"What do you mean by you want to come clean? Do you have something you want to tell me?" Ivy furrowed her eyebrows wondering what Joshua wanted to tell. The sudden change in his behavior had been startling. Just a few minutes ago, he had been all loving and caring, and now he had become serious as though he was about to give someone a death sentence.

"Yes. It's about my past." Joshua answered after thinking for a while. He was hesitant to reveal all that he had hidden deep in his mind and body. But he knew if he had to proceed to have a good future without any remorse, it was best he told her everything about him, of course omitting the facts related to her father.

Seeing Joshua silent as he tried to arrange his messy thoughts, Ivy pressed slightly on his hands. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me now. I'll wait. You don't have to force yourself."

Hearing her words, Joshua sighed lightly. He decided it was best he told her now. "No, Ivy. I will tell you everything now."

Ivy stayed quiet as she waited for him to speak. She did not want to rush through things and she realized that it was taking him a great deal of courage and strength to speak about things that he had buried long back.

"When I first started my own company, it was not registered under our family business. I wanted to take over my Dad's position only after I felt I deserved it, not because I owned it and it came to me by birth. I did not want people to have any sort of doubts about my skills and capabilities. With my parents' support, I opened my company."

Ivy listened to him intently without interrupting him as he continued his story. "I did not take much help from my father and started my work just like how any novice businessman would. I took financial assistance from banks instead of using my Dad's money or the company's money. It was very tiring at first when there were not many people who were supportive of the idea."

"What do you mean by 'not supportive'? Did nobody support you other than your family?" Ivy stopped him suddenly when she heard his words.

"They did. My friends, Noah and Ian supported me right from the start. There was my father's assistant's daughter who supported unconditionally too. She was the only one who had seen my skills in coding other than Noah and Ian. Her name was Margaret. She was like a younger sister to me." Joshua smiled as soon as he took Maggie's name and Ivy could detect the brotherly feelings he had for her.

"But the one person who I wanted the trust and support from was against my decisions. It was my then-girlfriend, Amber."

"Amber?"

"Yes. She was my first girlfriend and the girl who I loved the most once upon a time."

Ivy felt a pang in her heart hearing Joshua proclaim his love to the woman she did not even know. But she realized that it was all in the past and it did not matter now. So, she did not say anything.

"She did not encourage my decision and we used to fight a lot due to this. She never realized that it was my dream that I wanted to achieve. Since childhood, I wanted to be a game designer as I liked playing games. So, I wanted to make a career in it before I took over our family business."

Joshua stopped suddenly and his eyes became sad when he remembered all the fights and quarrels they had when this issue had arisen in the past. Never had it ended pleasantly and every time Amber would leave crying and he would end up being frustrated and angry.

Seeing his desolated look, Ivy handed him a glass of water which he took gratefully. He took a sip and placed it back on the table. "She wanted me to take over my Dad's position against my wishes. She did not like the idea of me opening my own dream company and she always felt that I would be a failure without my Dad's backing."

Ivy narrowed her eyes suddenly listening to his words. Though Joshua had not noticed in all the years he had been in relationship with Amber, Ivy had deduced the woman's character just by listening to him tell about his past. That woman was anything but good.

Ivy stared at Joshua without blinking her thoughts running wild. 'How do I tell you that woman was not good for you? She was not with you due to love or the feelings she had for you. She was with you because of the surname you carried. You have no idea how much weightage it has. She was behind your money, not you.' But she did not say anything. She did not want to hurt him more than he already was.

"As my workload increased when I started to develop my first game, my time with her reduced. We started spending less time and our regular meets became occasionally meets. She started finding faults in me and even accused me of having a secret affair behind her back. She wanted me to go with her to the movies, shopping and go eat at the restaurants. But all I had in mind was to work hard and make my own money. I wanted my woman to get the best things in the world, but using my hard-earned, not my Dad's or anybody else's."

Ivy smiled. The man before her was a gem. Who would think this way when they have been born with a golden spoon in hand? He had the resources and his life was set before him. All he had to do was to follow his father and take over his seat. But Joshua had chosen the hard route. He had first chosen to make himself capable before everything else. 'This man is incredible and that woman is a fool to think otherwise.'

"The distance between us only grew and one day she left me without any reason. I searched for her for days when finally after a week, I found her kissing a man on the streets and entering a Porsche together. Then I changed. I started to believe that there was no true love. It was all bullshit."

"Is this the reason why you became a flirt?"

Joshua smiled suddenly. "Yes. Though I could not commit myself in a serious relationship, at least I could have my fair share of fun, and anyway, those women came to me themselves. You know how difficult it is to reject a pretty woman." Joshua winked and Ivy realized that he was back to normal. He was out of his grieving mode and a flirtatious smile was plastered on his face.

"Yeah right." She scoffed, though her face was telling something else. She was smiling in relief. She did not like the serious and sad Joshua. She liked the man who always played around, teasing people around him. She liked his smile and the way his eyes shone when he was up to something mysterious and evil. She felt happy seeing him happy and she threw herself on him all of a sudden and hugged him tightly, surprising him.

However, she pulled back when she heard his next words. "Preserve your hugs and kisses as there is more to the story."

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Hey guys,

I am going to give a mass release on 31st August.

The number of chapters released will be based on the number of votes this book will receive after the weekly reset.

The votes will be counted from 24th August to 30th August (GMT+8) until reset.

Less than 1000 - 2 chapters

More than 1000 - 4 chapters

More than 1500 - 6 chapters

So, what are you waiting for? Start voting.