Chapter 26
“I don’t care about the beginning and the end of my life. Life goes on for me as usual. I’ll forever cherish all three meals every day, and I’ll also remember to be kind throughout the seasons of life. The best moment will come to me on the best day with the nicest weather where someone finally joins me on my walkway of life.”
There was a photo of a fancy spread decked out on the table below the post. Next to it was a selfie of Ivy’s side profile.
The photos and the tagline made it seem like Ivy was just posting about her daily life in an artistic way. But those who were observant enough would notice a small section of a man’s arm being revealed in a corner of Ivy’s selfie.
It was evident that the man was wearing a dress shirt. The watch he wore might not be eye–catching, but it came from a luxury brand.
Sage was very familiar with the watch. In fact, it was one of the watches Ian often
wore.
It turned out that Ian had been staying with Ivy this whole time.
Then again, it wasn’t unusual for him to be there. He had summoned all of his willpower just to suppress his lust that night.
Since Sage refused to sleep with Ian, he’d have to find another woman to bed. He
was known to be a germaphobe who couldn’t care less about random women,
hence the lack of romantic scandals he was involved in.
That was why Ian had no choice but to seek comfort and relief from Ivy, also
known as his female best friend.
Ian and Ivy must have gotten a lot closer than usual these days. That was probably the reason why Ivy decided to post such sentimental stuff on her feed.
Sage chuckled dryly as she deleted Ivy from her friends list on the social media platform.
She had added Ivy in the past just so she could spy on her. Now that she no longer
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cared about Ian, she decided to kick Ivy out of her social media feed so that she
could finally relax.
After putting her phone away, Sage decided to go out for some fresh air. The moment she drove out of the garage, she heard her phone’s ringtone.
Sage glanced at the caller ID. It was a call from Delilah Stromberg, also known as her best friend in her past life.
The Stromberg family had transitioned into expanding their company in the finance industry over the past two years. The scale of their company was quite small for the time being.
In Sage’s past life, the Strombergs somehow got affiliated with Holcomb Corporation right after her admittance into the mental asylum. As a result, the Strombergs‘ company shares started skyrocketing.
Despite knowing about Sage’s admittance into the asylum, Delilah never bothered visiting her at all.
Humans tended to weigh the pros and cons when their own benefits were infringed. Sage knew that principle well, so she didn’t really resent Delilah for
what the latter did.
But Sage also knew that she could never trust Delilah anymore in this lifetime. That was the reason why she never contacted Delilah ever since she came to this lifetime.
So, why was Delilah calling her at this time?
Sage nudged her foot onto the brakes in order to stop the car. Then, she swiped a finger across her phone’s screen.
“Where are you right now, Sage?” Delilah’s anxious voice drifted through the speakers the moment Sage answered the call.
“I was about to go on a joyride. What’s the matter?”
“How are you still in the mood for that? Didn’t you see I–bitch’s post on her social media feed?”
“And what’s wrong with that?”
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“Everything’s wrong with the post! Hurry up and check it out!” Delilah urged. “I bitch cooked up a feast and even posted a selfie with a man’s arm like the manipulative whore she is!
“She wrote some bullshit about someone joining her on the walkway of life! God, she might as well announce to the whole world that lan is spending time with her right now!”
Sage was calm as ever. “What does that have to do with me?”
“Are you nuts, Sage? This is terrible news! How could you say it has nothing to do with you?”
Delilah continued angrily, “Don’t go out right now! I’ll come pick you up! Let’s head over to I–bitch’s place and expose her ugly face! That bitch is being shameless as usual!”
Delilah kept getting angry on Sage’s behalf in her past life. Sage had believed everything Delilah said, causing her to humiliate Ivy countless times afterward. The more Sage humiliated Ivy, the more disgusted and resentful Ian grew.
Now, Sage didn’t want to waste time doing such meaningless things. If she wanted to humiliate Ivy once and for all, she’d do so by stealing Ivy’s thunder at her own profession which she took pride in.
So, Sage replied, “Nah. I might as well use the time to read a few more books. I’m going to end the call now if that’s all you have to say.”
“Sage!” Delilah called out hurriedly. “Is it because you’re worried that you might run into Ian there? Is that why you don’t want to go over to I–bitch’s place?
“Why are you this dumb? You’ll be able to get evidence of him cheating on you with I–bitch if you catch him there! Once you hand over the evidence to Mrs. Holcomb Senior, she’ll deal with I–bitch for you! That way, you won’t even have to dirty your own hands!”
Why would Delilah involve Linda in Sage’s mess of a marriage? Was she planning on stressing the old woman out?
Sage’s response came out more clipped than usual. “I said, I’m not going. Do you not understand me?”
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“Sage-”
Sage hung up on Delilah right away.
The fact that Delilah kept provoking her to start a ruckus at Ivy’s place was more
than enough to prove that she was up to no good.
If it weren’t for the fact that the Joyners and the Strombergs were good friends,
which led to Sage and Delilah being best friends for years, she would’ve started a fight with Delilah over the phone just now.
The recollection of her experiences while being confined in the mental asylum, coupled with the unpleasant memory of almost getting sexually assaulted by Ian a few days ago, gave Sage an idea. She wanted to pick up some self–defense skills just so she could protect herself.
Sage had always been a decisive person. She wasted no time in researching a couple of gyms and complexes that provided classes on various combat arts.
Sometime later, she selected a large–scale sports complex that specialized in
kickboxing techniques.
The trainers there had actual combat experience as well. So, Sage keyed the
location into her car’s GPS and drove over immediately.
There were only a few fancy posters advertising the sports complex being pasted on the building’s exterior walls. Then again, it came with a vast parking lot with countless parking slots. That itself was a huge pro in Sage’s book.
After successfully parking in one of the slots, Sage walked into the sports
complex.
The complex was very big. It played host to a variety of courts that were meant for combat art training. They were all decked out with an array of professional training equipment.
More importantly, the trainers were all clad in camouflage outfits that showcased their amazing figures. The outlines of their muscles could be seen through the fabric. All in all, those trainers were the epitome of masculinity.
Ian might be good–looking as well, but he always slapped on an icy expression
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whenever Sage saw him. Because of that, she was in no mood to admire his looks
no matter how handsome he was.
After ogling the trainers to her fill, Sage registered for a kickboxing class without any hesitation.
“Would you like a private trainer, Ms. Joyner? That way, you’ll be able to focus more on your training!” A staff member recommended the option to Sage.
Sage turned him down tactfully. “No, thank you.”
If she were to choose that option, she’d lose the opportunity to train with the other trainers. She didn’t want to settle down with one private trainer when she could easily have access to all the other trainers.
After paying the registration fees, Sage filled in her personal information at the reception counter. After that, she booked her first kickboxing class.
When she was about to leave, she heard a surprised voice booming from behind her.
“It really is you, miss!”
Sage turned around to see a young man in his early 20s clad in a camo outfit that was standardized for all trainers working at the sports complex. He was good- looking and had a pair of bright eyes. He might seem like a tall and slender man at first glance, but he was actually pretty muscular. 1
What a coincidence. It turned out that Sage had bought the soiled tux for this very man at the shopping mall a few days ago.
“I’m Michael Olsen, and I’m working as a part–time trainer here.” Michael introduced himself albeit bashfully. “Why did you come here, miss?”
