Chapter 317: Sowing Discord
Elijah Hawthorne even sent a text: "Took your woman out for lunch. Didn’t realize she was so easy to ask out."
Quentin Blackwood saw the message almost immediately, but he ignored Elijah Hawthorne’s provocation.
Elijah Hawthorne continued texting: "Do you really think she’s that loyal to you? Because from where I’m sitting, it doesn’t seem like it. She seemed tempted by the price I offered. Don’t you think she might be putting on one act for you and another for me?"
When Quentin Blackwood saw Elijah Hawthorne’s follow-up message, he frowned and replied, "If she had really agreed to your offer, you wouldn’t be texting me."
Reading Quentin’s reply, Elijah Hawthorne wondered, ’Does Quentin really trust Ivy Sherwood that much? Does he really think she won’t betray him?’
"Quentin, since when do you trust a woman? Aren’t women just for fun? Don’t tell me you’ve actually caught feelings."
’After all, once a person develops real feelings, they have a weakness.’
’Quentin Blackwood has made countless enemies over the years. Is he really not afraid of others going after Ivy Sherwood?’
But then again, if Quentin were actually treating a woman well, Elijah would find it suspicious—like a deliberate smokescreen.
"Why would I tell you?"
Quentin’s reply only made Elijah all the more suspicious.
’It seems Quentin doesn’t care that much about this Ivy Sherwood after all. Maybe she’s just a diversion.’
’If I were Quentin and truly liked someone, I’d definitely keep her a secret, not let anyone else find out.’
’Forget everyone else, just that Joy Sheridan he keeps around—if she found out Quentin liked someone, she’d probably do everything in her power to target that person.’
’If Quentin really liked Ivy, he would never have pushed her into the spotlight like this.’
So, Elijah concluded, Quentin was just pretending!
’Only a woman like Ivy Sherwood would be foolish enough to believe it. As if I don’t know Quentin Blackwood!’
’Besides, Ivy will probably tell Quentin that I asked her out today. And since I didn’t actually talk to her about anything significant, that old fox Quentin will find it even more suspicious. The simpler things are, the less he trusts them.’
’In the end, he might start suspecting that Ivy is hiding something from him.’
’And that could create a rift between them.’
’Quentin isn’t even in Lustre. If I ask Ivy out for a few more meals and send her some gifts, it’ll be hard for people not to get the wrong idea.’
’This little game of sowing discord might just be enough to break the two of them up.’
Little did he know, even if Ivy Sherwood said nothing at all, Quentin Blackwood wouldn’t suspect her in the slightest.
He understood Ivy Sherwood, and he trusted her.
Still, after receiving Elijah Hawthorne’s texts, Quentin Blackwood also sent a message to Ivy Sherwood, asking if lunch was good.
Ivy replied, "The restaurant was actually pretty good. The crispy duck was to die for, and that peppercorn fish made my whole tongue go numb."
"Oh? So which was better, having lunch with Elijah Hawthorne or having lunch with Seth Scott?"
Ivy Sherwood: "..."
’I feel like there’s a hidden meaning to that question.’
"Are there no other options?" Ivy Sherwood replied, a smile playing on her lips. "For example, what about adding a certain surname... Blackwood, perhaps?"
"Silas Blackwood?"
Ivy Sherwood replied, "You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?"
’Eating with Silas Blackwood? I’d lose my appetite completely. I’d be lucky not to throw up.’
"Well, if a certain Mr. Blackwood doesn’t want to have a meal with me, then I just won’t eat with him anymore!"
The moment Ivy Sherwood sent the message, a call came in from Quentin Blackwood.
"If you’re not eating with me, who are you eating with?"
"So, Mr. Blackwood, you’ve eaten with so many women. Who did you enjoy eating with the most?" Ivy Sherwood tossed Quentin’s question right back at him.
"I haven’t eaten with other women."
