Transmigrated: I Became My Nemesis's Woman novel Chapter 163

Chapter 163: I trust you

The drive back to the mansion was unusually quiet.

Neither Xander nor Ivy made an effort to start a conversation.

The silence wasn’t uncomfortable, though. If anything, it felt natural. Ivy didn’t seem to mind having Xander beside her, and Xander appeared perfectly content simply being there.

By the time they reached the Emerson Mansion and walked into their room, the tension from the evening had faded slightly.

As Ivy set her keys on the table, Xander spoke.

"Was everything alright at the reunion?"

She paused and turned to look at him.

There was no visible emotion on his face, but she had learned one thing about Xander over the past few months: he never asked questions without a reason.

Trying to read his expression was pointless.

If he was asking, he already knew something.

Ivy let out a quiet breath.

"Not exactly. Nora tried her best to paint me as the villain. She spilled wine on me, accused me of pushing her, and hoped everyone would believe her."

A faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

"Fortunately, a witness saw the whole thing. In the end, she was the one everyone questioned."

Xander listened without interrupting.

When she finished, he asked in the same calm tone,

"Is that everything?"

The smile disappeared from Ivy’s face.

She frowned slightly.

"What are you trying to ask, Xander?"

He remained silent for a moment before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone.

Unlocking the screen, he held it out for her to see.

"What about this?"

Ivy looked down.

The image showed her and France standing close together. The angle had been deliberately chosen to make it appear as though they were sharing an intimate moment, even though she knew nothing inappropriate had happened.

Her expression darkened instantly.

"Nora."

She clenched her jaw.

"She must have taken this at the reunion."

Frustration bubbled inside her.

For the first time all evening, she regretted not confronting Nora more harshly.

Looking back at Xander, she quickly explained,

"Xander, this isn’t what it looks like. France approached me unexpectedly, and before I could walk away, Nora must have snapped the picture to make it seem like something else."

She barely finished speaking before Xander stepped forward.

Without a word, he wrapped his arms around her and gently pulled her against his chest.

The unexpected embrace left Ivy frozen.

She could hear the steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath her ear.

After a moment, his quiet voice broke the silence.

"Did he bother you?"

The question wasn’t filled with suspicion.

It was filled with concern.

And beneath that concern, Ivy could sense something else simmering just below the surface.

Anger.

Not at her.

At the thought that someone might have made her uncomfortable.

For a few seconds, she simply stood there, too surprised to react.

Then she slowly relaxed in his embrace.

"He didn’t do anything," she murmured. "He tried to talk to me, but I made my boundaries clear."

Xander’s hold loosened slightly, though he didn’t step away.

"Good."

His answer was short, but the firmness in his voice told her everything she needed to know.

He had never believed the photograph.

He had only wanted to know whether she was safe. For he only knew no one from the Ford’s family was good with Ivy.

Realizing that, Ivy couldn’t help but smile.

"You know," she said softly, "most people would have asked if the picture was real."

Xander finally looked down at her.

"I trust you."

The simple statement caught her completely off guard. There was no hesitation, no doubt, and no demand for proof.

Just unwavering trust. For reasons she couldn’t explain, that affected her far more than the photograph ever could.

She rested her forehead lightly against his shoulder and let out a quiet laugh.

"I guess Nora wasted her effort after all."

A faint smile crossed Xander’s face.

"She chose the wrong person to try and convince."

A faint smile lingered on Ivy’s lips, but her mind was elsewhere.

Nathan’s words refused to leave her thoughts.

*Logan Moritini... there are still people you need to meet...*

Questions continued to pile up with no answers in sight.

Part of her wanted to tell Xander everything—to confess what Nathan had said and how little she actually understood. But another part held her back. She didn’t even know the full truth herself, and bringing Xander into the mystery without certainty felt unfair.

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