Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Roundabout Cursing
The driver took Ivy Sherwood back to the Sherwood estate. After a shower, it was already two in the morning. Ivy wasn’t the least bit tired, so she grabbed her fragrant materials and essential oils and began crafting a perfume.
Almost no one knew that Ivy Sherwood was the internationally acclaimed, top-tier perfumer, Iris.
The pleasant scent of fir from the man seemed to linger in the air around her. Ivy was focused and intent, her long eyelashes like two tiny fans, casting a shadow in the lamplight.
Her freshly washed cheeks were free of any dullness or freckles. She was beautiful and vibrant, easily rivaling the great beauties of the entertainment world.
Ivy Sherwood worked tirelessly until dawn, finally looking upon her creation with satisfaction.
The room was filled with the fresh scent of fir, identical to the one on the man.
Ivy was so engrossed she didn’t notice when the door to her room opened, or that her half-sister, Thea Sherwood, had walked up behind her.
"Gimme that!" Thea Sherwood snatched the perfume from Ivy’s hand and took a sniff.
The scent was invigorating, absolutely heavenly.
Her attention was so fixed on the perfume that she didn’t even notice Ivy’s face.
"This smells amazing! What’s the formula? Write it down for me within the hour!" Thea Sherwood demanded, leaving Ivy no room to refuse.
"Hand it over!" Ivy’s first thought was that she wasn’t wearing her makeup. Thea couldn’t see her real face.
She grabbed a nearby silk scarf and tied it over her face, her expression turning cold.
Ivy’s mother had died young. Soon after, Timothy Sherwood had remarried, bringing home a stepmother and two illegitimate daughters. The older one, Claire Sherwood, was two months Ivy’s senior and currently abroad.
"With a face like yours, what’s the point of covering it? Then again, you’re too ugly for anyone to look at, so why come out and pollute our eyes?"
"Give it to me!"
"And why should I? Don’t tell me you actually think you’re about to marry into the Blackwood Family and live a life of luxury as the next Mrs. Blackwood?" Thea sneered.
"Silas ditched you and ran off yesterday! You’ve completely disgraced the Sherwood Family!"
"This is my business. What does it have to do with you? Hand it over!" Ivy was out of patience.
"I’m not giving it back! It’s just a bottle of perfume. Now hurry up and give me the formula. I need to post it on Weibo later!" Thea said, utterly shameless.
Thea Sherwood was twenty-two, but she was already a minor celebrity online. She had five million followers on Weibo and was even known by the title "Goddess of Perfume." This was because, since the age of ten, the perfumes she "created" had been exceptionally unique, and she had been placed on a pedestal ever since.
The perfume that had made Thea an overnight sensation was, in fact, a finished product stolen from Ivy. Thea had never imagined that a single bottle of perfume could thrust her into the spotlight, but she quickly came to relish the feeling of being the center of everyone’s adoration.
Ever since, she had frequently taken perfumes from Ivy’s room, passing them off as her own creations.
"Vanity built on lies will one day be exposed. The higher they lift you up, the harder you’ll fall."
Her nerve struck, Thea grew furious. "What nonsense are you spouting? If you dare tell anyone about this, Dad and Mom will make you pay!"
"Don’t think you’re so great just because you can blend a few scents. My sister is the internationally famous master perfumer! Who the hell do you think you are?"
Thea smashed the perfume bottle in her hand. The rich fragrance billowed out as glass shards scattered across the floor. "Ivy Sherwood, if I can’t have it, then neither can you!"
SLAP! Ivy’s palm struck Thea’s face. Thea clutched her cheek in disbelief, her eyes instantly filling with tears.
"You hit me! You’re dead, Ivy Sherwood!" With that, Thea ran out of Ivy’s room, yelling, "Mom! That little bitch Ivy hit me!"
In truth, Ivy had rarely stayed at the Sherwood estate since high school. She wouldn’t have come back at all if the driver hadn’t brought her here last night.
Ever since Timothy Sherwood brought his two illegitimate daughters home, Claire Sherwood had stolen her bedroom, and Thea had taken another. Even their two pet dogs had their own rooms, while Ivy was forced to sleep in a storage closet.
Ever since her mother’s death, there had been no place for Ivy in this house.
She cleaned up the broken glass, put on her makeup, and prepared to leave. As she went downstairs, she saw Thea and her mother sitting on the sofa in the great room.
Thea’s eyes were red, and her mother, Ruby Sterling, was pressing a bag of ice to her cheek.
Seeing Ivy come downstairs, Ruby Sterling snapped, "Stop right there. Have you forgotten how to greet your elders?"
Ivy paused and said lightly, "Elders? I don’t see any. I do see two lumps on the sofa, though I’m not sure what kind of ’things’ they are."
"Ivy Sherwood!" Ruby Sterling’s face darkened. ’This girl and her veiled insults... Who does she think she’s fooling?’
Ruby Sterling suppressed her anger. "Did you hit your sister?"
"When did my mother give birth to a sister for me? I don’t seem to recall. Why don’t you go ask her in the underworld?"
Thea looked disgusted. "Ivy Sherwood, you are so crass. It’s obvious you were never taught any manners by a mother."
Ivy gave a cold smile. "And you have a mother, but I don’t see that it’s done you much good."
With that, Ivy strode away.
"You...! Mom, look at her! Ivy is completely out of control! She doesn’t respect us at all! She’s this arrogant before she’s even married into the Blackwood Family. Imagine what she’ll be like if she actually makes it in!"
"I heard from Sylvia that Silas ditched her last night. That’s why she got sent back home." Thea and Sylvia Blackwood were good friends.
A vicious glint flashed in Ruby Sterling’s eyes. "She thinks she can just waltz into the Blackwood Family and enjoy a life of luxury? It won’t be that easy. Isn’t the company trying to renew a major contract? She fought tooth and nail to get into the company; I’ll tell your father to send Ivy. The last person from the Commerce Department who dealt with that CEO ended up bedridden for half a month from all the drinking. And besides, that old man likes to... play games."
"Ivy’s so ugly. Why would he be interested in her?" Thea said dismissively.
"The title of ’future daughter-in-law of the Blackwood Family’ is a lot more stimulating than Ivy’s face."
As far as Ruby Sterling was concerned, Ivy marrying into the Blackwood Family brought her no benefits.
She had entertained the idea of her own elder daughter marrying into the family instead, but the Blackwoods seemed fixated on Ivy.
However, after the appearance of the Blackwood patriarch’s younger brother yesterday, Ruby Sterling had dismissed that notion. Quentin Blackwood was leagues more distinguished than Silas Blackwood. If Claire could get together with Quentin Blackwood, then she would become Quentin Blackwood’s mother-in-law!
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