As we arrived at the resort, I stepped out of the limo first, feeling the cool night air brush against my skin. Ivy followed closely, the silence between us stretching longer than it had all evening. The driver took the car to the garage, and we began ascending the stairs, side by side, without a word. I was aware of every step she took, every subtle movement in the corner of my vision. The weight of the evening still hung between us, unspoken, unresolved.
At the top of the staircase, the hallway stretched out before us, a quiet reminder of the distance we maintained despite the moments of closeness. My room was at one end of the hallway, hers at the opposite. She turned toward her room without so much as a glance back, her steps soft and measured. I found myself watching her until she disappeared behind the door.
For a moment, I stood still, caught in the tension of wanting to follow and knowing better than to cross that line. Shaking off the urge, I headed to my own room. The shower was hot, but it did little to wash away the thoughts that clung to me, thoughts of her and the way she occupied my mind.
Tomorrow would be the final day of our trip, one last day of leisure before we returned to the mansion. My responsibilities with the company had been handled by Rebecca in my absence, with me checking in remotely when necessary. Ivy and I would be back to the reality of our roles soon enough. I imagined she must be missing Aiden, her younger brother. This was the first time she had been away from him for an extended period, and I knew he was on her mind, as much as she was on mine.
Ivy. Her name echoed in my thoughts, intertwining with everything I had tried to keep separate. She was like the plant her name suggested, creeping steadily into the walls I had built, rooting herself in places I hadn't intended to let her reach. I couldn't deny it anymore, the way she lingered in my mind. But I had a mission—one that didn't allow for distractions. I had to find my mother, and this pursuit was dangerous, for both Ivy and Aiden.
Aiden needed to be kept safe. The enemies I was tracking wouldn't hesitate to use him to get to her, to get to me. As much as I could protect Ivy, I couldn't offer the same guarantees for him. He was young, with his whole future ahead of him, and I knew Ivy wouldn't want him caught in the crossfire. I would talk to her tomorrow about securing him somewhere safe, an apartment far from the mansion, where he could live without constant threat while a hidden security team watched over him. It was the only way to ensure he wouldn't become a pawn in this dangerous game.
But before that conversation, I needed to push thoughts of her from my mind. She had consumed far too much of it already tonight, and I needed rest. Except, it felt almost impossible to let go. No matter how hard I tried to focus on the mission, Ivy was always there, lingering just beneath the surface. Even now, as I lay in bed, I couldn't shake the feeling that she was something more than a distraction.
And that was dangerous in itself.