Chapter 627: Sorry to Disappoint You, I Am Not Quentin Blackwood

Why hadn’t she gone up to him? Why hadn’t she hugged him and stopped him from going after Jason Summers?

If she had known an accident would happen, she wouldn’t have let Quentin Blackwood go for anything in the world. Even if it meant letting Jason escape, she didn’t want to see anyone get hurt. If the price of killing Jason was the lives of so many people, she would rather nothing had happened at all. The other people who died in this accident were also someone’s family, and their families would be just as devastated as she was.

Elijah Hawthorne drove Ivy Sherwood back to the pier. It was already night, and the sea was pitch black, obscuring everything in the darkness. Xavier Mercer had already come ashore. Nina Scott was there too, and Miles Mercer and Connor Mercer had rushed over.

Seeing her brothers, Ivy said, "Xavier, why don’t you go rest for a while?"

"I’m fine. We’re all here for you, Ivy," Xavier replied.

Nina stepped forward. "Those of you who need to rest should go rest, and those who need to work should go work. I’ll stay here with Ivy."

Everyone knew Ivy needed some time to calm down, so they dispersed voluntarily, though they remained standing not too far away.

"Ivy, even though there’s no result today, it doesn’t mean it’s bad news," Nina said softly. "Maybe Quentin has already been saved. Isn’t that how it always is in TV shows? The main characters never die. They drift to some unknown place and then get rescued."

Ivy nodded. But she knew this wasn’t a TV show, and she wasn’t the main character. She had been alone since she was little. God had taken away her beloved mother, then snatched her grandfather away, and now, even Quentin was gone.

"If you want to cry, just cry it out. I’m right here! We’re best friends, aren’t we?"

Ivy shook her head. "I don’t want to cry. Nina, you should go rest too. You’ve been worrying all day—just look at the dark circles under your eyes. Don’t worry, I just want to sit by myself for a bit. I want to look at the stars."

Ivy looked up at the night sky. Although the weather tonight wasn’t as terrible as the night before, there were still no stars. She simply stared up. The sky was so dark, and it felt as though everything around her had been swallowed by the same inky blackness.

Suddenly, Ivy remembered a dream she had before. In that dream, there was only endless darkness, and she was constantly falling into a bottomless abyss. Now, it felt as if she was actually standing in that very abyss—just as dark, just as terrifying.

Was she dreaming?

Yes, she had to be dreaming. This was just a terrible nightmare. Once the dream ended, she would wake up, and Quentin would be right beside her, comforting her and telling her it was all just a bad dream.

But this dream was so horrific. Why hadn’t she woken up yet?

They clearly still had so many things left to do. They had made so many promises. He had said they would go to many places together, that he would put aside his work and take her traveling around the world. Quentin had said himself that he had sold himself to her, that he would listen to everything she said, and that as long as she told him to come to her side, he would come.

Why did he abandon her? Did Quentin not even want their baby anymore?

Sitting there, Ivy’s mind was flooded with every little memory of Quentin. Over the past year or so, so much had happened. They had been through so much and weathered countless storms together. She firmly believed he would return.

She thought, "I’ll wait for you for three more days at most. If you still don’t come back, I’m going to take your child and marry someone else. Our baby will call another man ’Daddy.’ I’m a ruthless person, you know. I always do what I say. Mr. Blackwood, why haven’t you come back yet?"

Waiting was the most paralyzing feeling in the world, especially when she was utterly powerless to do anything else.

By the time dawn broke the next day, Zane Linton had returned.

He had searched the sea for two days but found nothing. There wasn’t a single trace of Quentin. They had found the cruise ship, but the water was too deep for divers to reach it. They could only rely on machines for the search. Only the main hull of the ship remained; all the sturdy structures had been blown to who-knows-where, let alone a human body.

When Zane stood before Ivy, an overwhelming sense of helplessness surrounded him. "I’m sorry, Miss Sherwood."

They had tried their best, but it was undoubtedly like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Ivy nodded. "I know. Thank you for your hard work, Secretary Linton."

Her expression was stiff. She knew she couldn’t blame anyone for this; it had nothing to do with Zane. "Secretary Linton, you believe he’s fine too, right? He must just be too tired and found somewhere to hide and rest."

Zane parted his lips, not knowing what to say. He wanted to lie to himself as well, but if they couldn’t find him now, the chances of finding him later were nonexistent. Between the explosion and the tornado, there was no possibility of survival.

"He definitely wants to see us all doing well," Ivy continued. "Don’t worry, I’m doing great right now. Secretary Linton, you have to take care of yourself too."

Seeing Ivy like this, Zane felt his eyes well up with tears.

It wasn’t just Ivy who was struggling. Over at Old Master Mercer’s side, the original plan was for the family to take the ashes to Elandra within these two days. No one could have predicted this situation. Ivy certainly wouldn’t be going now, but the Mercer family wouldn’t feel at ease returning and leaving her here alone.

Thus, Ivy’s uncle, aunt, and Connor went back with her grandfather first, leaving Xavier and Miles behind to look after her.

Such a tragedy would inflict unbearable agony on anyone. Losing two of one’s closest loved ones back-to-back was more than anyone could endure.

For the next two days, Ivy continued to follow the rescue teams in their search. Clinging to a sliver of hope, she pressed on. Even though everyone else assumed Quentin was dead, Ivy firmly believed that as long as his body hadn’t been found, he was still alive.

But human endurance has its limits. Eventually, Ivy couldn’t hold on any longer and fainted.

She was rushed to the hospital. Fortunately, both she and the baby were fine, but the doctor warned that excessive grief was detrimental to a pregnant woman’s body. She needed to rest and stabilize her emotions as soon as possible.

Having gone so long without proper rest, Ivy slept for a very long time. She felt like she had a very long dream. In the dream, there was an explosion, and Quentin disappeared.

"Quentin!" She jolted awake, screaming his name.

She knew it! She had just been having a nightmare. It was all just a bad dream.

Noticing a man’s silhouette nearby, her eyes darted over. Elijah stood up. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not Quentin."

"Elijah? When did you get here? Why are you here?"

"You still recognize me. Looks like you haven’t lost your memory."

"Where’s Quentin?" Ivy asked.

Elijah retorted, "Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"

Ivy was speechless.

"The truth is that Quentin still hasn’t been found, and your body has reached its breaking point. The doctor said you must get proper rest now, or you might lose the baby," Elijah said, deliberately making it sound as severe as possible. "You want to keep Quentin’s child, don’t you? If you don’t want anything to happen to the baby, then take care of yourself. You believe Quentin is still alive, right? If you don’t look after your health, how are you going to be here when he comes back?"