CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 38: DON’T SPEAK, KISS ME

Rachel Shaw’s pupils shrank sharply as she angrily raised her hand, only to be caught by Ivy Summers. "Angry? If you hadn’t come, we’d be doing something else. But you don’t have the right to be angry because I’m still his wife. Even if we sleep together, you can’t be mad."

Ivy Summers pushed her away, "Get lost. Good dogs don’t block the road."

Rachel Shaw stomped her foot in anger, turned to Damien Lancaster, tears brimming in her eyes. "Damien, she’s lying, right? She seduced you, didn’t she?"

Damien Lancaster lit a cigarette irritably, "I was the one who kissed her forcefully."

What?

Rachel Shaw watched as the two people walked away from her side, tears instantly flowing.

Today was supposed to be her birthday. Why were they treating her like this?

Was this fair to her?

Damn Ivy Summers! She stole all her limelight and even took Damien Lancaster away.

...

Ivy Summers returned home to three little ones hiding in a corner, too scared to approach and speak to her.

Ivy Summers’ face turned serious, "Nathan, Leo, Sophie, come here."

The three little ones shuddered as they were called over.

They looked at each other, pushed each other, none daring to step forward.

In the end, the most responsible, Nathan, stepped forward. "Mommy, if you need to scold someone, scold me. I was the one who led Leo and Sophie there."

Ivy Summers raised her hand, "You all..."

Sophie ran up to protect Nathan, her bright eyes looking at Ivy Summers. "Mommy, don’t blame brother. It’s Sophie’s fault. It was Sophie’s idea. If you want to punish someone, punish Sophie."

"No, it was Leo who did it, Mommy, scold Leo."

Ivy Summers looked at how united they were even when getting scolded, and she couldn’t help but choke on her words.

It wasn’t that Ivy Summers really wanted to scold them. She knew they were trying to avenge her and they meant well.

But they were way too bold, scaring Ivy Summers quite a bit.

"Mommy wants to know, who prepared the fireworks tonight?"

Sophie blinked her bright eyes, "Mommy, guess. It was someone very nice, who really, really likes you."

"Was it your Uncle Noah Scott?"

"Wow," Sophie exclaimed exaggeratedly. "Mommy is so smart, you guessed it right."

Ivy Summers rubbed her forehead. She already knew.

Tonight’s event was no small affair; it couldn’t have been accomplished by just the three of them.

"Nathan, Leo, Sophie, haven’t I told you not to ask him for help with everything? He’s not your real dad, so he has no obligation to help us. This is too much trouble for him."

"He could be our Daddy! Uncle Noah Scott is so good." Leo spoke eagerly, always cheerful when mentioning Noah.

"Stop, don’t make random matches."

Sophie pouted. "Mommy, it was Uncle Noah who insisted on helping. How could we refuse? So we agreed. Mommy, weren’t the fireworks tonight amazing? Mean daddy wouldn’t let you have fireworks, so Uncle Noah did."

Ivy Summers felt a grateful kind of annoyance; she was truly frightened.

The three little ones, however, felt very proud.

Leo lifted his small head. "Yeah, Uncle Noah’s fireworks are ten thousand times prettier than mean daddy’s."

Ivy Summers felt that someone might as well have their tail up in the air when they heard that.

Oh well, it was done, and there’s not much Ivy Summers could say.

Silently, Ivy Summers transferred a sum of money to Noah Scott.

She couldn’t let him put in the effort and money.

But soon, the money was returned.

Ivy Summers, "..."

Rachel Shaw’s birthday party tonight soon hit the trending topics.

The extravagance of the fireworks turned into a joke.

The reporters even captured photos of Rachel Shaw’s dark face; she must be fuming now.

Meanwhile, at the Lancaster family.

Damien Lancaster sat alone in the study, smoking one cigarette after another.

He had to find out who the man behind Ivy Summers was.

...

The next day.

After dropping off the three little ones at school, Ivy Summers went straight to the auction house. She had a lot of preparations to do for tomorrow’s auction.

