Remarried Wife: Mr. Ex, We Will Never Reconcile!-Chapter 81: Ian Kane Trapped in Crisis

The man kissed her, fervent and intense.

Even now, she still remembered the faint tremble in her body.

She pinched her palm hard with her fingertips, felt the pain, and skimmed her gaze over the beams of dusk, once again landing on the man sitting by the wall.

He was hidden in the junction of light and shadow, his contours as cold and hard as a sculpture, his fingertips repeatedly rubbing... a black chess piece.

It was indeed Noah Grant.

However, how could it be?

It was just another dream, or perhaps a fever-induced hallucination.

He was a proper gentleman, a man of virtue, and would never get involved with a married woman like her, doing something that would cause him to fall from grace.

In the luxuriously decorated hospital room, only the two of them were there.

Only then did Vera begin to think, why was he here, how long had he been keeping watch?

"Brother, why are you here?" she blurted out, her voice hoarse as sandpaper.

Noah Grant lifted his gaze, meeting her pale face across the dim room, his eyes paused slightly at her crimson lips, then immediately pocketed the chess piece, stood up, and walked toward her.

The tall, upright man’s silhouette was noble and calm, yet silent.

Vera guessed, "Is it Maeve who asked you to help me?"

She had thought Maeve would directly confront Ian Kane.

Noah Grant reached the bedside, looking at her with deep eyes, speaking in a flat tone, "I sought her out and learned from her that Ian Kane brought you here for IVF treatment."

Vera was stunned.

The air was so still that the sound of the drip falling in the tube could be heard.

After a while, a hint of a smile appeared on her lips, breaking the silence, "It’s troublesome for you again, thank you."

It seemed that the failed IVF was also due to his intervention...

Noah Grant lifted his eyelids, looking at her on the hospital bed, her face pale, the smile at her lips so polite it was glaring.

Polite.

He looked down at her, his gaze locking onto her, saying nothing, as various emotions surged and intertwined in his deep eyes.

Vera sensed his oddness, their eyes met.

The atmosphere was subtle.

The world was so quiet that only the floating particles of light in the air kept leaping.

Vera’s throat felt dry, and that absurd thought emerged once more— 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"Knock knock knock—"

The knock on the door interrupted the subtle atmosphere in the hospital room.

Vera snapped out of it.

Noah Grant also turned around, facing the entrance of the hospital room.

"Mr. Grant, has Miss Sheridan woken up?" The one knocking was a female doctor, wearing a white coat, her smile warm as she walked in, followed by two nurses.

Noah Grant nodded slightly, "Yes, she has just woken up, and the fever has subsided."

With that, he walked to the outside room.

Vera looked at the medical staff, thinking that this was Ian Kane’s hospital, yet Noah Grant openly appeared in her room, making her subtly uneasy, though quickly considering that if he could thwart the IVF, these medical staff were probably also "handled" by him.

The doctor gave her a quick check, confirmed the fever was gone, and promptly left.

Noah Grant brought in a food box, handed her a cup of warm water, and set up the hospital bed tray.

When a bowl of sweet osmanthus lotus root porridge was placed on the table, Vera’s eyes lit up.

The fragrance of osmanthus mixed with glutinous rice wafted into her nose, just smelling it felt sweet and warm, and it reminded her of the first time she went with Professor Donovan to The Grant Residence, when Grandma Grant served her the same dish.

It was the best sweet osmanthus lotus root porridge she ever tasted, and later, whenever she visited, Grandma Grant would have the kitchen prepare a pot for her.

So, it must have been Grandma Grant who asked him to help her and deliver the food.

Vera picked up the spoon and started eating without any burden.

Noah Grant placed old chicken soup, stewed lion’s head, shiitake mushrooms with greens, rice, and so on, one after another, while Vera kept saying "thank you."

With the last "thank you," the man’s movement of setting down the bone plate was noticeably a bit louder, prompting Vera to look up and meet his not-so-good expression, feeling a bit inexplicably uneasy.

"Brother, it’s late, if you have tasks to attend to, there’s no need to stay with me," Vera suggested.

Noah Grant heard what sounded like an eviction order, his gaze darkened, and his voice deepened, "I’m not busy."

Vera, "..."

She lowered her head, her pace of eating the porridge slowing.

Noah Grant watched her swallowing food with difficulty, his jaw tightened, "Keep eating, Maeve will come to see you later. As for Ian Kane, he probably..." he paused.

Right now, Ian Kane didn’t have time to take care of her.

Vera remembered that Ian Kane was still probably entangled with Serena Everett, and felt a sense of shame rise in front of Noah Grant, bowing her head even lower.

