Jeremy woke after a while noticing the still of the night as he discreetly alighted from the car to find Ivy staring at the glasshouse. He approached to tap her shoulder only to startle her. He caught her in his arms as she nearly tripped from the steps of the side door.

He could feel her fear from her shaky tightening grip and her terrified gaze at him. She was reminded of her paracosm where she fell off a tall tower calling out to her mother as she forced herself to stay composed and not give herself away in front of Jeremy whom she had not confirmed if he was an enemy or a savior in disguise.

“What if it was your enemy?” He raised an eyebrow as she looked away trying to hide her fear.

“Guess it’s your grandma’s place?” He asked to keep her distracted as she nodded and quickly went to open the side door with the keys she had gotten from Ryu earlier.

“Come in. We will be resting here tonight.” She said as he politely headed in and saw the series of pictures from when Ivy was young on the walls leading to the kitchen. Mostly were pictures of her and her grandma but one that caught his attention was beneath the aurora and stood Peter and her mother.

“My stepmother.”. She said after washing up the rice and placing the pot with it on the stove. She discreetly added sugar to it after that.

“Come, sit here.” She instructed as she pulled out a chair at the dining table overseeing the large window which was still maintained after renovation.

She kept herself busy with the side dishes preparation and was grateful that Ryu had not finished up some preserved side dishes he had gotten from Auntie Soh. As she served them and occasionally stirred the porridge, Jeremy felt a sudden peaceful he longed for at night's still.

“It’s this quiet at night?” He asked to break the silence as she hummed in agreement.

“Must be fun living alone with all the freedom…” He mumbled.

“Can be lonely but there’s always Auntie Soh, Sandra, and Andrew back then.” She explained as he smiled.

“This must be where my brother came before too?” He asked as Ivy’s eyes droop recalling his first time by the window where she was busy with her woodwork.

“Yes. He even had a splinter in his finger during his first time here. At least not as bad as my first experience at your place.” Jeremy raised an eyebrow wondering what she meant.

“Where had all your fiancees gone and children?” She took the opportunity to pry and see what she could get out of him only to find his eyes droop in sadness too.

“Gone with the wind…” He mumbled with a hint of sadness.

She wondered if he was really a playboy then he would not have felt that way but it seemed being loyal was in his blood. Then it made her wonder what exactly happened but it would not be wise to pry further yet as they stayed in the kitchen silently till the porridge was ready. The only way was to get closer to his gang members first, Ivy thought.

As Ivy finally sat down in front of him after scooping the porridge, he did not have the appetite but Ivy coaxed him. “Here, taste one spoon. That’s all you need to do before you decide to reject me.”

He skeptically opened his mouth and took a bite only to find it was sweet. Ivy smiled knowing he was going to eat.

“Try all these side dishes. They are also all sweet.” She teased as she dug into her meal.

He smiled as he slowly enjoyed his meal. It’s so peaceful and quiet. I wished time could stop for a moment. Was that smile because of me? He thought to himself as he kept stealing glances at Ivy.

“Mum told you about this, did she?” He asked as she met his gaze. He quickly darted his eyes away, concealing his true feelings as she nodded.

“Why? Doesn’t suit your taste?” She questioned casually as he scoffed. “Mum’s one is better.” He was honest without expecting it to hit Ivy differently.

She was reminded of Permisla whom she had not visited ever since the first time with Peter. She reminded herself to check with Marcel on the appointment when she headed back to Landsfield as she smiled sadly.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to…” He realised Ivy’s distressed face that she might be thinking about her mother but Ivy quickly waved her hand.

“I’m fine.” She stood to clear her bowl away.

“Take your time. I will be outside.” She said before he caught her arm.

“Who was that guy earlier?” Jeremy asked which made Ivy alarmed for a moment and recalled Jeremy must have seen Kyle and her poor reaction. Although so, she was not ready to give herself away when Jeremy was still an undetermined foe or friend.

She bravely turned to face him. “No one. Just uncle’s business partner's son. You’re not into this whole act deeply are you to be jealous of him?” She tried to change the topic as she raised an eyebrow before he let her go.

