Chapter 14
“I heard Ian was injured, so I dropped by to see how he was doing. But don’t get the wrong idea about this, Sage!” Ivy hurriedly explained as she thought of something. “I needed Ian to sign a document, so I went to his office.
“I only learned from Mr. Zane about Ian being injured. Ian isn’t the one who told me about it!”
Sage smirked. Had she said anything about getting the wrong idea? Why was Ivy in such a hurry to explain herself?
She said, “I have a little suggestion for you, Ms. Shekdotter–if you don’t want others to get the wrong idea, don’t do things that could cause misunderstandings.
“For instance, if you know a man is married, don’t drop by his house alone when his wife hasn’t invited you over. And even if you do drop by alone, you should act like a proper guest. Make sure to maintain a proper distance when sitting with someone else’s husband.”
Ivy’s face turned red at Sage’s words. She hurriedly scooted to the side of the couch. “Sage, I-”
“Don’t address me with such familiarity.” Sage interrupted her. “We don’t know each other well enough for you to call me by my first name. If you don’t want to address me as Mrs. Holcomb, please stick to using Ms. Joyner.
“Don’t take things too far, Sage,” Ian warned.
Oh, dear. Was he protecting her already?
Sage laughed. “What did I say to make you think I was taking anything too far?”
“Ian, Sage–no, Mrs. Holcomb–is right. I was the one who wasn’t paying
attention to my actions.” Despite feeling embarrassed and awkward, Ivy didn’t forget to gently appease Ian.
She got up to leave. “Don’t be upset, Mrs. Holcomb. I’ll get going now.”
“No, it’s fine.” Sage stopped her. “I’m the one who should go.”
“Sage Joyner!” Ian said.
Sage couldn’t be bothered about him, though. She grabbed her bag and left. She was still traumatized by the accident from two days ago, so she chose to
hail a cab.
Her grandfather, Donald Joyner’s home was near the suburbs. It took her close to an hour to get there. When she arrived and saw Donald, still healthy and sprightly, watering the plants in the garden, she couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down her face.
She was choked up as she said, “Grandpa…”
“Sage, why are you crying?” Donald threw the watering can aside and
hurried over to her.
Sage was overwhelmed by longing and regret. She couldn’t say a word as she threw herself into Donald’s arms and sobbed. It was great to see him
again.
She didn’t have a father. She and her mother had lived with Donald since she was born. That was why she’d taken Donald’s surname.
Donald had loved and doted on her since she was a child; he would do anything to make her wishes come true. But in her previous life, she’d made. Donald worry about her until the end of his life. She hadn’t even had the chance to see him once last time before he’d passed away…
“What’s wrong, Sage? Did Ian upset you?” Donald asked anxiously. His
heart ached for her.
Sage had always been proud. She didn’t cry easily. She would only do so if
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she’d suffered the biggest grievance in the world.
Sage gradually stopped crying. Her eyes were red as she shook her head. ” No. I just missed you too much.”
“Oh, you.” Donald was both exasperated and amused. “You can come home whenever you miss me, right? Why would you have to cry? Are you sure it’s not because of lan?”
“I’m sure! Besides, my life isn’t just about him. I just missed you so much, Grandpa!”
Donald’s heart settled back in his chest when he saw the familiar petulance on Sage’s face. “Alright, alright. Since you miss me so, you can spend the day with me!”
“Okay!”
For the rest of the day, Sage clung to Donald. She stayed by his side as he watered the plants, did some stretches, and worked on his calligraphy.
Donald was happy to have Sage with him but knew very well that there were problems between her and Ian.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t go the whole day without even mentioning Ian.
“Sage, tell me the truth. What’s going on between you and Ian?”
Sage played with his pens as she asked casually, “Would you support me if I were to divorce Ian, Grandpa?”
“A divorce?” Donald was stunned. Sage was so in love with Ian that even he couldn’t help feeling jealous. How could she possibly be considering divorce? “Has he bullied you or something? I’ll teach him a lesson!”
“No, no!” To Donald, Sage and Ian were a loving couple. There was no reason for them to get divorced. That was why Sage had tried to see how he felt about the matter. Seeing that he was so angry, she quickly said, “I was, just joking!” a
“Don’t joke around about things like this in the future!”
“Alright, alright!”
When it was time for dinner, Sage salivated at the sight of the delicious food on the table.
“Wow, look at this spread! I have to stuff myself tonight!”
Donald gave her an affectionate look. “Back to being a little glutton, are we?” What happened to your diet?”
Sage shook her head as she ate a pork chop. “Forget about that. I’m never dieting ever again. I’ll leave it to the people who really need it!”
“That’s my girl. Look at how skinny you are. to think you kept making noise about wanting to diet!”
As they chatted and laughed, Sage heard some noise coming from outside.
the house. She turned to look at the door, then blanched.
