His words made it clear: he’d accepted Ivy as his daughter–in–law.
“Dad–1” Carla’s voice was sharp with anger and frustration, but there was nothing she could do.
“Ivy…” Micah, still weak, tried to push himself up from the bed.
Carla shot him a glance, hurried over, and helped her son sit up, scolding through clenched teeth, “Why are you still calling her that? She’s the reason you’re in this state!”
But Micah ignored her. His eyes trembled with emotion, and he murmured, “Ivy… I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I hurt you, and that’s why you left me…”
Ivy frowned, her expression unreadable. She couldn’t understand why Micah was so hopelessly obsessed.
“Micah, it’s time you learned some respect. This is your aunt now–address her properly from now on. Don’t call her by her first name like a child.” Jamison didn’t hesitate to rub salt in the wound, speaking to his nephew in front of the entire family.
Ivy shot Jamison a look and rolled her eyes inwardly. He really didn’t care whose toes he stepped on. In front of everyone, he was making sure Micah had nowhere
to hide.
Predictably, Micah, who’d just managed to stand, looked like he would collapse again, his face drained of all color.
“Aunt… Aunt Ivy. Hah.” He whispered, eyes flashing with anger. “Jamison, you’ve gone too far! Grandma introduced you to dozens of so–called perfect ladies, but you rejected them all–just so you could take Ivy away from me!”
Ivy couldn’t listen to any more. She snapped, “Micah, there’s nothing left between us. Don’t forget–if I hadn’t come back, you’d already be married to Emma by now, and she’d be months along with your child!”
“But you did come back!” Micah shouted, voice raw.
“That still has nothing to do with you! When you and Emma–and the whole Windsor family–hurt me, did you ever care about what we used to have? Who are you trying to impress with this act now? Isn’t it disgusting?”
A stern voice interrupted–Farley, Jamison’s father. “Ivy, you’re part of the Ludwig
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family now. Watch your words; we’re family.”
Ivy glanced at him; given how well everyone knew each other, there was no need for pleasantries. “Farley, with all due respect, it’s not that I’m being harsh–it’s your son who’s too stubborn to see the truth. No amount of scolding will wake him up.”
Farley was left speechless.
An icy silence descended over the hospital room, the family more divided than ever. Jamison looked around, then let out a wry, humorless smile. “You insisted I come, so here I am. I’ve said what needed to be said. Whether it helps or not…”
His words trailed off, and his resignation was clear.
He took Ivy’s hand again and turned to his parents. “Dad, Mom, we’re leaving. I’ll bring Ivy home for dinner soon.”
The elder Ludwigs had nothing to add–they just nodded.
Jamison and Ivy turned to go, but before they reached the door, Micah broke down, shouting hoarsely, “Ivy… don’t go! Ivy, I love you!”
Farley, enraged, lunged at his son, but Carla held him back, and the couple started arguing all over again.
The elder Ludwigs tried to intervene, but it was useless. With a heavy sigh and a muttered, “What a mess,” they shook their heads and left the hospital.
The news of the Windsor estate scandal dominated the financial headlines for days. The Windsors were desperate, scrambling to find investors.
Adkins, Micah’s father, always talked a big game about pridè, refusing to rely on his eldest daughter’s connections. But when the crisis hit, that pride evaporated. He started telling anyone who’d listen that his eldest daughter had married Jamison, that she was now the dazzling Mrs. Jamison.
As for Jamison, he’d never tried to hide his marriage to Ivy. The very day they wed, he posted about it openly, and the news had quickly spread through high society.
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