Shane's question was pointless. Of course, Sage wouldn't know. She even asked him a few times about his hostility toward Ian, but he skilfully dodged her question. Did he plan to tell her now?Curious, she questioned, "Why?""If you're curious, come sit at the back of the car. It'll be easier to talk," Shane suggested nonchalantly.Without hesitation, she joined him at the back of the car, as she was very curious about the beef between the two men.Besides, there was a chauffeur present. Shane wouldn't dare pull anything funny on her. Anyway, even without the chauffeur, she knew him well enough to understand that he wouldn't lay a finger on her.Soon, Shane joined her in the backseat. He closed the car door and snapped a photo of her. Then, he sent the photo to someone along with a voice message. "See, Mr. Holcomb? Sage is seeing me off at the airport. She's even sitting beside me in the car. You lost to me!"Sage finally realized the reason Shane brought up his grudge against
"Ian Holcomb will be very disappointed if you leave in the middle of This carefully planned trip," Shane mused.Sage merely rolled her eyes. "Ian is here to see a doctor. We have different itineraries. I'm not going home yet."Shane let out a scoff. "Yeah, sure. Sage Joyner, keep lying to yourself."Then, he entered the departure hall without looking back. It might have been an illusion, but Sage sensed a hint of dejection when he walked away.She shook off the thought, cautioning herself not to attach too much meaning to that drama queen's actions.Later, she instructed the chauffeur to send her to the hotel. Before returning to her room, she reminded the front desk not to permit access to her room to anyone. Ian might appear to have turned over a new leaf, but she no longer trusted him.Back in her room, she made sure to secure all the locks. Sage enjoyed a good night's sleep. The next morning, she woke up early, got dressed, and headed to the hotel's restaurant for breakfast.
Sage instinctively reached out for her phone, prompted by the ringtone. She stopped midway when she recalled she had changed her ringtone some time ago.At the same time, she saw Ian calmly unlock his phone to answer a call. Puzzled, she wondered why he'd use her old ringtone, which was a recording of her voice. She thought he'd long deleted it. But to her surprise, he had set it as his ringtone.She couldn't help but note the irony in his actions. She had to beg him to use the ringtone in the past, but he couldn't be bothered. He only started using the ringtone when she had moved on.After taking the brief call, he joined her. She ordered, "Delete that ringtone."He responded with defiant silence."Ian Holcomb, what do you want? Do you think you could change my mind by calling me 'My Sage' and changing your ringtone to my voice?" She snorted at him. "Didn't I warn you not to waste your time on such nonsense? I will not feel touched.""I can address you however I like and use wha
Despite all the trouble Sage had to go through, she was excited to touch the soft panda cubs. When she placed a piece of apple in its paw, it munched on it docilely.Sage was utterly delighted at the sight of the cub's cuteness. She couldn't help but caress its soft fur.All the while, Ian had been taking photos and videos of her. Though half of her lovely face was hidden behind a mask, he could tell she was beaming brightly from her eyes.Her eyes twinkled with happiness when she admired the panda cub. Affected by her cheeriness, he felt a sense of satisfaction.Soon, her 10 minutes were up. Sage reluctantly returned the panda cub to its handler and left the inner compound of the Panda World. "The panda cubs are so cute!" Sage couldn't contain her eagerness as she shared her thoughts with Ian. She elaborated, "It's so cute when it's eating the apple. A bite on the left, and a bite on the right. That's how it ate the apple."Ian had witnessed the panda cub munching the apple and
Sage had claimed she wanted a glamorous name for the panda, but she failed to think of any. Finally, she went with her heart and named it "Apple"."It's the apple of my eye. The name I gave it might not sound special, but it's simple, easy to remember, and suitable for a female!" she explained with seriousness.Ian nodded along. "That's a good one. Let's go with it.""Ms. Joyner, I think it's a nice name! Just like 'Thorn'!" Abby agreed.The staff went along with Sage's choice. They awarded Sage the certificate after confirming the name. Apart from that, they informed her of the privileges that came with the adoption. For example, the handler would keep her updated on the panda's growth. She also had the right to visit the panda at any time. Sage was excited at the thought of a panda adopted and named by herself."Ms. Joyner, Mr. Holcomb, why don't we follow each other on Instagram? That way, I'll also be able to send you the videos and photos I took for you," Abby suggested.
Ian seemed a little dispirited, making Sage wonder if he had overheard her remark to Tiana. She neither accepted the bottle of water nor confronted him about the lucky draw setup.She walked to a quiet corner, where she inquired about Wilson. "Has Wilson contacted you during his conference trip?"Tiana replied, "He called me yesterday but I was too busy to answer.""And?" Sage pressed on."Nothing happened. I didn't call him back, and he didn't contact me again.""How's your thoughts on the divorce?"After a short pause, Tiana confessed, "I still want a divorce, but I feel a little empty at the thought of going no contact with him."Still, there's no point pushing through. I've been busy with work for a few days, and it makes me think that perhaps marriage is not everything in my life. I should focus on my career."Without a doubt, Sage was supportive of Tiana's decision. After the call, she turned around and found Ian still standing at the same spot, waiting for her with a bot
Marcus texted Sage that he had executed the mission against Shekdotter Inc. per her request. Sage had gotten the news from Shane earlier. However, she still thanked Marcus for the update."I should be thanking you instead. I heard from Elle that you've become good friends. She finally decided to focus on her career," said Marcus. "Before this, all she cared about was being a good wife to Shane. I'm surprised she's focused on work now. My parents will be glad to hear about this."Ms. Joyner, don't hesitate to ask for help if you ever need it.""Sure. Thank you in advance, Mr. Rosethorn." Sage simply offered some pleasantries without actually requesting his help.Marcus had lent Sage a hand to make up for the incident involving Giselle's housekeeper. Given his shrewdness, there was no way he didn't learn about the bad blood between Sage and Ivy. Sage wanted to put him through the trouble as a test. Now that he had proven his character, she had no reason to ask him for more help.
"Thorn's life matters too. I need to save it!" Abby struggled to break free so she could run back to the suite. As she barged forward, she nearly shoved Sage to the ground. Thankfully, Ian was quick to respond and grabbed both women, saving Sage from falling and stopping Abby from running back into danger."The firefighters are here. They will save the cat," he reminded Abby sternly.Sage turned around, and as expected, the firefighters had arrived at the scene. Abby immediately begged them through tears, "My cat is in there. Please save it first!"After the firefighters promised to save Thorn, Abby was guided to the emergency exit with Ian and Sage's help.The other hotel guests, who were warned of the fire, flooded into the emergency exit and descended the stairs. The emergency exit was fully packed, and there was a risk of a stampede.Ian, worried for Sage, hugged her tightly. As a result, she could not grab onto Abby. However, Abby had calmed down by now. "Don't worry