"Even though there is nobody else fighting for mommy's hand now, you still have to treat her well. In fact, treat her better every day. Don't slack off and mistreat her."Shawn smiled. "Alright."Little did Joshua know that Aurum was still Shawn's biggest rival. "Daddy, have some strawberries too." Nicole picked up the biggest, reddest one and handed it to him. "It's very sweet.""Thank you, Nicole."The juice of the sweet strawberry slid down his throat, but Shawn felt a sudden itch in his throat. He could not help but cough. This cough lasted for a while before he could catch his breath and stop."Why are you coughing again? Didn't you quit smoking?" Gale asked with concern. She was supervising him too. During this period, Shawn indeed had not smoked again. There were no cigarettes in the office or at home."I just choked a bit. It's nothing," Shawn replied.Gale frowned. "You're not a child. Choking on a piece of fruit?""Yeah, take it slow. No one's competing with you.
After leaving, Shawn covered his mouth and let out a cough gently. Only when he reached the restroom and closed the door did he dare to let loose.He could not stop.Shawn turned on the tap, letting the sound of water mask the sound of his coughs. He covered his mouth with one hand, and the other was propped on the sink, as he supported his body weight.After a while, Shawn stared at his hand. There was a red smear on his palm. Shawn's brow furrowed deeply. How could there be blood? Was he coughing up blood? Immediately, alarm bells rang in Shawn's mind! Shawn had been coughing on and off. He got better sometimes, and it got worse sometimes. There was not a clear pattern. However, it was weird that his coughing had escalated to this point, where there was blood.Shawn did not dare to look at the blood again, quickly rinsing it away with water. He raised his eyes, looking at himself in the mirror. He had silver hair and a handsome face, with fine lines at the corners of his eyes
"It's still in the original bag. But, for safety reasons, I've placed that bag in my personal assistant's room," Ivy explained."Got it. What did Aurum say to you today?" Shawn responded with a nod."He confessed. He was very sincere and serious. He said he likes me, he doesn't mind my past with Paul, he admires me and is attracted to him. He also said he hopes I won't look down on him because of what happened between him and Gale..." Ivy paused."That's enough," Shawn interrupted.Aurum was disgusting. He dared bring up the matters of that night while confessing his feelings to Ivy.Ivy tightened her grip on her phone. "Mr. Wood, even though both you and I know nothing happened between Aurum and Gale that night, we still can't find any evidence. Aurum won't admit it. He even insisted in front of Paul that he had sex with Gale. What more in front of me.""Be patient. There will be opportunities," Shawn reassured her.Now, Ivy was Aurum's girlfriend. She could openly enter Aurum'
What's more, Shawn had already warned and reminded Ivy. So, he simply listened quietly."Mr. Wood, do you know that when Aurum saved me today, my heart almost stopped beating. When we first met each other, he also saved me."There was a huge swell and numerous bruises on his back. Fortunately, he didn't injure his bones. It's lucky that he'll be fine with some rest."I felt so heartbroken. Why did he risk his life like that when he clearly doesn't love me?"Ivy took a deep breath. "Mr. Wood, was the accident planned?" she asked, holding her breath, quietly waiting for Shawn's answer. She needed an answer. Even though Ivy had already guessed, she was not ready to face the truth. However, asking Shawn for an answer was like seeking torture.Shawn never beat around the bush when he spoke."To ask like this means you already have an answer in your heart. Why ask me?" Shawn replied."Heh...""You guessed right. So, don't hold onto any expectations or illusions."Ivy's heart sank co
Shawn was teaching her to be tough. He wanted her to not be soft-hearted, or emotional, and definitely not to fall in love. Finally, Shawn added, "Think about how Aurum didn't hesitate to hand you over to Paul. That should calm you down."Ivy's heart tightened. The call ended. Ivy still held the phone to her ear, lost in thought for a long time. Shawn's words were sharper than a sword. Remembering how Aurum used her and Gale to set her up, then pushed her into Paul's arms to have her raped filled Ivy's heart with hatred again.Aurum treated her as a pawn he could manipulate at will. He never considered her when he passed her to Paul. So, she would not forgive him. Why did she have to fall in love with such scum?"Aurum, Aurum..." Ivy gritted her teeth. "Even if I love you, I will make you pay for what you've done! You're not worthy of my love, you're not worthy of me! My body may be dirty, but my heart..."Is a hundred times cleaner than yours!"She curled up on the ground, hugg
However, Gale was not accurate. He almost always guessed correctly, while she relied on luck. It was also because Shawn was too good at keeping his emotions in check."Nothing much, just some company matters. I saw Aurum and Ivy together again today and felt a bit odd," Shawn said.In reality, those were not the things he was worried about. What lingered in his mind, refusing to leave, was the sight of that blood in the palm of his hand. It was blood. He knew what coughing up blood meant from a health standpoint."What were you feeling odd about? Don't you wish them well?" Gale asked."Of course, but..."Gale looked at him. "But?""Galey." After some thought, Shawn decided to gauge her reaction. "Do you think Aurum really likes Ivy?""He confessed, pursued her actively, what else could it be if not love? Ivy doesn't have anything he desires. On the contrary, if there's anyone who's marrying for benefits, it would be Ivy. But Ivy isn't the type to chase after benefits. So, they m
The detective pulled out a call record and handed it to Aurum. Aurum glanced at it. His sharp eyes caught Shawn's phone number. Ivy called Shawn? He then looked at the date of the call, and it happened to be the same day Ivy touched up her makeup in his office restroom. In other words, after Aurum sent Ivy home, her first action upon arriving home was to call Shawn. Aurum glanced at the duration of the call. It lasted a full half-hour.Aurum slammed the call record onto the table, his expression changing abruptly. "Did she hear anything? She seemed clueless and in love with me."But why? Why did she talk to Shawn for so long? And why was it on that particular evening?"I placed a bug in Ivy's bag, but I didn't hear anything."Could it be that she found the bug? Does she know everything? Has she been pretending all along?"This realization filled Aurum instantly with rage. If it was true, then Ivy could not be allowed to stay! A woman who could be duplicitous was a woman to fea
He also had to do this job properly, to satisfy his client. After all, detectives had ethics. After thinking for a moment, the detective said, "Mr. Lefting, I just heard you say that you placed a listening bug in Ms. Ivy's bag?""Yes.""Did this bug pick up anything?""Nothing at all!"It was precisely because the bug had not worked at all that Aurum was so angry. After he put the bug in Ivy's bag, it was as if it had disappeared without a trace.The detective immediately thought of a solution. "There are only two possibilities. One, Ms. Ivy hasn't discovered the bug yet, she just happened not to take that bag. Two, Ms. Ivy tampered with the bug."Aurum countered, "How can I determine if it's case one or case two?""It's simple. You retrieve the bug and take it for fingerprint analysis. See who touched it. Anyone who touched it will leave fingerprints. If she had no idea there was a bug, then her fingerprints definitely wouldn't be on it," the detective replied.Aurum paused.