"Who are you kidding? You’ve never eaten with Joy Sheridan? She brought you a late-night snack just yesterday."
"I threw the snack out. Didn’t eat it."
’After Joy Sheridan left, that thing went straight into the trash. Besides, doesn’t Ivy know what I ate last night? She was the one who ordered it.’
The two of them chatted for a little while longer before hanging up.
Her flight to Aethelgard was booked for the next evening. Ivy Sherwood wasn’t sure when she would be back yet, so she needed to take care of a lot of things in advance.
Ivy Sherwood was still working in her office late into the night.
’She knew Quentin Blackwood was surely working too, so she wasn’t fighting this battle alone.’
...
「The Blackwood Residence.」
Anna Nash’s parents adamantly refused to stay in the hospital or a hotel; they insisted on staying at the Blackwood residence.
Caleb Blackwood was very busy and had no time to deal with the two of them.
And Mrs. Blackwood was at a loss with how to handle such shameless ruffians. The entire Blackwood household was in chaos.
Silas Blackwood couldn’t stand it anymore either. He and Anna Nash were at a stalemate, and he saw no other way out. That evening, after Caleb Blackwood returned, Silas went into his study again.
Anna Nash was watching secretly. When Silas Blackwood came out of the study, he was holding a box.
’It looked like that must be the ashes of Ivy Sherwood’s mother.’
’That’s strange,’ Anna thought. ’I’ve been in Caleb Blackwood’s study and searched it before, but there were definitely no ashes in there.’
’Could there be a hidden compartment in the study?’
’Next time I have a chance, I’ll have to go back and do a thorough search.’
Anna Nash saw Silas Blackwood put the ashes away. She didn’t say anything, just continued to watch him secretly.
’She knew that even if she asked Silas Blackwood for the ashes, he wouldn’t give them to her.’
’As long as the ashes were in Silas’s hands, that was good enough.’ She could finally breathe a small sigh of relief.
’However, she couldn’t just hand the ashes over to Ivy Sherwood so easily. She had to use them as leverage against her, at the very least.’
The next day, there was still no word from Anna Nash’s side, but Ivy Sherwood had already decided not to give her any more chances.
As a major shareholder of the Blackwood Group, Ivy Sherwood had visited the company’s offices only a handful of times.
The share transfer from last time never went through, so ten percent of the Blackwood Group’s shares were still in Ivy Sherwood’s name.
The moment Ivy Sherwood appeared at the Blackwood Group, Anna Nash found out.
Anna Nash was now the young mistress of the Blackwood family, a fact the entire world knew, and the people at the Blackwood Group were no exception.
So, Anna Nash had taken the opportunity to win over a few people at the Blackwood Group, including the receptionist.
When that receptionist saw Ivy Sherwood arrive at the Blackwood Group, she immediately informed Anna Nash.
Anna Nash asked, "What is she doing at the Blackwood Group?"
The receptionist didn’t know, of course. She said, "Miss Sherwood didn’t say. She just said she was here to see the Chairman, and she’s already gone in."
At this, Anna Nash completely panicked. ’Is Ivy Sherwood really going to see Caleb Blackwood to reveal my secret?’
Anna Nash tried calling Ivy Sherwood, but her calls went unanswered.
Anna Nash immediately got in a car and had someone drive her to the company.
Ivy Sherwood was led into the lobby of the Blackwood Corporation. Her steps paused for a moment, and she glanced back at the receptionist who was busy tipping off Anna Nash, the corners of her lips curling into a slight smirk.
She entered the elevator and soon arrived at Caleb Blackwood’s office. He waved his hand, dismissing the person who had led Ivy in.
Caleb Blackwood’s expression was anything but pleasant. "What are you doing here?"
"As a shareholder, it’s not strange for me to be here, is it?"
At the mention of the shares, Caleb Blackwood’s expression soured.
Ivy Sherwood didn’t beat around the bush. "I came here today because there’s something I need to discuss with you, of course."