The Kiss that Sparked it All

Chapter 1972

Balfour wasn’t in the mood to probe further, simply murmuring a response as his gaze shifted to the gashes on her arm. “What happened to your arm?”

“I accidentally scratched it.” Ivy had been so emotionally scattered that she hadn’t even noticed her own injury. It was only when Balfour’s grip tightened that she felt the sting.

She had scratched Clara’s face in the heat of an argument, and Clara had retaliated with equal measure, leaving several deep gashes on Ivy’s arm.

Balfour’s brow furrowed. “Hurting that bad from just a scratch? Come on, tell me the truth!”

“It was Clara, my With a resigned sigh, Ivy relayed what happened earlier to Balfour. “It was Clara, half–sister. She accused me of being loose, completely messed up my interview, and then she hit me. I lost it and hit her back.”

The look in Balfour’s eyes was hard to decipher.

What kind of life had this woman led to grow up into the person she was today? What had she been through?

“Why didn’t you tell your family about your current status as Mrs. Howard? If you did, they wouldn’t dare lay a finger on you.”

Ivy fell silent at his question.

name of the Howard family could keep the

trouble. The Dunhills were insatiable in their greed, knowing her connection with the Howards would only make them more

and didn’t

dollars would make them leave me alone. If they knew about my connection to

spreading her hands in resignation. “I can only use the Howard name for a year, and then fill be back to

a mysterious smile. You seem quite clear–headed now! When push

slight smile caught ivy off guard, she had

him to have such a

a moment, she suddenly realized it was impolite

her eyes. “I was concerned about the Harris Group pursuing my responsibility, potentially embarrassing the Howards. I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful from now on to avoid

her with an unfathomable gaze. “Next time something like this happens, feel free to reveal

the Howard name as

a blessing. Having the Howards backing her, she wouldn’t

glanced at him and stayed silent.

not use the Howard family as a shield; that protection had an expiration date of one year, and that year would pass quickly.