Chapter 481 - I Don’t Make Ladies Cry, Idiot.

"Why are we back here?" Carter inquired, watching Ivan walk towards the edge of the rooftop they went earlier that day. 

"Leaving a gift." Without looking back, Ivan placed the handkerchief that was wrapped recklessly. "Always return the kind gesture to someone — we're polite people." When Ivan was certain the wind wouldn't blow the handkerchief, he raised his head back to Carter. 

"We're done here." He announced, the side of his lips stretched a little wider. "I'm just showing you how to return the politeness of people. You can't be rude all the time." He said, casting him a knowing look before walking past him. 

"Anyway, I'll see you around." Ivan bid his farewell, patting Carter's shoulder before resuming in his steps. 

"Where are you going?" As Ivan left, Carter turned around and asked. 

Ivan knitted his brows, looking back at him. "Somewhere. This is where we part ways — not like I need to drop you off or you need to drop me off to my place." He said in a matter-of-fact tone. 

"I received an order that you'll be staying with us for a while." 

"What?" Ivan's brows furrowed even more, tilting his head to the side. "An order from your boss?" He asked, his right eyebrow raised. 

"From Miss Z." Without a second delay, Carter replied. "You don't know?" He inquired, a little puzzled how she could give such an order without letting Ivan know about it. 

"No way, man. No way." Upon the realization, Ivan shook his head sideways. "There's no way I'll come with you people." He added, still shaking his head in disbelief as he resumed in his steps. 

"Wait, but..." Carter immediately prompted to follow his tracks. "It's an order." He affirmed. However, Ivan's steps didn't stop as he continued on walking until they were on the hospital's ground floor. 

"Pass." Ivan refused, but Carter was persistently following him. "You," Annoyed, Ivan finally stopped in his tracks and turned to him. "When I say no, you have to respect that." He said, frowning as he didn't want someone like Carter tagging along with him.

"I would, but it's an order and I respect the order more than your rejection." Persistent, Carter argued solemnly. He was told to bring Ivan to the base. So, he would bring him there whether he was willing or not.

"Damn it…" Upon hearing his argument, Ivan ground his teeth as he cast him a disdainful glare. "I should have chosen that other guy to bring." He said, thinking that Ryan was less annoying than Carter.

"Whatever. If you're really persistent and wouldn't go away, even if I tell you, behave yourself!" Ivan sighed, conceding in defeat as he couldn't waste his time in this pointless argument. Therefore, he decided to let Carter tag along with him since he wouldn't come back despite telling him he wouldn't come with him.

With that being said and done, Carter, as instructed, didn't let the man go. He followed Ivan to wherever his destination was. After an hour of drive following Ivan, Carter's brows knitted as he stopped in front of a bar.

'A bar?' Carter wondered, watching Ivan hitch out of his motorcycle that he used earlier while Carter was in the company car. Without further ado, Carter departed the car and immediately followed Ivan.

As they entered the said establishment, Carter glanced at Ivan's side profile while the latter traveled his eyes around. He then saw Ivan fix his eyes on the corner table of the bar. The expression in his eyes was unexplainable as he sighed lightly.

'Huh?' Carter followed where Ivan was looking. There, a lady wearing large frame glasses was alone, drinking. 'Who is that?' He wondered, before Ivan took strides towards the bar counter. Carter followed immediately, taking the stool next to him.

"Beer for two." Ivan ordered the bartender. The bartender bowed his head and immediately served them their order.

"Who is that lady?" Out of curiosity, Carter inquired. The lady couldn't be his lover, right? After all, the lady appeared like a normal lady which didn't suit Ivan's lifestyle or his chaotic life.

Yet, Ivan didn't answer him as he glanced at the bottle of beer that the bartender served. Without further ado, Ivan took a sip from the bottle of beer, smacking his lips as he turned to Cora's direction. "I know she'll drink again tonight." He muttered, sighing heavily as he shook his head.

Carter, still baffled by Cora's identity, darted his eyes from Ivan to Cora, who began crying silently in the corner. "Err… is she your lover? Did you make her cry?" Since his first conclusion was wrong, Carter assumed that Ivan and the lady were former lovers.

His mind immediately concluded that Ivan probably played with the lady's delicate heart, and now she's crying while drinking. Even if Ivan had a weird taste of women and truly liked the old-fashioned looking lady, having a chaotic life would only drag the woman in his mess. Thus, they broke up? Carter's mind was quick to make conclusions which were a sort of possible.

"I don't make ladies cry, idiot." Ivan clicked his tongue in annoyance, casting Carter a side glance as he shook his head. "She's crying because of someone else, not because of me." He added as another heavy sigh slipped past his lips.

"Damn… my sis will kill me for keeping this a secret." Ivan mumbled, scratching the back of his head as he had been watching over Cora for the past week and the latter had been drinking alone at night.

Ivan didn't want to concern Zoey about this as her hands were full at the moment. Also, he didn't want to distract Zoey from her plans. Therefore, Ivan decided to make sure that Cora would be safe until she healed from whatever pain she was going through.

Carter remained silent as he studied Ivan's side profile. Ivan seemed really frustrated, but he didn't want to probe further as it was a personal affair. At the very least, Carter didn't want to put his nose in other people's personal affairs.

Just then, Carter turned his head back to Cora's direction. At this point, Cora was assisting herself up but failing miserably. She seemed to have drank a bit more than she could, which made her plop down the chair as she rested her head and arms on the table.

"Jeez!" Upon seeing that Cora passed out, Carter heard Ivan's annoyed voice before Carter saw him stand from his seat and approach the intoxicated lady. For some reason, Carter didn't follow him and watched Ivan reach Cora's table.

Meanwhile, when Ivan reached her table, he gazed down as his hand extended to her. "Hey, you can't sleep here." Ivan shook Cora's shoulder, but to no avail, she was akin to a withered flower. 

Upon realizing that Cora had more drinks tonight than the previous nights, he sighed as he squatted down. "Are you going to waste your life like this? You aren't capable of protecting yourself once you're in this state. How reckless…" He clicked his tongue, however, his tone this time was more gentle and benign. 

"Brother Zion…" Just then, Ivan heard her softly whisper the name of her heart's desire. The second Zion's name reached Ivan's ears, it silenced him.

"That guy wouldn't like a lady who only knows how to escape reality instead of confronting them. Come on, I'll take you home." After a minute of silence, Ivan muttered before reaching for her and carried her. Since she was too drunk, Cora was unaware that she was being carried out by him.

Usually, Ivan would only watch her from a distance and make sure she would get home safe and sound. Today was an exception because he had to carry her home himself.

"If I'm a bad person, you would regret ever drinking like this." Ivan gazed down at the lady in his arms, shaking his head sideways as Cora didn't even wake up after all the movements. Just then, Carter approached them.

"Let me borrow your car. I'll follow you back to wherever once I make sure she's safe and sound." Without a second delay, Ivan uttered without stopping in his tracks.

Carter, who was a little taken aback, but he still nodded his head as he glanced at Cora who was in Ivan's arms. "Sure." He said.. With that being said, Ivan took the car Carter was using earlier while Carter used Ivan's motorcycle and followed them to an apartment building not far away.