Jamison cut right to the chase. “When did you chat with her online?”

“Uh… maybe about two weeks ago?” Dale Sullivan, usually easygoing, suddenly felt uneasy. Dr. Ludwig was always reserved and calm–why was he so serious all of a sudden?

“Back then, you and Mrs. Smith both pretty much vanished. I messaged you and you never got back to me. We were all getting a little worried, honestly. That day I added Mrs. Smith as a friend, and when she accepted, I mentioned it–she said she hadn’t reached you either…”

Jamison thought back, piecing it together. That must’ve been the week he’d gone to Westshire with Ivy.

He caught something in Dale’s words and, a bit confused, asked, “When did you message me and I didn’t reply?”

He was always busy with work, so he sometimes replied late, but he almost never left a message unanswered–especially not from Dale, who usually reached out about his niece’s post-op recovery. Jamison would never ignore that.

“It was when we tagged you in the group chat and you never responded. So I sent you a message, just checking in, asking if you’d run off on a honeymoon or something… I still have the chat log.”

Jamison’s eyes lit up in realization. Suddenly, he understood exactly how Ivy had figured it all out.

“Send me a screenshot of that chat. Now.”

“Oh–should I hang up first?”

“No need.”

“Alright.”

Dale was quick; after a brief silence, Jamison’s phone dinged with a new message.

He put the call on speaker, opened his phone, and looked at the screenshot.

Sure enough, Dale had messaged him:

Dr. Ludwig, where have you been? Are you on your honeymoon? The group chat is buzzing but neither of you have shown up.

Jamison backed out of the screenshot and scrolled further up the chat. Strangely, on his own phone, Dale’s message was nowhere to be found.

He fell silent for a moment, then let out a wry, amused laugh.

He’d really underestimated that cunning woman.

“Dr. Ludwig, you still there? Was this why you called?” Dale sounded completely bewildered now.

Jamison, having pieced everything together, gave a brief explanation: “Mrs. Smith and I got married on a whim. She didn’t know who I was at the time–that’s why I kept it from everyone.”

“What? Seriously?” Dale was floored, then quickly caught on.

After a bit of idle chatter, Jamison hung up and immediately forwarded the screenshot to Ivy.

He almost called her, but hesitated, smiled to himself, and set the phone down.

He was curious to see how “Mrs. Jamison” would react to that screenshot. Too bad he couldn’t witness it in person.

He pressed his lips together, unable to hide his growing smile–a mix of helplessness and self-mockery.

He’d always thought himself clever, always the one pulling the strings. Who’d have guessed the first time he’d ever been played so thoroughly, it would be by a woman? Thankfully, that woman was his wife. Nothing to be embarrassed about there.

Ivy was already half-asleep.

Seeing that no new messages had come through, she figured the conversation was over. But just as she settled in, her phone chimed again.

She frowned, picking it up. What was he sending her a picture for? Was he really so self-obsessed he’d send her a selfie, trying to charm her with his looks?

She scoffed and opened the message.

The moment the image loaded, her eyes widened.

They were both smart people. Even without a single word of explanation, just one screenshot was enough for her to figure out exactly what had happened.

So, someone was still brooding over having their secret identity blown–he must’ve spent all night piecing together how she’d uncovered it.

Ivy stared at the screen in stunned silence, then couldn’t help but smirk.

For just a moment, she actually felt guilty. She had lied that night, claiming her phone was dead so she could borrow his to call Katrina. While he was weak and injured, she’d tricked him into unlocking it–giving her the chance to delete Dale’s unread message from his chat.

It was definitely a sneaky move.

But then again, she’d been a victim, too.

She quickly sobered, her conscience clear, and sent a voice message back:

“Dr. Ludwig, you’re actually pretty sharp–took you this long, but you still managed to put the pieces together. With a brain like that, how come you’re always losing money on the stock market?” she teased, deliberately.

Jamison was waiting for her reply.

When he listened, he let out a slow, amused breath and pressed the mic: “You tricked me. Don’t you feel even a little bit guilty?”

Ivy snorted. “Oh please–who lied first?”

Jamison just shook his head, equal parts exasperated and fond. He really had no argument there.

He had been the one to start it, after all.

Thinking back to that night, how easily she’d fooled him, he couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. He hadn’t suspected a thing.

Miss Ivy’s acting and composure truly impressed him.

With everything out in the open, Jamison decided to ask, “Dale Sullivan–the Dale from the group chat–he’s local. We met because of his niece’s surgery, kept in touch after that. Now that everyone knows we’re married, maybe you should meet him sometime?”

Ivy listened and replied with a voice message: “Sure, up to you. You handle it.”

“He works in IT and he’s busy, too. We’ll figure out a time when it works,” Jamison said, a relaxed smile tugging at his lips.