As soon as Dr. Martinez walked out the door, Arlo turned to glare at his son.
"Adrian, I swear I could slap you to death right now. Do you even realize what you've done?"
Adrian stood frozen, stunned by the intensity of his father's anger. He lowered his head and didn't dare say a word.
"Do you have any idea how important Hudson is to the future of our family?" Arlo continued, voice shaking with fury. "I've told you time and time again—not to judge people by appearances. You just saw a young guy and assumed he wasn't worth anything! Your arrogant behavior nearly destroyed our family's future!"
Arlo was so furious that his whole body trembled. He looked like he was barely holding himself back from collapsing again out of frustration.
Suddenly, Adrian dropped to his knees.
"Dad, I get it—I really do. I was wrong. I'll find a way to fix this, I swear."
He understood perfectly what his father was saying.
Ever since his clash with Hudson—and witnessing the young man's skill—Adrian had known he'd messed up. While Hudson was treating his father, he'd been racking his brain trying to think of a way to fix things, to get back in the young man's good graces.
After all, with someone like Hudson—a young martial arts prodigy—the Lewis family couldn't afford to be on bad terms.
"Hmph. You better swallow your pride and apologize!" Arlo snapped. "If this family suffers because of your stupidity, I won't sit back and let it slide."
Adrian didn't dare argue. He quickly got up and left.
Meanwhile, Ivory was with Hudson in the courtyard, talking about her grandfather's condition, when Adrian suddenly showed up at the gate.
"Uncle, is something wrong?" she asked, surprised.
Adrian didn't respond. He walked straight past her, not even making eye contact. Once he stood in front of Hudson, he reached into his coat and pulled out a gleaming dagger.
The moment the knife appeared, the mood instantly shifted.
Ivory instinctively stepped in front of Hudson, her posture protective.
"Ivory, what are you doing?" Adrian looked at his niece, clearly confused.
Ivory stared back at him, her expression cold and suspicious. "Uncle, shouldn't I be the one asking you that?"
Realizing how abrupt his actions must have seemed, Adrian quickly forced a smile and explained, "You're overthinking this. I just came to apologize to Mr. Brown."
Apologize? Ivory was stunned. Her beautiful face twisted in exasperation. "Uncle, if you came to apologize, then just apologize. Why did you have to pull out a knife?" She nearly had a heart attack.
Suddenly, Adrian dropped to his knees, holding the dagger with both hands and offering it to Hudson. His face was serious.
"Mr. Brown," he said sincerely, "I was blind and arrogant before. I offended you, and I'm here to accept whatever punishment you see fit."
On the way over, Adrian had gone through countless apology scenarios in his mind—offering money, groveling, even begging. But in the end, he figured the best way was to hand the choice over to Hudson himself. No matter how much he begged, it might not feel genuine. But this—this showed he was serious.
Hudson, who had remained calm and distant the whole time, looked at Adrian's gesture and chuckled.
"Adrian, get up. I didn't take what happened to heart. Let's just leave the past behind."
Over the past five years, Hudson had been through countless situations where he was looked down on and mocked—especially in the Wilson family. He had learned to let things go. What Adrian did was nothing compared to that.
Besides, now that he was staying with the Lewis family, it wasn't the right time to stir up drama over an old grudge.
But Adrian shook his head, still kneeling. "No, I can't just let it go. If you don't punish me, I'll feel like something's missing. Really—if you want, just give me one stab. I can take it."
Hudson blinked in surprise. 'What kind of request is that?' he thought.
He looked down at the dagger. For a moment, he really considered playing along just to teach Adrian a lesson. But he wasn't that petty.
Instead, he shot a glance at Ivory. She understood immediately.
With a smile, she reached out and gently took the dagger from Adrian's hands.
"Uncle, Hudson isn't the kind of person who holds grudges. He already said it's in the past—so let it go and get up."
Relieved deep down, Adrian finally stood up and grinned awkwardly.
He turned to Hudson and said earnestly, "If there's ever anything you need from me—anything at all—I'll do my best to help."
Ivory, seeing how eager Adrian was to please, felt that if he kept talking, he might actually annoy Hudson again. So, she gave her uncle a gentle nudge on the arm.
"Uncle, I'll take care of things here. You should go back and keep an eye on Grandpa."
