Ivan Horne smiled and said, "I've already been interviewed by you several times. Recently, there's been no major activity with Valence Group, so what's there to interview about? You don't need to rely on interviews with me to establish your footing now, do you?"

This statement clarified that the two of them had merely been in a mutually beneficial cooperative relationship over the years.

Ivan's status made him easily a target for the media, and Grace Chandler had professional ethics. He admired her dedication and responsibility, which made him willing to be interviewed by her.

Grace needed valuable news, and Ivan provided her with that value.

Upon hearing Ivan's words, Grace was momentarily at a loss on how to respond.

Because there hadn't been any recent interviews with Ivan.

"Miss Chandler, I've been very busy lately and I'm not accepting any interviews. I'm currently spending time with my family. Let's leave it at that; we can have lunch together if we run into each other someday." Ivan said, then said goodbye and hung up the phone before Grace.

On the other end, Grace disappointedly moved the phone away from her ear. She stood alone at the window at the end of the hallway by the ward door, gazing out at the sunset, which was beautiful yet signaled the dusk.

"Grace."

Grace quickly collected herself, masking her disappointment, and turned around to face her good friend Victoria Kelly. Victoria carried a basket of fruit, having come to visit Grace's grandfather.

"Grace, how is your grandfather? Why are you standing here alone?"

Victoria walked over and looked outside the window; they were currently on the eighteenth floor of the Inpatient Department, far from the ground.

"Grace, I know you are under a lot of pressure right now; you must stay strong and face it, you can't..."

"Victoria," Grace interrupted her friend with amusement, "I won't resort to anything desperate." Grandfather was seriously ill, likely not having much time left, but she had younger siblings who needed her; she couldn't afford to fall, nor could she afford to.

Grace's parents divorced when she was in junior high, each remarrying, leaving her and her siblings to become a burden neither wanted to deal with. Even the courtroom ruled her to her mother and her siblings to her father, grandfather was the only one they could rely on over the years.

Grandfather ran a small supermarket, which barely supported Grace and her brother through their education, and now her sister was still in university.

Grandfather, being old, fell ill, and the small supermarket business deteriorated and closed. Her brother just started working not long ago, naturally, her sister's tuition fell on Grace to support. She was the pillar of support for her siblings; she could not fall.

Victoria finally felt relieved, "You scared me; I thought you were standing here contemplating..." Seeing Grace holding her phone, she asked with concern, "Is something urgent? If so, you should attend to it first. I can help look after your grandfather."

Working as a reporter, often one call would come, she'd have to rush out for the news.

"No, my grandfather is ill, so my boss won't assign me too much work. It's about my marriage; my grandfather... He's been fretting over my marriage. It used to come up occasionally, now it's practically a daily conversation."

Grace gave a bitter laugh, "Where can I find a boyfriend now to present to him?"

Grandfather doesn't have much time left; despite her siblings being adults, none had married yet. Grandfather said he couldn't rest in peace, especially with Grace now being twenty-eight years old. In his eyes, his eldest granddaughter was a leftover woman, and if she didn't find a boyfriend soon, she'd never get married.

"Grace, you're still thinking about Ivan, aren't you? It's been so many years. If he was genuinely interested in you, you'd have already become the Horne family's eldest daughter-in-law. I've advised you countless times not to sink into this—he's beyond your control. T City has so many wealthy young ladies, and not to discourage you, but any of them pulled out side-by-side with you wouldn't be any less than you; they couldn't win over Ivan, so how can you... For him, you've missed out on so many men who like you."

Victoria's cousin liked Grace, but Grace's heart was set on Ivan. Her cousin eventually gave up after some pursuit, and now her cousin was already a father, while Grace remained single.

Ivan was an unpretentious CEO, seemingly easy to get along with, but it was mere appearance. Truth be told, he's even more cunning, unpredictable than Jimmy.

A man who's sometimes deep and shrewd, sometimes warm and polite, serious, and sometimes playful yet ruthless, he's practically a chameleon. No one knows what color he'd display at the next encounter.

Such a man isn't someone Grace can control.

Yet Ivan is a male god, having captivated countless women without being involved in any scandalous romance; the closest woman to him is Camila Ruiz.

"It's my unrequited affection; with my status, how could I possibly match him?" Grace feels her background isn't enough for Ivan.

Even though she's worked hard and became wealthy financially, in front of Ivan, she's nothing more than an out-and-out Cinderella.

"The threshold of the Horne family is high, yet the elders are sensible and understand to respect the younger generation. If Ivan truly likes you, Mrs. Horne and Mr. Horne wouldn't have any objections."

Julia Bluen is indeed an open-minded mother.

She only wants her son to be happy and doesn't care about her daughter's-in-law's background; whoever can move her son's heart is her daughter-in-law.

The Horne family is financially strong, Ivan doesn't need a commercial marriage to solidify the family's position; he can love freely and marry who he wills.

Grace pressed her lips, pain visible in her eyes.

At twenty-eight, after secretly loving Ivan for many years and letting go of many men who loved her, she finally realized waiting was futile.

"Victoria, could you please ask your mom to introduce me to a boyfriend?"

Grace made her decision.

It was time to give up.

Victoria laughed, "My mom will undoubtedly be thrilled to finally act as your matchmaker."

Grace smiled, yet her heart was aching.

…

"No socializing tonight?"

Julia asked her son.

Ivan replied, "I asked Howen to handle that. I'm taking a break, I've been swamped lately, feeling somewhat tired; must be old age catching up." Speaking, Ivan picked up Nina, pinching the chubby cheeks of the little girl, "Jimmy and Camila already have two children."

"Know you're growing old yet still not considering your life's matters."

Ivan giggled, "Once I rest, I'll rejuvenate, still young, not in a hurry."

"You brat."

Not acting serious at all.

The few of them chatted leisurely for a while. Jimmy received a call from his wife and left the Horne family, taking his beloved daughter and his mother-in-law.

Ivan was reluctant, continually coaxing Nina, hoping to keep her around, but the little one wouldn't have it, clinging to dad's neck without letting go.

Julia hung the picture of that back view in the study room on the second floor.

Now the study is shared by Glades Horne and his two sons. Julia was naturally supported in placing that painting in the study room, as Glades Horne, who loves his wife dearly, naturally did not object. It was Ivan who, after dinner, entered the study and sat at the desk, facing that back view painting. He frowned slightly, his thick sword-like brows knit.

Why did mother hang this painting right in front of the desk, lifting one's head to see the back view—it felt odd.