Ivy Tanner shook her head vigorously. "No!"
"Why not?" Ethan Kingsley asked patiently.
Ivy Tanner pouted and mumbled quietly, "Brother Kingsley bit me and hit me. It hurts."
"It won't be like this anymore. I won't bite you or hit you again. I won't hurt you. I'll be good, okay?"
"Uhh..." Ivy Tanner tilted her head, as if in thought.
Ethan Kingsley reached out and gently tousled the damp ends of her hair, his tone unnervingly gentle. "Little Cutie, I'll take care of you for the rest of your life. I won't let anyone bully you ever again."
At his words, a fleeting look of shock—or perhaps panic—flashed in Ivy Tanner's eyes.
'He said he'd take care of me for the rest of my life, but last time he explicitly said that was impossible. Does he just want to keep me forever... like a dog?'
'Eventually, he's going to marry Corinne Linden. No wife in the world would tolerate her husband keeping another woman, even if that woman is an idiot.'
'This won't end well!'