"Alright, alright. I'll leave you two to it. I won't be the third wheel." Adrian gave them a meaningful smile before walking away.
Ivory immediately knew her uncle had misunderstood the situation between her and Hudson. She wanted to clear it up—but the moment passed. And when she looked at Hudson again, her eyes darted away, and her cheeks turned pink.
The easy, peaceful mood from earlier had suddenly become awkward, thanks to Adrian's words.
Trying to shift the atmosphere back, Ivory took a soft breath and said, "Hudson, you must be tired after earlier. Why don't you get some rest? Let's have breakfast together tomorrow."
"I have something to take care of in the morning. Don't worry about me," Hudson replied calmly.
He hadn't forgotten—tomorrow was the day he planned to file for divorce from Freya.
Ivory frowned a little. "Is it something you can tell me about? Maybe I can send someone to help."
She didn't want to lose him. Someone as skilled and strong as Hudson wasn't easy to come by, and he'd said before that her grandfather's condition would require continued acupuncture. If he left now, she wasn't sure he'd come back.
Hudson gave a half-smile and asked, "Can someone else handle a divorce?"
"Divorce?" Ivory's eyes widened in disbelief.
She hadn't even realized Hudson was married. Not once had that crossed her mind.
After relieving herself, Ivory returned with an awkward smile. She wanted to know more—who exactly was Hudson's wife? Why were they getting divorced?—but when the words reached her lips, she couldn't bring herself to ask.
She knew better. No matter what their connection was, there were boundaries, and she still had enough self-restraint to respect them.
Taking a deep breath, Ivory said gently, "Hudson, if that's the case, I won't hold you up. But once you're done with everything, give me a call. I'll come pick you up."
Hudson nodded. Ivory didn't say anything else. She turned around, stepped out of the courtyard, and gently closed the door behind her.
As she walked toward her grandfather's room, her thoughts began to wander.
Who could possibly be lucky enough to marry someone like Hudson—a genius in martial arts, calm and composed under pressure, strong yet humble? She couldn't wrap her head around why anyone would willingly let go of someone like that.
Then another thought struck her. If he was really getting a divorce… wouldn't that mean she had a chance?
She wasn't exactly young anymore, and her grandfather had been pushing her to settle down. Sure, a lot of men pursued her, but none of them ever truly caught her interest.
Hudson was different. Even though she hadn't known him long—and her first impression hadn't been great—he'd quickly proven himself to be someone reliable and admirable. The more she thought about him, the more her heart fluttered.
By the time she arrived at the small courtyard, she was visibly excited.
Arlo looked up when he saw her. "Ivory, did you get everything settled for Hudson?"
She nodded and filled him in on the situation.
When he heard that Hudson was married, the old man's expression faltered. He sighed in disappointment.
He had been quietly observing Hudson these past few days and was very impressed. In fact, he'd been thinking it wouldn't be a bad idea for Ivory and Hudson to develop a deeper relationship. If the two of them ended up together, the Lewis family's future would look even brighter.
But to find out he was already married? That changed things.
"Grandpa, why are you sighing like that?" Ivory asked, noticing his shift in mood.
"I thought he wasn't married. You're not getting any younger either, and I figured this might be the right match for you."
There was no point in hiding his thoughts—they were family, after all.
Ivory smiled shyly and murmured, "But… Hudson said he's filing for divorce tomorrow."
"What?" Arlo's eyes widened. "He's getting divorced?"
The disappointment vanished from his face, replaced by genuine surprise and barely concealed excitement.
He took a deep breath and composed himself before turning serious. "Ivory, listen to me. Hudson is a great man. If he's getting divorced, that's your chance. Don't let it slip away. You understand? Remember, they say a man chasing a woman is like climbing a mountain. But when a woman chases a man, it's just a thin veil between them. You need to take the initiative. Don't be shy."
Ivory blushed and nodded, then quickly left the room.
On her way out, still lost in her thoughts, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her face turned bright red, and she stomped her foot in embarrassment.
"Ivory, what are you even thinking? He hasn't even divorced yet, and you're already getting ahead of yourself?" she said to herself.
She suddenly felt a bit ashamed of her thoughts.
When the night quietly passed. Over at the Willson residence, Freya was still sound asleep when her phone started ringing. She reached for it groggily—and when she saw who was calling, her face instantly changed.