The CEO’s Billion Dollar Bride

Chapter 26: Always one step behind Chapter 26: Always one step behind Ivy Aretha was tense the entire time Michael Gordon held her, not even daring to lift her head, for fear of being photographed straight-on by the media.

Not until Michael brought her into the underground garage and threw her into the driver’s cab, which assured there was no one following, did Ivy finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“That scared the life out of me!”

Ivy kept patting her chest, indicating that she needed to catch her breath and ease the tension she had been feeling.

God knows how nervous she had been just now. If she were photographed as Michael Gordon’s number one companion, her personal life would be exposed, and it wouldn’t matter to her, but it would matter to her precious daughter.

That would definitely cause chaos.

With this thought in mind, Ivy couldn’t help but confirm with him, “Mr. Gordon, we won’t be in the newspaper headlines tomorrow, will we?”

“Headlines?”

Michael Gordon had just thrown her into the driver’s cab and climbed in after her when he heard her cautiously confirming his voice. He hesitated and withdrew his hand from the gear shift.

Was she so worried? There were so many women who hoped to make headlines with him every day. They would be proud for an entire year just from having a photo with him, let alone being held in his arms and making headlines.

But for this woman, what was her expression?

Very worried, or very disgusted?

This understanding made Michael Gordon feel quite unhappy, and his heart suddenly filled with a sense of unwillingness. He had always been selective when it came to crowning a headline, but being disliked was a first for him.

No way. He would be the one to disdain first, not the other way around!

“Do you think you have the qualifications to make headlines with me?”

Michael Gordon looked her up and down with contempt, “You have no chest or buttocks, you don’t even know what a curve is, and you still want to make headlines with me. Don’t be too naive, woman!”

What?

No chest, no buttocks, and no curves? This man was actually looking down on her, and for reasons that were completely divorced from reality?

Rage surged through her, causing her to forget the pain in her foot and she retorted harshly, “Who said I have no chest or buttocks? Let me tell you, this is a standard figure! My bust is a 34C, the international standard. Not too big, not too small, just right! My buttocks are the traditional woman’s standard, capable of giving birth and raising a child. As for curves, it’s just a man with no taste who can’t see them!”

After saying that, Ivy even deliberately lifted her buttocks and stuck out her chest, looking absolutely smug.

Michael Gordon: “…”

Michael’s face was filled with dark lines. Did this woman have to be like this?

Alright, he admitted that he had said it on purpose just now. But that was because she had provoked him. In truth, her figure was indeed excellent, with all the right curves. She appeared slender but felt full upon being held, a truly top-quality body.

Once finished, Ivy didn’t care to check the injured foot under her long skirt. It had already swollen quite noticeably. She didn’t even care to ask whether her work for the day had passed muster and only focused on dealing with her injured foot. Otherwise, if she waited too long, the swelling would become even worse.

“Ivy Aretha, have you gone mad? Are you hoping your foot will be crippled?” Michael caught a glimpse of her lifting and moving her foot, and he grabbed her hand. “I’ll take you to the hospital right now!”

“There’s no need for a hospital. Save yourself some money. Just remember to calculate more for my work injury when the time comes. This injury happened during work hours!”

Ivy shrugged indifferently. She had experienced this sort of thing many times before. She wasn’t so delicate that she needed to go to the hospital for a simple twisted ankle. Nor did she have such a luxurious life.

Michael’s eye twitched. What was this woman thinking about at this time, still focusing on money?

Just as Michael started the car, a cracking sound of bone echoed.

Startled, Michael missed the accelerator and immediately stepped on the brake. The car that had just been started stalled at the side of the road.

“Ivy Aretha, are you even a woman?”

Michael’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief as he looked at Ivy…

Enduring the pain, Ivy steeled her heart and aimed both hands at her swollen ankle. With a snap, the dislocated bones finally returned to their proper position.

“It’s finally better!” While speaking, Ivy pushed open the door to get out of the car. “Now that my foot is fine, I’ll just take a taxi home!”

However, Michael showed no intention of unlocking the car door. Instead, he turned his head and looked deeply at her, his eyebrows furrowing at her startling behavior.

In contrast to the average woman who would become unstable when walking after a twisted ankle, most would be fragile and weeping, clamoring to go to the hospital, especially in front of men. They would hate to say how serious it really was.

But this woman…

“Mr. Gordon, can you please open the door!” Ivy glanced at him when she noticed the door was still locked and reminded him.

As his eyes met those clear and bright ones, a nerve in Michael’s mind twitched unexpectedly, followed by a sense of heaviness in his heart, as if a stone was lying across it, leaving him speechless.

A feeling similar to heartache emerged in his mind. A strong woman was even more heartbreaking than a weak one.

“I’ll take you home!”

“No need, no need!”

Upon hearing Michael say that he would take her home, Ivy’s heart combed upwards. If he took her home, her baby daughter would be there. What if he ran into her? That would be…

This was the so-called guilty conscience of a thief.

It seemed that stealing someone else’s daughter could never bring peace of mind!

“Why are you so tense? What are you worried about?” Michael looked at her, puzzled by her slightly over-sensitive appearance.

“Are you afraid I’ll find a man hiding in your house?”

Cough…

“As a beautiful woman like me, it’s normal to have a man at home. What’s there to be afraid of being found out by you!”

“Alright, are you afraid that I’ll be found out by him?”

Michael laughed softly, not paying attention to her, and immediately stepped on the gas, driving away…

Watching the Maybach drive away, Mario Jensen slammed his fist on the steering wheel with a bang. His gloomy face scared Lina Miller, who was sitting in the passenger seat, out of her wits.

“Why am I always one step behind?!”

Mario Jensen’s deep, hoarse voice filled the small space, carrying with it a sense of grief, helplessness, and despair.

Six years ago, when he first met Ivy, Zach Gilbert was already by her side. Six years later, when he saw her again, she was beside Michael Gordon.

He was always just one step behind. Did that mean that in the future, he could only watch her be happy?

Wasn’t the highest state of loving someone to see them happy? However, after so many years, Mario Jensen discovered sadly that he had still not reached this state.

Relying on his memory of Ivy Aretha’s address, he drove straight to Roosa Garden, where Ivy lived, and stopped in front of her residential community.