Chapter 716

Ivy was mortified by his antics – so much so that, in the end, she simply clapped a hand over his mouth, muffling his words into a string of "mmph mmph" noises.

Boyd tried to stifle his laughter the entire way home. "Wow, never thought Uncle Jay was the hopelessly smitten type. That's… honestly, I'm blown away."

Ivy shot him a helpless look. "…"

At last, they made it home.

It took everything Ivy and Boyd had, practically moving heaven and earth, to get Jamison onto the bed.

"Ivy, are you sure you've got this? If not, I can stay and help look after him," Boyd offered, glancing between her and his uncle with genuine concern.

Ivy thought about it – she was his wife, after all. He rarely got this drunk. If she didn’t take care of him now, what kind of spouse would she be?

She straightened up and said firmly, "I’ll be fine, Boyd. You go home. I can handle it." Boyd hesitated, but figured it’d be awkward to stick around as the third wheel. With a shrug, he left them alone.

Standing at the side of the bed, Ivy eyed the man sprawled out like a starfish across the covers. After catching her breath, she climbed onto the mattress, kneeling beside him, ready to help him change out of his clothes.

But somehow, even dead drunk, Dr. Ludwig was stubborn as ever.

He clutched the waistband of his pants with both hands, eyes squeezed shut, and muttered angrily, "Get lost! I'm married… I have a wife. Who the hell are you?"

Ivy was taken aback, then couldn’t help but laugh. She straightened up and called out, "Jamison! Open your eyes and look at me. Are you getting undressed or not? Are you taking a shower or not?"

His gaze was unfocused as he stared at her, really looking. "You… you look a lot like my wife, but she's still prettier."

Ivy gave up. Whatever. If he wanted to sleep like that, so be it. He could deal with his hangover tomorrow.

She’d been getting used to going to bed early lately while recovering, so she was already fighting to keep her eyes open.

After dumping her drunken husband on the bed, Ivy went off to shower.

But when she came back out, the sight on the bed nearly made her jump out of her skin.

The same Dr. Ludwig who’d just been fiercely guarding his clothes had somehow managed to strip himself completely naked.

And she meant completely.

Even his socks were gone.

Ivy stared at him – up, down, and back up again – until she felt so embarrassed she had to look away. Only then did she remember the temperature and quickly pulled up the blanket to cover him.

But even with the blanket, the middle part of the covers stuck up in a very obvious way.

She stared, baffled. So this was a thing? Even passed out drunk, a man could be so… "full of energy"?

Or maybe, after so long playing the ascetic, he was just overcompensating?

The more Ivy thought about it, the hotter her cheeks grew, her mind filling with images definitely not suitable for children.

The bed was big, and honestly, she had zero interest in sharing a blanket with a naked, unwashed, drunken man. But as his wife, she couldn’t just abandon him and sleep in the guest room.

So, Ivy grabbed another blanket, kept a safe distance between them, and settled in on the other side of the bed.

Thankfully, Jamison didn’t cause any trouble; he slept like the dead until morning.

Clearly, even drunk, Dr. Ludwig knew better than to disturb his wife’s sleep.

A splitting hangover woke Jamison before dawn.

As his mind cleared and he realized he wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing, he bolted upright, yanking the blanket aside in panic.

Ivy, sensing the commotion, cracked one eye open and muttered sleepily, "You’re up early…"

Jamison glared at her, brows drawn tight, and launched straight into an accusation. "Did you take advantage of me while I was passed out and strip me completely?"

Still half-asleep, Ivy just blinked at him, not immediately responding.

Jamison pressed on, indignant: "Even if you had to undress me, couldn’t you at least put something back on? What if there was a fire or an earthquake? I'd have to run outside naked in front of everyone!"

That woke Ivy up. She pushed herself up and looked at him, speechless at the accusation.

After a pause, she finally defended herself, "I didn't take your clothes off. Last night, you thought I was some homewrecker and insisted I wasn't as pretty as your wife. You refused to let me help you undress. I went to shower, and when I came back, you'd stripped yourself completely and passed out on the bed. I just covered you up so you wouldn't catch a cold."

Jamison’s expression was a mix of disbelief and embarrassment. "That can’t be. I hold my liquor just fine. I don't have a habit of getting naked when I'm drunk." Ivy let out a dry, teasing laugh. "Who knows? I used to see news stories about drunken men sleeping naked on park benches and always thought it was ridiculous – never realized Dr. Ludwig was one of those guys. If I hadn't brought you home last night, would you have stripped down and slept on the sidewalk?"

Jamison’s face froze.

He tried to remember, but his mind was a complete blank.

Ivy shook her head and smiled helplessly at his dazed expression. "See? Alcohol really is trouble. Let’s see if you’re so eager to drink next time."