Leo took Ivy’s silence as a sign that she was still upset and hurried to explain himself.

"Mommy, I know I shouldn’t have kept it a secret from you, and I should’ve replied to your texts yesterday, but..."

He trailed off when he noticed Ivy staring at him.

"But... Uncle Aaron handled everything," he finished in one breath, hoping that somehow his explanation would earn her forgiveness.

Leo had never expected his parents to remain unaware of what happened at the academy. Deep down, he knew they would eventually find out.

What scared him was having to face them afterward.

He knew he had made a mistake by not telling an adult sooner.

"Oh, so you do remember ignoring my messages?" Ivy raised an eyebrow. "And what’s this about Uncle Aaron handling everything? That’s not something you should be proud of, Leo."

The disappointment in her voice made him shrink into his seat.

Ivy wasn’t angry because Aaron had helped.

She was upset because things could have ended very differently.

Fortunately, Leo had been wearing his watch, allowing Aaron and the others to track his location.

But what if they hadn’t arrived in time? What if Leo had ended up getting hurt alongside Nate?

The thought alone made her stomach tighten.

Leo lowered his head "I’m sorry," he mumbled.

Ivy sighed. She knew none of this had gone the way Leo expected. And despite everything, he had still been lucky enough to walk away unharmed. That alone was a blessing.

"Listen to me, Leo."

Slowly, he lifted his head. His mother’s voice was still firm, but the disappointment in her eyes had softened.

"I remember telling you to face your problems head-on," Ivy continued. "But that doesn’t mean throwing yourself into danger without any backup."

Leo listened quietly. For once, he wasn’t trying to defend himself, and seeing that her words were finally sinking in, Ivy continued.

"What I want is for you to stop putting yourself in unnecessary danger. Whether it’s Nate or anyone else, if you notice something strange happening, you tell an adult immediately. Do you understand?"

Her last words came out a little louder than intended.

Leo immediately straightened his back.

"YES, MOMMY!" He sounded like a soldier responding to his commander.

The seriousness on his little face made Ivy laugh despite herself. "There we go," and then she opened her arms.

"Now come here and give Mommy a hug. Do you know how worried I was last night? I kept waiting for a reply. I even thought you were upset because I texted you that I’d be late."

Leo wasted no time throwing himself into her arms.

"I wasn’t upset!" he protested as he hugged her tightly. "My phone died."

He pulled back enough to look at her.

Yes, part of him had been nervous about facing his parents.

But the bigger problem was that his phone had genuinely run out of battery.

Ivy pinched his cheek lightly.

"Well, that makes me feel a lot better."

Then her expression turned serious again.

"But remember what I said. You don’t go after bad people by yourself."

"...You alert an adult," Leo finished immediately.

"Good."

By the time they reached the Emerson Estate, both of them felt much lighter.

Since she and Xander had rushed to the Old Emerson Residence earlier, Ivy still hadn’t fully recovered from her hangover.

All she wanted was a hot shower and her bed.

However, the moment they stepped into the hallway, Leo suddenly stopped.

"By the way, Mommy, I’m moving back to my old room."

Ivy froze.

"What?"

Leo nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"I’m moving back to my room."

"Why?" Ivy blinked. "You don’t like sleeping with Mommy anymore?"

The question caught him completely off guard.

His eyes widened.

"No! That’s not it!"

He shook his head so quickly that his hair bounced.

"Then why are you moving back?"

A flicker of confusion crossed Ivy’s face.

She had actually been looking forward to spending the evening with him.

She’d even planned on telling him a bedtime story Sal had taught her.

Unfortunately, Leo completely missed the disappointment in her eyes.

Instead, he remembered his father’s words.

If you want a little brother or sister, you’ll have to help your dad.

The memory instantly strengthened his resolve.

Ignoring the tiny pang of guilt in his chest, Leo looked away.

"Well..." he said carefully. "I need more time to practice for the school skit. It takes a lot of work to be perfect." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Ivy narrowed her eyes.

"And that requires moving rooms?"

"Absolutely."

The lie came out a little too quickly.

Before Ivy could question him further, Leo added,

"But don’t worry! Dad can keep you company while I’m gone."

Ivy stared at him.

Leo nodded enthusiastically.

"He’s actually very reliable."

A pause.

"And surprisingly cuddly."

Another pause.

"Basically, he’s a giant plushie."

"..."

Ivy could only stare at her son.

Meanwhile, somewhere else in the mansion, Xander suddenly sneezed. He had no idea that his own son was busy advertising him as a replacement cuddle toy.

