As the whole incident caused a massive uproar online, Ivy Holden, the one who had stirred the pot, had already left with Issac Sutton and was speeding toward the airport. Ivy was mentally and physically exhausted. She leaned back against her seat with her eyes closed to rest. Issac was still basking in the thrill of performing on stage and hadn't come back down to earth yet, so the car was silent.
Ivy Holden suddenly remembered something. She took her phone out of her bag, turned it on, found a number, and dialed.
"Hello." Jensen Morrison's voice didn't sound very happy.
"I forgot something—how much was lunch today? I'll transfer you the money later," Ivy Holden said.
"Don't worry about it. It's on me."
"As the saying goes, even brothers keep clear accounts. I don't think our relationship has reached that level."
"Fair enough. In that case, we can settle this account slowly after we get back." With that, Jensen Morrison hung up.
Ivy Holden stared at her phone screen and arched an eyebrow. 'He sounds pretty pissed off,' she thought. 'I wonder who got on his nerves?'
Forty minutes later, the car stopped outside the airport. Ivy Holden and Issac Sutton got out, grabbed their suitcases, and entered the terminal. They first picked up their boarding passes, then checked their luggage. After clearing security, they went into the VIP lounge.
Ivy Holden picked out a small piece of cake, brought over two cups of coffee, and sat down across from Issac Sutton. She handed him a cup. "Tell me about what happened with you and James Zimmers."
"There's not much to say. It was just for the money," Issac Sutton said, shaking his head.
"Then why didn't you keep putting up with it?"
Issac Sutton's hand holding the coffee cup suddenly tightened. He gritted his teeth and said, "I'll sell my voice, but not my work. The songs I write belong to me. If he thinks he can claim them as his own, he can dream on!"
"So that's how it was," Ivy Holden said with a nod.
"At first, I thought you were one of his die-hard fans, but now it seems that's not the case?"
"Before... I just liked his songs," Ivy Holden said with a sarcastic smile.
Issac Sutton was taken aback for a moment, then the corners of his lips curled into a slight smile.
*
After boarding, Ivy Holden was arranging a blanket to cover herself for a nap when someone suddenly spoke beside her. "Excuse me, my seat is on the inside."
"Why is it you again? Are you following me?!" Ivy Holden couldn't help but frown as she looked at Jensen Morrison.
"Just a coincidence," Jensen Morrison said, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Why don't you take the inside seat? The window is more comfortable."
"No, thank you." With a cold expression, Ivy Holden got up to switch seats with Issac Sutton.
After sitting down by the window, Jensen Morrison glanced at Issac Sutton beside him before turning his head away, his face impassive.
'Issac Sutton felt immense pressure. This is Jensen Morrison! Not only is he a famous musician renowned both at home and abroad, but he's also the heir to the Morrison Group and the big boss of an entertainment company. And Ivy Holden actually had the nerve to give him the cold shoulder? Then again, Ivy's father and grandfather were no ordinary men, either. A family background like that gave her all the confidence she needed.'
On the other side of the aisle, Ivy Holden had just sat down when her phone rang again. She was about to hang up, but when she saw the caller ID, she quickly answered. "Hello."
"Ivy! Something huge has happened!" June Grant shrieked.
"Just calm down and tell me what's going on." Ivy Holden rubbed her aching temples.
"You sound a bit off... Did I wake you up?"
Ivy Holden helplessly massaged the bridge of her nose and urged, "June, just get to the point."
"My third aunt introduced me to a new guy and wants me to go on a blind date! You have to come back!"
A name suddenly flashed through Ivy Holden's mind. She sat up straight and quickly asked, "What's his name?"
"They said his name is... Ezekiel Aldrin. He's a manager in the planning department at Zenith Group, part of the Zimmers Group..."
'It really is Ezekiel Aldrin! And at Zenith Group, too!'
James Zimmers was an artist with Zenith Group, and his manager, Kira Walton, was a very resourceful woman. And this Ezekiel Aldrin was Kira Walton's lover. In her past life, June Grant had been scammed out of her money and virtue by this man. With no other way out, she ended up trying to kill them with a knife. She failed to kill the wretched pair but was sentenced to prison for intentional assault.
