Wrong Flirt, Right Trouble: His Uncle Pulls Me Close

Ivy Sherwood held the gift, which felt like a hot potato; she could neither accept it nor throw it away.

’I’ll just put it away for now,’ she thought. ’I’ll find a chance to return it to Quentin Blackwood later.’

Ivy Sherwood started to head back, but then she saw that a mobile service store nearby was still open and walked over.

”I’d like to get a new SIM card.”

Ivy Sherwood quickly got a new card. After returning home, she took out the gold-embossed business card and saved both of Quentin Blackwood’s numbers into her phone.

Only now did she realize that her ”Death Exemption Token” was Quentin Blackwood’s personal number.

No wonder he always received her messages every time she sent one.

Once she had saved the numbers, Ivy Sherwood took out the box Quentin Blackwood had placed in her bag.

It was a red sandalwood box with a lifelike carving on top—a fire phoenix that looked as if it were about to take flight.

The box alone looked incredibly valuable.

Ivy Sherwood opened it carefully. Nestled in velvet were a pair of earrings. The craftsmanship of the dangling pendants was exquisite; delicate gold filaments encased a red stone.

Upon closer inspection, each gold filament appeared to have intricate patterns, and something seemed to be engraved within the stone itself.

The design was opulent without being gaudy. They were utterly stunning.

Ivy Sherwood was captivated at first sight, her hazel eyes filled with wonder.

She hadn’t gotten a clear look at them when Quentin Blackwood had put them on for her. Only now did she realize just how beautiful the earrings were.

They were beautiful, yes, but Ivy Sherwood knew they weren’t hers to keep.

Besides, they were far too precious. It was different from the painting. She could donate the painting to a museum, but her only option for the earrings was to find an opportunity to return them to Quentin Blackwood.

’If Quentin Blackwood really won’t take them back, I’ll have to find a way to buy them from him at their original price.’

Ivy Sherwood had no idea how much they cost, and a search online yielded no results.

She sent a message to Nina Scott: ”Nina, I just saw a gorgeous pair of earrings online. Do you have any friends who know about jewelry? Could you help me look up the price?”

”No problem. Send me a picture.”

Ivy Sherwood took a photo, making sure to capture only the earrings and nothing else.

”These earrings are gorgeous. Ivy, are you thinking of buying them?”

”I’m just asking casually.”

”Okay, I’ll ask around for you!”

With no word from Nina Scott yet, Ivy Sherwood sat for a bit before grabbing her pajamas and heading into the bathroom.

When she came out from her shower, she saw a new message on her phone.

It was from Quentin Blackwood, just two simple words: ”Home now.”

’Looks like he got home safely,’ she thought. Her fingers tapped on the screen: ”Okay, get some rest.”

But the moment she sent her message, the phone in her hand began to vibrate and ring.

The caller ID ”Death Exemption Token” flashed on the screen, and Ivy Sherwood nearly dropped her phone in shock.

’Why is Quentin Blackwood calling me at this hour? Is something wrong?’

’I didn’t leave anything in his car, did I?’

Ivy Sherwood answered the call. ”Hello? Mr. Blackwood?”

There was only silence from the other end. Ivy Sherwood checked her phone; the call had connected.

”Wrong number? Or is his phone broken?” Ivy Sherwood muttered to herself.

Just then, a light cough came through the line. ”It’s nothing. I misdialed.”

Quentin Blackwood had wanted to say something, but ultimately, he couldn’t figure out how to begin.

He had wanted to tell her that he hadn’t gone shopping with Joy Sheridan, but then he thought, ’Why do I need to explain myself to Ivy Sherwood?’

”Oh.” ’So he really did misdial,’ she thought. ’Why else would Quentin Blackwood be calling me?’

”Well, if that’s all, I’ll hang up now. Good night, Mr. Blackwood.”

”I happened to meet someone in Aethelgard whose voice sounds a lot like yours,” he said. ”Listening to you now, the resemblance is even stronger.”

”I-Is that so?” Ivy Sherwood’s eyes widened, not expecting Quentin Blackwood to suddenly bring this up.

”It’s probably just a coincidence. There are plenty of people with similar-sounding voices.”

Quentin Blackwood’s soft chuckle came through the phone. ”You two said the exact same thing.”

Ivy Sherwood’s heart skipped a beat, but she pretended to be oblivious.

”Really? She said that too? That is a coincidence, ha ha.”

Listening to her dry laughter, Quentin Blackwood quietly let her continue her act. He didn’t mind fanning the flames a little higher.

”But she said she’d contact me, and I still haven’t heard anything. I wonder if she bailed on me.”

Ivy Sherwood was speechless.

’She had been hesitating about whether to message Quentin Blackwood from her new number. She’d even thought that since she had already fled back to Lustre and they probably wouldn’t see each other again, she could just not message him at all.’

But in the next second, she heard Quentin Blackwood say, ”It doesn’t matter, though. It’s quite easy for someone like me to find a person. If she doesn’t contact me, I’ll just have to go find her.”

”She’s probably just busy,” Ivy Sherwood said quickly. ’If Quentin Blackwood actually investigates, he’ll find me out for sure!’

As if finding her point reasonable, Quentin Blackwood conceded, ”That’s possible. I’ll wait a couple more days, then. I’ll introduce you two when the time comes.”

Ivy Sherwood had no desire for that introduction whatsoever. ’Me, meet myself? I’m afraid the one who’ll get a shock will be Quentin Blackwood.’

”Get some rest,” Quentin Blackwood said.

Hearing that he was about to end the call, Ivy Sherwood’s voice took on a hint of relief. ”Good night, Mr. Blackwood.”

”Mm.” Before he could even get the words ”good night” out, Ivy Sherwood had already hung up.

A small smile played on Quentin Blackwood’s lips. What a heartless woman.

It wasn’t often that someone hung up on him, but Quentin Blackwood didn’t feel the least bit angry.

Ivy Sherwood was scared to death. It was a classic ”damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation.

’Forget it,’ she decided. ’I’ll contact Quentin Blackwood tomorrow.’

Even though she’d been on a business trip for the past two days, she had gotten plenty of sleep. Ivy Sherwood wasn’t tired, so she decided to get some work done.

She actually had a bold idea: she wanted to relocate her business to another city.

Marrying Silas Blackwood was out of the question, but Timothy Sherwood and the others had already settled on a wedding date for her. Her time was running out.

’I have no real attachments here. My mother is gone, and this place isn’t my home anymore.’

’So, I want to leave.’

Ivy Sherwood was already making preparations, scouting for the most suitable location.

Aethelgard was undoubtedly a great option, but Quentin Blackwood’s power base was there. She wanted to make a clean break and have no further contact with him.

She still had some time, and she didn’t want to be forced into a passive position when everything came to a head.

「The next day」

Ivy Sherwood went to her studio.

During the day, she used the burner SIM she had bought yesterday to compose a text message, but she couldn’t bring herself to send it.

’Thinking about what Quentin Blackwood had said... if I don’t take the initiative, he might really start investigating.’

’But we’ve barely interacted. Why is he so insistent on getting my contact information?’

Ivy Sherwood agonized over it all afternoon, and finally, as evening fell, she sent the message.

”Mr. Blackwood, this is Wendy Summers.”