CHAPTER 166: CHAPTER 166: TAKING YOU TO THE BANQUET

Sophie shook her head.

With the car windows closed, he couldn’t hear what the people outside were shouting, so Kyle Sterling didn’t pay attention. The light turned green, and he drove off.

Ivy Summers fell hard to the ground, scraping her knee, sending a sharp pain, and she looked up, helplessly watching as the car drove away.

Ivy struggled to stand, but the stabbing pain made her fall back down. She clutched the ground, gasping for air, a wave of anxiety washing over her, and her brain delivered a sharp sting, her hands uncontrollably trembling.

Ivy clenched her fists, tears streaming down her face.

Passersby noticed the woman fallen in the middle of the road, and many stopped to observe. Some kindly approached with concern, but Ivy seemed lost in her own world, unresponsive.

Gradually, more people gathered, surrounding Ivy as if she were a monkey being watched in a zoo.

Ivy bit her lip hard, distressed and panicked, and the murmurs around her pushed her emotions to the brink of collapse.

"Ivy."

At this moment, someone walked briskly over and crouched down beside her.

Damien Lancaster looked at Ivy Summers on the ground, heart aching. He wanted to pick her up, but Ivy instead clutched his hand and hurriedly pointed ahead, "I saw Sophie..."

"Sophie?" Damien looked in the direction but saw no sign of Sophie.

Ivy shook her head, "She went off with a car, I couldn’t catch up to her, I’m useless..."

Damien looked at Ivy, frowning deeply. Sophie was gone... how could she be here?

"Damien, go quickly, Sophie was taken away..."

Damien made no move; instead, he looked deeply at Ivy, cautiously asking, "Are you sure you saw Sophie?"

Ivy was stunned, her expression turning dull and lifeless.

Was she sure it was Sophie?

She couldn’t be certain.

She had just seen someone who looked like Sophie...

Damien tightened his grip on Ivy’s hand, "Ivy, did you see it wrong?"

Ivy was currently suffering from depression. She was on medication, and depression can cause hallucinations. Maybe she was just yearning for Sophie so much that she hallucinated.

That’s what Damien believed.

Ivy calmed down, facing Damien’s words, as if she suddenly understood, yet couldn’t accept this reality, her tense body slumped.

Yes, Sophie was already dead.

They had searched for so long without finding her.

Her body might still be rotting somewhere in the mountains...

How could Sophie possibly be here?

Even if Sophie weren’t dead, she wouldn’t fail to come back for her.

So she must have seen it wrong...

Closing her eyes tightly, she murmured, "I’m sick... so sick that I’m hallucinating..."

Damien hugged her tightly, reassuring her, "It’s okay, you’ll get better, I’ll be with you to get through this."

Ivy’s bloodshot eyes flicked at him. She pushed him away, got up, and walked forward on her own, her scraped knee bleeding and throbbing in pain.

Damien wanted to support her but was pushed away again, so he could only follow alongside.

Ivy quickened her pace, but the pain in her knee intensified, and soon she had to stop by a tree on the roadside.

Damien immediately approached her from behind, "I’ll carry you."

"No need." Ivy gritted her teeth and continued walking.

Damien glanced down and saw her torn pants leg, and he could no longer let her go on like this.

In two steps, Damien caught up and picked her up horizontally.

Ivy was very light, barely weighing anything in his arms, but she was strong. When she pushed against Damien, he had to use more force to hold on to her and quickly return to the hospital.

He sought out a doctor, and as the doctor lifted Ivy’s pant leg, he winced at the sight of the bloodied knee, "How hard did you fall? What was so urgent?"

Ivy sat silently, her mood oppressive.

The doctor glanced up at the man beside her.

The man’s demeanor was even more severe.

The doctor quickly bowed his head to treat Ivy’s wound.

When the cold tweezers touched her knee injury, Ivy shuddered, despite her effort to endure it.

The doctor looked up, "There’s some grit that needs to be removed, bear with it."

"Okay."

Damien watched the wound, his handsome face tense, and reached out to hold her hand.

Ivy struggled a couple of times but couldn’t break free, so she gave in since the pain had drained her strength.

After cleaning, the doctor glanced at the woman, "I’ll disinfect and medicate your wound now. It’ll hurt a bit."

Ivy nodded but still underestimated the pain, as her body trembled, and she instinctively gripped Damien’s arm tightly.

Her nails dug into his flesh, leaving crescents, but Damien didn’t withdraw his hand, allowing her to cling to him firmly.

Finally, after what seemed a long time, the doctor put down the gauze, "Alright, your injury is quite serious. Avoid getting your knee wet for the time being, and remember to change the dressing regularly."

Ivy took a deep breath and nodded. When she stood, she realized she was still holding Damien’s hand.

Damien used his other hand to support her, took the form the doctor handed, and scooped Ivy up again, leaving.

Ivy didn’t push him away this time, both because it was pointless and she lacked the strength.

As they walked out, many people watched them. Damien sensed Ivy’s discomfort, "You can bury your face in my chest; that way they won’t see you."

"You’ve mastered the art of hiding from reality."

Damien quickened his steps back to the car.

"Why are you in the hospital?" Ivy stared at him. His timely appearance made her a bit suspicious.

"You followed me?"

Damien didn’t deny it, but it wasn’t entirely following her. He just checked where she was and came over when he knew she was at the hospital.

"Sit tight, I’ve arranged for a psychologist. I’ll take you to see them."

Damien was already aware of her condition.

