I wasn't just buttering up Howard; I genuinely meant it.
Howard seemed very satisfied with my answer, and the corners of his lips slightly curled up. "Since you're asking so sincerely, I can help you out."
I couldn't help but feel joyful and raised my hand to hug Howard's neck, saying excitedly, "I knew it, Howard, you're the best—reliable and steady."
He reached out and wrapped his arm around my waist. "Of course, I am the most reliable."
With Howard's assurance, all my worries and fears vanished.
That very night, Ivy showed up at home, still wearing the same outfit from the restaurant, calmly sitting on the couch. "I know what you want to say; don't worry, I won't hurt Matthew. To me, he is more important than my life, so I will never hurt him."
I frowned. "But staying by his side will harm him."
A ghost's Yin energy was the strongest. Staying around someone for too long would inevitably bring them bad luck.
"So what do you want me to leave him now?" Ivy's tone carried a bit of anger, and she looked at me with a heavy gaze. "It took me a lot of effort to find him."
Hearing this, I felt a bit angry. "You are too selfish, only thinking about yourself."
If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have agreed to help her, causing Matthew to be in this predicament now, and I couldn't even tell him the truth.
Seeing Matthew's profound love for Ivy, I understood that even if I had revealed the truth, he would not have deserted her. Furthermore, no one knew Matthew's character better than I did, and he was not the type to abandon her. Thus, the only course of action left for me was to convince Ivy to leave.
"I am indeed that selfish. If you dare confront him with the truth, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill you." As she spoke, black mist rose from her body, like a ghost crawling back from hell.
I was so scared that I quickly hid behind Howard. With him here, I wasn't afraid of Ivy killing me.
Howard's blue eyes seemed to freeze over with a layer of ice, carrying a bone-chilling coldness. "If you want to harm my woman, you'd better make sure you have what it takes."
Ivy gritted her teeth, "As long as you don't interfere with my affairs, I won't harm her."
"Do you think I'm here to negotiate with you?" Howard sneered, his voice cold and oppressive.
Ivy clenched her fists tightly, clearly not intending to compromise. "It doesn't matter, even if I have to risk my life, I will stay by Matthew's side."
'I just don't understand what is the connection between her and Matthew, and why is she so determined to cling to him?' With these doubts, I asked, "Why are you so persistent?"
After a long silence, Ivy said coldly, "Matthew is my reincarnated husband. In our past life, we didn't get to grow old together, but in this life, I want to be with him forever."
As if anticipating this very reason, I earnestly advised, "But have you ever considered that Matthew is not truly your husband? When he was reincarnated, all memories of you were erased. Now, it is merely your own wishful thinking."
Ivy stubbornly said, "No, he is my husband."
"Aside from his appearance, they likely share no similarities at all, do they? If you truly loved your husband from your past life, you shouldn't replace him with a mere substitute, which not only desecrates your husband's memory but also betrays the love you once shared." I added.
Seemingly moved by my words, Ivy was silent for a while.
I continued to persuade, "Although I don't know why you stubbornly stay in the human world and refuse to reincarnate, you are guarding a reincarnated husband, but he has long forgotten you, maybe if you reincarnate, you will reunite in the next life."
"He has already reincarnated, and if I reincarnate now, I can't keep up with his pace. It's better to stay with him in this life, and we will reincarnate together in the next life." Ivy said.
Seeing that my persuasion had no effect, I was a bit annoyed. "But you are now a ghost, and if you insist on being with him, he won't have many years left to live."
'I don't believe Ivy really loves her husband at all. If she really loves someone, how could she bear to treat him as a substitute?' I thought as I was excitedly persuading Ivy, not noticing Howard's strange expression as he looked at me. "Why are you just standing there? Hurry up and help me persuade her."
Howard pursed his lips and pulled me back. "She is stubborn now. It's better to let her figure it out herself, and when she realizes that Matthew is not her husband, she will naturally leave."
"But Matthew can't wait," I said.
"He can; you just stop worrying about him." After saying that, Howard looked up at Ivy. "I'll give you three days. If you don't figure it out by then, I'll have to make you disappear."
Ivy glared at us hatefully, stomped her foot, and then turned into a wisp of smoke and disappeared.
Looking at the empty living room, I couldn't help but feel a bit worried. "Do you think she can really figure it out herself?"
"If she can't, I'll help her figure it out!" Howard's tone was icy cold.
For some reason, I felt that he seemed inexplicably a bit angry, wondering when he cared so much about Matthew's affairs.
Due to the situation with Matthew, I'd been unable to focus on my classes for the past two days.
Amelia, who had already heard about Ivy from me, patted my shoulder comfortingly. "Alright, quit stressing over it. It's out of your hands anyway. Didn't Howard say he'd take care of it?"
"If you ask me, just exorcise that ghost and be done with it. Why make it so complicated?" Wesley's cold voice carried a bit of disdain.
I looked up at him and rolled my eyes. "You make it sound easy, but it's not that simple. Besides, Matthew's really attached to her right now. If I do manage to get rid of her, what am I going to do if he comes asking for her back?"
"Then just tell him the truth, if he knows Ivy is a ghost, can he still blame you?" If only things were as simple as he made them out to be.
I said helplessly, "Matthew's a real stickler. Don't be fooled by his smarts; once he's set on something, there's no changing his mind. My biggest worry is that when Ivy wants to leave, he won't be able to let go."
"Don't you think Matthew's feelings for Ivy are a bit too inexplicable?" Wesley asked.