Chapter 165: Chapter 165: Insecurity
Her words stabbed into Ivy’s heart. Cold spread through her veins. ’Silas told her? He told her my secret? He told her my insecurities... so casually?’
Ivy almost couldn’t breathe. She whispered, her voice shaking, "Where’s my suitcase?"
Patricia nodded, finally walking away. After a few minutes, she returned carrying Ivy’s suitcase and set it down in front of her.
But before Ivy could take it, Patricia sighed softly and looked at her.
"I know you love him. I can see it. But even if you have to love him from the shadows, don’t worry. I’ll love him in the light. For you."
Ivy’s body stiffened. Heat rushed to her face. "I don’t need you to love him for me!" she shouted.
Patricia only shrugged with a calm smile. "You’re overreacting. I’m just telling you the truth. This is what will happen. It’s not a rumor, not a lie. Just the fact."
Ivy grabbed her suitcase, her hands shaking, her eyes red. She turned without another word and walked out.
Her steps were heavy, but her heart was heavier.
’Silas... is this really what you wanted? To replace me with her? To give my place to a substitute?’
Her fingers clenched around the suitcase handle until her knuckles turned white.
But she kept walking, her back straight, even while inside she felt like she was breaking apart.
When Ivy finally returned to the Ravencroft apartment, she put her suitcase down and just sat on the sofa.
The room was quiet, but her chest felt like a storm was tearing it apart. She stared at the floor for a long time, her mind spinning round and round.
’In my last life... Silas never thought of taking a substitute. He never looked at another girl. So why in this life did he suddenly do this? Was his love fake back then? Or did he just lose patience this time? No... no, it doesn’t make sense. Why now? Why her? Why Patricia?’
The more she thought, the more her heart sank. She felt like the ground under her feet was opening and pulling her into a pit. Her fingers trembled as she buried her face in her hands.
Then, before she could stop herself, her eyes welled up with tears. Her shoulders shook and she let out a broken sound. She choked like a sword was pressing against her throat.
Patricia’s words echoed in her ears. You’re a Jinx. Stay away.
Ivy squeezed her eyes shut, biting her lip hard.
’I regret it. I regret saying I’m a Jinx. I regret staying away just to protect him. I thought I could love him from the shadows. I thought I’d be satisfied with just watching him. But now... knowing someone else will hold him openly, call him husband, and smile at him every day... it hurts. It hurts so much I can’t breathe.’
Her body shook harder. For a moment, she wanted to jump up, storm out of the apartment, and find him. She wanted to push him, grab his collar, and scream,
"How dare you take a substitute? How dare you forget me in three days?"
But then another voice inside her scolded.
’You are the one who told him to move on. You told him to find another girl. You were the one who left. And now, when he actually listened to your words, you want to blame him? You’re shameless, Ivy. Truly shameless.’
Her fists loosened. Shame pressed down on her like a weight. Slowly, she sank back into the sofa again.
’I’m ashamed... but I’m also hurt. I want to hug him, to cry against his chest, to tell him I regret it. I want to beg him to take me back. But Patricia is already there. She is already in his life. Who am I to interfere now? He can be happy with her. I never even made him happy once. I should step back. I should let him go.’
With that bitter thought, she wiped her tears and gritted her teeth. "Work. I’ll just work. If I focus on the base, maybe I’ll forget."
For the next few days, she drowned herself in tasks. She recruited superhumans, organized supplies, and kept her hands busy until her heart grew numb.
She sat at her desk one evening, staring at a blank paper.
"A base name..." she muttered. She thought for hours but nothing came to her mind. Finally, she pushed the paper aside.
"Forget it. I’ll just start without a name."
Instead, she printed recruitment notices with the help of some connections. She pinned them outside her base and even near the military grounds where crowds of people passed every day.
The words were simple: Superhumans wanted. Safe base. Fair treatment. Food provided.
Meanwhile, she stocked the grocery store. Tomatoes, milk, onions, potatoes, rice, salt, flour, spinach.
One afternoon, as she arranged bags of rice on the shelves, her eyes lit up.
"It’s working. It’s really working. As long as I sell cheaply, the temporal storage lets me multiply even multiplied items. Before, I could only make 800,000 items. Now... now it’s 1.6 million! I’ll never lack food again."
Her lips curved faintly. For the first time in days, she felt a spark of hope.
Not long after, the first recruit arrived.
He was a tall soldier with dark hair and tired eyes. His uniform was worn out, his boots muddy. He looked nervous as Ivy welcomed him into her office.
"Sit," she said, pointing at the chair.
He sat stiffly. His hands clenched together on his lap.
"What’s your name?" Ivy asked.
"Lucas," he replied, his voice rough.
"Your background?"
He swallowed. "I was a soldier. I fought on the northern borders. My... my family didn’t survive."
Ivy studied him quietly. His eyes carried a shadow of grief. "What is your superpower?"
He hesitated, then raised his hand. A spark of lightning crackled between his fingers. "Thunder."
Her eyes narrowed slightly. ’Thunder. That’s one of the strongest abilities.’