smiled as Melody couldn’t believe her basketball idol was treating her to ice cream. It felt so surreal as she blushed and admired his stunning face shining under the sun.

Ryu chuckled as he place the cone into her hand. “Quick have a bite before it melts,” Ryu said as Melody nodded and took the first bite of the strawberry ice cream. Ryu smiled with satisfaction as he bit into his chocolate ice cream.

“What’s your name?” Ryu asked curiously.

“Lily Melody Ting… You could call me Melody…” Ryu beamed even more at the sound of her name.

“No wonder you were so touched after listening to the melody I played, Melody?” Ryu teased as Melody looked down at her lap shyly and noticed the present she prepared as she held it out to him.

“For you.” She said shyly as Ryu smiled and took the box before opening it up.

“Thank you…” He said as he was touched to receive a guitar pick from his fan. Melody smiled till her dimples were seen before she recalled she should apologised for intruding.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to pry on your privacy earlier… I just wanted to know how’s your sister doing. It must have been hard on her…” Melody clarified nervously but stop when she noticed Ryu who was a little laid back became tense. At the thought of Ivy, his mood was easily dampened but he regain his composure as he took another bite of his ice cream.

“She is still in a coma… So far, things have been stable. My sister apparently loves sleeping. So, it’s just a matter of time to wait for her to wake up.” Ryu tried to give her a smile as the chill from the ice cream was refreshing enough to keep his tears from welling in his eyes.

Melody looked down at her lap sadly as she knew it must have been very upsetting for Ryu. Ryu could tell Melody was concerned as he felt a warmth in his heart, knowing that there were fans who cared about him. He patted her head to comfort her.

“Finish up. The ice cream will melt away.” Ryu urged with a wink as Melody looked up and gave him a sad smile before she nodded. She managed to quickly take a candid shot of Ryu enjoying his ice cream.

As she giggled looking at the result of the picture, Ryu then recognised her uniform was students from the school opposite them. He knew their break time was going to end soon so he decided to tease her again.

“Don’t you have to study or attend school? Why are you following me during the mid-day?” Ryu questioned as Melody raised an eyebrow and check her watch to see the time for her break was almost over. She panicked as she started to fumble and gathered her things.

“Oh no! Oh no!” Melody chanted as Ryu helped her with the last file. “Slowly. Cross the road safely!” Ryu waved as he watched Melody run off.

He decided to check his fan’s social media pages and saw Melody’s effort in constantly posting about him and his basketball passion. The last few posts were cheering him to stay strong as Ryu smiled delightfully. He was wondering what had he been fearing back then. Having fans wasn’t as bad as Ivy had always told him.

He then went to look at Melody’s social media account only to find out that she was the leader of his fan page. To encourage her and thanked her for her efforts, he decided to add her as a friend before sending her a private message on social media. “Don’t skip classes just to see me. You know my schedule, why worry? Find me when you finish school. Study well!”

When Melody received the notification, she was in disbelief. She quickly accepted the friend request first and rubbed her eyes in disbelief. She began to read the message and pinched herself before she smiled stupidly to herself. She only regain her composure when her class teacher walked into the class.

She quickly sent him a reply. “Alright my idol! I will listen to my idol’s advice! Keep it up, my idol!” Right after that, she decided to post the picture she secretly took of Ryu earlier enjoying his ice cream. The caption read “Even our idol takes a break with ice cream! Keep it up!”

Ryu read the message and the post delightfully as he liked the picture on his fan page. Hundreds of comments flooded the post thereafter on how Ryu had been paying attention to his fans despite his family’s crisis and praising him while giving him the will to stay strong.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

He was reminded of what Ivy always told him. The more you’re afraid of something, you should face it with bravery even if you’re nervous. The result wasn’t as bad as he thought. He winced at the thought of Ivy as he blinked back his tears missing her. Although he had taken the first step out of his shell, he was still afraid of what other fans would do to him. With that in mind, he decided to pay Ivy a visit.

When he arrived he knew his father was always sitting by her side as Ryu volunteered to take over while Peter when to grab a quick lunch. Looking at his dad’s haggard look, he was heartbroken and disappointed that he was useless in such a situation.

He sat by Ivy and held her hand as he told her about the incident with his fan. “My fan club manager’s name is Lily Melody Ting. It is a great rhyming name you know. I am sure you will like her even more if you get to know her.” Ryu sighed as he gave a sad smile listening to Ivy’s constant heartbeat.

