Feeling lethargic from work and the turmoil of ambivalence she felt the whole day on Jeremy, Ivy drove herself to the bar that night leaving Real and Chiang driving Jeremy to the bar instead. Ivy sneakily used the side entrance and entered the private room thinking the person she saw standing at the entrance must be Jeremy waiting for her.

However, the moment Ivy stepped in, Jeremy started drinking the first cup of whiskey which pissed her off as he knew he should not be drinking recklessly after his toxication. Only then did she realise it was Real who dressed to look like him to fool her earlier when Real stepped inside the private room.

“My niece, glad to see you tonight!” Charles greeted with a hearty laugh as Ivy smiled with a hidden meaning smile at him before nodding slightly.

“So why are you here?” She purposely struck up a conversation with Kyle coquettishly who was relieved she did as he moved on closer to her side. She picked up the first cup of whiskey, not intending to cheer with Kyle but drank her first gulp eyeing Jeremy while Kyle was fascinated by her move.

“Well, to see you and I'm sure you received my offer.” Before Ivy could reply Jeremy stood furiously.

“That won't be necessary to be discussed here. Aren't we here to destress?” Jeremy drank another cup on purpose, in front of Ivy as Ivy took another cup and drank in retaliation.

“Says you. Who dares not to oblige?” She fought back watching him drink another.

“Up for a challenge, I see?” Charles said noticing something was off with the couple as he stood to leave while Ivy drank another.

“Well, why not make it a challenge?” Jeremy drank another furiously before Charles chuckled and shook his head in Kyle’s expected failure.

“Good to see you, Ai Lee. We shall catch up on another day…” Charles chuckled again as he made a move with Mr. Oshia who was equally disappointed with Kyle’s effort.

Thereafter, Kyle was useless at interrupting the couple’s game.

“Hey guys, guys, let's stop drinking and let me join too.” Kyle tried to catch their attention especially Ivy’s.

“Who wants to drink with you?!” Jeremy groaned, a little flared by the liquor burning at his throat.

“Oh, you wanna drink? Where did all the old ones go? Head on find them! They give you more money, only then, we drink together!” Ivy laughed hysterically as she carried on cup after cup competing with Jeremy, ignoring Kyle.

Ivy nearly lost her footing when Kyle tried to hold her steadily. In return, he was greeted with a reckless hard push which made him finally give up and walk off, defeated.

The moment he did that, Jeremy passed out on the chair when they were alone with Real.

Panic arose in Ivy. “Jeremy…” Ivy gasped as she ran over to him and touched his heating body while Real quickly went to get Chiang to come in and help.

“Jeremy wake up! Why the hell did you drink this much? Is it worth it to fight with me like this?!” Ivy scolded as a card fell out of his jacket’s pocket.

She took it and saw a familiar company name and address. It instantly struck her that the address was their office block and the floor was the exact number of the mysterious company that had been bothering her.

She slipped it into her pocket quickly and walked out of the room letting Real and Chiang handle him as she drove herself to investigate the office with his card. When she barged into the lobby, her mind was so occupied that she did not hear the guard greeting her.

As the lift reached the designated floor, she observed the surroundings which looked like any ordinary office with the name J’s F&B. She walked further down to the main office and as she entered, she caught glimpses of pictures of two little boys in Jeremy’s arms. The sight made her swallow the growing lump in her throat painfully.

She knew who they were; the ones whom she had been searching for, his sons.

She opened up files on the table and stumbled upon Jeremy’s past on both fiancees, Anna and Mable’s planned deaths caused by accidents. The next few words terrified her cause the culprit was none other than her Uncle Charles as she had suspected.

Ivy gasped at the discovery. Her mind frantically flew to clues on the children’s whereabouts but she could not determine them amid chaos. There was not any information on the children that she feared they might be dead.

She flipped through more files and they were mostly reports on each case of other women or young girls' deaths and were all planned the same way as his fiancees. It reminded her of identical stories she was told by Cassandra.

It was too intense for Ivy to digest that the terror never left Ivy’s eyes when she flipped through more files. Her anger intensified as waves of frustration and fear swept over her, beyond her control.

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She stopped abruptly when she stumbled onto a familiar name, Jason Rahi. She flipped more to find the reports compiled on his planned death and so was Grandma’s. Her eyes finally teared up unwillingly as she forced herself to not break down.

To avoid forgetting or missing out on crucial details, she managed to snap a couple of pictures of the reports before she made her way out of the office. She was dumbfounded at her findings. She was on autopilot mode when she went back down to the lobby and even when the guard greeted her again, she walked lifelessly passed him and gave no response.

She did not know what to think of; Lost and terrified, she drove and drove, finding herself driving home to Rahi’s house.

