Wrong Flirt, Right Trouble: His Uncle Pulls Me Close

So much had happened to Ivy Sherwood in just a few short days.

He had thought Ivy Sherwood was a smart woman, one who knew who to rely on to achieve her goals. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have climbed into his bed the day before her engagement just to get it called off.

If Ivy Sherwood had wanted to, she had plenty of ways to contact him. She could have even used what happened between them to threaten him, forcing him to help solve her problems.

But Ivy Sherwood never contacted him.

Quentin Blackwood summoned Zane Linton and assigned him a task.

...

The uproar on the internet didn’t affect Thea Sherwood in the slightest. In fact, this was exactly what she wanted to see.

Thea Sherwood was enjoying herself, even going for facials and manicures.

While on the phone complaining to someone about Ivy Sherwood, Thea Sherwood glanced at the manicurist who had just walked in. ”Yasmin? What are you doing here?”

’This was her classmate. They had gotten along well enough in school, and her family seemed pretty rich. She was always carrying designer bags. So why was she here now, wearing a work uniform?’

Yasmin Lee hadn’t expected to run into Thea Sherwood here, either. An awkward look crossed her face. ”I... I... I had a fight with my dad, and he cut off my cards.”

Thea Sherwood didn’t give it much thought. ”Oh, is that so? Well, I’ll give you a bigger tip later, then.”

The money meant nothing to Thea Sherwood, but Yasmin Lee bit her lip in response.

’That was Thea Sherwood for you, always enjoying the feeling of giving charity.’

Yasmin Lee was incredibly vain. Her family didn’t actually have much money, but in order to break into the wealthy social circles, she presented herself as being rich. Those designer bags of hers were all second-hand.

Thea Sherwood went right back to her phone call. ”You’ll never guess who I ran into while getting my nails done. Yasmin Lee! She’s working here now, doing my nails as we speak.”

Yasmin Lee heard every word. A flash of hatred crossed her eyes. ’What gives Thea Sherwood the right to treat my misfortune like a joke for others to hear?’

Just then, the person on the other end of the line gasped. ”Thea, quick, check social media! The story’s flipped again!”

Thea Sherwood quickly hung up, went on social media, and discovered that Gabriel Walker had actually posted a clarification video.

In the video, Gabriel Walker and his wife stood arm in arm, looking very much in love. Gabriel explained that he had a long-standing partnership with the Sherwood Company, and Ivy Sherwood had simply approached him to renew their contract. He stated it was a standard business procedure and that there was nothing more between them. He did, however, mention that someone named Anna Nash had urged him to sever all ties with the Sherwood Company.

Furthermore, surveillance footage from the club and hotel was also released online. The footage from the club’s private room clearly showed that it wasn’t just Ivy Sherwood and Gabriel Walker; other business partners were there as well, discussing business.

The hotel footage was even more telling: less than two minutes passed between Ivy Sherwood entering the room and coming back out.

All the posts viciously attacking Ivy Sherwood had vanished. Now, the only things visible online were Gabriel Walker’s clarification video and the surveillance footage.

”Ivy! Ivy! Quick, look online! All the negative stories about you are gone!” Nina Scott exclaimed, looking excitedly at Ivy Sherwood, who was hunched over her laptop.

Ivy, however, seemed completely unconcerned about her own affairs, busy with something on her computer.

Ivy Sherwood picked up her phone and took a look. She was surprised to see that Gabriel Walker had actually posted a clarification.

’Even though she didn’t know Gabriel Walker well, she knew what kind of man he was. He was definitely no saint—in fact, he was known for being petty and holding deep grudges.’

’She had tricked him last time. It was a miracle he hadn’t come after her for revenge, so why on earth would he help clear her name?’

”Does Gabriel Walker seem like the kind of person who would help me clear my name?” Ivy Sherwood asked.

Nina Scott shook her head. She knew what Ivy had done to Gabriel Walker. ”I think you’re lucky he hasn’t tried to destroy you.”

”So this video, and the fact that all the negative comments about me have vanished without a trace—don’t you find that strange?”

”Maybe someone’s helping you?” Nina Scott suggested.

’Helping me?’

’In this world, even her own father wouldn’t lift a finger to help her, so who else would...’

’Wait!’

Ivy Sherwood snapped her head up. ’Could it be... Quentin Blackwood?’

Her heart suddenly leaped into her throat as the man’s face flashed through her mind.

’But Quentin Blackwood never seemed like the type to meddle in other people’s affairs. Would he really get involved?’

It had never even crossed Ivy Sherwood’s mind to ask Quentin Blackwood for help. After all, these were her own battles to fight.

”What is it? What are you thinking about? And why are you blushing?” Nina Scott asked, noticing Ivy Sherwood’s face turning red.

”Am I?” Ivy Sherwood touched her burning cheeks and fanned her face with her hand. ”I’m not blushing. It’s just hot in here.”

”No way. You’re thinking of someone, aren’t you? Ivy, is it that man who took you to the hotel last time?”

Ivy Sherwood thought for a moment. ”I don’t know if it was him, but he certainly has the power to do it.”

”Ivy, what kind of person is he?” Nina Scott asked curiously.

’Anyone who could capture Ivy’s attention must be extraordinary. But Nina worried that Ivy was being deceived. Most rich men these days were no good.’

”He’s someone completely out of my league. Nina, I know what you’re thinking, but don’t worry. Nothing is possible between us,” Ivy Sherwood said, her mind perfectly clear.

’The man was so charming; it would be easy to fall for him.’

’She knew the vast gulf between them. He was a god, and she was just a mortal.’

’A god has long since transcended, while mortals are left to struggle in the earthly realm. She was surrounded by quicksand she couldn’t climb out of, and she couldn’t afford to sink into an even deeper, inescapable mire.’

”Ivy, there’s no such thing as a true heart in this world, just the games rich people play. That man... has he seen your face?”

”He’s seen it. At a banquet. But he doesn’t know it was me.”

’Nina Scott nodded. It seemed, then, that he wasn’t interested in Ivy just for her looks.’

’But the world was too complicated. She just hoped Ivy could find someone who truly liked her for who she was, regardless of her appearance—unlike Silas Blackwood, who had only ever loved Ivy for her face.’

Ivy Sherwood didn’t have Quentin Blackwood’s contact information, so she had no way of asking if he was the one who had suppressed the negative public opinion.

Meanwhile, Ivy Sherwood was busy organizing something of her own. Once she had finished, she clicked ”Publish.”

Thea Sherwood had stolen her perfume formulas countless times, posting them online and claiming them as her own original creations.

Thea had done this shamelessly, time and time again. Ivy had compiled evidence of it all, attaching the patent reports she had filed for each of her new creations. The formulas listed were identical to the ones Thea had claimed as her own.

A look at the patent filing dates showed they were a month or two earlier than when Thea Sherwood had posted the formulas.

Instantly, the tide of online opinion began to turn.

The hashtag #TheaSherwoodPlagiarism once again shot to the top of the trending topics. Thea had never properly addressed the earlier accusations; instead, she had manipulated public opinion to shift all the blame onto Ivy, thinking everyone would forget about her own plagiarism.

But now, Ivy Sherwood’s social media post had dropped a mountain of hard evidence proving her plagiarism. As a minor celebrity herself, the amount of public attention on Thea skyrocketed once again.