Thinking of the tragedy from her past life, Ivy Holden couldn't help but pinch her own thigh hard, using the pain to suppress the hatred welling up inside her. She said in a low voice, "June, I'm already on the plane, and it's about to take off. Schedule the meeting for sometime before dinner. I'll head over as soon as I land."
"Okay, I knew you were the best! Mwah~" June Grant hung up, satisfied.
The flight attendant's sweet voice announced that the plane was about to take off and asked all passengers to fasten their seatbelts and turn off their phones. Then, the plane slowly taxied onto the runway, accelerated, took off, and soared into the azure sky.
Ivy Holden wanted to use the time on the plane to sort through her thoughts about her past and present lives. However, things didn't go as planned. The moment the plane took off, she felt as if she were hurtling through a tunnel of time. Scenes of being abused in her past life replayed over and over in her mind. The pain from her memories felt so real that she couldn't help but curl up into a ball.
After the plane reached a stable cruising altitude, a flight attendant noticed Ivy Holden's distress and walked over to ask with concern, "Ma'am, are you all right?"
The gentle voice was like a sound from heaven, pulling Ivy Holden from her nightmare. She opened her eyes, looked at the lovely smile before her, and let out a soft sigh. "Thank you, I'm fine."
Ivy Holden took a moment to compose herself, then got up and went to the restroom. The restroom on the plane was small and cramped, which paradoxically gave Ivy a greater sense of security. She splashed some water on her face and looked at her pale reflection in the mirror, making a silent vow. 'The pain I felt then is the hatred I feel now. Since God has given me a second chance, I will make sure to send every single one of those people to hell.'
"Are you all right?" A warm, smiling face suddenly appeared in the mirror, startling Ivy Holden.
"Do you just enjoy following people into restrooms?" Ivy Holden glared coldly at Jensen Morrison's reflection in the mirror.
"You look very pale. Are you not feeling well?" Jensen Morrison's gaze grew even gentler.
"It's none of your business." Not wanting to get too involved with this person, Ivy Holden pushed past the man blocking the restroom door and returned to her seat.
Jensen Morrison shook his head helplessly and bent down to wash his hands, only to spot a crescent-moon-shaped necklace pendant on the floor. He recognized it. It was an heirloom Ivy Holden's mother had left for her. Ivy had worn it ever since Cynthia Zimmers passed away. Jensen squatted down, picked up the pendant, rinsed it with water, and clutched it in his palm, a faint smile gracing his lips.
For the next three hours, Ivy Holden was calm. Everyone in the cabin seemed tired, and even Jensen Morrison was asleep, leaning against his seat.
Ivy Holden didn't glance at Issac Sutton and the still-sleeping Jensen Morrison until the plane landed. She still felt a certain aversion toward Jensen Morrison—after all, he was Brooke Morrison's son, and Brooke was her cheap stepmother.
The roar of the plane landing and the force of inertia startled Jensen Morrison from his sleep. He snapped his eyes open and glanced at Issac Sutton beside him, taking a long moment to get his bearings. Looking at his watch, he realized he had been asleep for nearly two hours. In those two hours, he'd had a very, very long dream, as long as a lifetime—no, the dream *was* a lifetime, the lifetime of one person: Ivy Holden.
In the dream, he had a God's-eye view, watching Leila Lane conspire with James Zimmers, Kira Walton, and a foreign-born Chinese man to take over the entire Zimmers Group. He saw Leila Lane drug someone and hand them over to a mysterious foreign-born Chinese man. He also saw Ivy Holden imprisoned in a dark basement, being tortured relentlessly until she was beaten to death.
The dream was so realistic that even after waking up, he still remembered every detail, including the faces and voices of those people. Fists, feet, and clubs rained down on Ivy Holden's body; he could even hear the sound of bones breaking. His heart twisted into a knot, the pain was indescribable. It was a pain that extended from the dream into the waking world, leaving him unable to tell whether he was dreaming or awake.
"Sir, it's time to deplane," the flight attendant's gentle voice said, rousing Jensen Morrison.
"Uh... thank you." Only then did Jensen Morrison realize the cabin was empty. Ivy Holden was long gone. He quickly stood up, grabbed his coat and bag, and hurried off the plane.