Wrong Flirt, Right Trouble: His Uncle Pulls Me Close

”Isn’t it great? What do you think of this plastic surgeon’s skills?” Ivy Sherwood deliberately joked with Ayre.

Ayre gave her a thumbs-up. ”Simply incredible. Can you introduce them to me?”

”No way!”

”Seriously, what exactly is going on? Are you really Ivy Sherwood?” Ayre genuinely couldn’t believe it. It hadn’t been that long since they last met. How did she change so drastically?

”Can’t you tell from my voice?”

Hearing her speak, Ayre was convinced this was indeed Ivy, but he completely failed to recognize her face. Those eyes, however, seemed identical—so bright, like twinkling stars. When he first met Ivy, he had immediately been drawn to her eyes. Although her previous face was ordinary, those eyes made her very pleasing to look at. But the current Ivy was breathtakingly beautiful. He couldn’t even fathom that someone this gorgeous existed in the world.

”What exactly is going on? So, is this the real you, or was the previous one?”

”Can’t they both be me?” Ivy asked.

Ayre even made a request. ”Can you lean closer and let me take a good look?”

Ivy was speechless. He even wanted to reach out and pinch her cheek to see if her face was real or if she had actually gone under the knife.

However, before he could touch Ivy, a cough sounded from nearby. ”Are all people from Elandra this impolite?”

Ayre looked over and saw Quentin Blackwood. ”It’s you,” Ayre said. He had seen this man before. Back in Elandra, when he was dropping Ivy off, he had seen Quentin waiting by the roadside. He hadn’t expected the two of them to actually get together, but looking at them now, they were undeniably a good match.

”Indeed. Let me introduce us. This is my girlfriend. We’re getting married next month,” Quentin said, reaching out to shake Ayre’s hand.

Ayre fell silent. It wasn’t Quentin’s place to make introductions. Ivy should have been the one introducing Quentin, seeing as Ayre and Ivy already knew each other.

”Congratulations then! I’ll prepare a hefty red envelope for you when the time comes! Doesn’t Calypsos have a tradition of giving red envelopes?”

”Then thank you in advance,” Ivy said. ”Let’s go up first, or the Princess will grow anxious from waiting.”

”Alright.” Ayre led Ivy upstairs.

The Princess sat at the dining table, already losing her patience. As a prestigious royal, how could anyone dare make her wait this long? Just as she was about to call Ayre, the door to the private room was finally pushed open.

”Ayre, why are you so slow? Did they...” the Princess complained as she turned her head.

However, the moment she saw Ivy Sherwood, the color drained from the Princess’s face, and her pupils shrank drastically. Unable to suppress her sheer horror, she stared at Ivy in utter disbelief. ”You... you...”

Ivy was puzzled. ”Princess, it’s me, Ivy Sherwood. We’ve met twice before. Don’t you recognize me?” Assuming the Princess was simply surprised by her presence, Ivy offered her name.

The Princess was so mortified she couldn’t utter a single syllable. This face would forever be her worst nightmare. She wondered how this was possible. Wasn’t Winter Mercer dead? She couldn’t understand how Winter could still be alive in this world, and look so young.

”It’s all thanks to Ivy and Quentin this time. If it weren’t for them, something terrible might have happened to you.” After Ayre spoke, he tugged gently at the dazed Princess, but she remained frozen. ”What’s wrong with you?” Ayre finally noticed that something was off. Why was she reacting so strongly? Her expression made it look as though she had been terrified by a ghost.

Ayre quickly ushered Ivy and Quentin inside and asked the server to start bringing out the food. He turned to Ivy and said, ”I’m so sorry. She might still be in shock. She’s been acting a little strange ever since she woke up.”

”It’s fine.” Ivy didn’t mind.

The Princess, however, looked entirely devastated. She told herself that this was impossible—absolutely impossible!

When the dishes were served, the Princess still seemed out of it. Ayre expressed his gratitude, ”Thank you for saving her. Hurry up and raise your glass for a toast.” Ayre couldn’t ignore the strange behavior anymore. Wasn’t the Princess perfectly fine earlier? Why did it seem like she had turned into a completely different person the moment she saw Ivy? Could she have also been shocked by Ivy’s stunning new look? But her reflex arc shouldn’t be this long—she still hadn’t snapped out of it.

When the Princess finally picked up her wine glass, her hand trembled violently.

CRASH. The glass slipped from her grasp and plummeted to the floor, shattering into pieces. She quickly stood up, and a server hurried over to clean up the mess.

”Maybe I should take you to see a doctor. Ovillette heard about what happened, and he’s getting ready to come over right now.”

”Do not let him come!” the Princess exclaimed, her emotions highly agitated.

”Why? He’s very worried about you, too.”

The Princess shot a look at Ivy across the table, nearly losing her balance.

”Princess, are you alright?” Ivy asked with concern.

The Princess had no idea what her own expression looked like at that moment, nor did she know if the others had noticed anything. Shaking her head, she said, ”I just think he’s too busy. How can I let my trivial matters waste his time?” She resolved that she absolutely could not let Ovillette come, otherwise he would definitely see Ivy.

She remembered a time when Ovillette had fainted quite suddenly. She never found out who he had seen, and when she asked him about it later, he refused to say. Thinking back on it now, the Princess felt it was highly likely he had seen Ivy—seen this exact face. Panic flooded her heart. She was certain Jason Summers must have known about this, so why hadn’t he told her? That woman had left in such a hurry back then, yet against all odds, she was already carrying a seed in her womb. The mere thought made the Princess’s entire body tremble. She wondered if Ivy was actually Ovillette’s child.

”Ayre, I suddenly don’t feel too well. I need to go back and rest,” the Princess managed to say, her body still shivering uncontrollably. Her face was ghastly pale, but thankfully, all of this could easily be passed off as her still reeling from the earlier shock.

”Alright then. I’ll walk you back to your room.” Ayre cast an apologetic look at Ivy. ”I’m so sorry. With her in this condition, I’m afraid I’ll have to treat you to a meal another time.”

”It’s fine, the Princess’s health comes first. Why don’t you take her to the hospital for a check-up?”

”I brought my personal doctors. They examined her and said she was fine.”

Ayre quickly escorted the Princess out, leaving only Ivy and Quentin in the private room. Since the food had already been ordered, it would be a shame to leave now.

Ivy also felt the Princess’s reaction was undeniably bizarre. ”Quentin, don’t you think the Princess overreacted a bit?”

”Mhm. She looked like she was frightened.”

”But we didn’t scare her. Could it be because of my face?” Ivy harbored another bold theory. ”Do you think she might know my mother?”

Otherwise, why would the Princess have such a visceral reaction upon seeing her? Ivy truly couldn’t think of any other logical explanation.