Chapter 2

Ivy's POV

Rationality returned, and I sat up abruptly, then immediately clutched my waist.

Hiss—

This man's size was really...

Impeccable.

I twisted my head. He was still asleep, body slightly turned to the side, my messy lipstick marks and nail scratches still on his chest, his face turned away, looking—

I averted my gaze.

Now wasn't the time to focus on what my one-night stand actually looked like.

I had to leave quickly, before the situation became even more awkward.

I gathered my things silently.

The scattered coat, underwear, putting each piece back on one by one.

I also collected this man's clothes, including his wrinkled shirt that I'd pulled at, his tie.

On his cuff, I discovered a small monogram.

D.S.

Oh, so this was Mr. S.

I put this little detail aside. Whatever. I didn't need to know his name. I hoped I'd never run into him again for the rest of my life.

I checked my wallet for cab fare, confirmed it was there, then...

I pulled out all the other cash and placed it on the nightstand.

Not a small amount, maybe not enough either, but it was necessary.

That's when I noticed it.

The largest denomination bill—in the corner was a tiny pencil drawing. A crooked little star with a smiley face, drawn with the kind of absolute confidence in one's artistic ability that only a four-year-old possesses. Clearly my daughter had gone through my wallet at some point last week and left her signature on my emergency cash.

I stood there, holding the bill, frozen for a moment.

Then I put it back, stacked it with the others, and fished out a lip liner from my bag. There was hotel stationery on the desk.

To Mr. S—I'm very sorry about last night. I'm willing to pay for my mistake. The money on the nightstand is for you. I have urgent matters and must leave first. Please help yourself to whatever is needed to clean up.

—I.G.

I left the note on the nightstand and walked out.

---

The morning at Leyton Manor was quiet.

I had the taxi stop at the end of the driveway and walked slowly back along the path by myself.

I'd barely made it halfway up the porch steps when the door suddenly opened.

"Mommy!"

A small figure flew toward me.

I caught her, feeling her warmth, my suspended heart finally settling into a safe place.

"Luna, are you okay? Did anyone bother you?"

She leaned back a little and gave me an extremely serious look. "I stayed with Grandma Elena the whole time, like glue. Bad people can't take away glue."

"...Very smart."

"I know." She twisted to get down. "Mommy, why are you wearing slippers?"

I looked down. In my rush this morning, I was still wearing the terry cloth slippers from the Atlantic Tower.

"I'll change right—"

Before I could finish, something whizzed past my head.

I instinctively shielded Luna, watching the house warily.

A teacup smashed against the pillar behind me, shattering into pieces.

Robert Leyton stood in the doorway, his face flushed purple.

"Where were you last night?" His voice was sharp and tight. "Mr. Voss is very angry! You know you—"

"He's angry?" I gently moved Luna behind me. "Good. I hope he's angry enough to pull all your little nest egg away."

"He's your husband! You should be serving him!"

"Serving." I repeated the word, gently covering Luna's ears. "I signed that document when I was weak after childbirth, when you were using my daughter to threaten me. You used the money from selling me to save the company! What more do you want from me?"

"He's awake! You must—"

"I must nothing."

He froze.

Luna gently tugged at my sleeve, slipping out from under my hand.

"Mommy. Is Voss my daddy?"

I was about to speak.

"Of course not."

Cara sauntered out from inside the house, leaning against the doorframe with a vicious sneer on her face.

"You don't have a daddy, sweetie. You're what they call—"

"Cara."

"A bastard."

"Slap!"

I rushed forward and swung my arm in a full arc, slapping her across the face.

"Shut up!"

She clutched her face, laughing at me furiously.

"I'm just saying what everyone's thinking! Ivy, you're a slut who can't live without men! You used to run away from home to fool around with men from god-knows-where, and you didn't settle down after marriage either."

"Oh, but I suppose it's not entirely your fault—after all, your husband..."

Her ugly mouth stretched into a grin.