Noah just assumed she was feeling down, "I’m heading out first."

After he spoke, he glanced at the lunch box and deliberately didn’t take it.

When he reached the door, Vera regained her senses and hurriedly raised her voice, "Senior, take care on your way."

Noah looked back at her, gently closed the door.

As soon as he got in the car, he picked up a pack of cigarettes, shook one out, placed it at the corner of his mouth and quickly lit it, taking several puffs before slowly exhaling the smoke and leaning back into the seat.

In the dim light, he was surrounded by a faint sense of desolation.

...

Meanwhile, Ian Kane was embroiled in a malicious attempt to bottom-fish and acquire the Kane Group’s stock price and seize control, under investigation by the Securities Regulatory Commission.

The affected shareholders now realized that the previous plunge in the Kane Group’s stock price was a trap set by Ian. They unfurled banners and blocked the entrance of the Kane Group, demanding an explanation.

The once esteemed "entrepreneur" and "philanthropist" Ian Kane had become a despised heartless capitalist.

In the hotel, inside a luxurious private box.

Ian Kane was socializing with people from the Securities Regulatory Commission.

Amidst the smoky haze, with a cigarette at his lips, he sat in the chair, the smoke obscuring his handsome face, a smirk playing at his lips.

Sitting diagonally across the large round table, a middle-aged man eyed him, grinning, "President Kane, I only discovered tonight that you can really hold your liquor. Last time I invited you to dinner, you didn’t drink a drop. I thought... you couldn’t drink."

Ian recognized the underlying accusation of arrogance and squinted slightly, shooting a glance over.

Through the swirling smoke, he recalled that the man’s surname was Vaughn.

Director Vaughn noticed his sharp gaze and remembered his tactics, feeling a chill down his neck.

Yet, the next moment, Ian stood up, picked up a bottle of Wuliangye, and walked over.

"Brother Vaughn, last time I had a stomach ailment, my wife was nagging me not to drink. You know how it is, I’m henpecked, sorry about that."

"My stomach’s better now, so I’ll make up for it this time."

Director Vaughn was momentarily stunned, feeling rather honored, and tentatively asked, "The whole bottle?"

Ian’s stomach seized with pain, but he maintained his composure, looking at him for a moment before nodding.

Unexpectedly, the other party pushed further, grabbing a bottle of red wine and handing it over, "President Kane, how about mixing red with white?"

Mixing drinks makes one easier to get drunk and harms the liver and stomach more.

Ian bit the cigarette filter, raised his hand to call the waiter, and instructed to mix them together.

After the two drinks were mixed, he held up the one-liter cocktail glass, downing it under the smug and disdainful gazes around the table.

Elias, who was standing outside the box, inadvertently saw this scene when the waiter served the dishes, his brow furrowing slightly.

He broke into a cold sweat for those instigators.

...

Before getting in the car, Ian vomited three times, a bloody taste rising in his throat.

As soon as he settled into his seat, he got a call from Jean Crowe.

"Ian! What’s going on with you? You haven’t even secured the head of the family position for a few days, and you’re already at risk of losing it? How am I supposed to hold my head up in front of the Kanes in the future?!"

Upon hearing this, Ian gritted his teeth, hand clutched to his abdomen, a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead, "Mom, it’s nothing, just rumors spread by rivals. I’ll calm it down soon."

Jean’s expression softened, "You, you constantly worry me. You’ve been drinking, haven’t you? Drink less next time."

Ian replied with an "Hmm."

Jean gave him a few more reminders and hung up the call, after which he took the stomach medicine handed over by Elias.

"A special remedy Madam brought back from Silvanos for you." Elias added.

Ian paused, then quickly swallowed it down, "Take me to the hospital..."

Elias raised an eyebrow and advised, "President Kane, maybe you should rest at home first. There’s a press conference tomorrow morning."

Ian leaned back against the seat, not saying a word.

Elias understood and instructed the driver, "To the hospital."

...

After washing up, Vera checked the news online and discovered that not only had Ian plotted against her and Old Master Kane, but he had also caused many shareholders to lose everything.

A year ago, his accolades of "National Outstanding Young Entrepreneur" and "Philanthropist of the Year" were still fresh in her mind.

Of course, the incident where he risked his life in a car accident to protect her...

Now, it all seemed like a mockery.

It wasn’t that he had changed.

He was a devil wrapped in an angel’s guise all along.

Vera turned off the light and lay down.

Half asleep, noises from the hospital room woke her. Just as she was about to turn on the light, the bed sank beside her, and a strong smell of smoke and alcohol filled her nose.

"Honey..." In the stillness of the night, a man’s drunken, murmured call resonated.