Special

No? no one dared to tell him that. He couldn't even remember the last time someone said that to him. But this woman boldly told him 'no' without even batting an eyelid. Shock flashed through his face with his lips slightly parted. His face was back to his stoic expression before the blink of an eye. It was as if he wasn't even shocked a while ago. But Ivy was no optimistic fool, she saw it and no one could change her mind about that as a smirk graced her luscious lips

"I can stand here all day, y'know, I've been through worst. I can walk home or take a cab... but the dangers lurking around... I'm just a fragile, delicate woman," she said with puppy eyes while fiddling with her hands and looking down. This truly was a sight to behold.

"W-what if I get r..."

Before she could complete her sentence, Xavier immediately opened the door and slammed it behind him. He then grabbed her by the hand and walked to the other side of the car with an evil smirk on her face.

He opened the door and she entered the inside with a wide smile plastered on her face. He was about to turn to leave when she grabbed him by the arm. "Seatbelt, remember safety first," she said and he rolled his eyes inwardly.

He leaned in and dragged the seat belt when her lips brushed against his lips.

The world seemed to stand still for a moment as both their faces flushed red, Ivy turned her face to the side and Xavier stood up abruptly.

There was an awkward silence. It was so uncomfortable that Ivy was fiddling with her hair and batting her eyelids constantly, Xavier was looking everywhere but her.

After a while, he went around the car and entered the driver's seat. Suddenly a phone rang and broke the heavy, uncomfortable silence, it was Ivy's. She checked the caller's ID and answered immediately.

"I'll be back soon brother"

"That's not the problem. I'm not back either," he replied and she let out a long "oh".

" I just wanted to check up on you. I hope you're good and he's taking care of you. If anything happens or he hurts you, don't hesitate to call me, I'm just one call away, alright?"

"Yeah yeah, you're too overprotective I can handle myself, and I know he wouldn't hurt me," she smirked and at the same time, glanced at the iceberg.

"Yeah I know I'm overprotective, that's why I'm your elder brother, k bye, XOXO"

"XOXO," she replied with a smile on her face as she hung up.

"Your brother is really overprotective of you," Xavier voiced out which surprised Ivy a little, she didn't expect him to ever talk to her, and he too was surprised. It was then that he realized what he just said and he regretted it.

"Yeah... he is. He is my brother after all," she said. They were both rejoicing inwardly that the tense atmosphere was finally lifted.

Xavier started the car and he began driving. "You guys' relationship... reminds me of mine with my sister," he replied.

"What? You have a sister?" Ivy asked surprised.

"Umm... yes. Her name's Ava"

"Ava," Ivy repeated to herself. "Cute name," she commented. "How come I don't know about her?"

"She's a model, Ava Qin,"

"Hmm," she said in contemplation.

"You haven't heard of her?" he glanced at her and she nodded slowly. "How come? She's famous and all over the internet"

"I don't concern myself with things that aren't work-related. I may have come across her name on the internet but didn't keep in mind"

He glanced at her. "Just like me," he chuckled a little. "I thought all ladies go through the internet, social media, and stuff"

"Well, you can count me out of 'all ladies'. Social media is just not my thing," she replied with a slight smile and Xavier looked at her for some seconds then returned his gaze to the road as Ivy stared at the bright shiny stars that graced and lightened the dark sky.

"Why do I feel like... like I've known you from somewhere?" he asked

Ivy shrugged, "maybe in your past life I was your dominant wife and also your murderer," she said and they both laughed lightly at her comment.

"You can say that again," Xavier said under his breath but Ivy could hear him then she laughed again.

'She's not that bad after all. I guess she has her moments', Xavier thought, they were now halfway to Ivy's house.

'So this iceberg has emotions anyway, huh? Maybe my decision wasn't that bad,' Ivy thought. Her smile faded when she remembered something.

Xavier noticed the change and he couldn't help but ask, "What happened?"

"Nothing much. I just want to know... why did you save me the other day?" she asked, looking at him intently and his expression also changed.

"Is it a crime to save a person's life?" he answered her question with a question.

"Okay, let's assume that out of humanity, you saved me, but why did you bring me over to your house? The hospital wasn't even far"

"I hate hospitals, they are unclean and too crowded," he replied nonchalantly with his focus on the road. "What did you think? That you're special?" he smirked as he looked at her and their eyes met.

He was lost in her eyes for a moment. It was so beautiful.

"Could it be that obvious? I mean... just look at how you're looking at me. I'm definitely special... to you," she retorted.

"You think I'm staring at you because of your beauty? Ha!" he scoffed and shook his head.

"I didn't say that I'm beautiful, but the fact that you mentioned it only proves that you were admiring me," she said in a cocky manner and a mischievous grin spread across her lips.

Xavier sighed, "You've got something on your lashes," he replied frustratedly. What was this woman doing to him?

Ivy's face flushed red for some seconds and she tried to pick it out, but it fell directly into her eyes making her wince slightly in pain.

Xavier immediately drove to the side of the car and parked as he removed his seatbelt hastily. He turned her face towards him and blew on her eye gently.

She slowly opened her eyes after a while when she had regained herself. She cleared her throat, it was then that Xavier realized how close they were and he quickly withdrew.

"Thanks," she replied after some moments of awkward silence while he nodded slowly and they drive off in silence.

★★★

Mia was laying on the couch with the remote going through channels on the TV, she yawned because she was already getting bored.

"Boring... stupid... lame..." she said in a bored, annoyed tone.

She suddenly stood up from the couch and went towards the kitchen, she headed for the fridge, brought out a bottle of orange juice, and took out a glass cup.

Just as she was about to pour the juice into the glass, she stopped in her tracks. She looked at the bottle, then the cup, and back to the bottle again.

"Too much work," she groaned.

She looked at the bottle once more, then shrugged and drank the content directly from the bottle.

"Ah," she said in satisfaction. "That's more like it," she paused then continued. "Sometimes to get the real feel of something, you have to get it directly from the source," she proudly smiled at herself.

She went out of the kitchen and headed to the couch when she heard the doorbell ring. 'Who could it be at this time,' she thought with a perplexed look on her face. She approached the door and opened it. Her eyes widened in shock.