Wrong Flirt, Right Trouble: His Uncle Pulls Me Close

Chapter 84: Chapter 84: Stumbling Upon a Secret

"I don’t have time for this, but you do look quite pretty today."

Hearing this, Thea Sherwood’s heart soared.

’A rare occasion, indeed. Ivy actually complimented her.’

’It was worth the effort she put into dressing up; she felt beautiful herself.’

"Do you even need to ask? I’m naturally beautiful, it’s hard to look ugly even if I try. Unlike some people, who are just born ugly."

Ivy Sherwood just smiled and didn’t respond. It was just an empty compliment.

As Ivy Sherwood walked toward the restaurant, Thea Sherwood’s voice followed her from behind: "Ivy Sherwood, don’t think your stupid little shop will last! It’s bound to go bankrupt one day!"

Ivy couldn’t be bothered with her. As she left the parking garage, an old man brushed past her.

The man’s sparse hair was all white, but his clothes were surprisingly stylish.

Ivy glanced back, watching the old man enter the hotel. She felt as though she had seen him somewhere before, but she couldn’t quite place him.

Just as she was trying to recall, her assistant, Edie, called to say there were two very important documents that she hoped Ivy could review right away.

Since Silas Blackwood hadn’t arrived yet, Ivy opened the files and began to read them carefully.

When Silas Blackwood arrived, he saw Ivy staring at her phone. The fact that she was ignoring him so completely infuriated him.

"Would it kill you to put your phone down for a second?"

"Would it kill *you* to be a little faster?" Ivy shot back. "You’re the one who’s late, and you think you’re in the right? The fact that I’m even waiting here for you is me doing you a favor. If you call me ’Mom,’ I might consider spoiling you."

"You...! You shrew!" Silas couldn’t win an argument with Ivy. ’Whoever marries a woman like this,’ he thought, ’is in for a lifetime of misery!’

Silas stormed inside, and Ivy followed nonchalantly behind him.

When Silas entered, a waiter who already recognized him approached. "Mr. Blackwood, what can I get for you today?"

Without asking Ivy what she wanted to eat or if she had any dietary restrictions, Silas said directly, "The usual, please."

The dishes arrived quickly. The entire table was filled with food that Silas and Anna Nash loved. Although Ivy wasn’t a picky eater, she had very little appetite.

As Ivy ate, her thoughts returned to the old man she had run into at the entrance. Edie’s call had interrupted her, but now, that nagging sense of familiarity came rushing back.

She was so preoccupied that she didn’t hear a word Silas was saying.

"My dad said a new mountain resort just opened, and he wants the two of us to go."

"I have no interest in going, but my dad is being a real pain about it. It’s not like I *want* to go with you."

Without really hearing what Silas had said, Ivy just nodded. "Mm-hmm."

"It’s a week from now. You can get there yourself. I’m certainly not picking you up."

"What did you say?" Ivy only caught the last sentence, "I’m not picking you up."

’Pick me up for what?’

"You’re actually ignoring me? Did you think I was going to repeat myself? Ivy Sherwood, are you so thrilled to be having a meal with me that you’ve gone stupid?"

Ivy was speechless.

"I just said, my dad wants me to—"

"Wait." Ivy’s mind snapped to attention. "Your dad... I remember now!"

She remembered who that old man was and where she had seen him before!

He was Ruby Sterling’s father—well, her godfather, to be precise. She had seen him twice before.

’When did he come to Lustre? The last time Timothy Sherwood got a room here, was it for him?’

’But then what was Thea Sherwood doing here? Was it just a coincidence?’

’But when I ran into Thea in the parking garage, she said, "Are you the one who asked me to come?"’

That meant Thea had been summoned here by someone, and she apparently didn’t even know who it was.

Could the person who called her here be Ruby Sterling’s godfather?

Ivy remembered him so vividly because she always had a feeling that he wasn’t a good person. They had only had one meal together at the Sherwood Family home. Her spoon had fallen to the floor, and when she bent down to pick it up, she saw the man touching Ruby Sterling’s leg.

Ivy had only caught a glimpse, and by the time she sat up straight again, the two of them were sitting perfectly upright, as if nothing had happened.

Ivy didn’t know much about the man, only that he was a wealthy figure from Aethelgard. In a way, Ruby Sterling had married beneath her by choosing Timothy Sherwood.

But he would be considered Thea’s grandfather, wouldn’t he? Why would he ask Thea to come here?

And Thea was so beautifully dressed today. It was hard not to suspect the worst.

Ivy had Thea’s phone number. She dialed it. The call connected, but no one answered.

Ivy called two more times, but still, no one picked up.

Ivy shot up from her seat, rushing toward the restaurant exit without even finishing her meal.

Although she and Thea Sherwood had many conflicts, Ivy had been through some bad experiences herself. She knew how difficult something like this was for a girl to accept, even if that girl was Thea Sherwood.

"Hey, Ivy Sherwood, what are you doing? Where are you going?" Silas called out, chasing after her.

Ivy didn’t know which room the man was staying in, but Timothy Sherwood certainly would.

Ivy called Timothy Sherwood directly. He picked up quickly. "Have you come to your senses?"

Timothy assumed that Ivy calling him proactively meant she had figured things out and was ready to mend their father-daughter relationship and give him money.

"What was the room number you booked at the hotel last time? I happen to have a client who came from far away and needs a place to stay for the night."

Hearing Ivy’s words, a look of panic flashed across Timothy’s face.

"I checked out of that room a long time ago."

"Is that so? Because I’m at the front desk right now, and they’re saying your room was never checked out."

Ivy hadn’t actually asked the front desk—a hotel wouldn’t normally give out that information anyway. She was just bluffing to test Timothy and see if he knew what was going on.

However, the moment Ivy finished her sentence, Timothy grew tense. "You went to that hotel? You get back here right now!"

"Why are you so worked up? You still haven’t told me the room number. Are you staying there?"

"I booked that for a client! Now you get back here immediately!"

Timothy knew what he was doing was unconscionable. He had conveniently used Yasmin Lee, paying her a large sum of money to simply bring Thea to that place.

This way, Thea would never know he was behind it, and his conscience would be a little clearer.

’Once the company grows,’ he thought, ’I’ll definitely make it up to Thea. The company will be hers one day. This is all for her own good.’

"A client? What client? Do you know that Thea Sherwood is here? Is Thea Sherwood your ’client’? Or did you sell your own daughter, making her come here to do some dirty business?"

"Ivy Sherwood!" Over the phone, Timothy Sherwood was frantic, his voice cracking with the panic of having his secret exposed.