"No need, I’ve already seen one and been prescribed medication. I’m not so far gone as to need two doctors."

Ivy refused, and Damien didn’t press the issue, fearing it would upset her.

Once in the car, Damien personally drove her home.

"Not home, to the auction house."

"You’re injured, and you’re still working?"

"Getting injured is not the same as dying." Ivy Summers seemed indifferent as she returned home; the silence in the house was more than she could bear.

"Ivy Summers, don’t talk about death so casually. You’ll be fine."

"Do you have a taboo about these things?"

He cared about it, but Ivy Summers did not, probably because her heart was already dead.

...

Auction House.

Damien Lancaster got out of the car wanting to carry her, but Ivy Summers had already put on a veil and got out by herself.

Just as Joy Quinn came out, she saw the man in front trying to hold the woman, only to be pushed away by the woman. There was an unexplainable coldness in her eyes.

Joy Quinn, being perceptive, stepped forward to support Ivy Summers. "Zinnia."

Ivy Summers glanced at her. "Hmm."

Joy Quinn was momentarily stunned by the man in a suit, handsome and distinguished-looking.

Isn’t that Damien Lancaster, President Lancaster?

What was his relationship with Zinnia?

Damien Lancaster handed Ivy Summers’ bag to Joy Quinn, "She’s injured, please take good care of her."

Joy Quinn was a bit at a loss and didn’t react until the woman she was supporting began to walk away. She then quickly responded, taking the item and nodding promptly.

"Okay, I got it."

Joy Quinn followed Ivy Summers at a short distance, supporting her as she went.

Damien Lancaster watched Ivy Summers’ retreating figure, unwilling to look back, and sighed softly.

"Zinnia, is that... your brother-in-law?" Joy Quinn asked tentatively.

"No."

"Then who is he?"

Ivy Summers pressed her lips tightly, unwilling to say much.

Joy Quinn knew she wasn’t someone simple, parachuted into the company, personally looked after by the big boss, the chief auctioneer who could discern the authenticity of an antique at a glance, and now it seemed, had a deep connection with President Lancaster.

Joy Quinn found this woman increasingly mysterious.

Since she didn’t want to talk, Joy Quinn didn’t ask further, "Zinnia, did you know? Nina Summers hasn’t been to work these days, and Manager Chambers has been in a pretty bad mood. Do you think they had a fight?"

Ivy Summers didn’t like discussing other people’s matters, "I’m not sure."

Joy Quinn pursed her lips, and having been with her for a while, she somewhat understood her character, so she didn’t say more.

When Joy Quinn went downstairs again, she found Damien Lancaster still there.

Her heartbeat quickened a bit as she walked over, "President Lancaster, why are you still here?"

"Did she return to the office?"

"Zinnia has already returned."

"Her knee is badly injured. If she needs to move anything, please help her, and assist her when she stands or sits, take good care of her."

As he spoke, Damien Lancaster went to his car to fetch a check, wrote down a sum, and handed it to Joy Quinn. "Thank you."

Joy Quinn looked at the figure on the check, her eyes widened.

Five zeros, a hundred thousand.

Her breath caught for a moment, and she unconsciously took it.

Damien Lancaster put away his pen, didn’t say more, and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Joy Quinn took a step forward, "President Lancaster, could you leave a contact? If Zinnia needs anything, I can inform you immediately."

Damien Lancaster hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Joy Quinn, delighted, took out her phone and scanned Damien Lancaster’s details.

Damien Lancaster left.

Joy Quinn stared at the WeChat contact, unable to fully process it.

Damien Lancaster! She never thought she’d have his contact one day, plus a hundred thousand.

Joy Quinn jumped up in excitement, holding the check to her nose, it smelled like money, and power.

...

When Ivy Summers clocked out, it was Damien Lancaster who came to pick her up, taking over from Joy Quinn. Damien Lancaster said, "Thank you."

Joy Quinn smiled gently, "It’s no trouble at all."

Ivy Summers looked at Damien Lancaster, "How did you know when I got off work?"

"Isn’t this always the time you get off?"

It wasn’t; Ivy Summers had worked an hour late today.

"I was just passing by," Damien added in response to Ivy Summers’ question.

"I called a cab."

"You can cancel it."

Ivy Summers didn’t heed him; when her cab arrived, she shook off Damien Lancaster’s hand and got in.

Damien Lancaster felt a bit helpless and could only remind the driver to drive slowly.

Joy Quinn witnessed the scene and approached, "President Lancaster, are you pursuing Zinnia?"

Damien Lancaster hesitated briefly before nodding.

Joy Quinn blinked, "But Zinnia and our boss..."

"What about her and your boss?"

Joy Quinn didn’t continue, shaking her head, "It’s nothing, it’s just a rumor in the industry that Zinnia belongs to the boss."

Damien Lancaster furrowed his brow tightly.

Ivy Summers’ boss was Noah Scott.

Their relationship was known to everyone.

Seeing Damien Lancaster’s expression darken, Joy Quinn realized she’d said something wrong and quickly corrected herself, "President Lancaster, don’t mind it. It’s probably just gossip."

Damien Lancaster said nothing, got in the car, and left.

Joy Quinn’s gaze, however, didn’t leave...

...

In the days that followed, Damien Lancaster came every day to pick up Ivy Summers, even though she completely ignored him, he seemed to enjoy it.

Today, as usual, Ivy Summers planned to call a cab, but Damien Lancaster stopped her, "There’s something today. I’m taking you to a banquet, come with me."