Chapter 198: Chapter 198: Honey, Don’t Cry. Who’s Your Wife?
Ivy Linden stood still, allowing Samuel Lockwood’s mother to hit and scold her, as tears fell like a broken string of pearls, continuously dropping.
Samuel Lockwood protected Ivy by holding her in his embrace, blocking his mother’s fists with his arms, and frowned as he said, "Mom, what are you doing? I’ve already said, it has nothing to do with Ivy."
Of course, Samuel’s mother couldn’t bear to hit her son. Seeing him protect Ivy like this, she became really angry but regained some of her sanity. Handling Ivy in this manner would only push Samuel further away, allowing Ivy, the vixen, to win.
Samuel’s mother detested Ivy’s "innocent" and "victimized" appearance. It was exactly this act that fooled Samuel in the first place, causing him to leave home for her and stand against his own mother.
Looking at the injuries on Samuel’s face, sadness surged within Samuel’s mother, and she cried sorrowfully.
"Samuel, don’t blame me! Seeing you hurt leaves me so upset. Ivy... can you forgive me for what I said to you just now?"
Ivy was somewhat dazed, immersed in the words Samuel’s mother had used to scold her.
She was a troublemaker, a jinx.
She couldn’t bear children for the Lockwood family and was making Samuel suffer through beatings.
It was all her fault...
"You’re right not to forgive me, who told me to act impulsively—I deserve it," Samuel’s mother said, raising her hand to slap her face hard.
She learned this trick from TV, where the show was about mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflicts, and the son taking the wife’s side. How could the mother-in-law win her son’s heart back?
If the mother-in-law is harsh to the daughter-in-law, the son will only feel sorry for his wife. The mother-in-law should be harsh to herself, so the son will feel sorry for her.
Samuel indeed let go of Ivy and went over to stop his mother.
"Mom, don’t do this. Ivy is so kind, she has forgiven you."
Samuel signaled to Ivy.
Ivy forced a stiff smile, "Mom, you’re not wrong to scold me, I don’t blame you."
Samuel’s mother was stunned, not expecting Ivy to say such a thing.
She knew Ivy’s nature: acting pitiful on the surface didn’t mean she didn’t have a temper. Ivy had the temper of a pampered young lady and would absolutely not admit fault if wronged—it was impossible for her to say that the scolding was correct.
Ken Mercer stood awkwardly in place, scratching his head. He quietly left, since the Lockwood family was "busy" with their affairs and it wasn’t appropriate for an outsider to interfere, nor was it good to watch too much.
As Ken just drove away from the Lockwood family home, his phone rang.
It was Howard Yeats calling.
"Hello."
"Did you take Ivy to the Lockwood home?"
"Hm? Is there a problem?"
"Huh... how was Ivy when she got home?"
Ken’s eyelid twitched, thinking it really wasn’t Howard’s place to be concerned about Samuel’s wife.
"She’s well! Why wouldn’t she be?"
Ken didn’t tell Howard the truth about the situation.
"Alright then!"
Howard hung up the phone.
Shortly after, the phone rang again.
Ken, assuming it was Howard calling again, answered through his Bluetooth headset without looking, "Howard, can you stop? Can you stay out of other people’s married matters?"
There was silence on the other end.
Ken frowned, glanced at his phone, and his mouth twitched hard.
"Leon~ hahaha... I thought it was that boy Howard."
"I’m not Leon Keane." A delicate, pleasant-sounding woman’s voice came through the phone, "I am Ivana Monroe."
Ken felt his soul tremble slightly; her gentle voice was just too beautiful.
"Hello there, do you have any business with me?" Ken’s voice unconsciously softened.
"Hello," Ivana politely greeted in return.
Ken raised an eyebrow; this was completely unlike the Ivana he had seen previously!
"I wanted to ask... how is Ivy after you took her home?"
Leon had called Lionel, and Ivana learned from him about what happened to Ivy later, including Samuel getting injured while protecting Ivy.
It was Ken who took her to the hospital and then brought her home.
Now that Samuel and Ivy had reconciled, Ivana’s concern was... Samuel’s mother.
"The sisterly bond between you and Ivy is really great." Ken couldn’t help but admire Ivana. This woman would go to any lengths to protect her friend and was also very attentive.
Damn, Leon really hit the jackpot.
Ivana’s face flushed slightly.
Ken added, "With Samuel by her side, she’ll be fine. It’s late now, you should get some rest too!"
Speaking of rest.
Ken realized it was Leon’s phone, she was probably with Leon, alone in a room, with temptation escalating.
Ken felt a sour twinge.
Sigh~ don’t think about your brother’s woman, you pathetic man.
Hearing Ken’s words, Ivana knew that something must have happened once Ivy returned with Samuel.
Ivana asked Ken, "Can you tell me what happened with Ivy once she returned to the Lockwood home?"
"Ivy is a very good friend of mine; she’s helped me a lot. Now that she’s in trouble, I want to help her, can you understand how I feel?"
Ken certainly understood Ivana’s feelings—just like the bond among them as brothers, who laugh together and drink together, but would unconditionally support each other in times of need.
Ivana was surely not going to stand idly by regarding Ivy’s issues, given how loyal a friend she was.
Ken wasn’t very familiar with the dynamics between women, or those between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
But he wasn’t blind and could see that Samuel’s mother really didn’t like Ivy. However, given that Samuel and Ivy were deeply in love, Ivy would surely suffer grievances after marrying into the Lockwood family, not being liked by her mother-in-law.
Perhaps because Ivy was the person Ivana desperately tried to protect!
Ken inexplicably didn’t want Ivy to suffer long-term grievances.
Ken shared everything he saw with Ivana, causing Leon to suddenly lash out from the phone.
"Ken, you just talk too much and made my wife cry."
"Don’t cry, sweetheart..."
"Who’s your wife?"
Ken’s mouth twitched, suddenly understanding why Howard would turn and leave in sour mood while Ivy and Samuel were hugging happily.
Ken hung up the phone.
Show... show off your love... end quickly.
The next day.
Ivana was busy at the company until the afternoon, repeatedly picking up the phone to call Ivy, but putting it down after lifting it.
No news was the best news.
This indicated that Samuel and Ivy’s relationship was very good; she had heard from Ken last night that Samuel wasn’t a scumbag. He would defend Ivy and would protect her with his life.
Such a man was actually very precious.
What Ivana didn’t know was that Ivy didn’t call her because Samuel’s mother was causing trouble again.
Seeing that Samuel was seriously injured and unwilling to go to the hospital for treatment, sticking by Ivy at home, she couldn’t find an opportunity to verbally provoke Ivy. She sent the maid away after dinner and personally washed dishes, insisting that Ivy help her.