“Ivy, could you wake up soon? I am afraid... I still am afraid to handle my fans in case something goes wrong…Ivy…” Ryu pleaded as he closed his watery eyes and couldn't speak out what was in his heart.

His worry wasn’t only about his fans but also their dad’s deteriorating condition to the broken family who was now all busy defending the family business. He also wanted someone to listen to his rant for not being able to help at all in such a situation. He end up sobbing by Ivy’s side as Nick who was dropping by to check on Ivy stood silently outside her room empathising with the family.

Ivy in her paracosm knew something wasn't right when she couldn’t recall things as she struggled to figure out the missing pieces of her memory. With Jason being calmer, she knew the only way to defeat her situation was to quickly solve the mystery at hand. “Jason, we should hurry. What’s the next room?” Ivy said urgently as she gently helped Jason to stand.

“Room 52…” Jason answered her skeptically. “Are you sure you’re alright with moving on?” Jason asked caringly as he caressed her face gently. Ivy felt a lump in her throat as she quickly nodded and dashed to the aisle of room 52 while discreetly blinking her tears away.

She wasn’t alright. She had so many questions about what had happened in the rooms they had entered previously as she could only recall bits and pieces of them. Instead of dwelling on them, she wanted to head into all of the rooms as quickly as she could to get out of the tower.

As they strolled further ahead, they saw the door to room 52. He opened it and a bright light was shining. She hesitated to enter as she was afraid to face their next life. A thought came to her mind. “What if it was worse?”

Jason comforted her as though he knew what she was thinking. “Trust me. I would not let any harm land on you.” She nodded as they both took the first step into the bright light.

This time they found themselves in a concrete house. “A richer life than before perhaps,” Jason thought.

As they explored their surroundings, Jason noticed porcelains and chandeliers everywhere in the house. It was a newer era no doubt but he couldn’t determine which century was it. Sounds of giggles were heard as he turned around with Ivy and watched several girls surround a man in bed. It looked as though they were his concubines.

Jason couldn’t bring himself to watch the scene any longer as he dragged Ivy and dashed out of the room. They sprinted through a long aisle to the maroon-carpeted steps downstairs to quickly search for themselves in that life. There were dozens of busy slaves around the house running errands as though preparing for a big celebration.

They noticed there were even children working as slaves. Among the children slaves, Jason instantly spotted Ivy who was at the age of a toddler. She was diligently trying her best to scrub the floor.

Ivy who had been in a daze with her clouded mind had let Jason take the lead all the way but when she saw her mini-self, she was eager to approach her. However, Jason held her back when some older slave knocked over little Ivy as she stumbled laying on the ground. Little Ivy struggled to get back up as she endured the pain of falling over. In the midst of the chaos, an old lady quickly carried her away.

Jason and Ivy trailed close by them and saw the old lady treating little Ivy’s bruise in a room. The old lady held her for a moment as she lamented the fate of little Ivy who was sold into slavery. As Ivy heard the old lady’s words, she couldn’t help but blinked back her tears and tried to control her tears as Jason gently patted her back to comfort her.

“When you’re older, you must never be one of those ladies in bed with the master of the house..” The old lady shuddered at her words as she decided the little toddler should leave now. The old lady gave little Ivy several pieces of gold and silver coins kept inside a small pouch little Ivy carried by her side and led her to the back door. The old lady sneaked her out and told her to never come back again after she left.

Little Ivy was mature for her age although she looked innocent. She understood the old woman as she quickly rushed into the woods ahead of her. The twins trailed behind little Ivy as she led them back to where little Ivy’s home was. It was also a concrete house and they finally saw little Jason.

Little Jason was instantly delighted to see his twin home as he danced with her in glee. Petunia came out from the kitchen and was shocked to find little Ivy had returned home but was very glad to see her baby girl again as she embraced her gratefully.

“The old lady let me go and told me to run far away and never to return there again..” Little Ivy’s voice chirped as Petunia hugged her while sobbing gratefully. “Oh, Ivy! Good girl! Thank goodness!” Petunia cried out.

Before they could enjoy the grateful moment any further, alarming heavy footsteps frightened all of them as the twins’ drunk father returned home. Being quick-witted, little Jason quickly led little Ivy to the second floor to hide as Petunia tried to regain her composure.

