Ivy was beside herself with frustration as Julian, with icy disdain, asked, “What is it?”
“These buns look delicious. May I have one?” Ivy cooed, feigning cuteness with her whiny voice.
Genevieve had said that men were suckers for this act. Aurora, that icy block of wood-how could men truly like her? At best, they were attracted to her looks, but that would wear off over time.
“Want to try?” Julian glanced at her, and Ivy nodded vigorously.
“Yes, if Mr. Barnet doesn’t mind, please feed me too.”
Seeing Julian’s non-refusal, Ivy stuck to him like glue.
“Mind? Of course not,” Julian responded. Ivy shot Aurora a triumphant look.
Aurora remained calm. Had it been someone else, she might have felt a twinge of jealousy, but Ivy was hardly worth that sentiment.
“Ah…” Ivy opened her mouth, trying to appear seductive.
Julian picked up a bun and slowly moved it towards her, but instead of feeding it to her, he flicked his wrist, and the bun rolled off, striking Ivy’s face before falling to the ground. Aurora was stunned by Ivy’s expression, thinking to herself that Julian was being too cruel.
“Mr. Barnet, how could you do this?”
“What did I do? You asked to be fed, and I fed you. It’s not my fault you didn’t catch it. How is that related to me?”
“I’m not a dog, who feeds like that?” Ivy, unaccustomed to such humiliation, realized his words implied she was no better than a dog.
“And what do you think our relationship is? Why should I feed you?” Julian looked at her coldly.
“You…you’re dating my sister, so you’ll be my brother-in-law.”
Ivy was reluctant to use the term ‘brother-in-law.’
“Since you know I’ll be your brother-in-law, I’d appreciate it if you stopped bothering me from now on. Please show some self-respect.”
Julian slammed the car door shut and said, “Drive.”
Left behind, Ivy snarled and stomped her feet. Just then, Magnus and Zachary arrived in time to witness the scene.
Magnus was livid, “Get over here!”
“Dad, why are you so angry?” Ivy was already upset from her encounter with Julian, and although she had always spoken to Magnus in the same loud tone, he had previously been more tolerant.
Without another word, Magnus slapped her, “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re plotting. Your sister and Mr. Barnet have a stable relationship. Don’t follow your mother’s example. If you still want to be my daughter, I don’t need you to be successful, but at least be decent!”
He had seen Ivy’s attempt to get close to Julian. Julian was a catch, but he wouldn’t allow Ivy to steal Aurora’s boyfriend.
Ivy felt she must be the unluckiest person around, having been slapped four times in just a couple of days.
“Dad, you’ve changed. You drove mom away, and now do you want to drive me away too? I hate you!”
“Sis, how can you talk to Dad like that?” Zachary had matured a bit through these events.
Initially, Aurora had easily defeated him, proving her capabilities. Now, with Genevieve ousted from the Montgomery family, she had cautioned him on her way out to be wary of Aurora and to avoid any entanglements with her.
Moreover, they wanted to please Magnus and restore their relationship with him to what it once was, especially now that both Magnus and their grandfather were clearly siding with Aurora. Last night, Magnus mentioned that Genevieve had betrayed their marriage, confirming that the rumor was true; no man could tolerate his wife’s infidelity. Otherwise, given Genevieve’s character, how could she have accepted being expelled from the Montgomery family without any defense? That Magnus had not transferred his hatred for Genevieve to herself and Ivy was fortunate.
Ivy still could not see the reality of the situation. If she angered Magnus further, she might indeed be abandoned by him.
“Are you also trying to control me? You are all villains,” Ivy retorted, as she got into her car and drove away.
“Damned fool, learning nothing good, just picking up her mother’s worst traits,” Magnus fumed uncontrollably.
“Dad, don’t be angry. Ivy didn’t mean it that way. She probably just thinks Mr. Barnet is admirable and wanted to get to know him better. It doesn’t necessarily mean anything else,” Zachary tried to cover for Ivy.
“It better not be. If I find out she’s trying to seduce Julian, I’ll break her legs!” Magnus, too, stormed off into his car.
Aurora nestled in Julian’s arms, animatedly recounting the events of the previous evening, especially Genevieve’s disgrace. She felt so exhilarated that words could hardly describe her mood.
“Now you can be at ease.”
“Yes, as soon as the results of the paternity test are out, Ivy and Zachary will be thrown out too. Just thinking about that makes me so happy!” Aurora’s face fell as she thought of something else.
“Although Genevieve’s issue is resolved, the vice presidency will definitely go to Eric,” she sighed, a matter that couldn’t be helped. She recalled Eric once saying that he would give up the vice presidency to her if she agreed to one thing-likely something related to her.
“All is not as hopeless as it seems.”
“Do you really think that shameless man would hand over the order just like that? If he does, I’ll…”
Aurora was about to say something when Julian silenced her with a kiss.
“Don’t speak too definitively about anything. Alright, off to work now, we’ve arrived,” Julian said, removing his fingers from Aurora’s lips.
“Time always seems to fly when I’m with you. We’re already at the office,” Aurora noted, seeing the company’s entrance not far ahead.
“That’s because you’ve been focusing on me and ignoring everything else around us, which makes the time seem to pass quickly, just like how time flies for me when I’m looking at you doing nothing.”
“You always say the sweetest things,” Aurora chuckled.
“Remember to drink your tea, don’t skip it,” Julian reminded her.
“Alright, my dear steward,” Aurora said as she carried her cup and smiled, bidding Julian farewell and watching his car drive away, feeling a warm bliss inside. This man could handle matters to such an extent, it only showed how much he loved her. Meeting him was the greatest happiness of her life.