Buying My Forever Wife novel Chapter 269

Ivy dragged her suitcase out of the bedroom, completely ignoring the man standing nearby as she grabbed Stella's hand and marched out the door.

Seeing his little wife's glacial attitude, treating him like he was entirely invisible,

Alaric felt a prickle of irritation. He stepped forward and ripped the handle of the suitcase from her grip.

"What is your problem? Who upset you this time?"

It was bad enough that she acted entirely apathetic as a wife.

Now she was actively giving him an attitude.

He had clearly been way too lenient with her lately.

"I don't have a problem. You're overthinking it!"

Ivy unapologetically let him haul the heavy luggage as she stormed ahead without a single backward glance.

Reaching the garage, she unceremoniously buckled Stella into the back seat and climbed in.

Trailing behind her, Alaric could distinctly feel the icy rage radiating off his wife.

Finding no leverage to argue, he bit his tongue and slid into the driver's seat, steering the sleek SUV back to The Starlight Estate.

Throughout the ride, Ivy kept up a steady stream of chatter exclusively with Stella.

Alaric remained silent, and absolutely no one bothered to acknowledge him.

The heavy freeze-out left him deeply frustrated.

After stewing in the suffocating silence, he finally cracked.

"Stella, do you feel sick or uncomfortable anywhere?"

Terrified that admitting to any pain would result in another needle to the arm, Stella frantically shook her head.

"I'm not sick at all! I feel great, I'm super strong!"

Alaric stole a glance at Ivy through the rearview mirror, only to find she still refused to look in his direction.

She made absolutely zero effort to strike up a conversation.

His lips pressed into a tight, grim line, a dark storm brewing in his eyes.

Upon pulling up to The Starlight Estate, Ivy immediately scooped Stella up and headed inside, completely abandoning Alaric in the driveway.

Mrs. Gable had arrived hours ago and had already set out a lavish dinner spread.

Spotting them walking through the foyer, she paused her silverware-arranging to call out warmly.

"Mrs. Foster, Stella, you're back! Go wash up, dinner is served!"

Ivy blinked in surprise.

However, still genuinely concerned, she looked up at him.

"Daddy, you look really grumpy. My teacher says when you're mad, you should eat a big dinner. Once your tummy is full, you'll be happy again!"

"So eat up!"

Alaric remained entirely mute, his intense gaze locking onto Ivy.

Even a toddler could see he was in a foul mood, yet his own wife acted like she was completely blind to it.

The dismissal struck a deeply irritating chord within him.

After brooding through the heavy silence, Alaric finally spoke directly to her.

"Take Stella back to the hospital tomorrow. We need to run another set of blood labs."

Ivy didn't press for details. She just gave a noncommittal "Oh" and kept her focus glued to her plate.

She absolutely refused to meet the eyes of the man sitting across from her.

Conversely, Alaric's gaze burned holes into her.

Realizing she was actively deploying the silent treatment, he decided he wasn't going to play her little game. He aggressively tossed his silverware aside and stalked upstairs.

Only when his footsteps faded did Ivy finally look up toward the empty doorway.