Chapter 588: I’ve Brushed My Teeth, Can I Kiss You Now?

Working almost all night without sleep, Quentin Blackwood didn’t return to lie down beside Ivy Sherwood until dawn began to break. He pulled her into his arms, finally closing his eyes for a short nap.

When Ivy woke up, she felt a strong grip wrapped tightly around her, nearly suffocating her. Looking at Quentin’s sleeping face, she knew he had quietly gotten up in the middle of the night to handle work again. Though she was awake, she didn’t move, wanting to let him rest a little longer. Instead, she grabbed her phone and started taking care of various tasks.

Quentin didn’t sleep much longer. When he woke, he saw Ivy on her phone. He forcefully wedged his head between her arms, pushing her phone aside. Half-pressing his weight onto her, he leaned in for a kiss.

"I haven’t even brushed my teeth yet." With her phone tossed aside, Ivy looked at the handsome face hovering inches from hers. He was flawlessly handsome from every angle. Even up this close, his features were impeccable.

Quentin cupped her cheeks, his slightly cool lips capturing hers. They clung to each other intimately, savoring the moment.

Just as things escalated and threatened to go too far, Ivy’s phone rang. Pulling back from the bliss, she opened her eyes and nudged the man on top of her. "The breakfast I ordered is here. Get up and eat first."

"I’ll get the door." Quentin sat up to answer it, leaving Ivy to go freshen up.

Ivy had ordered a hearty spread. After Quentin set the food out, he walked into the bathroom. Seeing her brushing her teeth, he stepped right up behind her and wrapped his arms around her again. His broad palms rested against her lower abdomen, feeling the presence of both Ivy and their baby.

Throughout her pregnancy, Quentin had witnessed firsthand how difficult it was for an expecting mother. Everything was an inconvenience, from sleeping to using the restroom. She couldn’t even sleep flat on her back anymore. During her first trimester, she had suffered from constant nausea and morning sickness. Quentin wished he could have taken all that suffering upon himself. He resolved never to let her endure this kind of hardship again. One child would be more than enough.

"Hurry up and brush your teeth!" Ivy had already squeezed toothpaste onto his toothbrush. When he leaned in, she shoved it right into his mouth.

They stood there, one in front of the other, brushing their teeth together. Ivy finished first and quickly washed her face. By the time she was done, Quentin had finished as well. She was just about to leave when he pulled her back.

He pressed a firm kiss against her lips. Hovering just a breath away, he murmured, "We’ve brushed our teeth now. I can kiss you, right?"

Before Ivy could say a word, Quentin pinned her against the wall. The taste of mint filled her senses as his fiery tongue drove deep, picking up exactly where they had been interrupted by the delivery call.

By the time they finally walked out of the bathroom, breakfast was nearly cold.

After a quick meal, Quentin went to the study to take an overseas call.

Jason Summers’s company was nothing but a beautifully packaged shell. It looked legitimate on the surface, but in reality, it was completely empty—a total illusion.

"President Blackwood, we’ve targeted several of Jason’s businesses and found the same pattern across the board. We suspect his real assets aren’t kept in these places, but according to our investigation, these are the only companies under his name."

Jason was a cunning old fox. Judging by this, the vast majority of his wealth was undoubtedly tied to illicit sources; otherwise, he wouldn’t be hiding it so thoroughly.

"Trace the flow of his assets," Quentin ordered. He knew that digging up Jason’s black money wouldn’t be easy, so he dispatched additional personnel to investigate.

Meanwhile, the team tracking Jason’s whereabouts had yet to turn up any leads. There were definitely records of Jason arriving in Aethelgard, but after he landed, it was as if he had vanished off the face of the earth. No one knew where he was hiding. Even with Quentin’s blanket searches, they hadn’t found a single trace of him.

"Keep looking!" Quentin commanded.

The Mercer brothers arrived in Aethelgard later that morning.

"Little sister!" The moment Miles Mercer saw Ivy, he was a bundle of nerves. He pulled her into a tight hug. "You scared me half to death."

"Miles, brothers, how have you all been doing lately?" Ivy asked warmly. "How is Grandpa? And Nina? Is everyone okay?"

"They’re doing great. Don’t worry about them. You’re the one who terrified me." Miles held onto Ivy, looking her up and down for a long while. Frowning, he asked, "Did you lose weight again? Is he not taking good care of you?"

"How have I lost weight? I’ve actually gained a few pounds."

"Gaining a little is good. If you get any thinner, Grandpa’s heart will ache to death. He talks about you every single day, saying he wants to come see you."

"Grandpa doesn’t know about this incident, right?"

Miles shook his head. "We didn’t dare tell him. If the old man found out, he’d more than likely end up in the hospital from the shock."

"Little sister, do you want to come back to Elandra with us?" Miles suggested.

"Jason is currently in hiding," Ivy replied. "Even if I go to Elandra, he’ll definitely follow me there. We still don’t know what his ultimate goal is—whether he wants to kill me, or if he wants to get his hands on something I have. But if we do catch him, I really want to see him face-to-face."

She wanted to know once and for all if Jason Summers was truly her father. And if he was, she needed to know how he could be so ruthless as to murder her mother.

"That old fox! He’s too cunning," Miles spat. "To think he hid it so well all these years, fooling every single one of us! If we had known earlier, we would have apprehended him and dealt with him a long time ago. Keeping a man like that alive is a danger to everyone."

These powerful figures had all gathered under one roof, but unfortunately, Jason was still at large.

Just as they were discussing their next move, the doorbell rang.

Quentin walked over. He checked the peephole first before unlocking the door.

It was none other than Ovillette. He looked as though he had barely slept, with dark circles bruising the skin under his eyes. Following right behind him was Zion Landon.

"Mr. Ovillette."

"King."

Ivy and the Mercer brothers greeted him in unison.

Ovillette hardly knew how to face Ivy and the Mercers. "You’re all here. I..."

He was momentarily at a loss for words. After all, he had wronged both Ivy and the Mercer Family. Seeing the Mercers now filled him with profound guilt.

The Mercer Family was Elandra’s top nobility. Though they didn’t participate directly in the nation’s politics, they controlled its economy. Elandra wouldn’t be where it was today without their backing. Yet here he was—a man who shared a past with Winter Mercer, but couldn’t remember a single detail of it. Having practically ignored their existence for years, he felt deeply apologetic toward the Mercers.

Seeing the King stammering, unsure of how to express himself, Zion stepped in. "Davi still refuses to talk. He keeps insisting that he doesn’t know how to hypnotize anyone and that he never did. I’ve tried everything on my end, but Mr. Ovillette still can’t recall anything through my methods. So I thought, if he truly forgot about Winter Mercer, then spending more time looking at Ivy—who looks so much like her—might help trigger his memories."