"After that accident, they say he's not what he used to be in... certain departments. Now that he's awake, who knows if he's improved."

I waited for her to finish.

"You were supposed to be the one who married him."

Cara's smile froze.

"That document asked for a Leyton daughter. I had already moved out and changed my surname by then!"

"Because you didn't want to marry a vegetable. You thought he wasn't good enough for you, but his money was! So you schemed against me, tricked me back to replace you!"

I stared at her coldly, while covering Luna's eyes so she wouldn't see her mother's terrifying expression.

"Don't put on an act here." I warned Cara softly.

"If you say one more word in front of my daughter, I'll personally go to the hotel where Mr. Voss is staying and formally introduce the difference between you and me—who is now the real Leyton daughter!"

The color drained from her face quickly.

Good.

Robert started clamoring again. Something about obligations, something about what I owed this family, something about the agreement, something about the company.

I laughed coldly.

"I don't owe you anything. Quite the opposite—you're the one who wronged my mother!"

Robert Leyton, my father, had changed less than three months after the funeral, moving a woman and her daughter into our home.

That daughter, Cara, looked exactly like Robert and was only a month younger than me!

He'd been having an affair while my mother was pregnant!

Then I discovered that the company under my mother's name had been taken by him, everything my mother left me was seized by him on the grounds that I was a minor, and Cara moved into my room.

I was seventeen that year. I resisted, I shouted, I threw things.

The final result was that I was kicked out.

I changed my surname and struggled on my own for a year. Then came that night—a night I didn't expect would affect the rest of my life.

When I discovered I was pregnant, it was during the time when I was most crazed about my mother's death. I wanted someone who was truly blood-related to me, so I insisted on keeping them.

I didn't know it would be twins at the time.

At eight months pregnant, I was in pain all over, extremely exhausted, and didn't have much money.

Robert came looking for me, saying he'd let me come home.

I thought he still had a shred of conscience.

Until after I gave birth, he told me I'd had twins, the boy was born dead, only one daughter remained.

I looked at Luna, so small, so quiet. I didn't have the strength to doubt anything.

Then he told me about Mr. Voss.

A man who'd been severely injured in a car accident and become a vegetable. His family approached the Leytons, offering fifty million dollars on the condition that they find him a wife who would, "when necessary," bear his offspring. They approached the Leyton family because the name was respectable and easy enough to control.

Cara refused to marry a vegetable.

So they thought of me.

I'd just given birth, had no job, no savings, and my daughter was in their hands. I had no choice. I signed the document holding Luna, becoming the wife of a man I'd never met, then according to the Voss family's requirements, left America with my daughter for France to "learn how to be a proper Mrs. Voss."

Three years.

I never saw him once.

Recently, Robert called me back, saying Mr. Voss had woken up and wanted to meet me.

But the me now was no longer the Ivy who'd just given birth and could be manipulated at will.

Robert was still shouting.

"Listen, now that Mr. Voss is awake, this is a golden opportunity! He's someone who can fork out fifty million in one go! Although none of us know his background, he has money! There's no doubt about that!"

"What you should be doing now is dropping this burden and going to give Voss a child, capturing his heart!"

I straightened up, holding Luna's hand like I was gripping my entire world.

"What I should be dropping is you garbage! If it weren't for Grandma, I wouldn't have come back at all! You have no right to demand anything of me now!"

Robert wheezed heavily: "You're bringing along a fatherless..."

He stopped short because I raised my hand again.

I wasn't sure I could beat him, but I was sure I was more ruthless than him, more willing to risk everything!

As long as he dared insult my daughter in front of me, I would make him pay in blood!

The scene froze.

At that moment, a hand tugged at my coat, gently.

Luna buried her face in the side of my coat.

"Mommy," she said softly, "I don't need a daddy. Having you is enough."

Something moved in my chest.

I held her tight.

Then a voice cut through all the shouting.

"Have you made enough noise."