Chapter 604

“Why are you still up? You know you shouldn’t be staying up late with your health.” His voice was low as he glanced over at his wife, clearly fighting sleep.

Ivy mumbled a reply, waited until he settled onto the bed, and instinctively rolled over, nestling into his arms.

Jamison assumed she was shaken – unsettled, maybe even scared – and his heart ached a little at the thought.

On top of that, they hadn’t seen each other in days. He’d missed her more than he cared to admit, so it felt perfectly natural to tip her chin up and press his lips gently to hers.

Ivy didn’t resist. One hand came to rest on his strong arm, and she melted into the kiss, sweet and yielding.

“Have you been drinking?” he murmured, catching the faint scent of alcohol on her breath.

Even after brushing her teeth, a hint lingered.

“Yeah,” she admitted softly. “Just a little. You see, I’m fine – not the least bit tipsy.”

“Who drove you home?”

“Mr. Shaw sent a car for me.”

Jamison’s brow furrowed. “What’s with that guy? He seems awfully attentive.”

He wasn’t worried about the college boys who hovered around Ivy, but he was wary of the slick professionals out in the real world.

Especially those in finance – charming, cunning, always calculating, and sometimes ruthlessly ambitious.

If someone like that was taking an interest in his wife, he needed to be on his guard.

Ivy looked up at him from the safety of his arms. “I told you before – he found one of my stock analyses on a forum and thought it was insightful. He started messaging me to talk shop, and after a while, we realized we were both alumni. That’s when we exchanged numbers – before you and I even started dating,” she added, suddenly aware of how it might sound, and wanting to reassure him.

“Later, I found out he’s an executive at Quantum Hedge Securities. Maybe because we’re alumni, he invited me to join the firm after graduation. Tonight’s dinner was mostly a get-together for alumni.”

She wanted to make it clear: the people in her field stuck together, networking to get ahead and expand their influence. There was nothing more to it.

But Jamison couldn’t quite shake his doubts.

He was an investor himself, even if Boyd usually handled things for him, and he’d been to enough business functions to hear all the gossip from the finance world.

In recent years, a few scandals had even made the news, so notorious that everyone knew the business ran deep and dirty.

“Ivy, do you really love this line of work?” Jamison asked, searching her face for the truth.

She understood what he was getting at and answered seriously. “I do. I chose this major in college for a reason.”

“But –”

“Instead of worrying about my career, maybe you should be more concerned about the Carter family. Sheridan developed acute nephritis in holding and it got worse because they delayed treatment – now it’s kidney failure. The Carters are blaming us for it. Those two little ‘incidents’ tonight? That was them, trying to rattle us. It’s not the thieves you have to worry about – it’s the ones always watching. As long as they keep pulling these stunts, it’s exhausting, even if it’s not truly dangerous.”

She knew the Carters still feared the Ludwigs too much to go far – if someone ended up dead, the Carters would go down with them.

But they could keep playing these games, stirring up trouble just to keep everyone on edge.

Jamison’s frown deepened, but he smoothed it away quickly. “Don’t worry. I’ve got it handled. I’ll make sure they get the message tomorrow.”

“Good. Now try to get some rest.”

She could see he was tired and didn’t want to keep him up talking.

But Jamison, who had spent days missing the feel of his wife in his arms, wasn’t about to just go to sleep.

Ivy felt his palm, warm and insistent against her chest, and her brows knit together as she let out a soft, involuntary moan. “You still have the energy for this?”

“For you? Always,” he murmured, his lips finding hers again, slow and deep, his hands wandering, sending shivers along her skin.

Ivy had been sleepy a moment ago, but his touch was like a jolt of electricity, banishing her fatigue.

She still felt guilty about everything that had happened between them, and on some level, it felt right to make it up to him this way. She reached up, winding her arms around his neck, and slowly gave herself over to him…

News of the couple’s car accident reached Ludwig Mansion by the next morning.

Thad Ludwig called first thing; the two brothers spoke for over twenty minutes.

When it came to business, Jamison was no match for Thad – he’d always been devoted to medicine and never cared for cutthroat dealings.