Dale's classiness was reflected in the courteous attitude of his staff. They held Abby's belongings for her, and they walked out of the hotel. As they did so, Abby spotted Ian. She greeted him politely."Mr. Holcomb, what a coincidence! Did you come back from grabbing some snacks?"He asked her flatly, "Ms. Sutton, where are you headed to?"Abby briefly summed up Dale's arrangements. She added, "Mr. Holcomb, I'm really sorry about today. I gave you and Ms. Joyner trouble. "Just now, I was a little scared of spending the night alone, and I invited Ms. Joyner to share the room with me. I'm sorry if that affected your recovery." She was being adorably forthright. Ian cast a glance at Sage without a word. "Well, I shall leave now. Goodbye!" Abby waved at them and hopped into the backseat of the shiny car that came to pick her up.After Abby left, Sage blurted out, "Is Ms. Sutton's father a powerful figure?"Ian replied, "Dale Sutton is a capable heir of a distinguished family. H
Noticing that something was amiss with Sage, Ian reached out to steady her. "What's wrong?"She shook him off with a wary look. "Did you lie to me? Was the beer strong?"He calmly refuted her accusation. "The store owner who sold it to me clearly said it was a light, smooth beer popular among girls. Just check the label if you don't believe me."She reached out to grab a bottle, but she missed and clawed at the air instead. Ian, however, did not laugh at her. He showed her an empty bottle.Pointing at the alcohol content on the label, he patiently said, "Look, it says here. 10 to 15 percent alcohol content. It's not that high. You must be feeling sick because you drank too fast."That would explain why she felt tipsy. She had been drinking light beers like they were water. Still conscious, she rubbed her temples and said to him, "Go back to your room. I'm going to take a shower and go to bed."He insisted, "You're tipsy. I'll head back after you're done showering in case anythi
Oh, right. Sage came to realize that her Iany would never treat her so tenderly. She must have been dreaming. That would explain her lack of joy and excitement when he held her hand. Was it because it was a dream?"Want some water, my Sage?" Ian pressed a hand on her forehead.Before she nodded, she suddenly had flashbacks of Ian's attorney sternly ordering her to sign the divorce papers. She thought, "Ah, no wonder he's so nice to me. He wants to coax me into signing the divorce papers!"Shoving him away without warning, she recoiled. "You're wrong to think you can talk me into signing the divorce papers by being nice to me. I do not agree to the divorce!"Shocked, he paused and took a seat on the bed. He questioned, "My Sage, are we divorced or not?"Tears streamed down her face upon hearing that. Emotions running high, she yelled, "I won't file for divorce! I won't! I want to meet with Grandma! She won't agree to that. You can't force me to sign the papers!'Ian studied her fl
Ian remained calm in the face of Sage's confrontation. He explained, "You had too much to drink, and you wouldn't stop calling me Iany. You also stopped me from leaving."Frowning, she realized she had fallen asleep from tiredness during the massage with no memory of returning to her room or the words she said."Of course, you can make up anything because I was too drunk to know!" She scoffed at him. "Ian Holcomb, you planned everything—from the fruit beer to the spa—to take advantage of me, didn't you?"Unfazed, he calmly explained, "That's not true. You were the one who insisted I stay last night. You kept saying you'd never get a divorce, and that I couldn't force you to sign the papers."Sage, you were the one who initiated the divorce. In fact, you pressured me into signing the papers. When have I ever done that to you?"Sage inwardly gasped. Had she forgotten about her rebirth last night and believed that she was confined in the mental institution from her past life?Ian's
"I pleaded with Grandma, asking for permission to accompany you abroad, hoping to salvage what was left of our relationship. "However, our first night overseas turned into a nightmare when Ivy fell victim to a robbery and arson. When the culprit was arrested, he accused me of being the mastermind."You refused to listen to my explanations and had me locked up at a mental institution for two years. You sent your attorney to make me sign the divorce papers, clearing the path for your marriage to Ivy."Tearing up, she continued, "I lived a hellish life in the mental institution. I even developed stomach cancer from malnourishment. I decided to visit Grandpa's grave one last time because I did not have much time left."I even offered up Grandma's bracelet for a chance to meet with you. No matter how much I begged you, you refused to release me from the mental institution, all because you were afraid I'd ruin your wedding with Ivy…"Her voice cracked as memories of Ian's callous attit
Ian always thought that Sage had jumped from the second floor and asked for a divorce out of anger because he had not spent their wedding anniversary with her. He assumed she was making a scene in different ways and would one day come to regret her decisions. However, her resolve only strengthened over time.All the excuses she made up did not make much sense to him until he learned about the dream. Her misery in the dream was gut-wrenching. Was he so horrid to her in the dream that she needed to break free from him in real life?…Ian was gone when Sage came out of the bathroom. She did not care about his whereabouts and packed her luggage. She made her final visit to see the cubs at Panda World before flying back to Haldon City in the afternoon.Right before she took off, she saw Ian running late to the airport. He took a seat beside her and handed her a jewelry box. "My Sage, this is for you."She received the box and opened it to find a gold bracelet with panda-shaped ch
Last night, Ian had spent the night hugging Sage in their sleep, but she clearly did not plan to reconcile with him. Not only that, she even hurt him with words.Ian asked the stewardess for a blanket and decided to sleep instead. Sage didn't seem irked by his actions. She quipped, "Thanks in advance, then!"After that, she spent some time admiring the bracelet before organizing the photo gallery on her phone. Two hours later, they touched down at Haldon City. Immediately after alighting, she received a call from Shane, who was waiting for her at the airport. Some passengers spotted Ian when they disembarked and initiated a conversation with him. Seeing that, she left without waiting.Shane waited for her at the airport parking. He had arrived in a high-profile, eye-catching sportscar and was dressed up in a white suit. With his sunglasses on, he leaned against the car, looking handsome and roguish."Sage Joyner! Over here!" He removed his sunglasses and approached her while
Sage instantly turned down Shane's offer to help, and he did not insist. "Oh, fine then. Why don't you set a time to meet with my brother when you're free?"Baffled, she exclaimed, "Why would I meet with him? Why does he want to meet me?"He drawled, "Perhaps he's curious about the woman who stole my heart and wants to meet her in person."After some silence, she protested. "Shane Morrison, I will never meet with your brother. Just come up with an excuse to call it off."He questioned, "And why would I help you?"Speechless, she corrected him, "How is this helping me? There's nothing between us anyway. Why wouldn't you clarify our relationship and call off the meeting with your brother?"He lazily dug his ear. "He was instrumental in containing our 'dating scandal' the last time. Do you really think he'd believe in me?"She choked. "And wasn't that scandal your fault to begin with? You stayed in my room for two hours to disgrace your family. But it felt more like you disgraced m