With nowhere else to turn, she waited until the dead of night, when the world was shrouded in silence, and slipped back to the Windsor estate, desperate for some measure of protection.
But Ivy had gotten wind of her movements far sooner than she expected. Not wasting a second, she called the Windsor family, her voice cold with warning: under no circumstances were they to harbor her.
The moment Ivy finished speaking, she could sense the stunned silence on the other end. She knew Emma was so furious, she’d been rendered speechless.
Sure enough, after several tense seconds, Emma finally lost control. Her voice trembled with rage as she cursed, “Ivy, may you rot in hell! You think you can do whatever you want just because you’ve got someone powerful backing you?”
“Oh, I’m the villain now?” Ivy laughed softly, her tone sharp as a knife. “Tell me, who was it that bribed people around me to poison me? Who was so afraid the first attempt might fail, they came back to finish the job? Emma, you’re utterly ruthless. Don’t you worry that karma will fall on your own child?”
“Lies! Where’s your proof?”
“Proof doesn’t matter anymore. I never planned on sending you to prison anyway. You want a fight? Fine. I’m all in.”
Ivy’s tone shifted as she continued, “And do me a favor–tell the Windsor family that if you spend even a single night at Windsor Manor, by tomorrow morning The Windsor Group will have a new owner, and the Windsors can consider themselves bankrupt.”
With that, she hung up, leaving Emma’s furious screeching to echo through the disconnected line.
All the while, Jamison had held her close, his arm wrapped warmly around her.
As she set her phone down, he leaned in and kissed her forehead. “So that’s why you haven’t made a move on The Windsor Group yet. You were just waiting for this moment.” Jamison’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Tell me, Ivy, do you ever worry you’ll use all that cunning against me one day?”
Dr. Ludwig could hardly be blamed for feeling a twinge of anxiety; he’d never met a woman as brilliant or as dangerously clever as his own wife.
Ivy turned to face him, arms twined around his neck, and said plainly, “Never. Even if you betrayed and abandoned me someday, I still wouldn’t do that to you. I’d just disappear from your life, for good.”
“Why?” Jamison’s brow furrowed, a bit taken aback.
“Because you were there for me when I had nothing.”
She knew all too well: her ability to have the Windsors—and Emma—eating out of her hand wasn’t just a matter of careful planning. Without Jamison’s bold support, that hefty fifty million he’d handed her, things wouldn’t have been so easy.
Sure, she could have brought the Windsors to their knees on her own, but it would’ve taken at least three more years.
Three years–too long, too many unknowns, too much pain she might’ve had to endure.
For that alone, Jamison had earned himself a permanent “get out of jail free card” in her life.
Ivy let out a quiet sigh as she finished, cupping his face in her hands. Their eyes met, searching, unguarded. “Be honest with me—will you ever stop loving me because I’m so calculating and ruthless?”
Jamison couldn’t help but laugh, countering, “Did you ever think I was some sort of saint?”
Ivy paused, momentarily speechless.
“When we first met, I doubt there was a single kind thing you could’ve said about me.”
Remembering those early days, Ivy couldn’t help but smile. “Back then, you had a sharp tongue, a cold heart, and zero empathy. Hardly the picture of a devoted healer–I thought you were a heartless quack, a doctor with no soul!”
He laughed openly at that. “Well, the feeling was mutual. I didn’t see anything worth admiring in you, either.”
“So why did you fall for me?”
“Blame it on hormones. Sometimes, logic doesn’t stand a chance.” He pulled her closer, swaying gently with her in his arms. “I knew exactly what kind of person you were from the start. You’re overthinking it.”
The unspoken truth between them was clear: he’d always known how formidable she could be, but it never scared him–not then, not now, and not ever.
Chapter 538