"I'm fine, Christian." Ivy gripped his hand on her face, nuzzling into his palm with a reassuring nod.

Christian exhaled, rubbing his thumb against her cheek. "Get in bed. I'll have someone send warm food for you. Get some sleep. I'll be back in a bit, alright?"

Ivy nodded. “Aren’t you going to change? You’ll catch a cold.”

“It’s alright. I’ll be back soon, don’t worry.”

Christian leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to her lips before turning to leave the room, and then the house.

***

"This party was even grander than I expected. Adrian is swimming in billions tonight from all the deals coming his way," Larry muttered, sitting across from Sawyer at his house, beer in hand.

Sawyer smirked. "This is supposed to be the biggest deal in his company’s history. He invited some of his biggest clients. If that incident hadn’t happened, the night would’ve been perfect.”

Larry set his beer down with a shake of his head. “Fucking Ryan. He was brainless in school, and he still continues his legacy.”

Sawyer took another sip of his beer, chuckling. "Christian went to deal with him already?"

Larry leaned back with a smirk. “With twenty men. Stormed the Walker estate just a while ago. Ryan was stupid enough to piss off Christian already. Christian never responded to that idiot because he found it bothersome. But that dumbass mistook it for weakness and had the audacity to harm Ivy?" Larry snorted. "He's fucking destroyed now. Before, he had a chance to live off his family’s wealth since the moron has no skills, but now? He’s doomed.”

“I saw Christian gave Ivy his family heirloom,” Sawyer muttered, leaning forward. “Ivy was wearing that bracelet today. That made it clear to everyone at the party already that she is part of his family. He must have made her wear it tonight for that exact reason—to stop people from messing with her."

“But Ryan is blind and dumb,” Larry scoffed, gulping the rest of his beer. “And now he’s about to learn what happens when Christian Evans gets angry.”

"It won’t be pretty." Sawyer chuckled, then his gaze sharpened. “Let’s go. Watch the show?”

Larry’s eyes lit up. He slammed the bottle on the table and shot out of his seat. "Why the hell didn’t I think of that? Let’s go, man. Get up!"

Excited, the two men rushed out of the house and headed to Ryan’s estate.

Half an hour later, they strode into the Walker estate. Silence loomed over the entire manor.

The only sound that filled the air was the panicked shouts of the servants.

Following the noise, Sawyer and Larry made their way through the house, toward the back, near the swimming pool.

And there, the reason for the commotion was clear.

More than twenty men, all dressed in black, Christian’s men, were restraining everyone in the Walker household. Ryan’s parents, the servants—every single person in the estate was held back, forced to watch from a distance.

At the edge of the pool, Christian kneeled on one knee. His hand was wrapped around Ryan’s head—holding him underwater.

Ryan’s arms flailed wildly, splashing frantically, his muffled screams lost in the water.

“Let go of him! Are you trying to kill my son?!” Ryan’s mother shrieked, tears streaming down her face. “He just pushed awoman into the pool! She’s not even dead! What’s so wrong with that? We’ll pay you money in exchange! Just let go of him!”

Larry scoffed, whispering to Sawyer, "She spoiled him with her blind love and money. Both of them never raised him to be anything more than an arrogant rich brat. And now? She’s just making things worse by running her mouth in front of Christian." Larry shook his head, amused. "She’s gonna get her son killed tonight."

Christian didn’t react. His dark gaze remained locked on Ryan.

As Ryan’s struggling weakened, Christian gripped his hair in a tight fist and yanked his head out of the water.

Ryan gasped, sucking in a sharp breath, coughing violently. His face was red, his eyes bloodshot. "Sor—I'm—" he sputtered.

Christian shoved his head back under.

Ryan’s father roared, “Let go of him! If anything happens to my son, we’ll make you pay!”