CHAPTER 97: CHAPTER 97: IVY LEAVES, DAMIEN KNEELS AND BEGS FOR FORGIVENESS

"Win first, talk later." The man waved his hand, and everyone surged towards Damien Lancaster.

Damien clenched his fists. Despite being outnumbered, he showed no fear.

Noah Scott leaned there, lit a cigarette, and smoked leisurely. A subordinate came to report, "Damien’s people have arrived."

"Stop them." His tone was light, eyes filled with amusement as he watched Damien being besieged.

Two fists couldn’t fend off four hands. No matter how capable Damien was, he still took a few hits while being surrounded. Yet, his strength seemed inexhaustible; the fiercer the fight, the faster and more ruthless he became.

Noah finished his cigarette, stubbed it out, and strode forward, meeting Damien’s strikes.

Both harbored grievances against each other, every move aimed with lethal intent.

Seeing Noah step in personally, the subordinates wisely stepped back.

Noah’s moves were brutal, his attacks fierce. Damien, already injured, had to switch from attack to defense.

Noah punched Damien’s shoulder, curling his lips coldly, "Still not conceding?"

Damien curled his lips, "The word ’concede’ doesn’t exist in my dictionary."

"Heh." Noah sneered, "In such a hurry, you seem so in love with her."

"Whether I love her or not is my own affair, none of your business." Damien’s eyes were filled with murderous intent, as his tightened fist struck towards Noah with terrifying force.

Just then, the sound of a plane taking off sliced through the sky.

Noah dodged Damien’s punch, withdrew, and looked up at the departing plane, raising an eyebrow with a smile.

"Damien, you lost."

Damien’s brows furrowed tightly, his gaze fixed on the private jet ahead. He pursed his lips, striding towards it.

Noah didn’t stop him.

Damien boarded the plane, only to find it empty.

His eyes narrowed sharply.

He’d been deceived.

Ivy Summers hadn’t taken the private plane.

From the start, seeing Noah here misled him.

In reality, Ivy left on the last flight of the day.

Realizing he was tricked, Damien immediately took out his phone, instructing someone to check the recently departed flight.

Julian Jacobs led his men in, finally breaking through, just as he saw Damien stride down from the private jet, looking grim as he walked out.

As Damien passed by Julian, Julian caught a whiff of blood. A closer look revealed varying degrees of injuries on Damien’s legs, arms, and shoulders.

Julian quickly strode up, "Sir, we’re late. Are you alright?"

"I’m fine."

Seeing Damien’s injuries weren’t light, Julian immediately said, "You’re seriously hurt; let’s treat the wounds first."

"No need."

Though injured, with his white shirt stained red with blood, Damien’s figure remained tall and unyielding, showing no sign of disarray.

After just two steps, Damien stopped, slightly turned his head, and let his gaze fall on Noah, "I won’t lose."

"Oh, is that so?"

With those words, Damien strode away.

Noah’s voice lingered behind, "Damien, even when hurt, Ivy would run out of the hospital. She’s risking her life to get away from you. Will you still try to stop her?"

Damien’s steps faltered a little.

"She’s risking her life to leave you," stabbed deep into Damien’s heart, making it hard for him to regain his composure.

But he still walked away with large strides.

...

Ivy Summers felt a sense of relief as the plane took off.

Damien Lancaster.

This time, I’ve won.

The flight attendant noticed Ivy’s pale complexion and approached her, "Miss Summers, Mr. Scott said you were injured. Are you alright?"

Ivy clutched her chest, taking several deep breaths, "I’m fine."

"I’ll bring you a blanket. You can sleep for a while, and I’ll wake you when we’re about to land."

Perhaps due to losing blood, Ivy indeed felt exhausted and uncomfortable, finding it hard to hold on.

With the thought that the plane had already taken off and she’d soon leave Aethelgard; in this game with Damien, she had already won.

Thus, Ivy finally relaxed.

She covered herself with a blanket and drifted into a deep sleep.

She seemed to have a long dream, seeing herself back in her old life with Nathan, Leo, and Sophie.

She worked during the day, picked them up in the afternoon, and the four of them lived peacefully together.

But when she turned around, she saw Damien standing behind them.

Ivy woke up startled, opening her eyes to meet a pair of dark, deep eyes. In front of her, Damien stood silently watching her.

It was a hallucination.

She must not have fully awakened.

She decided to sleep once more.

Ivy closed her eyes.

"Ivy Summers!"

Damned.

Even in her dream, Damien’s appearance and voice were so vivid.

Ivy kept her eyes tightly shut, refusing to open them.

As long as she didn’t open her eyes, she wouldn’t see Damien.

Everything in front of her wouldn’t be real.

Damien stood there, quietly watching the woman pretending to sleep. Yet, her trembling lashes betrayed her.

Damien crouched beside her and spoke in a low voice, "Ivy Summers, you’ve lost."

At the corner of Ivy’s quivering eye appeared a teardrop as her hand was grasped by the man’s slightly cold one.

Unable to deceive herself any longer, Ivy angrily pushed away.

Damien, already severely injured, was caught off guard by her shove. He barely supported himself, his knee hitting the ground in a single-knee kneel.

Ivy opened her eyes, her eyes now red, meeting Damien’s profound gaze.

Even though Ivy didn’t want to accept it, she couldn’t deny the fact that she saw Damien on the plane.

"Damien, I’ve boarded the plane."

"Yes, but the plane has returned and hasn’t left Aethelgard’s airspace. It’s now twelve o’clock and eight minutes, already the next day. Ivy, you’ve lost."

Ivy’s trembling, clenched hands reflected her helplessness, anger, and despair, all evident in her eyes.

She trembled, her lips quivering as she looked at the man before her, "Damien, you can’t do this. I’ve already won."

"If you haven’t left Aethelgard, it doesn’t count."

"You’re cheating." Ivy gritted her teeth.

"It doesn’t count if you haven’t left Aethelgard." Damien reiterated.

Looking at Ivy, when he arrived, he was furious, desperately wanting to strangle this woman.

She dared deceive him, play him for a fool.

But upon confirming she wasn’t dead, all his anger dissipated.

A strange feeling.

He didn’t expect himself to have such a good temper.

And then there was Noah’s remark, "She’s risking her life to leave you."

His first reaction was a blockage in his heart, followed by heartache.

Risking her life to leave him. It was then he realized just how much Ivy wanted a divorce and how disappointed she was in him.

He thought that maybe before, he really wasn’t good enough to her and had indeed made many mistakes.

Back then, Ivy left after aborting the child, not simply because he wasn’t there to keep vigil with her, but due to a long accumulation of grievances.

"Ivy Summers, I’m sorry..."