She smirked and walked out to prepare his room only to realised the only empty room was her grandma’s as Ryu had taken up her room and Ray must have slept in her grandma’s room before this.

She smiled as she stepped outside to the glasshouse where it still looked the same. She stepped inside to lay down on the makeshift bed and watched the sky on top, slowly sending her asleep instead.

She opened her eyes to find herself back in her paracosm with Avinha. She could see that Avinha was genuinely wanting to revive her back. On the night she was destined to demolish everything in that explosion as her phoenix self collided with the gold dragon, Avinha who was immortal survived, and collected her embers to nurture it.

Ivy could feel someone was by her side when she turned to see Avinha. “You were protecting me?” Ivy asked as Avinha smiled. Ivy unexpectedly let her tears slip.

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“You’re trying to show me we were destined to be together first but the tragic ending took its’ toll. Now what?” She questioned as Avinha frowned at her question.

“Don’t you think this tower is a trap?” He took a step forward inching closer to her as she stood bravely staring right into his gaze.

“We find a way out of course…” He whispered as Ivy blinked preparing herself for the worst answer she could get.

“And that comes with a price…” Avinha took another step closer to her as she stepped backward and found herself falling off the steps. As she kept her stares right at Avinha’s eyes, not yelling anymore like before cause her subconscious knew she would awake to reality soon, she found Avinha diving down the tower with her while holding on to her head as though protecting her from the impact.

She was bracing herself for the impact only to stir awake from a shift in her body when Jeremy carried her to her room. It took her a moment to realise she was back to reality as the moment he placed her down in bed she began to catch her breath heavily.

“Ivy, you’re alright?” He panicked for a while Ivy clenched her heart to try and comfort herself.

“Was it a paralysis again? It must be because you were in the dark earlier. Calm down, calm down… You’re alright…” He gently rubbed her back which soothed her nerves tremendously as she rested her chin on his shoulder while realising he knew about her sleep paralysis and wondered how or if she had revealed it to him previously by accident.

As she began to calm down she found herself staring into his gaze when he released her.

“How did you know?” She questioned as he then realised he let it out by slip of tongue. “That’s what I get from kidnapping your brother. What do you think?” He tried to sound unaffected while she recalled he was still sick.

“Have you gotten well?” She checked his temperature to find it was getting back to normal as he held her hand in his.

“Sleep. You need all the energy for tomorrow.” He said before rolling over to his side while still holding onto her hand.

Ivy let a slip of tear flow being reminded of how Ray could still care for her even when he was not around.

Thank you, Ray, and you, are you a foe or a friend? … She said in her heart as she lay by Jeremy’s side, closing her eyes and trying to take a little nap, knowing she would not be able to fall asleep easily.

That night, Melody was with Ryu in Ivy’s hotel room but Ryu was caught up with work due to the preparation of the phase one launch. Melody noticed Ryu was struggling to keep her accompanied and wondered back on what he said during the accidental confession she heard.

She agreed that he had a point about being busy with studies and his work commitment and also the danger lurking around his family, that, back then she might be able to help a little but now, she felt hopeless and was a burden; the same way he felt about himself around Ivy.

She wondered if he would understand her decision to put a halt to their relationship temporarily so that he could focus better. She held onto the question as she slowly drifted asleep while Ryu was still settling arrangements with his assistant.

By the time he had the time to entertain Melody, she had fallen asleep. He climbed into bed to let her nestled in his arms as he slept at ease till the next morning instead feeling very blessed to have her by his side again.

The next morning, Melody woke first to find his dashing face beaming upon her.

“Good morning…” He said as he kissed her forehead. “Morning…” She chirped as he snuggled with her.

She knew she had to tell him there and then otherwise he would start to be busy again and she would only hesistate more. “I’m sorry about last night. I’m sorry we rarely had chances to meet and I miss you very much.” Ryu said as he buried his face into her hair.

“Ryu, I have something I need to tell you.” Melody forced herself to say it knowing she might waver anytime.

