The girl on the other end of the phone let out a noncommittal laugh in response to Ivyâs question.
âI mean, if you want to know who I am, just ask Balfour in a sec, and youâll know! Are you two out grabbing a bite right now? Wrapped up all the drama with the film crew, have you?â
Ivyâs eyebrows knitted slightly.
The girl wasnât just cagey about her own details; she was fishing for information.
What was more troubling was how she knew about the recent drama with the crew. This girl, oceans away, seemed to have a pretty solid line to Balfour, didnât she?
âSorry, miss, but I still donât know who you are, and I canât just go sharing our business. If youâre looking to get in the loop, why donât you just say so? If youâre a friend of Balfourâs, Iâll spill the beans.
The girl on the other end clearly didnât expect Ivy to come back with that. She paused, and then let out a chuckle, swiftly followed by a couple of coughs.
âIvy, itâs funny. You donât know me, but I sure know about you. Balfourâs been singing your praises to me.â
This girl was all mystery, making Ivy even more frustrated. âWell, if you know so much already, thereâs no need to grill me, is there?â
The girl just laughed softly, âYeah, youâre right. Iâve got stuff to do anyway. Just pass on a message to Balfour for me, will ya? Tell him Iâm waiting for his call. I trust you wonât be too petty to pass that along.â
âSure thing, Iâll let him know,â Ivy replied.
The girl ended the call without further ado, leaving Ivy clutching her phone, her emotions tangled.
Instinctively, Ivy felt that the girl on the phone wasnât Balfourâs sister. If she were, why all the secrecy?
She couldâve just said who she was.
And everything the girl had said seemed to suggest she was close to Balfour, closer than siblings, which irked Ivy â wasnât she the one Balfour had just confessed his feelings to? Werenât they supposed to be giving their relationship a fresh start?
Who was this mystery girl throwing a wrench in the works?
Ivyâs mind was in a whirl, and even the food before her lost its appeal. Mara?
That name⦠it was so familiar. Where had she seen it before?
After hanging up, Ivy had a bad feeling â a womanâs intuition.
Yet, she believed Balfour wasnât the two-timing type. Shaking her head, she tried to stop her thoughts from running wild.
However, she couldnât help it. Even after the call was over, Ivy was restless, sensing that this girlâs relationship with Balfour wasnât simple.
Ivy looked towards the restroom where Balfour hadnât returned yet. She was torn but eventually put the phone back.
If she snooped through his phone while he was away, sheâd be the real loser.
Ivy also wondered what name she was saved under in his contacts.
Would it be something as intimate as Mara?
When Balfour came back, he found Ivy staring at him with an intensity that made him arch Lan eyebrow quizzically, âWhatâs up? Something wrong with my face?â
Ivyâs frown deepened, shaking her head, âNo, nothing weird.â
âThen why that look?â he asked.
She tapped his phone, âYour phone rang, and it wouldnât stop, so I thought it might be important and answered it. It was a girl named Mara. Sorry, I took the libertyâ¦â
The conversation was natural, but beneath the surface, there was an undercurrent of tension â the kind that precedes a storm.