Quickly composing himself, Xander looked up at Taylor.

The sight that greeted him made him pause.

Taylor looked exhausted.

His usually neat appearance was still intact, but the dark circles under his eyes suggested he hadn’t slept much—if at all.

"Why do you look sleep-deprived?" Xander asked.

There wasn’t much concern in his tone, only casual curiosity.

After all, Taylor was his assistant and managed most of his schedule.

The last thing Xander needed was an exhausted assistant making mistakes during an important meeting.

Taylor stared at him in disbelief.

’Seriously, Boss?’

’Did you already forget what you made me do last night?’

For a moment, Taylor was convinced Xander was deliberately pretending not to know.

Then again, this was Xander.

The man could be surprisingly oblivious when it came to other people’s suffering.

Suppressing the urge to complain, Taylor focused on the events of the previous night.

After leaving the bar, he and Sal had taken Lola home.

At first, Taylor had assumed it would be simple.

Drop Lola off.

Drop Sal off.

Go home.

Sleep.

Unfortunately, nothing had gone according to plan.

After making sure Lola got inside safely, he had driven Sal to the Emerson estate and was finally on his way home when his phone rang.

The caller ID had displayed Lola’s name.

The moment he answered, he realized something was wrong.

Lola wasn’t feeling well.

The alcohol had hit her harder than expected.

Thinking back on it now, Taylor regretted ever leaving her apartment.

If he had stayed, he probably wouldn’t have spent half the night worrying.

And he definitely would have gotten more than two hours of sleep.

Unfortunately, the morning had brought an unexpected problem.

A foreign client had arrived earlier than scheduled and insisted on an in-person meeting.

As much as Taylor wanted to stay and make sure Lola was okay, work left him with little choice.

So he had dragged himself to the office on minimal sleep and several cups of coffee.

"Ahem."

Taylor cleared his throat and forced himself back to the present.

’Focus, Taylor.’

This was neither the time nor the place to think about Lola.

Especially when his boss was staring at him expectantly.

"Nothing serious, Boss," Taylor replied professionally. "I just didn’t get much sleep last night."

Xander studied him for a moment.

Then he nodded.

"Try not to fall asleep during the meeting."

"..."

For some reason, that response annoyed him more than it should have.

"Thank you for your concern, Boss."

"You’re welcome."

Taylor suddenly understood why Sal disliked arguing with Xander, despite the fact that he appeared to want to rip his face apart.

Taylor stood there cursing Xander in his mind when suddenly his phone buzzed.

"They are here, boss," he announced, capturing Xander’s attention, who immediately nodded and they exited the office.

***

"Girl, you seriously need to keep your phone on."

Sal groaned dramatically as he drove.

"This Justin guy is giving me a headache. He keeps calling and texting, asking where you are."

They were on their way to Lola’s apartment after she had asked them to come over.

Ivy shot him a skeptical look.

"You’re exaggerating."

"Am I?"

Without taking his eyes off the road, Sal tossed his phone onto her lap.

"See for yourself."

Ivy picked up the phone and glanced at the screen. Her lips pressed into a thin line.

"Okay, maybe you’re not exaggerating."

"Exactly."

Sal snatched his phone back the moment she handed it over.

Ivy leaned back against her seat. She hadn’t realized her phone had completely died the previous night and had only managed to charge and turn it on that morning before rushing out of the penthouse.

When she finally checked it, she had found several missed calls and messages from Justin.

She had seen all of them but chose not to mention it. Especially not around Xander. The last thing she wanted was for him to catch even the slightest hint of Justin’s sudden interest in her.

Things between her and Xander had only just begun, and she wasn’t about to let jealousy derail their progress.

Besides, she already knew how possessive Xander could be when he felt threatened. She had seen it, and she didn’t want Xander to think she was two-timing him.

Ivy saw Kevin as a long-lost crush, and Raven had nothing to do with it.

The thought alone made her sigh.

"What’s with that look?" Sal asked, noticing her expression.

"Nothing." Sal narrowed his eyes.

It was definitely not nothing.

"Well, whatever it is," Sal said, shaking his head, "please answer Justin before he starts calling me again. I didn’t sign up to be your personal secretary."

A laugh escaped Ivy. "I’ll think about it."

"Wrong answer." Sal groaned loudly.

"I swear, all of you are determined to make my life difficult."

That only made Ivy laugh harder as the car continued toward Lola’s apartment.

"And yes, Xander got hold of the people who targeted you both that day." Sal announced, capturing Ivy’s attention, only to have her expression change the next second.