Shane had no objection. After the Farsight Investment employees filed out of the lounge, Sage rose from her seat too. "Well, I shall leave now."Shane immediately looked annoyed. "What are you leaving for? We threw a welcome party for you. It's only fair that we get it done properly! I'll get someone over to join the drinking session!"Sage explained, "Mr. Morrison, I think this is enough for the day. We don't have to keep going."He lifted a brow skeptically. "What if Mr. Holcomb doesn't think it's enough?" He cast a suggestive look at Ian. "Mr. Holcomb, do you want to continue drinking?"Ian flashed a smile at him, but his emotions were unreadable. "Mr. Morrison, I'll entertain you since you're in the mood, but it's not fun to just drink. Why don't we make a drinking bet?"That immediately piqued Shane's interest. He wondered, "What bet?"Ian replied, "If I win the bet, you'll have to leave Haldon City and return to Northeria.""That's a daring bet." Shane let out a deranged c
Ian, sitting straight, held the glass of whiskey and downed it. His movements were like performance art. In contrast, Shane sat lopsidedly and waited lazily for the waiter to deliver his drink.The two men finished another ten or so drinks in that manner, throughout which Shane stayed the same. Sage didn't think much about it because Shane had always been a spoilt rich kid who indulged in fun.However, she was taken aback by Ian's composure. He got tipsy at the Holcomb family gathering last time. In her past life, she even saw him lying on the couch drunkenly. Did the type of alcohol make a difference? Sage then recalled that Ian got drunk on vodka at the family gathering. So, she suggested, "Hennesey is not as concentrated as vodka. This back-and-forth is taking up too much time. Why don't we switch it to vodka?"Ian glanced at her, seemingly reading her mind. The look on his face was mixed with cold disdain and anger. He turned to Shane. "What do you think, Mr. Morrison?"Shane
Logically, even if Ron was a valued senior employee who sacrificed a lot for Farsight Investment, he wouldn't have had the audacity to repeatedly challenge Shane. Besides, Ron seemed to fear Ian. Sage couldn't understand why Ron would return to take his revenge instead of leaving. Did Ron really have nothing to lose, or was there another reason behind his impudence?"Wow, you're still here. Great. It's time for us to settle the score!" Ron said when Sage was still deep in thought. The men who came with him filled the lounge and locked the door behind them. The waiter hid behind the couch out of fear while Ivy stumbled backward. Ian immediately marched over to Sage and shielded her. Shane went up to Ron with a frosty expression. "Ron, what are you doing?""Hah! What do you think?" Ron said arrogantly. "I warned you that you'll regret your actions. Do you finally feel afraid now?""Leave with your men, and I'll forgive you this time. Otherwise, you'll pay the price," Shane warne
Ivy, sounding weak yet determined, stated, "No, I won't! There are too many of them. I can't watch you get injured."At that moment, a thug threw a punch at Ivy's face, prompting a scream from her. Ian quickly pulled her closer and kicked the man away.Although it was not the right occasion to laugh, Sage couldn't help but let out a wry chuckle. She thought, "Turns out that Ian isn't exclusively protecting me. He would do the same for Ivy when she's in trouble."While Sage was distracted, the man who collapsed from Ian's beer bottle earlier scrambled to his feet. He charged at her with a murderous look.Noticing his approach, she quickly hit him with the metal rod, causing him to stagger backward. However, he was stronger than her, and she hadn't used all her strength on him.The man, after touching the trail of blood coming on his forehead, grew even more menacing. He came at her like a madman and snatched the metal rod out of her grasp. The rod made a clanking noise as it hit th
Ian made Terry assist Ivy while he lifted Sage from the ground and walked out of the lounge. Worried that Ian might find out about her pregnancy if they went to the hospital, she endured the pain and struggled in his arms. "I don't need your help. Let me go! Shane Morrison, come with me to the hospital…"Ian finally unleashed his anger that had been brewing throughout the night. He growled, "Sage Joyner!"That night, he spotted Sage and Shane chatting and bantering right after he exited the elevator. Just now, Shane even went so far as to teach Ron a lesson for Sage.And right now, although Sage was about to faint, all she wanted was to call for Shane's attention.Ian snapped, "Did you forget that I'm your husband?"Feeling terrible, she bit her lips. However, she insisted, "Let Shane get me to the hospital.""You—" His face turned red from anger. But instead of letting go of her, he walked out of the door with her in his arms.She anxiously cried out, "Shane Mor—Mmph!"She c
In addition to the chilling edge in Ian's tone, Sage also sensed a mixture of indignance, irritation, and dejection.She assumed that he was referring to Shane. His misunderstanding of her relationship with Shane must have meant she didn't miscarry. For some reason, she felt relieved.Ian pressed on. "Why are you silent?"She looked up at him. "I told you that I was at fault. What I'm doing now is putting an end to my mistake.""Is this how you go about fixing your mistakes?" Ian took out a few photos and tossed them at her.She lowered her gaze and realized that those were photos of her and Shane checking into the hotel, as well as Shane entering her hotel room.In the photos, Shane held her closely in what appeared to be an intimate position. Shane had set up the scene to fool Giselle, but Sage didn't expect Ian to have witnessed it too.She was slightly taken aback but was not too surprised that Ian had found out about it. If Shane admitted to fathering her child, Ian would r
"If you were so worried about getting pregnant by me, why didn't you worry about it when you slept with Shane?" Ian confronted Sage.Sage flashed him a mocking smile. "Oh, I was worried, but I was too drunk that night. The next day, Grandma wanted me at the Holcomb Manor. After that, I traveled to Morita. I didn't give it much thought because I thought I should be safe after taking the morning-after pills."Ian had personally witnessed Sage drunk. Looking coy and clumsy, she had hugged him and pestered him for sex.He couldn't stand the torturing idea of Sage with other men. Driven mad, he tightened his grasp on her chin. He hissed, "So, you went to Morita to look after me because you felt guilty!""Ouch!" She slapped his hand since he nearly crushed her chin with his strength.He did not loosen his grip even when she teared up from the pain. The anger in him ballooned. "Sage Joyner, why did you do this?"Despite the stinging pain, she refused to back down. "I told you… better to
Soon, Tiana returned with the medicated cream and applied it to Sage's wound. She questioned, "How did you get injured and faint? What the heck happened last night? I dared not ask Ian because he looked very cross."Sage briefly summarized the events at the clubhouse for her. Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. "Has Shane visited the hospital?"Tiana answered, "You were transferred to your room from the ER when I got the news. I only saw Ian. I have no idea about Shane."Since Sage could call up Shane later, she decided to focus on the more pressing matter. She asked Tiana, "Is the baby… alright?"Sage could guess the answer from Ian's response, but she still yearned to get a confirmation from Tiana.Tiana quipped, "Do you wish for it to be alright?"Hearing that, Sage bit her lip and sank into silence. Before the incident last night, she had firmly decided to get an abortion. To her dismay, she found herself panicking and upset when she felt her abdomen in pain and when she wa