Falling in Love : I love you, Today and Forever

Ivy did not notice Joshua's tender gaze on her until she was finished with all she wanted to say. For a moment, she was stunned to see the love he had for her in his eyes. They were too intense to ignore and Ivy could not help but blush. Her cheeks were as pink as strawberries, and Joshua had the sudden urge to bite them. However, before he could take action, Ivy moved away from him.

"I am going to call Dad. Let me check what he is up to." Ivy shifted the topic before Joshua could pounce on her and eat her up. Joshua had no opportunity to do as he pleased and he started sulking quietly. Though Ivy caught onto his expression, she just brushed it off with a laugh. Her man was a master at acting, nobody could beat him to it.

"Hi, Dad. I was just going through the responses to your post. We have successfully gained the public attention on us." Ivy chirped and snuck out her tongue at her man, who had put on a pitiful gaze. He resembled nothing less than an abandoned puppy, waiting for its master to pick him up and hug him. All that remained was for him to start mewling to gain Ivy's attention.

"We have the public's attention. So, we need to be careful. We cannot allow Jared to manipulate people and force them on his side. I just hope this plan of ours will not backfire." Oliver uttered with worry.

Although he was sure of this plan for it was Noah had formulated it, carefully after considering every aspect of possibility, Oliver was still worried. The people they were dealing with were not ordinary or petty criminals. They were involved in a lot of illegal activities and were even powerful enough to force a country to wage a war on their country. They had to tread carefully if they had to evade Jared's reverse attacks on them.

"I agree, Dad. But I have this one question. Why did you start with the hospital issue? We could have as well started with the matters related to war." Ivy queried. This thought was bugging her mind for a long time. 

"Silly girl. Although we do have proofs that show that Jared and his Godfather instigated the war between the two countries, we cannot directly release it to the public. It is a matter related to national security. We need to be careful with it. It will be going against the nation and law if we were to release such confidential information without any permission from the President or the military. Let us start with the man's crimes according to their dates. By then, we can submit the proof we have to the President or the military. They will take care of it."

Ivy understood what her father was trying to convey and she nodded her head in understanding. They could not act recklessly when it came to matters related to the military. The sudden war had rendered the nation in a state of frenzy, and they had to be careful in releasing any information about it.

"I have one question for you. I am not sure how to ask you." Oliver started after thinking for a while. 

"Yes, Dad. What do you want to ask me?" She urged, sensing her father's hesitance.

"Can we trust your colleague, Max with this news? Will he be able to do justice to it?" Oliver had been in a coma for almost three years and was yet to come to terms with how things worked. He now had a fresh set of people working under him and above him. Even though he was the Vice President of the agency, which he had taken after being forced, threatened even by his 'gentle' son-in-law, he was still worried about the people who were directly under him.

Though he trusted Noah and Ivy and their judgments, he could still not help but be wary of the people he did not know, especially Ivy's colleagues. Sometimes it was the people close to them who usually betrayed from the back. And Oliver did not want to take this chance, not when his daughter was involved with it. Moreover, they were dealing with a diabolical criminal who had to be dealt with long ago.

"Dad, don't worry about Max. You can trust him to do the job well." Ivy assured. She understood what her father's concerns were and why he was worried. And she did not blame him for it. She too had experienced such a predicament when she had been in her previous agency. "He is a sincere journalist. You can trust me on that."

Ivy's words put Oliver's mind at ease and his shoulders relaxed. This matter had occupied his mind since the time they had come up with the plan to ruin Jared and his army. Now that Ivy had vouched for her colleagues' character, he had nothing to be wary about.

"Dad, I will be meeting Max in the evening before the broadcast. Do you have anything for me to convey to him?"

"Noah has already informed him all that I wanted to tell him. If there is anything else, I will tell you once I remember." Oliver tried to recall if he had missed anything in the meanwhile. But he could not remember anything significant.

"If there is nothing else, I will end the call, Dad. See ya." Ivy took a deep breath and turned to face the man who had not once shifted his gaze away from her. "Why are you looking at me that way?" Ivy narrowed her eyes, looking at the man who resembled nothing less than a predator ready to hunt her down.

"Have you ever told you how charming you look when you take over the authority?" He mused as he placed his palm underneath his chin. "You look so sexy and alluring that makes me want to kiss you."

Ivy rolled her eyes at her man's brazen words. Since the time he had woken up, he had not stopped showering her with love and affection, drowning her with his concern and care. Ivy was sure that he would soon start preparing a proposal, a proposal she would never reject with the way things were now.

Ivy shook her head when she realized what she was thinking about. 'Did I fall so deep for him that I am thinking about a proposal? I must be crazy to think so.' She thought. But her heart still felt happy just imagining the day when Joshua would actually propose to her. Unlike before when she found the thought ridiculous, she now eagerly waited for it as unknowingly. She was completely head over heels with her man. She had started to love him more than she ever imagined and only realized it when she almost lost him.