Wrong Flirt, Right Trouble: His Uncle Pulls Me Close

Ayre, standing beside her, was stunned. ’What child? Ivy’s pregnant?’

Ivy Sherwood and Quentin Blackwood locked eyes. A flash of surprise crossed her features as Quentin stepped closer, one step at a time.

”How did you know?” Ivy asked in disbelief. She had hidden it so well, even having her brother conceal all the hospital records. ’How could Quentin possibly have found out?’

Quentin said, ”How long were you planning to hide this from me?”

”Let’s talk over there.” There were still others around, and she didn’t want outsiders to know about her and Quentin’s affairs.

”My car is over there,” Quentin said.

Ivy turned to Ayre. ”Ayre, I’m almost home anyway. You should head back first. I just need to have a few words with him.”

Ayre looked worried. ”I can wait for you here. You two can talk, I won’t eavesdrop.”

”That’s okay, you can go on ahead. We’ll grab a meal together next time we have a chance.” Ivy was just being polite.

However, when Quentin heard this, the words echoed in his mind. ’Ivy is going to have dinner with this man again?’

First a date, and now she came to see him on her very first day in Elandra. ’How come he never knew Ivy was acquainted with someone like this?’

Ayre agreed. ”Alright then. Text me when you get home. If I don’t hear from you, I’m coming to find you with backup.”

The two of them acted as if no one else was around, and a vein throbbed in Quentin’s temple.

”Okay, bye-bye!” Ivy waved at Ayre.

Only then did Ayre start to leave, but he glanced back every couple of steps. He seemed worried about Ivy, as if he was afraid Quentin would do something to her.

That lingering gaze was like a thread he couldn’t seem to cut. Annoyed, Quentin stepped to Ivy’s side, using his own tall frame to shield her from Ayre’s view.

Once Ayre was gone, Ivy looked at him. ”How did you know?”

Instead of answering, Quentin suddenly pulled her into an embrace from behind. He buried his head in the crook of her neck, his hands resting on her lower abdomen.

His hands moved gently, as if trying to feel the presence of their child, but Ivy was wearing too many layers, including a coat, so he couldn’t feel anything.

”I went to your place,” Quentin said.

Ivy knew it. ’Quentin would definitely sneak into my place. But at my place... at home...’

”In your drawer, I saw an ultrasound report from a month ago.”

”So when you came to Aethelgard to find me, you already knew you were pregnant.” It was only now that Quentin understood how much pain Ivy must have been in at that time.

She knew she was pregnant and must have been overjoyed, probably wanting to share the happy news with him, but instead, he had dealt her a fatal blow.

”Yes,” Ivy admitted. She let Quentin hold her, not moving a muscle.

Quentin held her tightly, as if he wanted to merge her into his very bones.

’Now, my wife and my child are both in my arms.’ Quentin felt like he was holding his entire world.

But for some reason, he felt an emptiness in his heart. Even though he was holding Ivy, he had a feeling that she could leave him at any moment.

This feeling terrified Quentin. No matter how tightly he embraced her, his heart refused to settle.

”Ivy, I...”

”Don’t get the wrong idea. This child has nothing to do with you. Besides, I already got rid of it.” Ivy’s voice was perfectly calm. ’So what if Quentin knows now?’

’Quentin has been acting like a madman lately, chasing me all the way to Elandra. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but there’s no future for us anymore.’

”What?”

Ivy said, ”You must have investigated. I went to the hospital a few days ago. That’s when I had it taken care of. Quentin, we’re over. Why on earth would you think I’d keep your child?”

Quentin hadn’t expected the pain to hit so fast. He couldn’t believe it.

But what Ivy said made perfect sense. ’That’s right, why would Ivy keep his child?’

He had found out too late. It was all his fault.

”It’s alright. We can have another child in the future.” Quentin’s voice was low, and it was unclear if he was trying to convince Ivy or himself.

”There is no future,” Ivy said. ”I’m not talking about the child. I’m talking about us. We have no future. And please, stay away from me from now on.”

Seeing how calm Ivy was, Quentin finally began to panic.

”No! I love you, Ivy. I’ve loved you for a long time. Everything I said before about loving you was true. It was only during this time apart that I realized I can’t live without you. You’ve already become part of my life. The things I said before were lies, just things I said out of anger. Even though I suspected there was something between your mother and mine, I never intended to take my resentment out on you.”

”Quentin, don’t you realize how full of holes your story is? Listening to yourself now, don’t you find it ridiculous? That’s not what you said back then.”

”There were reasons for what happened then. It was Joy Sheridan...”

Just as Quentin started to explain, the Mercers came out.

”Quentin Blackwood, let go of my sister!”

Miles Mercer was at the front, holding a dog-beating stick.

”Quentin, don’t push your luck! Sneaking into our house today was one thing, but now you’re lying in wait outside? Ivy, don’t be afraid. This isn’t Calypsos, and it’s not your territory. You think you can just do whatever you want here?”

Beside Miles were Connor Mercer and Xavier Mercer. You could say the entire Mercer Family was there to back Ivy up.

Of course, they would protect their own. It wasn’t that they thought their sister had done anything wrong—even if it were her fault, they would still protect her.

Quentin was speechless. ”...”

’Why is it that every time I try to explain things to Ivy, I get interrupted?’

Regarding Joy Sheridan, while he didn’t have concrete evidence yet, he was almost certain of the truth.

”Ivy, come here,” Miles Mercer beckoned.

Ivy stirred, trying to get out of Quentin’s embrace. ”My brother is calling me. Let go.”

”Ivy, this is all a misunderstanding, really. Just give me some time. Tell your brother to go away so we can talk alone, okay? Just five minutes,” Quentin pleaded, reluctant to let her go.

”No. I don’t want to waste another five minutes on you.”

With that, Ivy pulled Quentin’s hands off her and walked toward the Mercers.

”Ivy, are you okay?” Miles asked with concern.

Ivy shook her head. ”No, nothing happened between us. What did you mean about Quentin sneaking into the house this afternoon?”

”I’ll tell you the details inside.”

The Mercer brothers led Ivy inside, while Quentin remained at the gate, watching her figure disappear.

After stepping through the main gate, Ivy glanced back and saw that Quentin showed no sign of leaving.

”Ivy, is your heart softening?” Miles saw the look on her face and cursed inwardly. ’That bastard is too much. Hurting her is one thing, but he’s twisting the knife in her heart.’

Ivy didn’t answer. She just said, ”Bro, let’s go back. I’m a little tired.”