Transmigrated: I Bec Chapter 80: I am Raven

Chapter 80: I am Raven

The moment they were inside, Ivy slammed the door shut and tossed Sal forward. He stumbled, barely catching his balance before his back hit the wall.

"Ouch," he hissed, rubbing his shoulder. But the complaint died quickly as he looked up.

Ivy was staring at him.

Her eyes were sharp enough to peel skin.

For a brief moment, Sal regretted everything.

A moment of weakness had made him run to her for protection. Now, standing alone with her in a closed room, he realized just how badly he had miscalculated.

I should have let the guards drag me, he cried internally. She is scarier than them.

"Sit."

The single word snapped him out of his thoughts.

Sal blinked, staring at her in shock.

Confusion spread across his face as he quickly shook his head. "I’m fine," he said with a forced smile, his body already debating whether to make a run for the door.

Ivy watched him for a second, then gave a small shrug.

"Don’t say I didn’t warn you."

His face instantly paled.

"W-what do you mean?"

Am I about to get murdered in silence? Did I choose the wrong person to beg for help?

Sal had never truly regretted his decisions before. But ever since he crossed paths with this woman—this woman who tricked him by pretending to be Raven—his life had taken a very unfortunate turn.

Ivy ignored his spiraling thoughts and got straight to the point.

"I know you think I tricked you and that you’re being held captive because of me. But trust me, I didn’t know Xander was following me."

Her eyes sharpened slightly as she thought back to that moment in the park—how Xander had appeared while she was dealing with those goons. She still wasn’t sure how much he had seen or heard.

But since he had never questioned her about it, she chose to believe he hadn’t caught anything important.

Sal, however, frowned as he listened. The initial shock on his face slowly faded, replaced by skepticism.

"You really think you can fool me twice?" he said, letting out a small, disbelieving chuckle.

He pushed himself off the wall, folding his arms as he looked at her.

"I’ll admit, the first time was impressive. Pretending to be Raven, contacting me like that... I didn’t even question it." He shook his head slightly, almost annoyed at himself. "Didn’t think anyone would have the guts to pull something like that."

His gaze hardened.

"But I’m not that easy to fool again."

He pointed a finger at her, as if making a very serious declaration.

"Trust is broken. Gone. Finished. Deleted permanently."

A pause.

Then he added, a little quieter, "Also, slightly traumatized."

Ivy didn’t react.

That somehow made it worse.

Sal shifted awkwardly under her silence, then cleared his throat.

"Look, whatever game you’re playing, I’m not part of it anymore. So if you’re planning to scare me into cooperating, I should warn you—"

"I am Raven."

The words fell so calmly that for a second, Sal didn’t react.

Then he blinked and burst into laughter.

"Hahah... okay, no. No, this is too much," he said, clutching his stomach. "You’re really going all in, aren’t you? Identity theft, emotional manipulation, now full personality replacement? Impressive range."

Ivy didn’t move.

"Please stop," he added, still laughing. "At this point, I’m actually concerned for your creativity. You’ve crossed into fantasy."

"I’m not lying, Chickpea," she said, her voice steady. "I am Raven. I just woke up in this body."

"..."

Sal’s laughter faltered for a second.

Then he shook his head, forcing another chuckle. "No. Nope. Not happening. I refuse to accept this storyline."

He pointed at her like he was arguing a case. "First, you pretend to be Raven. Now you are Raven? What’s next? You’re going to tell me I’m secretly a prince?"

Ivy said nothing.

That silence made his smile stiffen.

"I’m serious," he continued, though his tone was less confident now. "You can’t just throw that at me and expect me to believe it. Do I look that gullible?"

"You are," she replied flatly.

"Wow," he muttered. "Rude. Also inaccurate."

He crossed his arms, nodding to himself. "No, this is another trick. Definitely a trick. You almost had me for a second, I’ll give you that."

Ivy finally took a step closer.

"Do you remember the night the system crashed during the Country X operation?"

Sal’s expression didn’t change. At least not immediately.

"You panicked because you thought you’d triggered a trace," she continued, her eyes locked on his. "You kept muttering that you were too young to be caught and that you hadn’t even finished your backup drives."

Sal let out a scoff. "That’s not exactly classified. Anyone could—"

"You locked yourself in the server room," she cut in, "and refused to come out until I brought you coffee. Not just any coffee. It had to be double espresso, no sugar, with that weird cinnamon sprinkle you insist makes you think better."

His lips parted slightly. But he quickly shook his head. "Lucky guess."

"You spilled half of it on your keyboard," she added. "Then blamed me for distracting you, even though you were the one who tripped over the cable."

"..."

Sal’s arms slowly dropped to his sides. His gaze sharpened, studying her more carefully now.

"No," he said under his breath. "That... that doesn’t prove anything."

Ivy didn’t hesitate.

"You hate being called by your real name when you’re stressed," she said. "That’s why I started calling you Chickpea. Because you said it sounded harmless enough to calm you down."

Sal froze. Completely.

"And you only ever told me that," she finished quietly.

The room fell into a heavy silence as Sal stared at her. The denial that had come so easily before now stuck in his throat.

His mind raced, trying to find a loophole, an explanation, anything that would make sense—but nothing did. Because no one else knew that.

His laughter was gone, completely.

"...No," he said again, but this time it came out weak.

Not convincing. Not even to himself as his eyes searched her face, as if trying to find the lie.

And for the first time since this started— he failed to believe anything.