Ivy Summers took Joy Quinn to the warehouse to check the items for tomorrow’s auction.

Ivy Summers walked with a commanding presence, and Joy Quinn felt her strong aura.

Recently, everyone had been discussing how she got in by connections and reached her current achievements by luck.

They even said she was actually a freak.

Joy Quinn discreetly observed Ivy Summers. She wore a veil, making it impossible to see her true face.

Though her true face couldn’t be seen, her aura was the best Joy Quinn had ever seen.

Entering the password-protected warehouse, the auction items were laid out. Ivy Summers inspected each one carefully. There were some interesting antiques and rare porcelains. Ivy Summers put on white gloves and examined them closely.

Joy Quinn provided thorough information, including the source, valuation, and the consignor’s desired price for all auction items...

Ivy Summers remembered everything at a glance.

She memorized all the items, starting prices, and historical sources as she perused the evening’s auction items.

Just as she was about to leave, Ivy Summers paused, her eyes landing on a Ruyi gourd vase in a transparent display case. The ceramic was glossy, with rich patterns and smooth lines, an exquisite piece of significant value.

She bent down for a closer look and turned to Joy Quinn, "Open this display case."

Per her request, Joy Quinn complied. Ivy Summers examined it carefully, her brow furrowing as she asked, "Have all these items been sent to the appraisal department for verification?"

"They have all been appraised."

"No issues?"

"No issues."

Ivy Summers shook her head, handing the gourd vase to Joy Quinn. "This gourd vase has issues. Contact the consignor."

"Huh?" Joy Quinn was taken aback. "Zinnia, but all these items have been appraised and found to have no issues."

Ivy Summers removed her white gloves. This gourd vase was indeed hard to appraise, difficult to discern issues without a close look. But Ivy Summers knew there were only three such patterned gourd vases in the world, and this one wasn’t genuine.

Joy Quinn hesitated briefly, "Alright."

Ivy Summers originally wanted to check out more items but suddenly, a large hand pulled her into a quiet compartment, and a strong arm wrapped around her waist.

Ivy Summers gasped, wide-eyed at the man before her.

"Damien Lancaster?"

Damien Lancaster smirked. "Does The Great Auctioneer Zinnia still remember me?"

Ivy Summers was startled to death, shoving him hard. "Are you crazy? Let go of me."

"Come with me. I need to talk to you."

"I’m working."

"Work can wait."

Ivy Summers struggled to break free from his grip, only to bump into the cabinet behind her, producing a "creak" that made her head tingle.

"What’s that sound?" There were others in the warehouse, and they began walking towards the noise.

Ivy Summers’s breath hitched. Her current identity wasn’t Ivy Summers, but Zinnia. Being seen with Damien Lancaster in such an intimate embrace would undoubtedly cause a scandal.

Her heart tightened, and she quickly tried to hide, only to be pulled back by Damien Lancaster.

Damien Lancaster lowered his gaze to her veiled face. "What are you hiding from? Afraid of being seen? Ivy Summers, am I that shameful to you?"

"Let go of me."

Seeing Ivy Summers anxious, Damien Lancaster leaned in leisurely, holding her without releasing, his masculine dominance implicitly evident.

Ivy Summers glared at him irritatedly.

At that moment, a voice came from outside, "Zinnia, all these items have been appraised. Do you think just saying they’re fake makes them so? Do you know the consequences of talking nonsense?"

It was Nina Summers’s voice.

"Where did she go?"

Someone replied, "I think she went to the jewelry section."

Ivy Summers heard footsteps approaching, and grew more anxious. Nina Summers had always been looking for trouble with her, and being seen like this would cause a lot of problems.

Ivy Summers definitely didn’t want that. She raised her eyes, glaring at Damien Lancaster, "Let go of me."

Damien Lancaster raised an eyebrow with a smile, "Shh, don’t speak. Kiss me, and I’ll let you go."