Buying My Forever Wife novel Chapter 32

Strangely enough, if Summer was Alaric's niece...

Why would she dare strike Stella?

Did they not recognize each other?

Ivy was utterly baffled.

Alaric's voice was dangerously low.

"Take her to the hospital first. Get her checked for any serious injuries, and let me know how much the medical bills are."

Ivy was shocked that he hadn't exploded in anger.

Not daring to delay, she hung up and immediately rushed Stella to Metropolitan General.

Hazel hurried alongside her, her face etched with worry.

"Ivy, who was that on the phone? Your husband? If his daughter got beaten up like this, is he going to take it out on you?"

An older, divorced man.

He was probably balding, short, overweight with a beer belly, and prone to violent outbursts.

It must be absolutely sickening for a young, beautiful girl like her sister to marry a man like that and share a bed with him every night.

Hearing her sister's words, Ivy looked over at her. "You figured it out?"

Did she know she was acting as a stepmother to someone else's child?

Otherwise, Hazel wouldn't have asked such a specific question.

Hazel nodded.

Once they left The Wonderdome and hailed a cab by the street, Hazel finally spoke up.

"Ivy, why do you keep everything from me? Just to pay back Mom and Dad's debt with that $200,000 settlement, you sold yourself to an old divorced guy to be a..."

Glancing at the child, Hazel swallowed the rest of her sentence.

Regardless, her heart ached for her sister.

Ivy reached out and patted her arm, gesturing for her to calm down and watch her words so the little girl wouldn't catch on.

Deciding to come clean, she admitted the truth.

"Stella's father is a wonderful man. He's very handsome, truly. Plus, he has great character and is extremely generous to me."

Stella had stopped crying and perked up at the mention of her dad.

But then he remembered that he was interning at Foster Group. This could be his chance to make an impression on the CEO and secure future promotions.

Taking a deep breath, Patrick stepped forward and chimed in.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Foster. This is entirely my fault. I failed to protect Summer."

Alaric fixed him with a lethal stare and completely ignored his apology.

"What is your relationship with Ethan Foster's girlfriend?"

He purposely referred to Ivy as Ethan's girlfriend rather than bringing up his own connection, entirely to keep his marriage a secret.

Patrick froze, visibly confused.

"Ethan Foster's girlfriend?"

He had no idea Ethan was seeing anyone.

Summer quickly nudged him. "He means Ivy."

She then eagerly hijacked the conversation, desperate to answer Alaric.

"Uncle Alaric, Ivy used to be Patrick's girlfriend. But the second she hooked up with my cousin Ethan, she coldly dumped Patrick."