Chapter 23
Terry found himself regretting his decision.
Ian had worked overtime till the wee hours of the morning. He proceeded to spend the entire day wearing nothing but a poker face. It was clear that he was in a bad mood.
Would Terry be making things worse for Ian by bringing up Sage’s shopping spree at this time?
“Get your ass over here right now if you want to talk to me about something!” Ian grumbled impatiently.
Terry had no choice but to walk over to Ian. There, he tapped on the messaging app cautiously and displayed the horde of messages.
Ian shot a glance at the screen, soon noticing the automated messages sent by various
mall–based stores.
There were purchases that exceeded hundreds of thousands of dollars, but there were also purchases showcasing only triple digits. All of these messages were sent from jewelry and apparel stores which were frequented by ladies.
At that moment, a new message popped up on the screen with a loud ding.
“Thank you for shopping at Gentlemen’s Style! Your bill is 28,800 dollars! We hope to see you next time!”
Terry didn’t know if he was seeing things. He thought he noticed Ian’s furrowed brows relaxing slightly at the sight of the message.
Even though clothes with such a meager price tag would never be part of Ian’s daily wardrobe, Terry decided to risk his life by giving lan a compliment.
“It seems that Mrs. Holcomb has even bought you clothes even though she’s out on a shopping spree. She really cares about you, Mr. Holcomb,”
As expected, Ian’s expression softened a lot. Still, he harrumphed coldly at Terry’s words.
“I don’t care about her.
Terry picked up on the underlying meaning in Ian’s response immediately.
“Mr. Holcomb wou must
You even spent the day working non–stop. Why don’t you go home and get some rest?”
Ian stretched lazily. It was true that he felt rather exhausted.
“Have Wanda brew a pot of strong coffee for me. I need it to perk up.
“Yes, sir.
It was almost 5:00 pm when Sage finally returned to Solaris Estate. She had visited a beauty salon on a whim just to get her hair done right after Tiana left the mall.
The sight of her high–spirited reflection in the mirror left her in a pretty good mood..
“Mrs. Holcomb, Mr. Holcomb is already home. He’s currently in his study on the second floor,” Wanda reported the moment Sage entered the mansion.
Why would Ian be at home at a time like this? Was he planning to question Sage for almost overcharging the black card?
It’d be great if that were the case. Sage would take advantage of lan’s abhorrence toward her to bring up the divorce once again.
She passed the shopping bags to Wanda before ascending the stairs. The door of Ian’s study was left ajar, so she strode toward the doorway immediately.
Just as Sage was about to knock on the door, she spotted lan sitting on the couch while engaging in a video call with another person.
“Ian, what’s with the bidding contract?” That was Ivy’s voice.
“Uncle Ron has always wanted to be in charge of this project, hasn’t he? I had Terry secure the contract for him.”
“Ian, you’ve already helped my family out numerous times in the past. You shouldn’t be worrying about my family’s affairs from now on. Dad and I are able to deal with them. properly, you know.”
Ivy’s tone had taken on a grateful edge at that point.
It seemed that Ian had just gifted his future father–in–law a precious contract just to please Ivy, his female best friend. Said friend was incredibly grateful to him as a result. Soon, those two would open up to each other with heartfelt confessions.
As lan’s legal wife, what should Sage do in order to maintain her elegance and composure?
She chose to turn around and leave the doorway.
Before Sage descended the stairs, she could still hear Ian’s gentle voice drifting from the study.
“I did promise you in the past that I’d…”
Not only did Ian give Sage a black card, but he had also given Ivy a contract. That man sure was good at appeasing both love interests.
When Sage reached the living room, she saw Wanda arranging everything she had bought during her shopping spree.
“Mrs. Holcomb, I’ve already placed the jewelry the mall’s staff had delivered here this afternoon. Should I do the same to the rest of the haul?”
“Go ahead.”
A thought popped into Sage’s mind the moment she responded to Wanda. She added hastily, “By the way, I want you to pack up all the clothes stowed away on the first row of the closet and donate them.”
“You want me to donate them?” Wanda looked astonished. “Aren’t those your favorite clothes, Mrs. Holcomb?”
In the past, Sage used to change into one of those many outfits and put on beautiful
makeup. If I
happened to spare her more than a glance, she’d be so elated that she’d
buy more outfits of a similar style.
To think that Sage wanted Wanda to donate all of those clothes…
Sage knew what Wanda was thinking, so she flashed her a small smile.
“Those clothes never suited me anyway. They’d just make me feel even more suffocated if I were to leave them lying around here. You can just donate them to people who need them more.
She had picked those clothes out according to Ian’s preferences.
Well, to put it more accurately, she had picked those clothes out according to Ivy’s dressing style.
Sage had once thought that Ian would pay her more heed if she were to dress up like Ivy. Oh, how foolish she was in the past.
“Just start dinner without me, Wanda. I’m going to practice driving for a bit.”
Sage started walking toward the garage as she spoke.
Sometime later, lan had already drained a pot of coffee and dealt with numerous emails In his inbox. He left his study after realizing that it would be dinnertime soon.
Sage was nowhere to be found in the master bedroom, but Ian could hear rustling sounds coming from the walk–in closet.
He walked over to the walk–in closet to see Wanda folding some clothes and putting them away in plastic bags.
“Why are you here at this hour?” he asked.
“My apologies, Mr. Holcomb. I’ll prepare dinner right away,” Wanda answered nervously. “Mrs. Holcomb told me that she wanted to donate these clothes. I got so immersed in cleaning out the closet that I’ve completely lost track of the time.”
“She wants to donate the clothes?”
“Yes,
- r. Holcomb stated that she no longer wished to keep the clothes that didn’t suit her,” Wanda responded honestly.
Ian was already used to Sage acting on a whim. He shot a glance at the row of sealed clothes, shoes, and bags sitting on the floor. All of them came from luxury brands catering to ladies.
“Mrs. Holcomb bought these things today. I didn’t have a chance to put them away,” Wanda explained hurriedly.
“Is everything here?” Ian asked flatly, his expression carefully neutral.
Wanda was puzzled by the question, but she still answered Ian truthfully. “Yes, everything’s laid out here other than the jewelry. I’ve already put them away for Mrs. Holcomb earlier this afternoon.
Ian pursed his lips in response. “Where is she?”
“Mrs. Holcomb has mentioned that she’ll be practicing her driving skills.”
Sage had taken her Maserati out for a spin today. Thanks to the accident from before, she dared not drive on the roads which were congested with traffic. Instead, she practiced on the wide field behind the affluent neighborhood.
Just as Sage was having fun practicing her driving skills, she caught sight of a black car
parked some distance away from her. Ian happened to be standing right next to ft.
The sky had already darkened at that time. The only source of light came from the streetlights which were erected next to the road.
Ian stood next to his car, still clad in a suit that brought out his charms. He folded his arms casually in front of his chest. His figure seemed even taller and more slender under the illumination of a nearby streetlight.
That scenery resembled a picturesque movie poster which forever sealed the timeless beauty of the moment.
Sage’s momentary loss of focus caused yet another incident to arise. One of her car’s right tires got itself lodged in a pit at that moment.
It wasn’t exactly a deep pit, but Sage couldn’t free the tire from the pit even after stepping down on the gas pedal a few times.
This was why she shouldn’t get distracted by beauty and nice things!
To think that she’d get one of her tires stuck in a pit just because she spent a few extra seconds staring at Ian!
It was a good thing that Sage wasn’t driving on the road right now. She could’ve gotten into another accident if that were to happen to her again.
“Get out of the car. I’ll do it for you.
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