Chapter 25

It sounded as though a drunkard had just crashed into the wall after losing their balance,

That thought weirded Sage out. Wanda and Ian were the only ones staying in Solaris Estate. None of

them would ever drink.

The next thing she knew, her room door was flung open from the outside with a loud click.

Ian actually stumbled into the room afterward. He staggered about like he was about to keel over at

any given moment. His cheeks were unnaturally flushed, with sweat beading on his forehead. Even the

corners of his eyes were unusually red.

Sage’s instincts screamed at her that something was wrong. She closed her laptop with the intention of

kicking Ian out of her room.

“Did you drink alcohol?” she asked as she opened the door. “Wan–mmph!”

Before Sage could call out Wanda’s name, she felt intense pain prickling from her lips.. It turned out

that Jan had just captured her lips with his own.

“You-

Shocked, Sage tried to push lan away, but he responded by kissing her passionately.

Ian’s body was burning up at that time. He was also crushing her in a bear hug without the intention to

let her struggle. After that, he pinned Sage against the wall next to the doorframe while kissing her

wildly.

Sage balled up her fists, hoping that she could land a hit on him. Unfortunately, Ian was quick to pin her

wrists above her head.

The difference in strength between Sage and Ian was too vast. Sage could barely move an inch,

seeing as she was trapped in Ian’s powerful hold. Heck, she couldn’t even utter

a word.

She was starting to suffocate due to the lack of oxygen. All she could do was whine pathetically into the

kiss.

When lan heard the whining, he didn’t stop kissing her at all. Instead, he responded by biting down on

her lips forcibly as though he was annoyed by the sounds.

use the opportunity to breathe, Ian dragged her up to her feet in an attempt to bite her

on the neck.

“Mrs. Hol-II

Wanda bounded up the stairs hurriedly as soon as she heard Sage’s scream. It was then she saw Ian

and Sage trapped in an intimate embrace, his head hovering inches above her neck hungrily.

Stunned, Wanda was rooted to the spot.

“Wanda, help me-

”

“Get out!” Ian covered Sage’s mouth while growling out that order hoarsely.

Even though Wanda was worried about Sage’s safety, she dared not overstay her

welcome.

Whatever happened between lan and Sage was strictly between them, after all. Wanda was nothing

but a mere housekeeper. She shouldn’t be here in the first place.

Hence, Wanda left the corridor as quickly as her legs could carry her.

“Let go of me!”

Sage took advantage of Ian’s moment of distraction to shove him off of her. She made sure to readjust

the straps of her pajamas afterward.

Ian pinned her against the wall once again. He ran a slender finger across her lips, which now sported

a fresh wound.

His hoarse voice was unusually enticing as he demanded, “Sage Joyner, you were the one who

convinced Grandma to add aphrodisiacs into the chowder, right?”

What? Linda’s chowder was laced with aphrodisiacs?

No wonder Sage couldn’t smell any alcohol from Ian’s breath despite feeling the scorching heat coming

from his body.

Thank goodness she didn’t eat the chowder. Otherwise, both of them would be fucking like rabbits by

now.

How would they proceed with the divorce if they were to engage in a ridiculous night of

“Ahh!”

Ian finally released Sage’s lips as he listened to her pained screams. Before she could use the

opportunity to breathe, Ian dragged her up to her feet in an attempt to bite her on the neck.

“Mrs. Hol-”

Wanda bounded up the stairs hurriedly as soon as she heard Sage’s scream. It was then she saw Ian

and Sage trapped in an intimate embrace, his head hovering inches above her neck hungrily.

Stunned, Wanda was rooted to the spot.

“Wanda, help me-”

“Get out!” Ian covered Sage’s mouth while growling out that order hoarsely.

Even though Wanda was worried about Sage’s safety, she dared not overstay her

welcome.

Whatever happened between Ian and Sage was strictly between them, after all. Wanda was nothing

but a mere housekeeper. She shouldn’t be here in the first place.

Hence, Wanda left the corridor as quickly as her legs could carry her.

“Let go of me!”

Sage took advantage of lan’s moment of distraction to shove him off of her. She made sure to readjust

the straps of her pajamas afterward.

Ian pinned her against the wall once again. He ran a slender finger across her lips, which now sported

a fresh wound.

His hoarse voice was unusually enticing as he demanded, “Sage Joyner, you were the one who

convinced Grandma to add aphrodisiacs into the chowder, right?”

What? Linda’s chowder was laced with aphrodisiacs?

No wonder Sage couldn’t smell any alcohol from lan’s breath despite feeling the scorching heat coming

from his body.

Thank goodness she didn’t eat the chowder. Otherwise, both of them would be fucking like rabbits by

now.

How would they proceed with the divorce if they were to engage in a ridiculous night of

passion?

Numerous thoughts flashed through Sage’s mind at that moment. It was then she felt lan’s finger

sliding from her lips to her chin.

She slapped his offending hand away while saying calmly, “I’ll call a doctor for you.”

When Sage attempted to reach for her phone, she felt Ian pulling her into a hug once again.

“What for? Sage, you keep complaining that I don’t spend time with you at all. Yet, you coerced

Grandma into drugging the chowder. You did all that just so you could sleep with me, right?

your-”

“Since that’s the case, I might as well grant your

Before Ian could finish his sentences, Sage delivered a heavy slap right across his face. without

warning.

“Get the fuck out!” she roared.

Ian’s affected cheek reddened immediately from the slap. His gaze turned frighteningly

cold in an instant.

“How dare you fight back, Sage Joyner!”

He gripped Sage’s chin tightly. She was in so much pain that she couldn’t move an inch. Then again,

she didn’t have the guts to move at all.

Ian was groomed to become the next successor of the Holcomb family since he was a little boy. It

shaped his domineering and headstrong personality. Throughout the years, he got used to everyone

submitting to him meekly.

This was probably his first time getting slapped in his entire life.

But what was done was done. Sage didn’t regret her actions one bit.

She had spent her past life being overly cautious around Ian. When she was faced with hardships, she

forced herself to endure everything.

This time, she swore to not let Ian walk all over her.

The sight of Sage looking fearless despite having laid a hand on him caused Ian to feel even more

frustrated and irritated.

He even developed an urge to pin her down and take her virginity by force on the spot,

Beads of blood were already budding from Sage’s wounded lips at that time. Her brows were heavily

knitted because of the pain that racked through her body.

But Sage refused to back down no matter what. Her icy eyes held a defensive and

cautious glint the whole time.

Ian gritted his teeth before shoving Sage away with all his might. He then stumbled out of her room with

a thunderous expression.

Sage quickly locked the door afterward. Only then did she slide down to the floor in an exhausted

slump.

That was extremely dangerous.

If Ian truly wanted to take advantage of Sage, she wouldn’t be able to resist him because of how weak

she was.

It wasn’t as though she intended to protect her chastity for the rest of her life.

She and lan weren’t meant to be together at all, so why would she get intimately involved with him?

—

Sage spent the next few days working on the investment proposal.

That night, lan had left Solaris Estate in a huff. He no longer returned home after that. Naturally, Sage

was happy to have some peace and quiet for once.

Once she finally nailed down the data concerning the fixed, intangible, and other long- term assets of

the proposal, she stretched her body lazily.

She was immensely exhausted from working on the proposal. She desperately needed

some time to relax.

Sage tapped on her phone and started scrolling through her social media feed. That was when she

saw Ivy’s latest status, which was updated five minutes ago.

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