When Emma heard the news, her initial shock quickly twisted into a fierce, gnawing jealousy. She had pulled every string, sacrificed her future happiness, and still couldn’t keep Micah by her side. Yet Ivy, seemingly without effort, had just snatched up Micah’s influential uncle. Life really wasn’t fair.
Rosetta took a moment to process what she’d heard. Then, her face lit up with a delighted smile as she turned to Ivy. “Ivy, are you really going to marry Mr. Ludwig? Oh, that’s wonderful!”
Ivy offered a small smile. “Wonderful or not, what does it matter to any of you? Don’t think I don’t see why you’re suddenly so nice to me—it’s just because you want to use me as a ticket to get close to Jamison, isn’t it?”
The Windsors fell silent.
“But you’ve seen for yourselves—Jamison’s temper is even colder than mine. So you might as well give up on that idea.”
Jamison frowned, glancing down at the woman whose hand he still held. “Are you trying to compliment me, or insult me?”
Ivy met his gaze. “Of course, it’s a compliment.”
“Huh. That’s a pretty unique way to compliment someone.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
Their playful banter made it seem as though the Windsors weren’t even present. In fact, it almost felt as if they were putting on a show of affection just for the family’s benefit.
Even Rosetta had to admit her daughter’s luck seemed extraordinary. It was as if Ivy’s hardships had finally turned into good fortune. Sure enough, things were finally looking up for her.
With her purpose for the visit accomplished, Ivy was in no mood to linger. She shot Jamison a look; he instantly understood, and together they turned to leave.
Rosetta refused to give up so easily. She hurried after them, throwing desperate glances at her husband, silently urging him to do something.
Adkins was reluctant; he hated this, but the Windsors were backed into a corner. After Emma’s broken engagement, they’d barely managed to pry a piece of land from the Shepherds, but the project hadn’t even gotten off the ground before Baillie’s troubles started.
To keep their son out of prison and persuade the Miller family to drop the charges, they’d paid ten million in “emotional damages” to settle the case privately.
Now, the long-awaited project was on the verge of collapse due to a looming cash flow crisis. If they couldn’t secure more funding soon, the entire venture would fall apart. The bank loans they’d taken out would come due, and the land they’d put up as collateral would be auctioned off.
The company’s stock price had been plummeting for days, the situation growing more dire by the minute. Another scandal could be the final blow.
Adkins had been running himself ragged, and now—at last—a sliver of hope appeared.
Even if it meant swallowing his pride, he had to keep Jamison on their side.
“Mr. Ludwig, please—Mr. Ludwig!” Adkins hurried forward, careful not to physically block Jamison but trailing anxiously behind him. “I admit, we were too harsh with Ivy before. Most of it was Emma’s doing, not what we truly wanted.”
“Think about it—she’s our own daughter. We cherished her, did everything to protect her. We do love her!”
“It was just… everything that happened threw us, and we lost our way.”
“Ivy, I’ll be honest—our family’s in trouble now. Only you can help us. Can you really just stand by and watch? We’re not asking you or Jamison to make any real sacrifices. Just come home more often. If people see our family’s back together, most of our problems will solve themselves.”
Everyone in Neo Haven’s upper circles knew Jamison had pursued the city’s former socialite, and he’d never been shy about it. If the word got out that Ivy had reconciled with the Windsors, all the social climbers would come flocking back to curry favor with them.