Chapter 4 You Would Have Died There

Ivanka was rendered speechless. The Xu family was the biggest tycoon in all of A City, and they could easily affect the city's economy. She didn't expect that the man in front of her wouldn't take it seriously at all. Who on earth was he? Thinking of the situation she was in, Ivanka was beginning to worry. Something happened to her family, so she really had to go home as soon as possible. She couldn't afford to be wasting her time in this place.

As though he had seen through her mind, Liam sneered, "Ivanka, don't bother trying to escape. Listen, no one can take you out of this place unless I say so."

Ivanka was getting so desperate.

She had been confined in this room for three whole days, and a nurse came to see her every hour. Ivanka could tell that she was not in the hospital, but in a luxurious house.

It took three days for her to fully recover. She was still wearing the same yellow dress she wore when she went to the club. Although the dress looked so beautiful before, it was now wrinkled beyond recognition because she had been bedridden for three days.

"Creak!" A servant opened the door.

"Mrs. Xiao, these are the clothes Mr. Xiao has bought for you," a servant walked in holding a bag of clothes and politely said in a low voice, making sure not to frighten her.

Hearing the servant address her as Mrs. Xiao gave Ivanka such a headache. This was how she had been addressed by everyone who came to see her these past couple of days. She was completely against the servants calling her Mrs. Xiao, but no matter how much she complained, it was no use. That was because all of them were obedient to Liam.

After taking her first shower in three days, Ivanka put on a clean cotton dress. She walked out of the room with her hair down and was surprised to see the decoration outside.

The house looked huge and the long hallway didn't seem to have an end. The sunlight illuminated the murals on the wall through the glass window. Ivanka looked up at the paintings on the wall. Even though she was well-versed in art, she still couldn't help feeling a little surprised. All of them were masterpieces, and each one could be considered priceless. She wasn't expecting to see such a painting every three meters in this house.

Just how rich was this man?

Ivanka suddenly recalled what he said to her the other day, "Bruce is just an insignificant figure from the Xu family. He doesn't even have the qualifications to be my opponent." It seemed that it wasn't just an exaggeration. It was quite easy for someone as well off as him to do whatever he pleased. In this world, it was the rich who called the shots.

When she reached the end of the long hallway, she saw a spiral staircase. She slowly made her way downstairs.

Liam, who was drinking coffee at the table, couldn't take his eyes off her the moment he saw her. She really looked as pure and beautiful as the woman in his memory. It seemed as though she didn't suddenly disappear that day. She had been by his side all this time.

When she saw him, Ivanka stopped in her tracks. She wasn't expecting to see him here. If she had known that, she wouldn't have come downstairs in the first place. She stood frozen in the middle of the stairs, unsure whether she should go back up or come down.

His gaze didn't seem as intimidating. And much to her surprise, he said in such a gentle tone, "Come here and have lunch with me."

Ivanka went downstairs without saying a word and walked toward the table. A servant quickly walked over and pulled out a chair for her to sit down. Ivanka took a seat on his left.

A moment later, the servant served the dishes in front of Ivanka.

The two of them proceeded to have lunch in silence. Liam glanced at her and then at the food on her plate.

"Did you know you're allergic to alcohol?" Liam looked at her and remembered the rash all over her body that day. At the thought of that, his heart almost twitched. Then, he frowned slightly and asked, "Why did you drink that day?"

Ivanka took a piece of bread and spread jam on it. After taking a bite, she slowly said, "It's none of your business."

Hearing her response, a trace of anger flashed across Liam's face. Trying to hold back his anger, he said to her word by word, "Do you know that you would have died back there if it weren't for me?"

Holding a knife and fork in her hands, Ivanka paused for a second. Then, she casually replied, "If I was destined to die there, then so be it. Why did you save me anyway?"

She managed to regain her composure. There was a blank look in her eyes. And she was calm, cold, and couldn't care less about anything at all. Ivanka knew full well how allergic she was to alcohol. If she was exposed to alcohol, her throat would get swollen and she would have difficulty breathing. As a matter of fact, she almost died once in the past when she got drunk. It was Bruce who took her to the hospital and saved her. She could still remember how he had stayed by her side the whole night, and his eyes were bloodshot. With her life hanging in the balance, he held her hand tightly and whispered to her ear, "Ivanka, I will protect you for the rest of my life."

Ivanka had never forgotten the promise he made. In her heart, she truly believed that Bruce would keep her safe all her life, but she never would've expected that such a thing would happen. He ended up blaming her for everything. And he hated her to the core, wishing that she would die. For that reason, he forced her to drink a lot and left her alone in the staircase.

As a tear suddenly dropped on her plate, Ivanka realized that she was about to lose control. With this, she stood up in a hurry and said, "Enjoy your meal. I'm done eating."

As soon as she turned around, she felt a hand grab her by the arm.

Liam sprung up from his seat and forced her to turn around. As he looked at her watery eyes and red nose, a tinge of displeasure flashed across his eyes.

"What's wrong with you?" He held her face and looked her straight in the eyes, as though he was trying to read her mind.

"Nothing," she answered coldly as she averted her gaze.

Liam's heart was fuming with rage. Did she take him for a fool? He didn't even have to think hard to figure out why she cried.

"It's because of Bruce, isn't it?"

"I don't think that has anything to do with you," Ivanka said in a sharp tone.

"Nothing to do with me?" Liam furrowed his eyebrows and caressed Ivanka's face. It seemed that he was about to lose his temper. Without a warning, he grabbed her arm and dragged her upstairs.

Ivanka stumbled behind him, her heart pounding in her chest.

"What do you think you're doing?! Let go of me!" she shouted behind Liam's back.

"Let go of you?" Liam looked back at her and said firmly, "No way!" He walked so fast that Ivanka almost fell down a number of times.

Liam dragged her toward a room, opened the door, and roughly pushed her in.

Ivanka fell down hard onto the ground. The floor was covered with a thick wool carpet, and the long and white wool was high enough to cover her ankles. Thanks to that, she didn't get hurt when she fell on the ground.

"Are you out of your mind?" Ivanka was beside herself with anger. This man was insane! She furiously looked back at him, only to find him looking somewhere else. Following his gaze, she was left at such a loss for words.

The big room was filled with photos. There was a considerable amount of pictures, in different sizes, hanging on the wall. She almost couldn't believe her eyes.