He met her eager look and answered casually, "I enjoy watching horse races. As for balls, I rarely attend such events."

Ivy's heart sank. So he wasn't that man? But why did she feel...

Meanwhile, David smiled and asked, “Mr. Lancaster, now that you’ve achieved so much, do you have any plans regarding your personal life?”

Ivy couldn’t believe he dared to ask such a question and stared at him in shock. To her surprise, Ethan curled his lips into a faint smile. In a slow, deliberate tone, he said something that left everyone stunned, “I do have plans to get married soon.”

Listening to Ethan’s deep, pleasant voice, Ivy was left speechless for quite some time.

‘What? Mr. Lancaster… plans to get married?’

David, having hit the jackpot with this revelation, was grinning from ear to ear on the drive back, radiating joy.

Ivy, watched as David drove off without her, leaving her stranded. Just perfect–her own boss had totally ditched her.

“Ms. Collins!” Ivy was about to head home on her own when someone called out to her.

Turning around, she saw Ethan’s assistant approaching.

With a polite tone, the assistant asked, “Could I get your contact information, Ms. Collins? You can send me the photo whenever it’s convenient.”

Ivy exchanged contact details with him and said, “I’ll send the photo to you tonight.”

“No rush.” The assistant smiled courteously. “Take your time, Ms. Collins.”

“Goodbye,” Ivy said, turning to leave.

The assistant returned to the CEO’s office and handed Ethan his phone. “Mr. Lancaster, I’ve added Ms. Collins’ contact information.”

Ethan took the phone. Seeing that Ivy had accepted his friend request, he couldn’t help but smile.

“Well done. You can head home now.”

The assistant excused himself, barely able to hide the grin on his face. ‘Is the boss finally starting to date?’

In his office, Ethan checked Ivy’s social media profile.

‘Sometimes, you need a few special tactics to catch your prey.’ Ethan said to himself.

He scrolled through Ivy’s posts. She was quite active online, and her university life seemed vibrant and full of color. She often participated in volunteer activities and went on outdoor photography trips with her friends from the photography club. She also posted the occasional selfie, her smile bright and her eyes full of life.

Ethan found himself engrossed, going through her posts one by one. Before he realized it, evening had fallen.

A soft knock interrupted him. “Mr. Lancaster, the financial report from the accounting department is here,” his secretary said.

Ethan put down his phone, his tone calm. “Bring it over.”

After finishing his work, Ethan opened Ivy’s profile again, only to find that he could no longer see her posts.

‘Posts are only visible for three days?’

Ethan raised an eyebrow, chuckling softly to himself as he put the phone away.

*****

Ivy received a call from Richard, summoning her back to the Collins family home.

As soon as she arrived, Richard asked, “Did you mention the Collins Group to Mr. Lancaster today, like I told you?”

Ivy paused for a moment, then casually set her bag down. “Dad, Mr. Lancaster publicly fired three people who made him angry. How could I bring up the Collins Group under that circumstance? What if I upset him? Wouldn’t our group suffer the consequences?”

Richard frowned but didn’t press the issue further.

“Make sure you’re fully prepared for tomorrow’s birthday party. The announcement of your engagement to William is coming up. Nothing can go wrong, got it?”

Ivy nodded obediently, putting on a well-behaved act. Richard finally seemed satisfied and walked away.

After he left, Ivy retreated to her room to rest.

Her room was lavishly decorated, but she hadn’t stayed there for a long time.

The grand Collins family mansion didn’t feel like home for her.

At midnight, Ivy’s phone began buzzing non-stop with birthday wishes from her friends.

She lay in bed, smiling as she read through the messages and replied to each one.

Far away in another city, William had just gotten out of bed to get some water. On the other side of the bed, a woman in a silk nightgown was still asleep.

William glanced at the time and picked up his phone, noticing a reminder from his assistant that today was Ivy’s birthday.

He sat on the sofa and called Ivy.

“Happy birthday, Ivy.”

The woman in bed was woken up by his voice. She quietly got out of the bed, walked up behind William, and wrapped her arms around his neck, chiming in sweetly, “Liam, who are you talking to?”

Hearing the woman’s voice, Ivy immediately gave William an excuse. “Are you still at a business dinner? Have an early rest. I have a lot to do tomorrow, so I’ll hang up now.”

Ivy set her phone down, feeling irritated. Her birthday had started off on a sour note, thanks to William’s call.

The thought of William possibly being with another woman disgusted her. Suddenly, she remembered she still needed to send the photo to Ethan’s assistant. Climbing out of bed, she transferred the photos from her camera to her laptop and began editing.

Ethan was so photogenic that no angle could make him look bad. As she edited the images, Ivy noticed a small red mark on his Adam’s apple—a mole, in a rather sensual and eye-catching spot. She couldn’t help but swallow, her mind wandering to some rather inappropriate thoughts.

Ivy shook her head, scolding herself silently. ‘I must be losing my mind.’

After finishing the edits, Ivy stared at the photo for a while longer before finally sending it to Ethan’s assistant.

At 1 AM, Ethan’s phone chimed. He was still in his study, reviewing some documents.

He opened the message to find that Ivy had sent him the photo.

Ivy: Sorry for the late delivery. Let me know if you need any adjustments.

Ethan raised an eyebrow. Ivy had no idea that the person she was messaging was him.

Slowly, he typed his reply.

CE: It’s perfect. No changes needed.

Ivy immediately replied with a cute sticker, clearly pleased by the compliment.

Ethan’s lips curled into a smile.

CE: It’s late. Get some rest.

CE: Happy birthday.

Ivy had just climbed back into bed when she saw the birthday message, and was taken aback.

‘How does the assistant know it’s my birthday?’ she thought.