Chapter 20.2: Truth always hurt

"A penny for your thought?" Jason teased noticing she was deep in thinking.

"Hmm… Oh… Was wondering about the session…" Ivy mumbled. Jason turned her to face him.

"Don't worry about it. We are here to fix the issue. You have done well." Jason comforted. "But if I were to find the truth, I would need to find my birth father which seemed near impossible…" Ivy lamented and sighed as her words pricked on Jason like knives. Jason was stunned for a moment as they stepped out the lift while his phone rang.

"Hello?" He answered as they walked over to his car and he quickly ended the call with an alright.

"I will send you home first alright?" He said when he started the car. "Why? Go to your office. We have lots of work to do…" Jason raised an eyebrow at Ivy who was busy buckling her safety belt.

"You paid me boss… I'm fine now. Let's go. Hurry!" Ivy teased as Jason sighed and drove them to work instead. He let her work on the business proposals drafting which she was suppose to do last week while he went on and off with back to back meetings while managing his schedule.

Ivy noticed the business proposals she drafted were of large scale and the details required outsourced logistic companies which took up a huge amount in the budget allocated. She also noticed he had to pay for manpower which was also another large sum. She wondered if her ideas of using part timers would work and she had a few candidates in mind. While she left the completed drafts on his table, she went to study on her notes while waiting for him to end the day.

She wondered what Sandra and Andrew were up to these days as she had been staying over Jason's place daily due to Nancy's unstable condition that at the end of the week, she found herself end up missing them a lot. She sends a text message to offer picking them up for extra curriculum like usual on every Saturday morning. The thought of an upcoming monthly exam next week was also worrying her a little in terms of preparation.

While she read the replies from the both of them agreeing to her offer, Jason appeared in his office. "Hey…" She greeted at a busy Jason who was reading his document while walking to his seat.

"Hey… oh you're done…" He noticed the completed proposal files. "Good.. I will have a look later…" He said while continue to check on his documents.

"Jason, I was thinking…" Jason interrupted Ivy while she wanted to tell him her idea. Ivy kept quiet for a moment for him to finish reading the document and sign off before he came back to her on the topic. She wanted to continue but thought it was late so they should head home for dinner instead.

"Yes, you were saying?" Jason asked as he compiled the documents in the files.

"Nothing… wanted to ask what's for dinner?" She changed the topic.

"Oh right… let's go…" Jason suggested as they went to pack a light dinner and headed home for her tutoring session on Fridays.

Ivy didn't had much to ask as she quickly went to practice her accounting questions to allow Jason time to review her work earlier. She decided perhaps it was the right time to bring up her idea.

"Jason… I have been thinking…" Ivy paused waiting for his reaction. "Yes?" he asked while sipping his hot chocolate.

"While drafting the proposals, I noticed a huge amount of the budget was allocated to logistics and also manpower. Was thinking manpower wise could it be feasible to hire part timers instead?" Ivy suggested as Jason pondered for a moment.

"That's possible actually... Would need to post up for hiring soon for two of the upcoming large-scale roadshows…" Jason said as Ivy decided she should tell him her candidates instead.

"Would you consider hiring Sandra and Andrew if they are alright with it?" Ivy asked as Jason nodded. "Yes, why not?" He agreed while Ivy tried to push her luck further.

"You know lately, I felt the matter at hand could be resolve if you keep your enemy closer to you…" Ivy hinted but Jason didn't understand.

"What? I'm sorry… I don't understand what are you trying to tell me…" Jason said.

"I mean you could also hire Nancy to help out since Nick is already helping out with your weekend emcee job. That way, she would understand your hectic schedule and not bother much. Besides, keeping her close will ensure lesser harm to be done…" Ivy explained firmly in a professional way.

Jason felt her idea was absurd as he smirked. "Ivy, stop giving me ridiculous ideas. I have no time for such stuff…" He packed his documents and left the table as Ivy trailed behind him.

"But… But Jason, listen she would be able to understand you more that way. It's a way of communication Jason…" Ivy explained while climbing the stairs. "No, I reject." Jason turned around briefly to answer her before climbing the stairs again.

"Jason, would you please con…" Ivy stopped pleading the moment he slammed his room's door into her face as she disappointingly went to prepare for bed. She kept the lights in her room brighter as she didn't want any nightmares to bother her when she had to wake rather early next day to pick Andrew and Sandra.

The next morning, she crept silently out of Jason's house with Lucky on the leash as she drove to her grandma's house. She pondered on the face she saw during her consultation but no matter how she cracked her brain, she couldn't remember the lady's face.

"Do you go everywhere with him?" Sandra greeted as she patted Lucky which startled Ivy from her thoughts.

"Good morning! Yes, he is my lovely companion today as he needed some exercise too… How have you been?" Ivy greeted with a hug from Sandra.

"I miss you…" Sandra said as Andrew came from behind them and ambushed them. "Me too!"

"Hey! Andrew!" Ivy greeted as he high-five him. "Great! Let's go exercise now!" Ivy cheered while Lucky barked as they went to her car.

"Are you coming tonight for the mid year basketball event?" Andrew asked Ivy.

"Oh, there's such an event? Are you both going? If yes, let's go!" Ivy said as they nodded and agreed to the plan while Ivy was reminded of Ryu.

