Sage did not continue bickering with Shane. She admitted, "I do not plan to tell Ian about the pregnancy, and I do not intend to keep the baby. I'm still waiting for the right time to have the surgery, but if Ian learns about my pregnancy, I hope you will step up."If Ian learned about her pregnancy, he would be unlikely to agree to the divorce, be it out of a sense of responsibility or otherwise. Not only that, he might get the older family members to pressure her into moving back to Solaris Estate. Therefore, Sage thought of getting Shane to take the blame for the time being."Tsk! I can't believe you. You're so insistent on divorce to the point that you're even keeping a pregnancy a secret from him," Shane commented, feeling amused."So are you helping me or not?" she pressed."I can take the blame, but I never make a bad bargain. What do I get out of this?" he asked.Sage honestly revealed, "You gain nothing out of this. But if you refuse to help me, I'll tell Giselle that I
Terry was the only one to calmly put away his laptop and meeting documents. When he was done, he followed Ian out of the meeting room. Without guessing, he knew that Ian was feeling troubled because of Sage.Although Ian had a busy schedule yesterday afternoon, he drove himself to the Joyners' residence after getting a call, having no time to call the driver. He had left in haste, and this morning he showed up at the office looking quiet. Terry had to tiptoe around Ian for fear of getting scolded.Thankfully, Ian did not vent his anger on Terry despite looking upset. His emotions seemed to be well under control.Noticing the deep frown on Ian's face, Terry said timidly, "Mr. Holcomb, I need to excuse myself for a bit. I have somewhere to go."Still frowning, Ian questioned, "Where to?"Terry replied, "Heliconia Hotel."The familiar name attracted Ian's attention. He unclenched his fist and turned to Terry. "Why are you headed to that hotel?"Terry lowered his gaze. He explaine
Underneath his suit jacket, Ian wore the shirt that Sage had handed to him last night. As it had been stuffed in the corner for a while, the shirt's collar didn't look as stiff as it usually did.She thought in surprise, "Isn't Ian very meticulous about his appearance? He also has a dressing room in his office. Why didn't he change into a fresh shirt?""What were you up to before this to fall asleep this early?" His low, baritone voice drew her attention.She rolled her eyes at him. But instead of answering, she questioned, "Why are you here?"Ian handed her an exquisite-looking bag. "Terry said he forgot to return this to you at Morita. He asked me to deliver it."His remark puzzled Sage. She thought that Terry had returned every item to her when they left Morita. Did he miss anything?She accepted the bag and checked the packaging of the item, but she could not recall whether or not she had bought that item. She brushed it off as possibly a gift that came with her purchases tha
Sage hurried up to Ian and snatched the paper from his grasp. She hissed, "How dare you look through my stuff without my permission? That was very rude of you!"Ian seemed perplexed by the angry and vigilant look on her face. "It's just a flyer. Why can't I take a look at it?"It was only then Sage realized that she was clutching a flyer promoting fertility treatments. Someone must have shoved it into her hand when she left the hospital. She hadn't paid attention to it due to her emotional distress. She must have tossed the flyer along with her bag onto the coffee table.She let out a sigh of relief when she realized that Ian hadn't seen the report. Thankfully, he did not touch her bag."What was that huge reaction? What did you think I was staring at?" He fixed his eyes on her.Knowing that she had overreacted, she put on a calm face. "Nothing! I just hate it when you touch my stuff without my permission."That, however, did not rid his suspicion. He questioned, "These flyers on
"Were you not the one who bought the tie clip for me?" Ian confronted Sage, barely able to control his anger.She confessed, "No, I wasn't. Grandpa bought the tie clip for you to thank you for the antique inkwell." Immediately after telling the truth, Sage noticed a hint of fleeting disappointment in Ian's eyes. He questioned, "Sage, why didn't you clarify that when Susan took out the gift that day?"He thought of the day he wore the tie clip and how he had dismissed Calvin's comment about the design not being Sage's taste. When he thought about it, he realized that there was a hesitant look on Calvin's face as he said that.It turned out that Calvin was right all the while. Sage had not only not bought him the tie clip, she had never bought any other gift for him.He chided himself for acting like a fool, wearing the shirt she handed him last night and putting on the tie clip, thinking that she'd be happy to see it."What's there to clarify?" she retorted coldly. "I bought you
Sage couldn't help but wonder why he seemed familiar. Once again, she turned around but didn't find anyone seated behind her. When she turned her attention back to the buffet, the man was nowhere to be seen.After having been tailed and abducted by Benjamin's men, Sage was highly vigilant in such situations. Therefore, she went to the front desk, where she requested to view the security footage to ascertain if the man was monitoring her and to find out where he came from.The staff agreed to share the security footage of the restaurant, but they declined to reveal the location of the man's lounge, citing customer privacy.Shane approached Sage when he saw her embroiled in an argument with the staff. He questioned, "What's wrong? I thought you were having dinner at the restaurant. Why are you here?"She briefly updated him on the events that had unfolded. He suggested, "Let's decide after reviewing the footage of the hall."Sage nodded in agreement. As they replayed the security fo
Marcus declined. "It's alright. I have something else to do, and I need to leave now anyway."Shane replied nonchalantly, "Fine. Let's meet again next time."Glancing at Sage, Marcus questioned, "Shane, Elle complained a few times to me claiming that you've fallen for another woman. Is that woman Ms. Joyner?"Marcus must have been close with Shane to ask such a direct question. Sage had no problem acting like Shane's lover in front of Giselle, but she felt a little guilty doing that to Marcus. "Mr. Rosethorn, Shane and I—""Yes," Shane said before she could explain. "She hasn't fully accepted me, but you know me well. I wouldn't have kept her around if I wasn't interested."Sage felt ashamed at Shane's lie. Shane went on with a hint of irritation, "Marcus, please help me work on your parents. I really have no feelings for your sister. I hope they give up on the marriage."Marcus then shifted his attention to Sage. "Ms. Joyner, do you know of Shane's feelings?" He carried an intim
Right as Sage was about to fall into Shane's arms, someone forcefully tugged on her arm and pulled her away. She fell sideways, knocking into a man's chest. She looked up when she smelled the familiar woody scent and was shocked to find Ian Holcomb in front of her."Are you okay?" His dark eyes betrayed a hint of fury, but he sounded genuinely concerned for her.Straightening up, she assured him, "I'm fine.""Yo, Mr. Holcomb! What a coincidence to have run into you! Are you here for a fun night too?" Shane remarked in amusement.Ian shot him a cold look and pulled Sage closer. "Why are the two of you here?"One of Shane's colleagues poked his head out of another lounge and cried, "Mr. Morrison, come join us for a round of drinks!""Coming," Shane yelled back. Then, he arched his brow quizzically at Sage. "Shall we?""Sure." Sage was about to leave when Ian reached out to hold onto her shoulder.Ian addressed Shane impassively, "She is a lightweight, so she won't go with you."