The twins’ little hasty steps were momentarily stopped each time they were startled by the sharp piercing sounds of potteries and glass shattering downstairs. Their father was demanding money from Petunia as little Ivy instantly recalled the gold and silver given by the old woman. She innocently ran downstairs and reached out to Petunia as she gave her whatever the old granny gave her earlier in her small pouch. Little Jason was frightened for the safety of his twin as he quickly rushed little Ivy back upstairs to the second floor before their drunken father could do any harm to her.

Little Ivy thought she was saving her mother but she was wrong. Her father caught Petunia trying to hide the pouch as he sloppily fight with her to snatch the pouch away. After snatching the little pouch from Petunia, he bellowed out loud and wanted more as he continued to give Petunia abusive slaps and punches.

Little Jason was shielding little Ivy’s sight from the horrible scene unfolding them but little Ivy wasn’t crying like little Jason did. She was trying to think of ways to stop their father from beating their mother up. In the midst of it, Petunia manage to escape and wanted to run up to the second floor. However, mid-way, she was caught again and he was too strong for her to fight back.

Little Ivy although only five, couldn't stand watching Petunia being abused as she ran over to the stairs to defend her mother with her protective hugs. When her father stopped, she stood back up by the stairs with her hands on her hips as she yelled at her father to stop abusing their mother. Little Jason was shocked at his twin’s actions but was too afraid to move.

When her father finally recognised her voice and sobered up a little to take a good look at her, he was shocked to see his daughter whom he sold to slavery was back home. He couldn't stand his anger of selling her off to slavery to earn the upkeep of the family only to have her abandon it all. Before Little Ivy could defend herself any further, her father started to go after her when all little Jason could do was sit in shock watching his father abusing their half-dead mother and little Ivy who with all her will was fighting the beast only to be beaten up to her death.

Ivy never knew her little self was so brave back in her past as she fell to the ground watching her little self even at the brink of death still fighting against her father. When her father finally let go of the lifeless little body of Ivy, he went sloppily up the stairs and fell to the ground on the second floor. Petunia crawled closer to little Ivy’s dead body as she tried to hold onto her tiny hands and slowly gave up the will to live too.

Little Jason was terrified on the second floor as he knew he was next if he didn’t do anything as he rushed back down to the first floor and flee into the kitchen to grab a knife. When he ran back up the stairs to face his drunken father to threaten to kill him, he knew he was not a fight against his oversize father. With his little body built at age of five, he was hurled off the balcony to the first floor as little Jason screamed in shock before landing with his head hitting hard on the concrete ground.

Jason finally knew little Ivy did all this to pay for the chance for little Jason to live on in this life. He was admiring the bravery of little Ivy and the adult Ivy he was holding on in his arms. He was proud to have such strong will sister as he watched their father push both weak and defenseless little Ivy and Petunia off the stairs to their death before he took the knife from little Jason’s hand on the ground floor and slaughtered himself.

Jason was filled with anguish this time as he knew his younger self was trying to turn around events but the result was always the same. They will die at the hands of their brutal father. In the midst of his realisation, he quickly stormed off with Ivy who had to be dragged out of the door of reflection as he heartbreakingly watched the sparkles of her memories flowing toward him while she sobbed heavily in his arms.

She cried till she was no longer capable of doing so when they were at the lobby of the tower. She wasn’t sure at one point the reason her heart ached so bad but all she knew was her crying was an effect of what she felt in her heart despite her kept questioning Jason on what was going on and where they were. She felt a little terrified too as all she had in mind was who Jason was and that her instinct was telling her she could trust him. That was also the reason she could let her guard down and cry all she wanted with him by her side.

He understood it was the turning point of their fate. There were 11 more doors to reflect on but Ivy didn't seem to be able to continue at that point. He decided to coax her into a deep sleep instead for a while. He was after all the one to tell the servants to put on an act as he watched Ivy drink the memory loss potion he prepared for her yet he regretted it a little now watching Ivy suffer.

“It was after all for your own good…” He said as he gently caressed her cheek. It was a secret he vowed to bring to death with him if possible as he couldn't bear to watch Ivy crying over the brutality although he knew they were both going through repentance for their parents’ mistakes.

He knew Ivy’s memories of all that had happened before this and in the tower of reflection would be all wiped out by the time they left this tower. He would rather be the one bearing all the suffering as through the visits to their past, he began to cherish Ivy’s sacrifices more that in return, he knew he made the right decision back then.

She deserved a better life than to be living in hell with their current family. He had a perfect plan for her, or so he thought as the destiny awaiting them in the next 11 doors was getting even more arduous.