A bad feeling washed over Ivy when she saw Ian's unforgiving and determined expression. Had something gone awry?It was Henry who brought Sage to Toledon for a project that existed in real life. Meanwhile, Ivy herself had a valid reason to visit Toledon. Not only that, she had been put through hell.After Henry's death, why would Ian insist that she had something to do with the incident? Did he rely on Sage's one-sided account?As Ivy was going through the possibilities in her mind, Ian pulled out a recording on his phone."You need to be extra careful. You cannot raise her suspicion before you arrive in Toledon. If you mess this up again, I'll send you and your mom to jail for life!"Those were the audio recordings of her calls with Henry! Her mind went blank and her hands froze. Her scalp tingled from the shock. "W- Where did you get this from? Someone must have been plotting against me!" She raised her voice. "This must be fabricated. Ian, you need to investigate it thoroughl
Ian set a steely gaze on Ivy. "Since you insist that you're the sole culprit, you deserve to spend the rest of your life in prison for your vile actions.""No, Ian! Don't do this to me…" Ivy wanted to get up from the floor and beg for mercy, but she tore her wounds in her haste. She fainted before she could stand up.The bodyguard in the ward quickly called the doctor to check on Ivy. The doctor later confirmed that Ivy had not been faking it. She had really fainted from her grave injury and blood loss.…After Tiana and Calvin left, Sage had no mood for rest. Instead, she made her way to Shane's room. However, she hesitated at the door.As Tiana had said, Shane's feelings must have been genuine if he was willing to risk his life for her. Still, they were a huge burden to her. At first, she thought Shane was fond of her because she was fun to tease, not to mention he could spite Ian. She never thought he was being serious."Sage? Are you at the door?" Shane spoke from within th
Shane was lost and confused. "What?"Sage cast him a puzzled look. "We've only hung out for a few months, and I'm not special. Why would you have real feelings for me?" Shane fell silent after hearing her words. "What does that even mean?" He would have tapped her on the head if he could move more. "Did you think my feelings for you were not real? Did you think I was just bluffing when I said I was into you?"She cleared her throat. "No one can tell the truth from a lie because you're such an unserious person.""Sage, you—" Shane was too dumbfounded and annoyed to speak.Sage knew that her question was unfair after all he had done for her. He helped her trick Ivy, bought a property for her, followed her to Southbend, and even tried to gift her an entire zoo. He had clearly shown his feelings through his actions, but she just never took them seriously.In the face of his anger, she cut the apple into cubes and handed him one. "Want one?""No," he said disgruntledly. "Sage, i
"How cheesy," Calvin mumbled in a low voice by the door, but Shane heard him.He glanced at Calvin before purring at Sage, "Sage, that apple you peeled was so sweet. I want more!"Sage, Tiana, and Calvin were dumbfounded by Shane's behavior. Calvin immediately left the room with a feeling of disgust.At the same time, Tiana tried to hide her shock and said, "Um, Mr. Morrison, we'll let Sage keep you company then. We're off to grab a bite!"With that, she disappeared, leaving Sage and Shane alone. Feeling flustered, Sage teased him."Shane Morrison, can you please give me a heads up when you're about to put on an act? I need to ready myself."He scoffed nonchalantly. "I love annoying Ian's little brown-noser."…An hour later, Calvin met with Ian. He complained, "Ian, Shane is too much! He made up excuses to make Sage stay by his side, and he even made her feed him apples in front of us!" He was fuming at the thought of Shane's words to Sage. "Oh, you should've seen the way he
Ian didn't answer Calvin right away. He was lost in thought as his mind was replaying the dream he had that morning. Everything in it had felt so real.Dressed in the drab garb of an asylum, Sage was a mere shadow of her former self. Her once robust frame had withered away, leaving behind a gaunt and haggard visage. Her once-sparkling eyes were now hollow and filled with despair. A sardonic smile played on her lips as she swiftly and decisively plunged a knife into her chest. Sage was already lying in a pool of blood when he came to his senses. He felt a chill run through his veins as the reality of what had transpired settled in."Ian, what's wrong…" Calvin looked at him in disbelief. Surely, he must've been seeing things. There was no way that Ian's eyes had misted over.He had been friends with Ian for many years, but he had never seen him like this. Ian looked like a lone wolf who had lost its mate. He was filled with remorse, sorrow, and an overwhelming sense of loneliness.
He reasoned, "Just think about it, Ian. Mrs. Holcomb is tough as nails, and she always achieves what she sets her mind to. Also, she loves to doll herself up and live life to the fullest. How could someone like her commit suicide?"Ian didn't feel reassured at all. It was true that Sage loved life and all its beauty, but he couldn't imagine how hopeless someone who was as passionate about life as her must've felt to resort to committing suicide. "I thought you visited Ivy just now, Ian. How'd it go?" Noticing him slipping deeper into his thoughts, Calvin deliberately changed the subject. "Since you have incriminating evidence, why don't you just hand her over to the police and have her convicted? Why bother going through all this trouble to interrogate her?"Ian took a moment to gather his thoughts. "It just seems too much of a coincidence for these pieces of evidence to pop up. On the surface, everything appears to be in order, but I have a feeling that someone is orchestrating
It was also about Ivy. Sandra took Henry's belongings and found a video of his phone. It was footage of Henry and a few other men forcing themselves on Ivy. Henry probably recorded it out of vengeance or to gain leverage. The video was incredibly crude and disturbing. It'd be a devastating blow to Ivy. After watching it, Sandra didn't think that her son had done anything wrong. Instead, she had someone upload the video to the internet, and it went viral instantly."A lot of people have seen it, especially because the internet outside Haldon isn't as strictly regulated. Right now, the headlines on several websites in Toledon are all about this," Tiana said. "Even though the full video isn't viewable in Haldon, news like this spreads like wildfire. I bet plenty of people know about it. This time, Ivy is done for!"Sage wasn't as optimistic as Tiana. Ivy still had Leo backing her up. Who knows what would happen if Leo got involved? As expected, Sage learned that Leo and Ronald,
Tiana was never one to act impulsively. She always had her own plans. Both of them were alike. Once they made up their minds, they had to see it through.Sage was aware that she couldn't change Tiana's mind, so she said, "Alright then. Just be careful. Don't come crying to me if you get upset."Tiana didn't respond to her teasing and walked briskly out of the room as if she were confident she could make Ian regret his decisions.Sage sighed softly. Calvin had been urgently summoned back home by his mother earlier that morning, so she couldn't ask him to talk some sense into Tiana. Oh well, all she could do was let Tiana hit a brick wall.…Meanwhile, Tiana arrived at Ian's ward. The gunshot wound on his shoulder hadn't healed yet, and his face looked pale and sickly. He was sitting up in bed, reviewing some documents, and his assistant, Terry, was standing next to him.Terry recognized her and greeted her before tactfully leaving the room. Ian didn't seem surprised by her visit