Chapter 204: Slow steps

"Boyfriend."

As soon as Joshua said this word, Ivy gawked at him wide-eyed. She was rendered speechless while Joshua basked in this newly created relationship with ease. Ivy's face was fixed on his, trying to decipher why he said so. Sensing her gaze on him, Joshua smiled mysteriously. He too did not know why he had claimed himself to be her boyfriend. The idea did not seem bad. The word had just slipped out of his tongue as though it was the truth and he was going around proclaiming his relationship with Ivy to everybody and anybody he saw on the roads.

Just like Ivy, Tim too was flabbergasted, but for a whole different reason. If Ivy was Joshua's girlfriend, then things would get complicated. She had the biggest and strongest backup in the country. And if what they had assumed about Ivy being involved in collecting the evidence against them was true, then it would be almost impossible to get to her in the future.

"Ain't he Joshua Martin?" Tim asked. He could not continue to feign ignorance as to the man before him was a famous businessman nationwide. Everybody knew him and since he worked for the paparazzi, Tim could not say he had no idea who Joshua was.

His question brought Ivy put of her stupor. Yet, she stared at Tim blankly, her mind still unable to process any word or sentence and her tongue was frozen. However, that was not the case for Joshua. He answered Tim immediately. "The one and only."

Tim was in a dilemma and he was not ready to believe that he was Ivy's boyfriend. But he couldn't reject the possibility either. The last time he had followed her from the cafe, he had seen Joshua go into her house. So, this couple had been going strong since then and he had no idea about it. 'Crap.'

Though Joshua had said it himself that he was Ivy's boyfriend, Tim wanted to hear it from Ivy. He wanted to make sure that what they were saying was the truth and not a ploy to divert his attention. "Ivy, is he really your boyfriend?"

Though he tried to mask it, Joshua could sense that Tim was up to something and warning bells set off in his mind. He narrowed his eyes and glared at him coldly. Ivy was still in a dazed state and he could see that she was not in her usual state of mind to keep up with the act he had started. He had to do something so as to not raise any suspicion.

He wrapped his hand around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him, again stunning her. Ivy lifted her head to look at him, her eyes filled with a lot of questions. "Looks like the man in front of us is doubting our relationship sweetheart." He said and Tim could not differentiate if he was being sarcastic or annoyed or both. 

"No. No. That was not what I meant, Mr. Martin. I..." Before he could continue, Joshua interrupted him.

"Is that so? But why do I have a feeling that you are highly suspicious of our love for each other? Or is it that you are depressed that we are together, even?"

Tim got flustered with Joshua's questions at once. 'How did it turn this way?' He wondered. It was he who was supposed to do the asking, not them. Yet here he was standing in front of them as though he was the culprit and they were the officers in charge of interrogating him. "How can that be Mr. Martin? I am happy for you as well as for Ivy. It was just that she never told us a thing about you when she was with us."

"Ahh, that? I had asked her to keep it a secret. I do not want the reporters to poke their noses in my private life and make it public. I want to wholeheartedly enjoy my love life, not worrying about those unwanted flies."

Again Tim was dumbstruck. He had a hunch that the flies Joshua referring to was not anyone but him. But he did not say a thing or tried to defend himself.

"Could you keep this secret to yourself? I'm not yet ready to reveal about us to the world. My sweetheart here likes privacy very much." When Joshua used the word of endearment, Ivy's heart slammed against her chest in unknown ecstasy. However, her mind sent her warning signals to not to fall for these charms. It was all a ploy. Her mind and heart were playing a tug of war on their own amidst all the chaos.

"Yes, yes. Of course. Don't worry, Mr. Martin. My lips are sealed."

Joshua smirked. That would never be the case. Tim was bound to go and report this to someone who was above him and that was exactly what he wanted. This was a warning he was going to send to the mysterious man not to mess with Ivy, otherwise, they would have to deal with his wrath. Nobody could get to her when he was here.

"I trust you on that." Joshua gave him a huge smile but it held a lot of meaning which Tim could not understand. "Now, if you will excuse me. My sweetheart here is a little tired. She needs to rest. So, I am going to take her up."

Without waiting for another word from Tim, Joshua nudged Ivy and the couple started walking back to her apartment. During the entire time, it was only Joshua who had spoken to Tim. Other than greeting him, Ivy had not spoken a word to him. On the way back to her house, they remained silent.

But as soon as they stepped inside her house, something snapped in Ivy. She pushed Joshua away from her and gave him an incredulous look. She clenched her jaw and took a deep breath. "Boyfriend? When did I agree to that?"

"When did I say that you agreed?" Joshua questioned back.

"Then, what was the thing that happened down there?" 

"That, it was just a warning."

"What warning?"

"Ivy, that man down there is not simple. My words were like a warning to him and whoever he is working with. Now that I have introduced myself as your boyfriend, he would not dare to do anything to you."

"How do you know him?" Ivy narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"I know some things about him. His hands are filled with blood and I suggest you be wary of him. He doesn't hesitate to kill if required."

Joshua's words creeped the hell out of Ivy for a second. She had encountered all kinds of people in her profession. They were dangerous too and they had killed people too. But she had been careful so as to not leave any clues that led back to her. Whenever she covered any important news, she was always in a disguise and each time it was a different attire. She had not been scared of getting found as it was impossible and she was confident about it.

Since the time she had started working as a journalist, no danger had ever befallen on her. This was the first time she had been stalked and hearing Joshua's caution against Tim, she was scared for a second. "Are you trying to scare me because if you are, it is working."

"No. I have no intentions of scaring you. I am saying the truth and I am requesting you to be careful from now on. He has a complicated background."

"How do know you all of these?"

"I sometimes give a helping hand to the police when they ask for it. So, I know a few things." Joshua said smoothly and it was not a lie. Ivy believed him too. With his hacking skills, there was no doubt the police would ask him for help. So, she did not question him about it any further.

Joshua noticed that Ivy was visibly shaken. He sighed, not knowing how to console her. Though he did not want to scare her by telling the truth, hiding it would bring nothing but problems. He had decided that it was better if she knew about Tim's true nature so that she could be vigilant from then on. "Ivy, don't worry. Nothing will happen to you. Your apartment has good security. He can't enter whenever he wants and also, Noah will protect you and Aria at all costs. Moreover," He wanted to say, 'I am here and I will not let anything happen to you.' But he stopped himself in time.

Ivy was busy thinking about Tim. So, she did not notice the last word he had spoken and Joshua was happy about it. She was still absent-minded. But she did not forget to thank Joshua for his help. "Thank you so much for today."

"Not a problem." Joshua wanted to take care of Tim as soon as possible. But that would only alert the enemies and then the entire Vipers gang would come behind him and Noah. So, he had to take slow steps in infiltrating his enemies. To do so, they had come to come with a master plan. Joshua noted in his mind that he had to discuss this issue with Noah as soon as possible. They had to solve this problem before it became too much for them.

"May I stay here for some time? Now that Tim knows I am here, he might become doubtful if I leave early."

"Sure. Make yourself comfortable. Do you need anything?"

"No, I am fine."

"Then, I am going to go to sleep." Ivy started walking towards her room, but Joshua stopped suddenly.

"Ivy."

"Yes?"

"May I use your laptop?"

"Sure. Just a second, let me get it for you."

Twenty minutes later, Ivy was deep asleep in her room while Joshua was keeping an eye on Tim on her laptop in the living room. He had hacked all the surveillance cameras in the area and Tim had no idea about it.