Chapter 95 Ninety five

Chapter 95 Ninety five
IVY POV

Nobody said a word..

The room felt too quiet after that.

Max sat on one end of the couch, rubbing his forehead like I had personally made him age ten years backward . Zoe stayed beside me, her hand still wrapped around mine.

I hated this. I hated seeing that look on Max’s face. Because he wasn’t angry anymore.

Angry I could deal with.

Disappointed?

That one hurt. A lot.

Finally, Max broke the silence.

“Does he love you?”

The question caught me off guard.

I blinked. “What?”

“You heard me.”

I looked away.Because I didn’t know. Or maybe I was too scared to find out.

“I don’t know.”

Max laughed without humor. “That’s the problem.”

“Max—”

“No, listen to me.”

His voice wasn’t loud anymore.

Just fed up . “So far all I’ve heard is that you care about him.”

I stayed quiet.

“You think about him.”

Silence.

“You sleep with him.”

More silence.

“But every time I ask what he’s doing for you, I get nothing. I’m sure you fucking fixed his stupid scandal shit.””

My stomach twisted.

Because that wasn’t entirely true.

Ronan had been trying. In his own messy way.

But explaining that to Max would be impossible.

“He apologized,” I said quietly.

Max stared at me. “One apology fixes six years?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

I sighed. “It doesn’t fix anything.”

“Exactly.”

I rubbed my face. I was getting tired of this conversation. Not because Max was wrong.

But because part of me agreed with him.

And that made everything worse.

Zoe finally stepped in.

“Maybe we should stop acting like Ivy is fifteen.”

Max looked at her.

“So I’m supposed to be okay with this?”

“No.”

She folded her arms.

“But you don’t get to make the decision for her.”

Max opened his mouth.

Then closed it.

Because deep down he knew she was right.

That didn’t mean he had to like it.

He looked at me again. “I don’t trust him.”

The honesty in his voice surprised me.

Not because I didn’t know it already. Because there wasn’t any anger behind it. Just concern.

“I know.”

“You trust him?”

The question lingered. I thought about it.

Really thought about it. Then answered honestly. “Some days.”

Max looked like I had stabbed him. “Some days?”

“That’s the truth.”

I sat down across from him. “Some days I believe he’s changed.”

My throat tightened.

“And other days I remember exactly who he used to be.”

Nobody spoke. Because there wasn’t anything to say. That was the problem.

Both things were true. The Ronan I knew now wasn’t the same man from six years ago.

But that didn’t erase what happened.

Didn’t erase the pain. Didn’t erase the damage.

You couldn’t build trust with apologies alone.

Trust took time. And right now?

We didn’t have much of that.

My phone buzzed.

All three of us looked down at it.

I immediately grabbed it before either of them could see.

Max narrowed his eyes. “It’s him, isn’t it?”

“No.”

“It was definitely him.”

I groaned. “You are really annoying right now.”

His expression didn’t change.

I looked at the screen.

Ronan… Still alive?

A second message appeared.

Ronan Or your friend still don’t know we’ve about me?

I hated the smile that immediately appeared on my face.

Absolutely hated it.

Zoe saw it.

“Oh God.”

I glared at her.

“What?”

“You’re smiling.”

“I am not.”

“You are.”

Max looked personally offended. “You’re smiling at his texts?”

I stood up.

“Okay. That’s enough for tonight.”

I started walking toward my room.

Max called after me.

“This conversation isn’t over.”

“It is for today.”

“Ivy—”

“I’m tired.” I raised my hands up giving him a time out sign. I couldn’t continue this

That part wasn’t a lie. Emotionally exhausted.

Physically exhausted. Just exhausted.

I disappeared into my room and shut the door behind me.

The silence was the kind I welcomed… Peaceful.

For about three seconds.

Then my phone buzzed again.

I dropped onto the bed and unlocked it.

Ronan: I assume Max found out.

I stared at the message.

Then typed back.

Me: How did you know?

His response came almost instantly.

Ronan: Because if Max knew where I lived he’d probably be outside with a baseball bat.

I laughed.

Actually laughed.

Then immediately hated myself for it.

Me: You’re not wrong.

Three dots appeared.

Disappeared.

Appeared again.

Finally—

Ronan: Is he very angry?

The question surprised me.

I stared at it longer than I should have.

Because it sounded genuine.

Not teasing. Not sarcastic.mJust concerned.

I typed slowly.

Me:He thinks you’re the devil.

A few seconds passed.

Ronan: Fair.

I rolled my eyes.

Then another message appeared.

Ronan: What do you think?

My fingers froze above the screen.

That wasn’t fair.Not even a little. I was still mad at him. Because I wasn’t sure I knew the answer anymore.

After a full minute, I typed:

Me: i think you’re complicated.

His reply came immediately.

