Wrong Flirt, Right Trouble: His Uncle Pulls Me Close

”That’s complete bullshit! I’ve never done anything like that!” Thea Sherwood was clearly flustered, but she wouldn’t admit it.

She would never, ever admit to what happened between her and Charlie Rhodes.

If anyone else found out, they would surely mock her, and for Thea Sherwood, saving face was everything.

”You know perfectly well whether you did it or not. You can lie to others, but don’t start lying to yourself.”

”What proof do you have? You’re just slandering me!” Thea Sherwood felt a knot of panic and misery in her stomach. She would never admit it, not if her life depended on it.

It had happened, but she couldn’t let anyone else know.

Ivy Sherwood sneered. ”Do I really need evidence for this? Charlie Rhodes must have taken plenty of photos of you. Wouldn’t that count as evidence?”

Thea Sherwood’s face went deathly pale. She never thought Ivy would know about that.

Charlie Rhodes was impotent, but a sadist. He liked to torment her to get his kicks.

If Thea Sherwood refused, he would be even rougher with her. He never held back, and he loved to record everything.

Afterward, Charlie Rhodes would sweet-talk her, buy her lavish gifts, and give her money. She could have anything she wanted.

She was too addicted to the vanity of it all. She hated herself for it, yet she couldn’t bring herself to leave Charlie Rhodes.

Thea Sherwood suddenly burst into tears. ”I was forced into it! It was Timothy Sherwood! He’s the one who pushed me into this abyss!”

Thea Sherwood hated Timothy Sherwood to her very core. Even though she had already exacted her revenge, stripping him of everything and leaving him to live a life worse than an animal, she still wasn’t happy.

Sometimes she wondered what her life would be like if Timothy Sherwood hadn’t done such a monstrous thing, if he hadn’t pushed her toward Charlie Rhodes.

She would surely still be as happy as she used to be, not this miserable.

’That old bastard deserves to die,’ she thought. ’But so does everyone else in the world. Timothy Sherwood, Ivy Sherwood—all of them!’

Seeing Thea Sherwood’s anguish, Ivy thought that while she looked pathetic, she didn’t deserve an ounce of sympathy.

Ivy’s gaze was calm. She simply watched Thea, finding her utterly pathetic.

”I tried to save you. You chose to sink. You can’t blame anyone else.”

”It’s all your fault, Ivy! If you had just pulled me back then, maybe things wouldn’t have turned out this way.” Thea Sherwood buried her face in her hands.

First, she blamed Ivy for what she’d done, and now she was blaming Ivy for not stopping her.

’Why didn’t Ivy double-check back then? If only she had dragged me to the police, things would’ve been fine.’

She was filled with regret. She should have gone to the police. She should have had them arrest both Charlie Rhodes and Timothy Sherwood.

Then it wouldn’t have happened a second time, or a third. Things wouldn’t have escalated with Charlie Rhodes.

Ivy wasn’t surprised by Thea’s accusations. That was just the kind of person Thea was—she blamed everyone, resented everyone, and never thought for a second that she herself was the problem.

It was her own vanity that gave others an opening to exploit her. Her current situation was entirely of her own making. In other words, she deserved it.

”Being grounded is what matters. If you were truly capable, you wouldn’t need anyone’s help to get what you want. Only the things that you earn for yourself can never be taken from you.”

”But your third-place prize and all those honors... none of them were ever truly yours.”

Ivy had said all she needed to say. Whether Thea understood or not wasn’t her concern. She took Quentin Blackwood’s hand. ”Let’s go.”

The two of them were back in the car in no time. Quentin carefully placed her trophies on the back seat.

The trophies filled an entire row—an honor Thea Sherwood could only dream of achieving.

To others, it might have looked like Ivy effortlessly took first place every time. But beyond her natural talent, Ivy was also someone who would painstakingly refine each fragrance over and over until she found the perfect scent.

”So you’re just going to let Thea Sherwood off the hook like that?” Quentin asked as he drove.

If it were him, he wouldn’t have been so lenient.

”Of course not.” Ivy didn’t consider herself some kind of saint. Thea had worked against her at every turn, and Ivy hadn’t forgotten a single thing.

”The fact that Thea could be with someone like Charlie Rhodes proves how vain she is. Deep down, she knows she doesn’t have any real talent, which is why she’s so desperate to make appearances everywhere, trying to climb the ladder and prove herself.”

”She’s managing the Sherwood Company now. With Charlie Rhodes’s help, it’s actually been doing pretty well lately. But my mother poured her heart and soul into that company. If it weren’t for her, the Sherwood Company would have gone under long ago. So now, I’m going to take it back.”

”The news that I’m Iris is already out, so there will likely be more partnership offers coming my way. I’m going to short the Sherwood Company, then buy it out at its lowest price.”

Thea losing the company and her reputation—that would be the most devastating blow to her.

”As for Charlie Rhodes, I’ve been keeping an eye on that situation too. Thea’s greed has been growing lately; she’s taken quite a lot from him, and his wife, sons, and grandsons are getting very unhappy about it.”

”Since Thea didn’t win an award this time, knowing her temper, she’ll probably go home and blame Charlie Rhodes.”

”Charlie always preferred them obedient. He doted on Thea before only because she was a novelty he hadn’t tired of yet. After all this time, that novelty has worn off.”

”I’ve also heard that Charlie has already found someone new. Thea will probably be cast aside very soon.”

”Once Charlie stops protecting her, Thea is finished.”

”But that’s all for later. We’ll have to wait and see how things play out.”

”Oh, right.” Something occurred to Ivy, and she looked at Quentin. ”My mother’s Jade Pendant should still be with the Blackwood Family. I want to get it back, but I have no idea where it’s hidden. Do you think Anna Nash could have it?”

She asked this tentatively. She had wanted to ask Quentin directly about what Anna Nash had said last time, but she hadn’t known how to broach the subject.

Now that her mother had come up in conversation, Ivy used it as a way to ask indirectly.

Quentin’s gaze darkened, a subtle flicker in his eyes that Ivy didn’t catch.

”I don’t know.”

”What do you think that Jade Pendant is even for? Why would Caleb Blackwood take it?” Ivy was still curious. ’But if the pendant really had some great purpose, wouldn’t Caleb Blackwood have used it by now?’

’Is the pendant itself just incredibly valuable?’

’Did Caleb Blackwood want to keep it as a family heirloom?’

Ivy murmured to herself, but Quentin, who was driving, remained silent.

Ivy glanced at Quentin in the rearview mirror. Even though he wasn’t speaking, she had a feeling he was hiding something.

’Does Quentin know something? Otherwise, why would he also want to get that Jade Pendant?’

Ivy lowered her gaze. ’But if Quentin wanted it, why wouldn’t he just tell me directly?’

’If I got it and he wanted it, he could just take it.’