"Please don't shout at her," Amy pleaded as she looked from Steph's shocked and confused face to Dylan's angry face.
"Don't tell me to stop it! What if they hurt you because they can do exactly that next time," Dylan asked in pain, and Steph's heart went out to him.
"What happened" Steph asked Amy.
"I was to go for a picnic with Dylan, so I stopped by the shop to get a few things. I forgot to close my car window, and when I got back, I found two strangers inside my car. They did a lot of threatening and promised to be back if you didn't stop seeing Ivan," Amy said and shrugged as if it was a normal thing, and that infuriated Dylan the more.
"You're now safe. Nothing bad will happen unless you go against the rules," Ivan had said in a calm voice which actually sounded threatening.
NOW
Once in a while, the Jacksons made courtesy visits, and Steph was forced to master a plastic smile on her face and tell them that it was all going well.
Together, they took photos that Raquel and Ivan posted on their socials and tagged Steph. Most often, she was forced to like and comment to give PDAs, but she couldn't forget her arrangement with Ivan.
They were to use two different bedrooms and live as though they weren't in the same house. Ivan's parents were to help Steph's parents get back to their house.
Steph's entry into the picture was, unbeknownst to her, to silence Vera's allegations against Ivan.
"Come on, let's go," Ivan shouted as he half ran down the stairs to the living room. "We'll be late for class," he added before his eyes landed on Steph, who had worn one of the dresses Raquel had purchased for her.
"You…look good," Ivan said in admiration as he walked towards Steph.
"Mmmh," Steph said with disinterest. "It makes me look of class," she said in a mocking tone as she remembered Raquel's exact words when they had gone dress shopping.
"You can never say thank you, right?" Ivan asked.
Steph sighed and asked why he could also never leave a place organized as he found it.
"This room was a mess. I'm not your house help!" Steph shouted. She was already fed up with having to ask Ivan to do the simplest of tasks.
Without uttering any word, Ivan started walking towards the door, and Steph sighed and followed him.
When the two stepped out of the house, their hostility towards each other had evaporated, and they were giggling and holding each other's hands as a precaution for snoopy paparazzi.
"Thank you!" Steph hurriedly said as she alighted from the car in the campus parking lot.
Ivan was still seated, scrolling through his phone with his headphones on and waiting for the chauffeur to get down and open the door for him.
Steph inwardly scoffed at his behavior as she looked around, trying to catch sight of Amy, who had texted that she had just gotten to campus.
"Gosh! I missed you so much. It feels like forever since I saw you," Steph said in a candid voice as she rushed to hug Amy.
"It's just been two days," Amy replied coldly.
"Are you kidding me? Two days is such a long time for us," Steph answered as she let herself from the embrace and looked Amy in the eye. She noticed then that Amy had eye bugs and looked tired.
From a distance, Ivan was looking at the two.
"Forget it, bro. You'll never get that from her," Kevin, who had walked up to him, said when he saw how Ivan was looking at Amy and Steph.
"I didn't want to," he said curtly, and Kevin shrugged and gave her a side hug before saying, "you've missed quite a lot. Come on. I'll brief you,"
"How are things with you? Is he treating you well, or do we need to call up someone to beat him up?" Amy asked while chuckling nervously, and Steph hurriedly said she was okay.
Changing the subject faster, she looked Amy in the eyes and asked, "Are you really okay? Are you feeling lonely at home? You know you can always talk to me,"
Amy inhaled deeply, smiled slyly, and patted Steph on the shoulder as she said, "I'm fine, my dear."
"Did I do something wrong? Is it Dylan? Is something wrong at home? Come on, Amy! Please talk to me," Steph said.
Amy sighed deeply and shut her eyes tightly to stop the tears that were threatening to flow freely down her cheeks.
'Oh God!' Amy kept whispering, and her state made Steph feel more anxious.
She then looked at the time on her watch and said, "Class begins in a few. Can we talk over lunch?"