Chapter 461: It’s Not That Ivy Sherwood Can’t Leave Him, but That He Can’t Be Without Her

"She’s probably lost her mind," Quentin said.

Even a madman like Quentin wouldn’t do something so depraved.

To have a relative who’s good to you and still alive is a blessing you couldn’t even ask for. How could anyone murder them?

Especially when they’re your only family.

He and Ivy had both grown up without the love of family. If they had someone like that, they would be scrambling to treasure them.

"Was it for you?" Ivy guessed at once.

Quentin fell silent for a moment. "Yes."

"So foolish." Even Ivy thought it was stupid.

She used to be quite envious of Joy Sheridan. Even though her parents were gone, she still had a grandfather who loved her so much. But to kill her own grandfather for Quentin... Joy would surely regret it someday.

"When Old Master Sheridan was suddenly poisoned before, she was the one who did it to force me to go back to her. You saw it that time. Old Master Sheridan was a pitiable man. He spent his whole life devoted to Joy, only to end up like that."

"When I first left the Blackwood Family, I was only fourteen. It was really hard to get a foothold in Aethelgard. Old Master Sheridan helped me a lot. I’ve always been grateful to him. Normally, whatever the Sheridan Family needed, I’d lend a hand if I could."

"The shooting that happened later... Old Master Sheridan took a bullet for me. You could say he died because of me. As he was dying, he entrusted Joy to me. He was on his last breath... I... I couldn’t say no. My mind was a complete mess back then, and I didn’t know how to face you."

"I investigated everything at the scene at the time and found the person who hired the assassin. I didn’t have time to dig deeper then, and I didn’t think Joy had anything to do with it. It was only later that I found out she had arranged the whole thing."

Quentin spoke slowly, his voice hoarse.

Ivy listened quietly. She had only heard Quentin rush through this story last time. Hearing it now, she felt a knot tightening in her chest.

’If this is true, then Quentin is actually quite innocent in all of this.’

’To have to throw away his entire life because of that twisted love...’

’Being exceptional and brilliant is never a person’s fault. The ones at fault are those with twisted minds.’

Ivy reached out and gently hugged Quentin, wanting to be just a little closer to him.

"I don’t even know how I got through those days. I know I wronged you, but I... I had no choice but to push you away back then. The things I said last time were all lies. Can you please not take them to heart?"

Ivy said, "I’ll have to think about it."

"Later, I secretly went back to Lustre. You were drunk at the time."

Ivy remembered. "So it wasn’t Elijah Hawthorne who took me home that day. It was you!"

No wonder she’d seen a familiar figure in her half-asleep, half-awake state. It really had been Quentin.

"Mhm," Quentin nodded.

Back then, he’d heard that Ivy and Elijah Hawthorne were together. Worried that Elijah might do something to her, he had rushed over through the night.

It was a good thing he’d come back, or else he would never have realized that his own feelings for Ivy had reached an almost perverse level.

Quentin felt he was beginning to understand Joy’s kind of affection. Perhaps he felt the same way about Ivy.

If someone tried to take Ivy from him, he might go mad too, forcibly making her his and his alone.

But luckily, he was the one who met Ivy first.

Before she could meet anyone else, he had snatched her up and pulled her into his world.

Perhaps this was the one window God opened for him after closing so many doors.

Before, Quentin would have been extremely confident, thinking no man in the world could surpass him. But now, Adrian Jacobs felt he couldn’t even catch the Mercers’ eye, not when their whole family was so exceptional.

"So, did you secretly follow me before, too?"

"Yes." Quentin admitted it all.

At the time, he just wanted to see Ivy a few more times. He simply couldn’t let go so easily.

"It was only after we separated that I realized I was the one who couldn’t leave. I’m the one who can’t live without you."

He might just be one ray of light in Ivy’s world. Ivy could have her own life; her world had plenty of other lights. If she wanted, she could start a new life at any time.

He had always known that Ivy was the type who would never cling desperately. Once she let go, it was a clean break. If he hadn’t come looking for her, she might never have looked for him in her entire life.

But Ivy... she was the only light in his world. Once that light disappeared, his world would plunge back into darkness.

Quentin was an extremely guarded person. It wasn’t easy to enter his world.

Nor was he someone who fell for people easily, but there was a clean, beautiful quality about Ivy that had always drawn him in.

He even felt as if he and Ivy had known each other for many, many years.

Ivy reached over and clasped Quentin’s hand. "If what you’re saying is true, then I hope we can be together forever."

"Quentin, I hate being deceived more than anything. If you lie to me again, I will never forgive you."

"I’m not lying to you." How could he ever bear to lie to Ivy?

"So, how is Joy Sheridan doing now?"

"She’s in the old Sheridan family estate. I have people watching her. I hear she’s emotionally unstable, screaming like a madwoman every day."

That house is where Old Master Sheridan raised her. Although it’s much better than a basement, it’s filled with her memories. She already knew she was wrong when she was clinging to Old Master Sheridan’s tombstone. Being in that house, all alone... that is the greatest torture for her.

The people watching her say she cries and throws tantrums every day, claiming the villa is haunted. She doesn’t dare step into Old Master Sheridan’s room, but Quentin’s men throw her in every time, forcing her to confront what she’s done.

Ivy didn’t pity her. Pitiful people often have their own hateful qualities.

You can’t force feelings. Only mutual love can lead to a lasting relationship.

Joy Sheridan started with a great hand, but she played her cards terribly.

"Quentin, I’m sleepy..." Ivy’s voice grew softer and softer.

She closed her eyes, her eyelids indeed growing heavy.

She had to admit, Quentin was a good sleeping pill. Before, she’d lie awake all night, but in his arms, she could fall asleep easily.

She could almost understand why Quentin had called her his sleeping pill.

"Go to sleep." Quentin’s other hand patted Ivy’s back, but he didn’t close his eyes.

The room was rather dark, with only a faint glow filtering in from outside. He just watched Ivy like that.

If Ivy were to open her eyes at that moment, she would see someone whose gaze was filled with nothing but her.