CHAPTER 45: CHAPTER 45: RUNNING INTO DAMIEN LANCASTER WHILE DINING WITH MAISIE

Early next morning.

Ivy Summers called Damien Lancaster, and as soon as the call connected, she asked, "Damien Lancaster, do you have time today?"

There was a brief silence on the other end before someone spoke, "Ivy Summers, do you need to see Damien?"

It was Rachel Shaw’s voice.

Ivy paused slightly.

She thought to herself that Rachel Shaw really was always with Damien Lancaster.

"Yes, where is he?"

Rachel’s voice was ice-cold, "Damien is busy, Ivy Summers, if you have any self-respect, stop bothering Damien."

"I..."

Before Ivy could finish, Rachel hung up the phone.

Ivy stared speechlessly at the phone that had been hung up.

Rachel looked at the call log and deleted it, just as Damien walked in from outside.

"What are you doing here?"

Just as Rachel was about to speak, Julian Jacobs walked in from outside, "Sir, Miss Summers said she has something to discuss with you."

Damien glanced at him, "Why didn’t she call me directly if she had something to discuss?"

"Uh, well..." Julian glanced at Rachel.

Rachel bit her lip and said, "Damien, Ivy just called, and since you weren’t around, I took the call on your behalf."

Rachel hadn’t expected Ivy Summers to be so persistent, unable to reach Damien and then contacting Julian to find him.

Damien took his phone and glanced at the call log, but didn’t see the call Rachel mentioned.

Damien frowned, quickly understanding what had happened.

He looked at Rachel and said in a low voice, "Rachel, please refrain from visiting my office without reason."

"I..." Rachel wanted to say something.

Damien coldly said, "Please leave."

Rachel, seeing Damien’s somewhat impatient attitude, hadn’t expected him to treat her this way.

She was filled with resentment, all of which she directed at Ivy Summers.

Without Ivy Summers, Damien wouldn’t treat her this way.

With tears in her eyes, Rachel left, hearing Julian report to Damien that Ivy Summers was trying to arrange a meeting with him before she left...

Rachel clenched her fists, knowing she had to eliminate Ivy Summers promptly.

Hearing Julian’s report, Damien frowned slightly.

There was no need to think hard to know that Ivy Summers intended to discuss divorce with him.

Certain matters indeed needed clarification.

Damien glanced at the time; it was almost lunchtime.

If he remembered correctly, Sophie’s Mom had said yesterday to invite him and Ivy Summers for a meal today.

Damien stood up, grabbed his suit jacket from the side, and walked out.

"Sir, where are you going?"

"The Empyrean Pavilion, for a meal."

"Understood."

...

At this time, Ivy Summers and Ella Morgan had brought the kids to The Empyrean Pavilion. The meal invitation yesterday was just a pretext, but they had indeed reserved a private room.

Their dishes were famous here; when they used to be in Aethelgard, Ivy and Ella often dined here, and they often missed the taste over the years they spent abroad. Now that they had a chance to return, they wouldn’t miss it.

When they arrived at the pre-booked private room, the food was served quickly.

Ivy continuously served food to the three kids beside her.

The three little ones always had good appetites, and now they accepted whatever Ivy served them.

Just then, Ivy’s phone rang. As she instinctively reached to answer it, she suddenly remembered it was Damien’s call.

And this number was the one she used to contact Damien back in Yrador.

So, if Damien called this number, he wasn’t looking for her, but for "Sophie’s Mom."

Ivy immediately handed the phone to Ella.

Faced with the phone suddenly thrust in front of her, Ella put down her chopsticks and widened her eyes, "Who is it?"

"Damien Lancaster, looking for you."

More accurately, looking for Sophie’s Mom.

Ella’s heart tightened, "Why is he looking for me at this time?"

"I don’t know. Answer it quickly. He’s a suspicious person; if you don’t answer, he’ll become suspicious."

Ella swallowed the food in her mouth in haste, took the phone, took a deep breath, and answered the call, "Mr. Lancaster, what do you need?"

Heart in throat, Ivy listened, only to hear Ella gasp, "What? You’re at The Empyrean Pavilion?"

Ivy’s heart tightened with those words.

Why did Damien come?

Did he discover something? Is he here to confront us?

Now, anytime she hears about Damien, Ivy feels like he has discovered something and is coming to catch her and the kids.

This is due to her excessive anxiety and fear.

Ivy leaned closer to the phone, hearing Damien ask, "Weren’t you inviting me for a meal? Am I not welcome?"

Ella quickly forced a smile, "Not at all, welcome..."

Welcome, my foot.

She had been just being polite last night.

Besides, hadn’t he said he wouldn’t come?

Now, why all of a sudden...

After hanging up, Ella jumped up from her chair, "What do we do? What do we do? He’s here! Already in the elevator!"

She had just carelessly mentioned it last night.

Ivy steadied herself, "Don’t panic; he’s just here for a meal. Leo, Nathan, Sophie, stop eating for now..."

Ivy was about to run with the trio, but Ella grabbed her, "Why are you leaving? He knows you and Sophie are here; if you take Sophie away, won’t it be obvious?"

Ivy realized, "Right, I can’t leave, and neither does Sophie. What about Leo and Nathan?"

Ella opened the door but quickly closed it again.

Looking back at Ivy with a face full of tension, she said, "He’s almost here; there’s no time to leave."

Ivy looked at the wide-eyed trio and forced herself to remain calm.

Since they couldn’t escape, they could only hide.

Ivy hid the kids, while Ella hid the extra tableware.

Just after they finished hiding, someone pushed the door open, and a waiter brought Damien into the room.

Ella felt a sense of pressure as soon as he entered, instinctively straightening her spine.

Damien walked into the private room, scanned the three people, finally settling his gaze on Ivy. He pressed his lips together.

Sophie, still munching on a chicken leg, turned and looked at Damien, politely saying, "Uncle Lancaster."

Sophie wasn’t actually very afraid of Damien and was quite at ease facing him.

Ella wiped the cold sweat off her forehead, stood up, and said with a smile, "Mr. Lancaster, welcome, please have a seat."

Damien nodded and took a long stride, walking around to sit next to Ivy.

Ivy looked at Damien beside her and asked, "Weren’t you not coming?"

"Changed my mind, is that not allowed?"

"..."

Ivy said no more, turning her gaze and sipping her drink.

Damien scanned the area around Ivy, furrowing his brow slightly.

"Dropped something on your chin?"

Ivy hesitated, then looked down to see a circle of rice grains by the bowl in front of her.

Her expression stiffened instantly; she felt like dying of embarrassment.

This spot was where Nathan had been sitting; she hurried to sit back down and had ended up in the wrong place.

Ivy forced a smile, unsure what expression to wear, so she busied herself wiping the table to cover her embarrassment. Once finished, she lifted her head as if nothing happened, "I’m in a hurry to eat, isn’t that allowed?"

Damien said nothing, his gaze sweeping over the dishes on the table.

The three of them had ordered a whole table of dishes, having eaten quite a bit of each.

Just as Ivy’s nerves tightened, Damien commented, "You certainly have big appetites; three people almost finished a whole table of dishes."

Ivy knew Damien was suspicious.

She took a deep breath and picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs, eating it while looking at Damien, "Do you care if I have a big appetite?"

Ella let out a dry laugh, realizing since she was the host today, it was her cue to say something. Ella called over the waiter to order more dishes.

Just after she finished speaking, there was a loud "bang" from the restroom in the private room.

Ivy and Ella both flinched, their tense nerves snapping.

Damien’s gaze shifted to the restroom.

A terrifying silence ensued.

Damien raised an eyebrow, "Is there someone in there?"