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"Throw her in jail," he ordered coldly. "Put every damn charge on her that you can. Make sure she rots there."
Sawyer nodded. "Already done. Just confirming in case you wanted to handle it personally before we sent her away."
Christian shook his head. "I can’t let Ivy see that side of me. She’s my wife now. I can’t be careless." His voice dropped lower, lethal. "But put every goddamn case on that woman. Make sure she gets what she deserves."
Chapter 20 My Lifeline
A week later, Christian sat in Ivy’s office, waiting for her. Both had almost fully recovered from the accident.
With Ivy back at work, Christian had come to pick her up. Since she was busy, he had made himself comfortable in her chair, leaning back with his eyes closed, waiting patiently.
When Ivy finally finished and entered her office, he straightened at the sound of her footsteps.
She walked up to him, placing a hand on the desk for support. "Christian, let that woman out of jail," she stated.
Christian looked up, meeting her gaze.
"She has sick parents," Ivy explained softly. "She’s the only child in her family. You need to let her go. Give her another chance to do better."
Christian suddenly reached out, gripping her waist. In the next second, he pulled her onto his lap, securing his arms around her, one hand on her waist and the other on her thigh, keeping her close.
"Why would I do that?" he asked, his voice low.
Ivy looked up at him, her hands gripping his suit.
"I just told you the reason," Ivy replied. "It might’ve been her first mistake because she was under pressure, or depressed or something. Let’s not ruin someone’s entire future over a single mistake."
Christian’s brows lifted. "It wasn’t a mistake, Ivy," he said, his voice dangerously cold. "She tried to murder you.”
Ivy took a deep breath. "I know. But her parents..." she murmured. "And she’s regretting it right now. We should give her another chance, maybe?"
"Ivy." His voice was steady, carrying both warmth and warning. "I can give up anything for you and give you everything you want. But you are my lifeline. My limit. If anyone dares to hurt you, I won’t let them go—no matter who they are or what they have."
His hand lifted, cupping her face with a gentleness that contrasted the steel in his words. Then, he leaned in, pressing a soft, lingering kiss on her lips.
"Don’t ask me of this, alright?" he murmured against her lips, his voice low.
Ivy, who had been tense just moments ago, felt herself melt under his words. Then, she nodded in acceptance.
As they walked out of the office, Christian refused to let go of her hand despite her subtle attempts to pull away. She didn’t want to attract attention from her colleagues, but he wouldn’t budge. His car was waiting outside, and as they approached it, he opened the door for her, helping her get in.
"Ivy?"
She turned around at the familiar voice, only to find her parents standing there.
They looked at her in surprise, their gazes shifting from Christian’s firm grip on her hand and waist to the way he stood so close to Ivy.
Startled, Ivy immediately stepped out of the car, rushing to them. "What are you guys doing here?"
Her mother, Patty, was the first to answer. "We were around here, so we thought we could have dinner with you."
Her gaze slid past Ivy, landing on Christian just as he came to stand beside her. "Who is this young man?"
Ivy hesitated, about to brush off the question, but Christian interjected smoothly, extending his hand. "I’m Christian Evans, Mrs. Watson. Hello."
Patty shook his hand, followed by Ivy’s father, Adam.
Christian smiled politely. "I’m Ivy’s boyfriend."