She sends a text message to Ryu asking if he would be in the event but she didn't get a reply at all for the whole day. Jason was still angry with her absurd ideas and gave her a silent treatment while avoiding her the whole day. He noticed Nancy was at his backyard most of the time before he went into his room to finish some work. He also noticed Ivy went out rather early in the evening after coming home at noon. She texted him that she won't be home for dinner due to an event in college.

Earlier Ivy noticed Nancy was also by the garden table watching them before she left. She was talking on the phone with Andrew as she was preparing him and Sandra before she went to pick them up for the event. Nancy overheard her conversation and had a nasty idea as she trailed Ivy via a taxi.

As it got darker, Lucky had been restless since Ivy stepped out of the house and had been trying to get Jason's attention but Jason thought he was just being restless cooped up in the room for too long. He finally gave in to Lucky's whine when his stomach grumbled.

He went downstairs noticing Nancy was not where she was. He panicked a little as he knew Nancy would only stalk him and Ivy or else it would just be him. He checked with Nick who told him he thought she was at Jason's place. He wondered if Nancy would be in Ivy's college event as Nancy could have waited for an opportunity since that day in his office's lobby. He quickly grabbed his keys and notified Nick to come along with Lucky following him closely into the car. He sped all the way to Ivy's college worrying about her safety.

When Ivy arrived, she was greeted by a tall familiar figure in semi casual wear. "Ryu! I texted you! I thought you weren't coming!" Ivy greeted excitedly as Ryu smiled.

"Hey Ivy! Surprise?" Ryu winked. Ivy blushed. "A little…" She laughed as she noticed she should introduce her friends.

"Oh, here meet Andrew and Sandra, my neighbours and best friends. And for both of you, meet Ryu. We played basketball with his brothers in Landsfield." Ivy introduced as they all nodded in acknowledgment.

"Great event tonight…" Ryu said as Ivy smiled and nodded.

"How's everyone? Are your brothers doing great?" Ivy asked as Ryu nodded.

"Yes, they were asking when you would be in Landsfield again?" Ryu asked.

"Oh, not at the moment… soon perhaps. Will let you know once am there?" Ivy smiled and noticed Lance was watching her and Ryu with an upset face while Belinda and Laura were by his side as they stood in front of her, Ryu, Andrew and Sandra.

"Yo, Ivy…" Belinda greeted while Andrew stepped forward to defend Ivy but Ivy as usual stepped forward to greet her.

"Yo… What's up?" Ivy asked coolly. "You know the rules. My birthday… same location, same deposit." Belinda lowered down her voice as she noticed Ryu who was not an acquaintance was watching them.

"Fine, my rules as usual as well." Ivy said as Belinda nodded. Ivy thought she had escaped from the fiery pit only to fall into another one when she saw another familiar figure appeared next to the trio. This time she was nervous for everyone as she tried to check her phone but got no messages or calls from Jason. She wondered if he was still angry with her.

She wanted to pretend she didn't know her, but Nancy was already snarling at her that Ryu and Andrew were standing in front her Ivy protecting her. Nancy's messed up hair and haggard look made the trio retreated real fast to a corner as they knew danger was lurking.

"You! You shouldn't be here…" Ryu pointed at Nancy as Nancy walked forward and tried to shove him to the side but instead was stopped in front of him.

"What's your problem?" Andrew snarled as Sandra held him back.

"What's her problem?" Nancy pointed behind Ryu at Ivy.

"Ivy, do you know her?" Ryu asked. Before Ivy could reply, Nancy snapped.

"She knows me very well. She even stole my boyfriend away from me!" Nancy was going berserk wanting to create a scene and fought Ryu, but he was strong enough to stop Nancy from charging at Ivy who was denying all she said to Andrew and Sandra.

Jason who rushed to scene with Nick knew he was a little too late as they walked over to all of them calmly with a plan in mind which he shared with Nick earlier.

"Ivy!" Jason called out as Ivy turned around and was shocked to find him on the scene. She noticed Nick was sneaking in the crowd heading towards to Nancy's side.

"You're alright?" He whispered as she nodded. "Put on your act…"

"Not here! With every college student…" Ivy whispered.

"You don't have a choice…" Ivy sighed as she rolled her eyes.

"Nancy, what are you doing here?" Jason asked walking towards her who was calmer. "Your boyfriend has been searching for you everywhere… Stop creating a scene wherever Ivy is. She never did steal your boyfriend. Could you please get yourself together?" Jason yelled as he ensured to clear Ivy's tainted name earlier while Ryu got closer to Ivy to protect her.

"I'm fine… It's alright…" Ivy said.

"You know them?" Ryu asked as Ivy nodded. "I'm sorry I will explain later… it's a misunderstanding…" Ryu nodded.

"So, you're saying the both of you dating are fake?" Nancy asked daringly as Jason and Ivy knew they were trapped.

"Nancy don't regret asking…" Jason warned as he signalled Nick to settle Nancy.

Jason walked towards Ivy who was getting nervous at his next action. The moment he reached to grab her, everyone thought the same as Ivy but instead of a kiss, Jason lifted her off his shoulders to the car leaving Nancy throwing a fit while Nick carried her off to hail for a taxi instead.

Jason sighed of relief the moment he entered the car and drove Ivy home. Ivy was busy explaining her situation to Andrew and Sandra as well as Ryu over a conference call that she didn't notice that Jason was upset and exhausted from a heavy load of work.

On the way home, Jason was beginning to contemplate on Ivy's idea of incorporating Nancy into his job scope.