Upon reaching, she had no choice but to clenched her fist tightly hoping not to bump into Daisy. When she finally reached the first floor of the house, her eyes darted to Jason’s room. She longed to enter it but her heart only wanted to hide in Jeremy’s room for the refuge he had promised.

She sat in the dark trying to digest all she saw by accident; a little disappointed that Jeremy was not in but angered as she remembered how much he had drunk earlier.

It was the answer I was looking for.

It was the entire evidence.

I would be able to find the kids soon…

She did not dare to open up the pictures just yet.

She was not ready.

She began to doubt Jeremy’s intention.

She fought with herself to stay to the point that Jeremy was genuine but a part of her still stubbornly decided to doubt him.

He knew about Grandma and Jason’s death was related to Uncle…

His fiancees’ deaths were all related…

It’s only right for him to use me…

I deserve it, don’t I? For all he had been through, it’s only right…

Ivy concluded, numbed by her blank mind while her heart, beat faster to every uncertainty that crossed her mind. She twirled the loose engagement ring on her left middle finger as it fickled occasionally under the moonlight, hoping it was all a nightmare in her paracosm which she could wake up to.

Jeremy was alerted by Real on the break in and they knew who broke in and did what. Jeremy struggled to stay sober as he fumbled his way into the house after Chiang drove him from his own bar where he lived in a makeshift bed in his office on days he drank too much.

Jeremy was trying to be as quiet as he could when he approached the first story only to find Daisy was not home. He found it strange but was more worried about Ivy whom he found hiding in his room by the window on the floor, looking very very fragile and dumbfounded.

“Ivy…” He held her by her shoulders and gently called her name as she slowly pulled her gaze away from the bright moon to him. The sight of him made her loosen her fisted hands, allowing the access card to fall off from her grip.

Ivy was searching his eyes for a hint of confirmation that she could still trust him as he looked frantically worried about her. “Hey…” He showed her his access card.

“Didn’t I say I will tell you someday?” Ivy’s tears fell unwillingly as Jeremy wiped them away.

“Did you mean what you said last night?” She asked in a desperate tone.

“About your feelings and your help?” She continued as Jeremy was torn apart by Ivy’s anguish self.

“Or are they just… lies?” Ivy questioned carefully as he gently wiped away more tears flowing down her cheeks.

“I thought you were drunk.” He teased her hoping it would ease her mood.

“I didn't drink much and so didn't you, despite the spike.” Ivy protested as she gripped deeper into her fists again.

“Were you sober enough to remember everything then?” He asked wanting herself to confirm that it was all real last night. She nodded.

“Then what are we now?” He asked with an eyebrow raised as she searched his eyes for an answer.

He caressed her cheek gently which was soothing to her and she did not want it to stop. Her fears grew knowing to pick her answer carefully as it determined his next course of action which she did not want all of it to end.

“What you want us to be but there wouldn't be a happy ending… Remember?” He reminded.

“Did you mean it?” She asked again desperately seeking a clear confirmation.

“We have a common enemy now. Why don't we take a step together and slowly figure out our happy ending?” He confirmed as he immediately kissed her while she let her tears flow even more freely.

When they parted, he rested his forehead on hers. As Ivy got the confirmation she needed, she fell into his arms and rested her head on his chest, finally weeping at the expense of her discovery.

He slowly coaxed her to open up her fisted hands as he sat by the window with her.

“I know… what happened to everyone you loved.” Jeremy’s heart dropped as his eyes darkened when she softly said to him in between her sobs but his hand never stopped comforting her.

He continued to gently rub her back till her sobs subsided. “It will be alright. You have me. You’re the strongest I have ever met. He won’t be able to harm you the way he did with the others.” He coaxed.

“I'm so sorry… You have every right to use me against him. You have every right to do whatever you want to me…” Before she could finish her sentence, he kissed her again as she savored the moment with him.

He wanted so much to protect her vulnerable self forever.

“Ivy… You’re not at fault. And never once did I want to use you against him. I want to protect you and fight him together like we had promised.” She hugged him and wept uncontrollably as she could not believe the Jeremy she was holding on to now was the total opposite of who she thought he was at first.

He held her closely by the window into the night. He even noticed both dogs were not home.

“Mum’s not in. Any idea where she went?” He asked, breaking the silence after the realisation. She did not realise it till then and she could only shake her head.

“Couldn’t sleep?” He gently asked as she nodded and tightened her arms around him before burrowing her face onto his chest for refuge.

“Let’s go somewhere?” He suggested. She looked puzzled when she peeked at him with a frown.

He smiled and carried her to the car without waiting for her to protest as she willingly let him, trusting him with her heart whole.