Ivy let out a cold laugh. “Well, at least you’re finally telling the truth.”
Emma fell silent, unable to meet her gaze.
Since Emma was finally admitting things, Ivy seized the chance to lay out every one of her misdeeds. “You’re the one who spread those rumors, right? That I had HIV, that I was carrying some old man’s child, and that the baby would be a disabled idiot–those were your lies, weren’t they?”
At first, Emma kept her mouth shut.
But Rosetta fixed her with a hard stare and snapped, “Speak up! Don’t forget the promises you made to me!”
Emma, terrified of being thrown out, clenched her teeth and held out a moment longer before finally mumbling, “I did see those files…but I wasn’t exactly sure it was you.”
Ivy exhaled slowly, her face settling into a bitter smile. She was done arguing with Emma. Instead, she turned to Rosetta.
“Well, now she’s confessed in her own words. And you still want to call her your daughter? What about the way you treated me before–so cruel, so pitiless?” Ivy’s voice trembled with anger as she looked at her parents. She couldn’t help but lash out.
Rosetta’s face grew troubled. She glanced at Emma, then at Ivy, completely torn.
Emma, afraid she’d be kicked out any second, grabbed Rosetta’s sleeve in panic. “Mom! I really am sorry. You can yell at me, punish me–anything–but please don’t send me away. I can’t leave this house. If you force me out, I’d rather be dead!”
Rosetta resented Emma too, but the thought of turning her out—when the girl might actually do something drastic—made her hesitate. In the end, she pleaded with her eldest daughter instead.
“Ivy, Emma isn’t like you. She can’t survive out there on her own. And she truly regrets what she’s done. Can’t you just give her another chance…”
Ivy stared at her, suddenly losing her appetite. She set her fork down. “So huh? You’re just going to keep protecting her? Fine, then. Keep it up. But don’t expect me to ever come back to this family.”
She stood up.
Chapter 260
Rosetta panicked and rushed to follow. “Ivy, please don’t do this! Your father and I have been hoping you’d come home. Can’t you try to understand us? We’re getting older. All we want is for our family to be whole again.”
“But your perfect family comes at the cost of my pain.” Ivy’s voice was flat, her smile cold. “I’m doing fine on my own. Used to be alone, now I have someone by my side. I’m not lacking for love or money. This place…” She glanced around, her eyes void of nostalgia. “All that’s left here for me is disappointment and hurt.”
She turned to Jamison. “What are you still sitting there for? Let’s go.”
Jamison rose at once. “Alright. Let’s go.”
Adkins, seeing them about to leave, grew anxious.
Jamison Ludwig showing up in person—what a rare opportunity for their family! He pushed aside the sting of Jamison’s earlier insults and hurried to persuade him. “Mr. Ludwig, you and Ivy are together. You’ll get married, right? When that happens, she’ll need her family. A bride without her own family—people will talk. Can’t you convince her? Even if she won’t live here, she could at least visit sometimes.”
Jamison listened patiently, then turned to the woman beside him. “Do you need your family when you get married?”
“What do you think?”
He smiled and faced Adkins. “Ivy doesn’t need them.”
Adkins was left speechless, his pride in tatters.
“Oh, and since we’re here, might as well share some good news,” Jamison added calmly. “Ivy and I are getting married next Wednesday. But it has nothing to do with any of you. From now on, Ivy will have plenty of places to call home—a house, a penthouse, wherever she likes. But she will never set foot in the Windsor family home again.”
Before Jamison had even finished, the Windsor family stared at them in shock, eyes wide, completely stunned. None of them had imagined this—Jamison was really marrying Ivy, and so soon.