"Luke..."
A soft, seductive voice called out. But when he saw it was Ivy Joyce, the light in his eyes vanished as if doused by a bucket of ice water, leaving only cold indifference.
"What are you doing here?"
He lay back down on the sofa, his tone as cold as ice.
Ivy Joyce ran to his side. Ignoring his aloofness, she wrapped her arms tightly around his, her voice deliberately soft and sweet.
"The baby and I missed you..."
Yesterday, the lawyer Luke Lockwood had hired managed to get her out on bail, citing her pregnancy. According to procedure, after the court’s verdict, she could apply for non-custodial execution of her sentence as a pregnant woman and avoid immediate imprisonment.
Luke Lockwood impatiently shoved her away, not holding back.
"This is my and Vesper’s home. You’re not allowed here anymore."
Ivy Joyce stumbled from the push. She bit her lip as a flash of venomous hatred crossed her eyes. ’That bitch, Vesper Grayson, ruined them like this, ran off with half the shares, and yet Luke Lockwood is still obsessed with her!’ But she didn’t dare show it, forcing herself to suppress her hatred and put on a submissive front.
Smelling the heavy stench of alcohol on him, she quickly changed the subject.
"You’ve been drinking? I’ll go make you some soup to sober you up."
’I need Luke Lockwood to keep helping me with the lawsuit, to get me the lightest possible sentence. More importantly, I need this child to tie him down for good. As long as the baby is born safely, I can use my child to gain status and marry him legitimately. When that time comes, for the child’s sake, even if Luke is still hung up on Vesper Grayson, he’ll have no choice but to take responsibility for me.’
When she came out with a bowl of warm sobering soup, she found Luke Lockwood already asleep on the sofa.
Even in his sleep, he repeatedly murmured Vesper Grayson’s name.
Ivy Joyce’s nails dug deep into her palms, the resentment in her eyes nearly spilling over.
DING—
The screen of the man’s phone on the coffee table lit up, displaying a new message.
President Lockwood, on the day of the wedding, Miss Grayson took a flight to Northolme...
’Northolme?’
Ivy Joyce’s eyes hardened, her heart clenching violently.
’I absolutely cannot let Luke Lockwood know that Vesper Grayson went to Northolme!’
’If he chases after her and finds Vesper Grayson, they might get back together. What would happen to me and the baby in my belly then?’
She mimicked Luke Lockwood’s tone and replied.
From now on, stop all investigations into Vesper Grayson. You don’t need to report anything else to me.
After the message sent successfully, she quickly deleted it and blocked the sender’s number, ensuring no more news about Vesper Grayson could reach Luke Lockwood.
’Vesper Grayson, since you’ve already left, you’d better never come back. This city, this man, and the Zephyr Group... they should all be mine.’
Just as she put the phone back, Luke Lockwood suddenly turned over in his sleep. Ivy Joyce jumped in fright. She quickly steadied herself and, forcing a calm expression, gently shook his arm. Her voice was so soft it could practically drip water.
"Luke, drink the sobering soup before you go back to sleep, or you’ll have a headache tomorrow."
「The next day.」
Luke Lockwood sat up from the sofa, pressing a hand to his throbbing temple.
His gaze swept idly over the open-plan kitchen. When he spotted a slender, busy figure, his tense jawline suddenly softened, and a faint smile unconsciously touched his lips.
He stood up and walked over with light steps. Reaching out from behind, he wrapped his arms firmly around her waist and rested his chin in the crook of her neck. His voice was husky and tender from sleep.
"Vesper, you’re finally willing to come back. I knew you couldn’t let go of the three years we had together."
The person in his arms stiffened abruptly, then slowly tilted her head up. Her voice was gentle as water. "Luke, you’re awake."
The moment he saw her face, all warmth vanished from Luke Lockwood’s expression, replaced by a dark, glacial stillness. He violently released her and took half a step back, his gaze as sharp as a knife.
"Why is it you? Who gave you permission to wear Vesper’s clothes?"
It was a set of lotus-pink silk pajamas with delicate pearl lace embroidered on the collar, which he had personally picked out for Vesper Grayson at a boutique in Elaria last year. Vesper had said the fabric was comfortable and wore it to bed every night. Seeing it on Ivy Joyce now only made him feel disgusted and repulsed.
Ivy Joyce flinched, looking at him like a startled rabbit as her eyes instantly reddened.
"You were so drunk last night, I was worried about you, so I didn’t go home. I just borrowed some of her clothes... Luke, you were never this harsh with me before."
"Take it off." Luke Lockwood’s voice was devoid of any warmth, his expression as frigid as a winter storm. "Right now."
Ivy Joyce bit her lower lip, crystalline tears rolling down her cheeks. She hissed with indignation and resentment.
"You used to say she was boring and dull, that you were tired of her long ago! Now she’s gone, and we can finally be together openly, so why are you still always thinking about her? What do I lack that she has, huh?"
Before she could finish her questioning, a short, sharp gasp cut through the air.
Luke Lockwood lunged forward, his large, well-defined hand seizing her by the throat, the force so great it felt like it would crush her bones.
Ivy Joyce’s back was slammed against the edge of the kitchen counter. The cold tiles dug painfully into her, and her breath hitched in her throat.
A terrifying hostility radiated from him. "I’m allowed to say she’s not good enough, but you weren’t supposed to take it seriously. You were the one who said you didn’t want a title, that you only wanted to stay by my side to satisfy my needs. But you never, ever should have aimed your filthy scheming at her."
"If it weren’t for the fact that you’re carrying my child, do you really think I would have had you bailed out?"
Ivy Joyce’s face turned beet red, veins bulging as she desperately beat at his arm, her eyes wide with the terror of suffocation.
"Know your place. If you dare to have any more ideas you shouldn’t, don’t blame me for being ruthless. When that time comes, not even the child you schemed to have will be able to save you."
He loosened his grip slightly, but his gaze remained savage. "Do you hear me?"
’His affair with Ivy Joyce had been nothing more than a consensual arrangement to satisfy his physical urges. He had used protection every single time.’
’How she got pregnant, only she knew.’
Ivy Joyce nodded desperately, forcing a broken, wheezing sound from her throat.
"I... I understand!"
Luke Lockwood abruptly released her. Clutching her neck, Ivy Joyce staggered backward, bending over and gasping for air, her chest heaving violently.
It was this very motion that caused a jade pendant to slip out from her collar, swaying gently with her ragged breaths.
Luke Lockwood’s gaze froze on the jade pendant. His pupils contracted violently, the previous hostility vanishing, replaced by an ultimate, terrifying darkness, like a savage beast whose most sensitive spot had been struck.
That was the love token he had given to Vesper—the very same jade pendant he had worn since childhood.
The matron at the orphanage had told him that when they found him, this pendant was already around his neck. He had personally strung it on a red cord and placed it around Vesper’s neck. How could it possibly be on Ivy Joyce?
Luke Lockwood’s hand shot out and violently ripped the pendant off, the force so great that the red cord left a bloody line on Ivy Joyce’s neck.
He clenched the pendant, his knuckles turning white from the force. The coolness of the jade seeped into his palm, but it couldn’t quell the towering inferno of rage surging in his eyes.
"Where did you get this?"