Chapter 54: Chapter 54: She Seems to Be Falling for Him
’Was that something a human being would say? Were those words a father should ever speak?’
Ever since she was a child, Timothy Sherwood had turned a blind eye no matter how she was bullied.
’His heart had long been biased against her. He probably didn’t even want to acknowledge her as his daughter. She could understand him favoring Thea Sherwood on a normal day, but this? He expected her to forgive something like this?’
She had never expected Timothy Sherwood to speak up for her, not even once. But time and time again, he managed to stoop to new lows, revealing his true, ugly nature.
His own daughter had nearly been assaulted, yet Timothy Sherwood offered not a single word of concern. Instead, he wanted her to forgive the violent criminal.
He even said she was fine, didn’t he? That since those men hadn’t succeeded, there was nothing that couldn’t be forgiven.
It was as if a knife had been viciously plunged into Ivy Sherwood’s heart, each twist fatal, each turn drawing blood.
That knife was called family.
She hadn’t held any illusions, but it still made her heart ache.
She took a deep breath. "How much money did Gabriel Walker give you?"
"Money? What money? Ivy, I’ve already written the letter of forgiveness for you. You just need to come back and sign it."
"Forgive him? In your dreams! I’m going to make sure he rots in jail!"
Ivy said her piece and hung up.
She had forced herself to hold back, to not let any emotion show. But now that the call was over, her eyes reddened against her will.
’She desperately wanted to ask Timothy Sherwood: if Thea had been the one who was almost assaulted, would he have told her to forgive those men so easily?’
’Or would he have acted like a loving father and gone after those men with everything he had?’
’It would be the latter, of course. In Timothy Sherwood’s eyes, there was only ever Thea.’
Ivy stood frozen for a long time, biting her lip to keep from crying.
’Shedding tears over Timothy Sherwood wasn’t worth it in the slightest!’
Just as Ivy was composing herself, her phone rang again. Surprisingly, it was Quentin Blackwood.
She quickly composed herself, answered the phone, and tried her best to sound cheerful.
"Hello, Uncle?"
"Where are you? I’ll send someone to pick you up," Quentin Blackwood’s curt, cold voice came through the phone.
"Pick me up? Is something wrong?"
The other end of the line went silent for two seconds. If not for the sound of his breathing, Ivy would have thought Quentin had hung up.
"Did you cry? Did someone give you a hard time?"
Ivy’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected him to so easily detect that something was wrong with her mood.
"No, why would I be crying? I signed leases on two shops today. I’m too happy for tears."
Ivy forced a smile, even letting out a laugh to convince him.
But the sound was all wrong. Even Quentin said, "Stop laughing. It’s awful."
’Was it really that awful? I don’t think so.’
"Are you at the hotel?" Quentin continued.
"No, I’m at the entrance to my apartment complex."
"If you have nowhere else to go, you can come to Norhaven."
Ivy froze for a second. ’Was he worried she had nowhere to go?’
A wave of warmth enveloped her heart. No one had ever cared whether she had a place to go, or worried about her safety.
But Quentin did!
Especially coming back-to-back like this—one call to blame and pressure her, the other to show concern.
’Sometimes, if you ignore his nasty side, Uncle is actually a good person!’
In that second, she felt herself falling for him, just a little.
"I have a place to stay. That was all a misunderstanding. Don’t listen to Young Master Grant’s nonsense."
"But... could you stay on the phone with me for a little while longer?"
She wasn’t sure if Gabriel Walker was still lurking around, waiting for her. Her original plan had been to ask a security guard to walk her upstairs, but having Quentin on the phone gave her a sense of security that even a guard couldn’t provide.
"About what?"
"Anything at all."
Just hearing Quentin’s cool, clear voice seemed to soothe the raw emotions stirred up by Timothy Sherwood, little by little.
’The world isn’t full of bad people,’ she thought. ’Uncle is one of the good ones.’
Searching for a topic, Ivy said, "I’m about to get in the elevator. Have you had dinner yet, Uncle?"
"No."
"What a coincidence, me neither. But if you have a sensitive stomach, Uncle, you should really eat on time."
Quentin seemed busy on his end and didn’t really respond.
Ivy chattered on by herself for a bit. She was soon out of the elevator, and when she saw no one at her front door, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Ivy checked the log on her fingerprint lock. Seeing no record of it being opened, she finally dared to unlock the door and go inside.
’Looks like I need to install a security camera by the door,’ she thought. ’That way I’ll know if anyone has been here.’
Once she was home with the door shut, Ivy spoke into the phone. "I’m home now. Thank you, Uncle. You’re a really good person!"
A good person?
The corner of Quentin Blackwood’s mouth lifted in a slight smirk. Not many people called him a good person.
The branch in Lustre had been established for two years. It operated under a different legal entity with separate management, and didn’t even use the DG name. On the surface, it had no connection whatsoever to the famous DG Group, but in reality, it was simply the branch Quentin Blackwood had founded in the city.
It had its own management, and Quentin had never visited.
On this trip to Lustre, wary of arousing Caleb Blackwood’s suspicions, Quentin had avoided the company entirely, only summoning the person in charge for a private meeting.
The head of the Lustre branch had just left when Quentin recalled Julian Grant mentioning that Ivy was staying in a hotel. That’s when he had called her. If she really had nowhere to go, there was more than enough room for her at Norhaven.
Zane Linton was standing right beside Quentin, who was still busy with his work.
He noticed the faint smile on Quentin’s lips after he hung up the phone.
’Since coming to Lustre,’ Zane thought, ’President Blackwood seems to have changed quite a bit.’
He was still as cold as ever, as if he lacked any warmth, but now... he was showing concern for someone.
’But Miss Sherwood’s identity... Officially, she’s President Blackwood’s niece-by-marriage.’
"You have something to say?" Quentin raised his gaze, looking at the hesitant Zane Linton.
Zane shook his head. "No."
"Speak."
Zane had no choice but to speak. "President Blackwood, are you... concerned about Miss Sherwood?"
"Why would I be concerned about her?"
"You’ve never invited anyone to stay at your home before, President Blackwood."
Man or woman, never. Miss Sherwood would have been the first.
"Have I?"
"Then perhaps I’m overthinking it. I just feel that Miss Sherwood is... special to you, President Blackwood. She’s not like other women."
"How is she different?" Quentin looked up, his deep eyes fixed on Zane.
Zane had been with him for several years, and Quentin had never once heard him praise a woman.
"In my eyes, of course, Miss Sherwood is the same as any other woman. But President Blackwood, you don’t like women getting close to you, or touching you. Back in Aethelgard, even when Miss Sheridan brushed against you, you went to wash your hands."
’But Ivy Sherwood was different. Not only had they touched, they had slept together, and he hadn’t seen President Blackwood show any disgust at all.’
Listening to Zane, Quentin wondered, ’Am I really like that?’
He felt that Ivy was no different from any other woman.
Just then, Quentin’s phone rang. The caller ID read: Joy Sheridan.
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