“What is it?” He asked dreamily.

“I think we should take a break from our relationship…” She said solemnly as Ryu opened his eyes in shock while Melody’s eyes began to redden.

“What do you mean? If you mind I have been busy, I want to visit you every week. I will make time…” He stuttered as Melody climbed down the bed.

“No… don’t go. Not like this.” He pleaded as he began to cry which made Melody nearly give in.

“Ryu, we both are busy and the finals are here. Let’s take a break till the finals end.” She said before running off with her belongings, not giving Ryu a chance to demand for explanation or coaxed further. His mind went blank as he sat in bed trying to register Melody’s sudden request.

Upon hearing the room door slammed, Melody’s tears flowed freely on the way to the lift as she ran to the hotel’s garden to calm herself.

Yes. this is for the better. It’s only temporary, Melody. It’s only temporary… She was trying to coax herself only to find her lying to herself being unconvincing as she let herself cry.

When Ryu finally regained his senses, the first person who came to mind was Ivy as he dialed her number waiting for her to pick up.

Ivy woke up early partly cause she could not sleep well thereafter and spoke with Aunty Soh as she made her a bowl of chili noodles and non-spicy noodles for Jeremy at her home.

When Jeremy took a bite, he found out that it was the same noodles he had yesterday for lunch when Chiang and Real packed for him. Upon noticing Jeremy was zoning out, Auntie Soh vented.

“Eat up! I don’t understand why Ivy would still want to look after you after all you did to her family and yours…” She scolded as Ivy held onto her hand. “Auntie, calm down…”

“If you don’t mind simple meals. It’s Ivy’s grandma’s secret recipe. When you’re well I will make you the spicy one.” Auntie Soh said in a comforted tone as Jeremy nodded meekly while slurping his noodles.

“He doesn’t look like a bad person you know that. But I just don’t understand why he did all that…” Auntie Soh mumbled to Ivy as Ivy gently patted her hand to comfort her.

“Auntie, has business been good lately?” Ivy tried changing the topic.

“Of course! Don’t worry little Ms. Shareholder. Meals on me. Whoever you bring to patronise, I will still entertain 'cause they bring money to you.” Auntie Soh said as Ivy laughed.

Jeremy could not help but grin understanding Auntie Soh was asking him to pay for the meal instead and that Ivy actually is a shareholder of the business.

“Alright, alright. If you need anything, let me know alright?” Ivy reminded as Auntie Soh was reminded of Sandra.

“Sandra misses you. Have you both not been in contact? Is it because she started dating and…” Auntie Soh began to worry.

“No, no. Don’t worry. We are in contact but you know her schedules in college and internship are hectic. Besides, I’m busy myself too. Don’t worry, I will find time to meet her.” Ivy assured her that the last thing she wanted was for Auntie Soh to doubt Andrew’s and Sandra’s relationship. At that point, she wondered how the couple was doing too as she reminded herself to make time to meet them.

Jeremy could tell the relationship between Sandra and Ivy was very close and Auntie Soh treated Ivy just the same as her daughter. Learning more about Ivy each day has made him understand many reasons why so many people want to protect her and help her including himself.

As they continued to enjoy their breakfast, she received a call from Ryu.

“Ivy, could you watch over Melody?” In normal circumstances, Ivy would think he was overconcerned but the tone of his voice made her suspicious. Jeremy could tell it was a serious call from Ivy’s face.

“What happened?” She asked solemnly.

“I was very busy with the launch and all. I know I... I tried my best to accommodate time for her. But she asked me in the morning to give our… a break… I…” Ryu choked on his words as Ivy blinked in despair.

“Alright. I will look after her. Maintain your composure. Now isn’t a good time. A break perhaps would help you to solve important matters first. Believe in Melody. I’m sure she knows what she was asking.” Ivy coaxed as Ryu hummed in agreement before hanging up as Jeremy watched Ivy slump her shoulders in despair and try to maintain her composure to avoid worrying Auntie Soh.

Jeremy discreetly urged her to finish up her noodles as they ate silently.