Soon, Ivy showed up before Sage and Ian. She said to Sage in a professional and polite tone, "My apologies, Mrs. Holcomb, but I need to speak with Mr. Holcomb for a few minutes."Then, she turned to Ian. "We need to meet Mr. Tibbs."Ian glanced at Sage before murmuring, "You should rest here for now. I'll join you later."Sage continued smiling at him sweetly. "Okay.""Rest assured, Mr. Holcomb. We'll take good care of Mrs. Holcomb," Priscilla spoke up at that time.Ian's expression never wavered when he heard Priscilla's voice. It was as though he knew she was there right from the start.Confusion streaked across Ivy's eyes briefly, but she didn't let her gaze linger on Priscilla. Soon, she followed Ian to somewhere else.Even though Ian had to take his leave due to work-related matters, the fact that he had ignored Sage still stood.The guests who were previously envious of her now bore meaningful glints in their eyes.Then again, Priscilla was the domineering type who could
Sage chuckled lightly. "I won't waste my breath providing you with answers that can be easily searched on Google. You can continue bickering with each other if you want. I'll be taking my leave first.""You must be feeling awkward now, right? After all, you're nothing but a useless bitch without any academic achievements under your belt. "I can't believe you still have the gall to maintain your elegant and composed façade!" a woman, who clearly had gone under the knife before, exclaimed snarkily.Upon hearing her insults, Sage's smile faded away instantly. She shot a cool glance in the woman's direction afterward."It's fine if you're mocking me, but going so far as to insult me? That's not something you should do. Take this for example. It's perfectly okay for someone to comment about your artificial beauty. But they can't mock you for going through plastic surgery just to conceal your ugly nature.""Are you calling me ugly?" the woman screeched while shooting up to her feet in
Ian looked at Sage, who was eager to draw a line between them. He thought she was still mad about what happened earlier."I'll have Terry investigate their company and force them out of this industry. They won't be able to cause trouble for you anymore."Sage replied, "Don't. They'll just think that I'm just a useless woman who uses my connections and social status to oppress them."Ian thought those words seemed familiar. Then, he remembered having made the same remark about Sage in the past. Only then did he realize that Sage was actually mad at him.He pursed his lips together before switching the topic. "What's your purpose for inviting Ms. Davis to this banquet?""Why can't I invite her?" Sage shot back. "She's not the one at fault now, is she? In fact, she's the heroine who stepped up to carry the burden known as Mimosa after enduring her husband's betrayal. Not many people possess her courage. What's wrong with me wanting to help her out?"Ian just stared at Sage. "Do you
But Ian outright ignored Sage's provocative outfit. Instead, he chased her out of his study.Sage didn't want to recall the dumb things she had done in the past. At the same time, she had no intention to argue with Ian over them.There were only a dozen or so days left till Linda's birthday. When that day came, Ian would find out how determined Sage was in divorcing his ass.As they danced, Sage noticed Ivy dancing with another man. Ivy was wearing an ankle-length gown, so she looked exceptionally graceful while dancing. She seemed to share a pretty good chemistry with the man as well.The man said something to her, causing her to flash him a radiant smile.When Ian noticed Sage staring in a particular direction as though she was spacing out, he turned to glance in the same direction, too."Oh? You must be feeling uncomfortable, right? After all, your best female friend is dancing with another man intimately." Sage pointed out, clearly relishing in Ian's distress.Ian turned b
Priscilla could guess why Sage was feeling blue. Hence, she nodded without hesitation. "Alright, let's drink to our heart's content!"The girls sat in a corner, sipping their wine. The banquet hall, which had been bustling with activity just a moment ago, only had a few employees cleaning up now. This made them look lonely.Priscilla couldn't help but feel bad for Sage, who was struggling to keep her tears at bay. "If you want to cry, Sage, just let it out. Don't hold it in."Sage, who was clutching the wine bottle to her bosom, shed a few tears as soon as she heard Priscilla. Priscilla found Sage's demeanor both beautiful and pitiable. How could Ian leave behind his stunning wife and rush to the hospital with another woman in his arms?"It's getting late, Sage. Let me drive you home," she offered after finishing her bottle.Sage obediently accepted, allowing Priscilla to help her into the car."Do you want to crash at my place for the night, Sage? I'll have someone get you hom
Ian came to a halt and looked at his assistant. Terry handed his phone to him. "Mrs. Holcomb is trending on Twitter."Ian took the device and scanned the screen. Besides the news of the accident at Holcomb Corporation's party, there were multiple articles about Mrs. Holcomb getting drunk. He clicked on one of them and was greeted with a series of images. The first photo was of Sage standing alone on the dance floor, dressed in a gown. The second image showed her holding a bottle of wine and chugging it with her head thrown back. In the third photo, she was holding an empty bottle with teary eyes. The person who shared these photos included the following caption: "There was an accident at Holcomb Corporation's party. Mr. Holcomb rushed to the hospital with the injured beauty, leaving Mrs. Holcomb alone in tears and inebriated. The couple seems to be in a marital crisis."In the first photo, Sage stood alone on the dance floor, her once-radiant face and bright eyes showing only lon
The timeline of events, the angle of the photos, the timing of the netizen's discovery of the wine bottle, and Mimosa's feminist statement all seemed to be too perfect to be explained by coincidence.…Sage was fast asleep on the bed when Ian walked into the bedroom. There was half a glass of water on the nightstand, and her phone lay next to her pillow.Her face was flushed, and she didn't seem to be sleeping very well. Her brows were knitted together, and she still smelled faintly of alcohol.His frustration boiled over as he looked at the state of her and recalled her actions earlier that evening. He yanked Sage out of bed and demanded, "Get up! Stop pretending to be asleep!"Sage opened her eyes grogily, her gaze unfocused and confused. Her lips puckered, and tears streamed down her cheeks as she stared blankly at Ian's stern expression for a moment. "W-Why are you so mean to me even in my dreams? You're such a jerk, Ian! You're a big jerk…"Then, she buried her head in the p
Ian's expression hardened on hearing her words. "I dare you to!"However, Sage couldn't comprehend his words at all. Hugging the pillow, she started sobbing. "I forgot… I can't even use his money. He's so stingy… he wouldn't even give me a million dollars…"Ian couldn't be bothered to talk to Sage anymore. He retrieved a towel from the bathroom and wiped her face roughly. He then sat her up, picked up the half glass of water from the bedside table, and placed it near her mouth. "Drink up," he ordered.Sage was much more docile after her previous outbursts. She lowered her head and took a sip. However, she started coughing and spat out the water as soon as she swallowed, wetting Ian's clothes."Sage Joyner!" he snapped. "Are you doing this on purpose?"Tears instantly welled up in her eyes after being scolded by him. "I don't want to drink water. I want hot chocolate…" she sobbed. "I waited in line for over an hour to get it. Why did you throw it away? Give me back my hot chocola