Ronan: That sounds amazing.

Despite myself, I smiled again.

Me: It wasn’t a compliment.

Ronan: Ouch.

I tossed the phone onto the bed. Then immediately picked it back up.

Pathetic.Absolutely pathetic that what I was.

A video call request suddenly appeared.

My eyes widened.

“Hell no. My make up is fucked”

The phone kept ringing.

I rejected it Immediately.

Three seconds later it rang again.

I stared at the screen.

This man had no instinct to think.

I answered.

“Why are you like this?”

His face appeared.

And for a second I forgot how to breathe.

Damn him. He looked exhausted.

Dark circles under his eyes.

Messy hair. A bruise along his jaw from the fight.

He looked terrible..

“Hello to you too.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Shouldn’t you be doing damage control?”

“Probably.”

“Then why are you calling me?”

He looked at me for a moment.

Then smiled faintly. “Because I wanted to see your face.”

My heart immediately betrayed me.

My face flushed and away.

He noticed…. Of course he did.

“You do that a lot.”

“Do what?”

“Avoid eye contact when you’re flustered.”

“I’m not flustered.”

His smile widened.

I hated that smile.

Mostly because it melted my inside .“Sure.”

We sat in comfortable silence for a few seconds.

Then his expression softened.

“How bad was Max?”

I laughed.

“You really want to know?”

“Yes.”

“He called you a bastard.”

Ronan nodded. “Reasonable.”

“He called you an asshole.”

“Also fair.”

I folded my arms.

“He threatened to take your head off .”

That actually made him laugh.

“He always hated me.”

“No he doesn’t.”

The word slipped out before I could stop it.

Ronan looked surprised.

I continued. “He didn’t hate you.”

His smile faded. “ Then what?”

I swallowed. “He hates what you did to me.”

The silence that followed felt heavier.

Because it was true.

Max wasn’t protective because he disliked Ronan. He was protective because he’d watched me fall apart.

And nobody who loved me wanted to see that happen again.

Ronan looked down his eyes soften..”I know.”

Something about the guilt in his voice made my chest hurt.

So I changed the subject.

Quickly.

“How’s the PR disaster?”

He groaned dramatically.

“Terrible.”

“Good for you.. you ignored me for week so you need to suffer.”

He looked offended.

“Ivy… you walked out what was I suppose to do after you left like you wouldn’t see me again.”

“I don’t know. You’re one to talk after you started a fight.”

“He deserved it.”

I sighed. “There it is.”

“What?”

“That thing you do.”

His brow furrowed. “What thing?”

“Where you decide you’re right and everybody else can deal with it.”

He stared at me.

Then laughed. “That’s fair.”

I blinked.

That wasn’t the response I expected.

“What?”

“You expected me to argue.”

“Yes.”

“I would’ve last week or a month ago but I can’t waste anymore precious time I have with you arguing..”

That shut me up. I let out a soft smile.

We talked for another hour. About nothing important.

Movies. Work. Max. Zoe.

Random things. Normal things.

By the time we ended the call it was almost midnight.

I set my phone down and stared at the ceiling.

My chest felt lighter.

Which should’ve worried me with all the shit going on with him …. Instead it made me smile.

A knock sounded on my door.

I immediately knew who it was.

“Come in.”

Max entered Still looking grumpy.

I sat up. “What now?”

He closed the door behind him.

Then sat beside me on the bed.For a moment neither of us spoke.

Then he sighed. “I was too hard on you.”

That surprised me.

A lot.

“Max—”

“No.”

He looked down at his hands. “I meant what I said.”

My chest tightened.” I know.”

“I don’t trust him.”

“I know.”

His jaw tightened.” But you’re my best friend.”

I smiled softly.

“And?”

“And I’ll support you anyway.”

I smiled his words always sooothen my heart. That’s my Max for you… always ready to stand by and with you.. Even when he disagreed.

Even when he thought I was making a mistake.

He stayed.

I leaned over and hugged him.

He immediately groaned. “Oh God.”

“Shut up.”

“This is too emotional yuck.” He teased

“You love it.”

“I hate it.”

I laughed.

And after a second— He hugged me back.

“Just be careful.”

His voice was quiet now.

“Okay.”

“I mean it.” He said softly

“I know.”

He pulled away. Then looked at me.

“Promise me something.”

I frowned.

“What?”

“If he hurts you again.”

My chest tightened.

“Max—”

“If he hurts you again…”

His eyes met mine.

“…don’t go through it alone.” My heart swells.

I nodded.Slowly.

“I promise.”

He stood up satisfied

Then pointed at me. “And if he breaks your heart I’ll help bury his body.”

I burst out laughing.

“Goodnight, Max.”

“Goodnight, trouble.”

After he left, I climbed back under the blankets.

The apartment grew quiet. The city lights glowed outside my window.