Chapter 439

Ivy noticed the change in his expression and stopped in her tracks. “What’s wrong?”

Jamison glanced toward the dorm behind her, hesitating for a moment before speaking. “This place really isn’t good enough. I think you should stay at home. I’ll have Boyd drive you to and from campus every day.”

Ivy frowned, confusion written all over her face. “Why are you changing your mind again? We’re both wearing our wedding rings, aren’t we? Don’t you trust me, or do you doubt your own charm?”

Jamison’s gaze darkened. “That’s not it.”

She followed the line of his sight to the phone clenched in his hand, realization dawning. “So, this is about that call you just got.”

Jamison’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

He should have known—there was no fooling a smart woman.

“Go ahead, who called? Is someone trying to make trouble for me?” Ivy’s voice was calm, arms folded across her chest, her stance defiant and utterly unafraid.

Jamison pressed his lips together, deliberating, but finally came clean. “Sheridan called. Emma told him everything… He reached out to me, probably hoping to earn a favor so I’d owe him one if he ever landed in trouble. I turned him down, and he got mad—said he was breaking off the engagement with Emma.”

Ivy visibly relaxed, turning back toward her dorm room. “So that’s all? I thought it was something serious. I’m starving—let me grab my bag so we can get dinner.”

Jamison followed, still tense. He caught her by the arm and pulled her gently back.

“Ivy, don’t let your guard down. Emma’s already at her breaking point. If Sheridan dumps her and she becomes a laughingstock, she might just lose it completely. What if she tries to drag you down with her?”

“She won’t. She’s too proud, too ambitious, and honestly? She loves herself too much to do anything drastic.”

“That doesn’t mean she won’t try to get back at you.”

“You’re giving her too much credit. She couldn’t beat me on her best day when I was on my own. Now that I have backup, she doesn’t stand a chance.”

Chapter 440

Jamison repeated her word, a wry smile tugging at his lips. “Backup. So, in your eyes, I’m either a decoy or muscle for hire.”

Ivy was momentarily speechless.

How did the conversation about Emma suddenly turn into him getting all moody?

“That’s not what I meant. First and foremost, you’re my husband,” she reassured him patiently.

“Glad you remember. Then maybe think about me, too. You’re not on your own anymore—you’re my wife. If anything happened to you…” His voice grew low, the words lingering with a quiet desperation.

He reached up and brushed her cheek with gentle, lingering fingers. “Please, just be careful, okay?”

Ivy’s brows knit together, a twinge of uncertainty in her chest.

She hadn’t expected that, after getting married, she’d actually feel more weighed down—her decisions no longer as clean or simple as before.

As they stood in silence, footsteps echoed in the hallway.

Snapping out of it, Ivy quickly lowered his hand from her face and turned toward her dorm. “I’m grabbing my bag—let’s go eat.”

She had barely picked up her purse when two people appeared at the door.

It was the start of the semester, and for move-in weekend, the women’s dorms allowed men inside to help with heavy lifting.

Ivy glanced at the pair—a guy and a girl—and guessed the girl was her new roommate.

They both paused when they saw Ivy, but the girl recovered quickly.

“Hey, you must be the new roommate, right? I’m Roberta, second-year grad student in finance. Really glad to be sharing a place with you!”

Roberta’s energy was infectious, her eyes never leaving Ivy as she introduced herself. Before Ivy could respond, Roberta added with a grin, “Wow, you’re gorgeous! You look like you walked straight out of a magazine!”

Chapter 440

Ivy gave a polite smile. “Hi, I’m Ivy.”