جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 10

Not long after I left Carlton Corporation, Ivy Carlton sent me the address of a castle in Staravia, along with a photo of it. It was a cream-colored castle with limestone walls and a red and gold dome. It looked extremely opulent.And right in the center of the photo was Jonah Jennings, wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, standing tall and straight.My finger lingered on Jonah's smiling face for two seconds, and a wave of absurdity washed over me.I was supposed to be the groom, and this was the wedding venue Ivy had chosen for us. Yet, the star of the photo she sent me was her "childhood friend" whom she had always told me not to worry about.After that, Ivy went silent. I knew her well enough. She probably figured the wedding planners had already contacted me, so she just simply sent me the address, as if afraid I wouldn't know where to go when rebooking flights.There was a tight knot in my chest. I could not understand it. She had already agreed to hold the ceremony at my grand

"How many times have I told you not to use scissors? What if you hurt yourself?" Ivy snapped.Jonah's eyes reddened, his voice trembling. "Vivi, did I do something wrong? Theo got so angry…"Before I could explain, Ivy glared at me. "Jon spent four months preparing your suit, staying up through countless sleepless nights to coordinate with designers. And this is how you repay him? If it weren't for Jon, you wouldn't even have a suit for your wedding. Apologize to him!"Meeting her disdainful gaze, I felt a wave of irony. When I had tried to discuss the wedding attire with her, she had told me not to bother her; she was too busy taking Jonah to Bonobo Island to clear his head.Yes, Jonah always mattered that much. When he was heartbroken, she stayed up all night to comfort him. On my birthday, she booked out an entire theatre to watch a romantic movie with him. When I ran a dangerously high fever from overwork, she told me to drink more water, then turned around and drove Jonah to a

"Ivy, you know how much that watch meant to me!"It was the last piece of my grandfather I had left, aside from the Sterling family courtyard. A flicker of hesitation crossed Ivy's face at my accusation, but she quickly shook it off. "You're mistaken. That isn't your grandfather's pocket watch.""I'm not mistaken. It's Grandpa's. It was kept together with the gold bracelet!""This is a Carlton family gathering. Stop embarrassing me and go home!"I stared at her in disbelief, my eyes burning red. She panicked. For Jonah, she had disregarded my feelings countless times. But she had never seen me break like this. Now, seeing me like this, her heart sank.But just as she reached out toward me, Jonah suddenly cried out, "Theo, I just thought it looked nice and asked Vivi for it. Please don't be mad at her…"Ivy frowned. "Jon, I gave it to you willingly. Why are you blaming yourself?"She had defended him again. The words hit me like lightning, and my whole body began to tremble.

Jonah lowered his head awkwardly. "Y-Yeah. This is Theo and Vivi's wedding, after all. How could I possibly take his place?"The call connected quickly. Ivy gave my ID number and asked for my landing time and airport location. After about half a minute of checking, she got an answer. "Ms. Carlton, Mr. Sterling didn't change his destination. He changed the timing. The flight that was originally scheduled to depart last night was moved to yesterday afternoon. He landed in Hawthorn at 8:00 pm last night."Ivy's eyes went wide. Before she could react, Chase came running over. "Ms. Carlton, the finance department just reported that Mr. Sterling has transferred a sum of money. The note says 'Marriage settlement returned. Engagement officially dissolved.'"The last time I returned to Grandpa's home was half a year ago. That was when I had just accepted Ivy's proposal. We couldn't wait to fly back to visit Grandpa's grave and tell him the good news.Ivy had pressed her palms together and m

Ivy demanded furiously, "Take it off!"Jonah panicked, looking as though he could barely breathe. "Ivy, you've lost your mind! Let go of me!"But in the end, the suit never came off. Because someone in the crowd suddenly saw a news alert, and everyone burst into uproar. Chase noticed as well and hurriedly handed the phone to Ivy.It was a celebratory announcement. "Good news for Stinton Group. After years of unrequited love, Stinton Group's CEO, Rebecca Stinton, finally got her wish come true. Today, she officially married Mr. Theo Sterling, whom she has loved for over ten years. Congratulations to the happy couple!"Attached below was a picture of a marriage certificate bearing that day's date. Ivy read the words, "Rebecca Stinton and Theo Sterling were united in marriage." Her legs gave out, and she collapsed. Waking up from a nightmare, waking up from a beautiful dream, and waking up from delusion—all of it happened in a single instant. Two days after the wedding, when Reb