Tiana pondered for a moment before answering with certainty, "I wouldn't. I've done nothing wrong. Why would I run away?"Sage smiled. "That's right. Hold that thought."Tiana was puzzled. "How did we end up talking about me? You haven't told me everything yet!""What else is there to say? Ivy's goal was to make Ian think poorly of me, and now she's succeeded. That's that. Besides, Ian and I are going to get a divorce, so I don't care what he thinks of me."Alright, I have to go now. Catch you later!" Sage hung up before Tiana could respond. She packed a few sets of clothes, added a set of travel-sized skincare and cosmetics, zipped her suitcase, and went to the bathroom.Fortunately, it was her left hand that was injured, so her daily activities weren't affected. Wanda's voice came from outside as soon as she washed her face. "Mrs. Holcomb, are you awake? Breakfast is ready."Sage opened the door and found Wanda outside. "Mrs. Holcomb, what happened to your hand?" Wanda noti
Come home? As if Solaris Estate were her real home. Sage sneered inwardly in response to Ian's pointless questions and left without saying a word.Wanda hurried out of the kitchen and called out, "Mrs. Holcomb, where are you going? You haven't had breakfast yet!""I'm in a rush, so I'm skipping it," Sage said before walking out the door. Her shoulder wasn't fully healed yet, and her left hand was injured, so driving wasn't an option. Sage pulled out her phone to book a ride instead.To her surprise, Ian came out and said, "I'll take you to your grandfather's place.""No—""I'll pay him a visit and bring him some things as well," Ian interjected with a reason she couldn't refuse.Just then, Terry brought out several boxes of expensive supplement gift sets, while Wanda brought her two lunch boxes. "Mrs. Holcomb, you can't skip breakfast even if you're in a hurry. Here are some pastries that you can eat in the car."Then, the driver pulled up in front of them. Sage accepted Wanda's
"I haven't done anything wrong! You called me over to the hospital to grill me, but you still think I shouldn't have left? Do I have to wait for you to pin a crime on me and get on all fours before your Uncle Ron and Ivy to apologize before I can leave?"Ian was stumped. Terry couldn't take it anymore. He frantically signaled to the driver to lower the partition, or he would be caught in the crossfire. Ian's frustration could no longer be suppressed after the partition was lowered. "Sage Joyner, are you saying I've wronged you? Can you honestly say that your fingerprints weren't on that bag of medications? Or that you weren't upset because of Ivy's appearance before we went to the drugstore?"Of course, he had the fingerprints checked. "Ivy's just an employee at my company who was promoted to director because she was qualified for it. I allowed you to pick any position you wanted at my company's headquarters, but you turned it down. Yet, you still can't stand Ivy. What the hell d
Sage could tell he was concerned, but she found it extremely ironic. So, she shut her mouth and remained silent."What else could have happened? It was either caused by gravel or glass shards," said the doctor.Ian thought of something. "Is it the glass shards from the trash can?"Sage chose to remain silent yet again. The doctor chided, "How could you be so careless when you knew you were injured? The scab had just formed as well. You're going to have to go through the pain all over again.""It's my fault. I had no idea she had injured her hand, so I grabbed her hand a bit too forcefully." Ian took the blame upon himself.The doctor adjusted his glasses and looked up at Ian. "Are you her husband? How were you not aware that your wife was injured?"Ian, who had always been high and mighty, was embarrassed at that moment. He cleared his throat and said, "It was pretty hectic at the time.""So you were there, but you have no idea how your wife got injured?" The doctor's eyes widen
Sage scoffed. "What is this? Compensation?"Ian would never use that term ever again after she offered him 10 thousand dollars to accompany her for a month. "If I can't accompany you and Grandpa to another state, I'll cover all of your travel expenses instead," he explained.Sage declined. "That won't be necessary. My family isn't short on money."Her tone made him feel as if there was no longer any connection between them. He suppressed his discomfort and asked lowly, "Should I tag along then?"Sage took the card as soon as she heard that. Even though he might not have meant it, her mood would've been ruined if he decided to join them out of spite. Since he was offering, she would be a fool not to take it.Ian could see right through Sage. He pursed his lips and chose not to say anything. The couple arrived at the Joyner residence several minutes later. Sage draped her coat over her left arm and grabbed her handbag before getting out of the car.Donald was already waiting in th
The driver opened the car door for Ian, who paused as he was stepping in. After giving it some thought, Ian turned around and entered the house.He found Sage and Donald staring at a tablet by the coffee table and discussing the many attractions in Colville. She wore a sweet smile, one Ian had not seen for a while."Grandpa," Ian called out to Donald.Donald turned around. "Ian, aren't you heading back?""Yes, I'm about to leave, but I need to apologize to you for something," confessed Ian. "Sage injured her hand due to my negligence."That was when Donald noticed Sage keeping her other hand hidden in her dress pocket. "What's wrong? Where are you hurt? Let me take a look!"Sage shot Ian an irritated look and displayed her bandaged palm. She reassured Donald, "I accidentally hurt my hand by pressing it against some rocks. It's almost healed now."Donald still felt sorry for her. "You can't take pain. You cry at the slightest extraction. They must have disinfected your hand befor
The driver thought he had misheard, but Ian's deep voice was unmistakable. The driver questioned, "Mr. Holcomb, are you asking me a question?" Ian fell silent.The driver mustered the courage to reply. "Well, my wife has the final say in my household. She'll take care of any emergency, so I have nothing to worry about."Knowing that the driver misunderstood his question, Ian did not bother to explain further. The doctor who treated Sage had come to a hasty conclusion without understanding the situation they were in when Sage got hurt.Besides, this was not the first time Sage had faced off against Ivy. Ian believed that he'd only embolden Sage if he unreasonably sided with her.Moreover, he had no idea that Sage was hurt. When he attempted to learn about the details, Sage was long gone and uncontactable.Therefore, he didn't think he had mishandled the situation. If Sage insisted on traveling to Colville with Donald out of spite, he had no choice but to let her be.Although Ian s
After hanging up on Linda, it was time to board the flight. Sage, Donald, and Dexter passed security and boarded the plane.Two hours later, they landed in Colville. Since it was late in the day, they checked in at a hotel first and planned to visit Donald's friend the next morning at the hospital.Later, Sage brought Donald and Dexter to savor some local delicacies. When they returned to the hotel, she checked her phone and saw a missed call from Ian, which she believed she overlooked because it was noisy at the restaurant.She also noticed that he had texted her, asking, "Have you landed?"Since the text was from an hour ago, she didn't bother to reply to him. She picked some clothes from her luggage and headed to the bathroom.…After Ian returned to Solaris Estate from Holcomb Manor, he was greeted by Wanda in the main hall. She asked if he needed a glass of water, to which he responded with a shake of his head.The estate felt unusually lonely and desolate when he returned