Chapter 73: A Sham Marriage

Mason ignored her as he adjusted his jacket. He smoothed his hair back with his fingers and smirked as he walked past Ivy.

“Mason! Mason!” Ivy yelled, trailing behind him. Despite the anger she felt, she couldn’t stop her curiosity from spilling out. Her mind swirled with questions.

What was he doing here? How did he even find this place?

He ignored her again as he marched towards her car. “Gentlemen,” he addressed Tim and Bud, “and lady,” he bowed to Mary, “You’re not supposed to be here.”

Ivy’s forehead creased into a frown as she caught up. “Excuse me?”

Mason finally acknowledged her as he slowly turned. “Oh, Mrs. Stone,” he said with feigned politeness. “I didn’t see you there.”

Ivy scowled at him. “Oh, stop it! I was calling you. What are you doing here, Mason?”

Mason turned away from her, ignoring her yet again. “You all need to leave. Now.”

Tim stepped forward, confusion etched on his face. He looked from Mason to Ivy. “What’s going on, Ms. Stone?”

“Nothing,” Ivy responded before Mason could speak. “We’ll discuss everything tomorrow as planned. I can’t wait to see how you’ll transform this place,” she plastered a smile on her face as she encouraged Tim to leave.

The confusion on Tim’s face deepened, but he nodded. “Alright.” Together with Mary, they walked to their car.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Ivy turned to Mason, her face curled in disgust. “I don’t know what sick game you’re playing, but you need to stop. Now,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Game?” Mason asked, the corner of his mouth tugging in a smirk. “You started this, Ivy.”

“I didn’t—” She stopped as Tim’s car passed. He honked, and she waved. Once they were out of the premise, she faced Mason fully, her voice louder. “I did nothing.”

Mason’s expression darkened, and he stepped closer to her. For a split second, the look in his eyes frightened her. “Nothing?” he repeated, his voice filled with venom. “You humiliated me in front of the whole world! At my party, and you have the effrontery to say you did nothing?”

Ivy flinched and took a quick step back. “It’s not my fault Sonia wanted nothing to do with you anymore.”

Mason let out a short, bitter laugh. “You poisoned her against me. You and your evil mind ruined everything!”

As much as she was slightly unnerved seeing him this angry, Ivy controlled it and stayed put.

“Don’t hate the player, Mason, hate the game,” she sassed.

Mason scoffed, shaking his head. “Look at you. Your sham marriage giving you courage? I wonder how your store contract ends.”

Ivy gasped. Her stomach twisted. How did he know?

“What… what are you talking about?” she stuttered.

Mason’s smirk widened. “So, it’s true. You really gave your power away to him,” he demanded, his tone laced with disgust. “I’ve never known you to be so bitter.”

Bitter? The word struck her, and then suddenly, she got angry.

“You have no right to judge me!” she shot back.

“I do,” he sneered. “It’s really dumb of you to get into a loveless marriage.”

“It wasn’t for money!” she snapped.

Mason’s eyes widened. “For what then? Revenge? Because you get immense pleasure seeing Cheryl? I fell in love with another woman—it’s not a big deal, people fall in love, and their partners don’t go off marrying other people in a fit of emotion.”

Her stomach churned—not out of fear, but out of anger and disgust that he could speak so casually about his infidelity. She rubbed her temple, feeling exhausted by the conversation.

“What are you doing here?” she asked calmly. “This is my property. You’ve said your piece—now leave.” She gestured towards the exit.

Mason chuckled as his eyes raked her over. His look was filled with disdain and lust. “You weren’t like this before. If you’d shown even a fraction of this spine when we were married, I probably wouldn’t have ended up with your best friend.”

“You’re disgusting,” she spat. “Go away.”

Ignoring her, he looked at the building behind her. He walked over to inspect the building with mocking curiosity. Bud, who had been silent, gave Mason a cautious look.

“You know nothing about running a business,” he said, smirking.

“How did you find me here?” Ivy demanded instead, refusing to engage.

“I have my ways,” he said with a shrug, his eyes glinting with mischief.

Ivy held her ground, meeting his gaze without flinching. For a moment, they stood quietly, staring at each other, until Mason finally looked away.

“I’ll see you around,” he said, swirling his keys as he walked to his car.

“I hope you don’t,” she retorted sharply. “I hope you rot in hell—you and your fiancée.”

But Mason didn’t take the bait; he just continued to his car.

“I’m so glad Eric left!”

That did it.

Mason froze, turning back slowly. His face was twisted with disbelief. “What?”

“You heard me, Eric left!” she said, and added a deriding laugh.

Mason’s jaw tightened, his fists clenched. “You’ll pay for this, Ivy!” he yelled and quickly got into the car.

As he sped away, Ivy gave him the middle finger.

She took a deep breath, her nerves slowly calming. She couldn’t believe how well she’d handled him.

Turning to Bud, she forced a smile on her face. “Let’s go home.”

Without a word, Bud nodded and started the car engine. As they drove, Ivy glanced back at the building—one that would soon be fixed to her taste. Her heart brimmed with joy.

One thing was certain now: she needed tighter security. If Mason could find her this easily, others might, too.

She shook off the thought and focused on the work ahead. Aside from the designs, a lot of things still needed to be taken care of—staff, equipment—and she couldn’t wait.

She leaned back and started making another list of all the things that would make the company top-notch, at least before Silas hired professional help.

By the time she was done, she realized they had gotten home. She helped herself out of the car and turned to Bud.

“Thank you, Bud,” she told him.

“My pleasure,” he replied.

She clutched her bag to her shoulders and walked inside. She was heading straight to her room when Silas’s voice stopped her.

“Ivy.”

She turned and spotted him in the living room, sitting on the couch with a glass of wine in his hand.

“Silas,” she said softly, walking to meet him. “I didn’t see you there.”

“How was it?” he asked, his tone unreadable as he took a sip.

“It went great,” she said with a smile as she remembered her new place. Then she remembered Mason, but she quickly shut it down. “Tim and I went through everything. He said he will get back to me in forty-eight hours.”

“Good,” Silas said emotionlessly.

She arched her brow, moving closer to him. “What? What happened?”

“Nothing. Just reading the news about Mason Hunter telling the world we’re in a contract marriage,” he replied sarcastically.

Her chest tightened with rage. “That bastard,” she growled.

She had to give it to Mason; that idiot was quick.

Despite her anger, she asked.

“What… what are we going to do now?”

Silas sipped his drink and leaned forward on the chair. “A honeymoon trip to Fiji has been booked. We leave tomorrow.”