Hanson remained silent. He understood Sandy’s fury. He felt the same indignation. The verdict was unfair for Ivanka.Sandy took a deep breath and closed her eyes to control her emotions.Knowing they were in a public place, she refrained from saying anything further.Everyone shifted their attention to Ivanka, who remained unusually calm. She showed no inclination to say anything.“Ms. Iris, are you satisfied with this outcome?”“It’s acceptable,” Ivanka responded smoothly without the slightest hesitation.This left Theodore and the others puzzled. Lyla’s heart skipped a beat as she scrutinized Ivanka, but she could not read anything from her expression. An uneasy feeling crept in.Was Ivanka holding back for a big move later?How could she be content with just a three-year sentence?Even Chiara sensed something amiss. She watched Ivanka warily but could not confront her directly, as they were seated far apart.Chiara glared at Ivanka. Her eyes filled with an almost malevolen
She was too heartbroken to speak. She could not form any words.Theodore could not help but sigh. “You need to take care of yourself too.”Lyla nodded. She wiped away her tears. “I know. And you have to keep an eye on Chiara, make sure her temper doesn’t get the best…”She trailed off as she could not continue.Theodore quickly nodded. “I got it, I got it.”Chiara clutched Lyla’s hand. Her voice trembled as she said, “Mom...”She could only manage that one word as her sobs had become uncontrollable.“Honey, I’m still here. You don’t need to worry. Everything will be alright, okay?”Chiara nodded, but her tears kept rolling down her face.Lyla could not say much more. She could only let out a sigh.The staff member approached with a hint of resignation. “Can we go now?”Lyla took a deep breath and nodded, then turned to Theodore and Chiara again.“You both take care of yourselves. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”She had said all that could be said and left the rest uns
No, Chiara must exercise restraint!She could not lose it in this place. She wanted to be as dignified as she used to be.She also needed to maintain the image she had presented earlier on.Besides, Lyla had given her reason behind Fernando’s murder. It was to fulfill his wish. Therefore, Chiara needed to keep up the lie!She would play along with her mother!With that in mind, Chiara hid all her negative emotions. The look in her eyes as she gazed at Ivanka was tinted with resignation and remorse.“Iv, I know you’re upset. But sometimes, we can’t do anything about our elders’ wishes. Your father was very sick. You can’t possibly tell me that you wanted him to die in pain.”Sandy immediately furrowed her eyebrows tightly. She was already holding back her anger the entire time. When she heard what Chiara said, she was so pissed that she instantly scoffed. “What a joke! Was it up to you to decide what to do with someone’s life? Did you and your family discuss this matter with Ivan
Ivanka did not care about the gazes from the bystanders all around. She merely stared at the person before her and said with a faint smile, “If you’re really grateful, why didn’t you return my shares sooner until I brought you to court? You still held onto the shares despite the embarrassment?”Chiara’s expression changed. In the next moment, a hint of helplessness flashed in her eyes, and she sighed in feigned resignation. “Iv, I know… I know you’re still upset with me. But this is the situation we end up in, and my mother… has gotten her punishment. Iv, back then we owed you an apology. Now, I think you’ve settled the score.”That was all she said. Chiara no longer wanted to keep up her act. She was genuinely angry!Ivanka’s lips curled slightly into a faint smile. Ignoring the bystanders’ reaction, she said, “Any pretense will slowly fall apart sooner or later. I hope you and your family really tell the truth, or else you’ll be exposed, and everyone will see your true colors.”C
The sad, empty look in Chiara’s eyes was immediately filled with rage!Michael?How could it be?What was he doing here?Ivanka had already become such a wicked woman. Why did he still like her?Why?!Chiara was screaming internally.In the meantime, Ivanka and her company stood in front of Michael. To be precise, he was the one who suddenly showed up and blocked their path.His expression was cold, with a hint of anger in his eyes.But he still controlled his emotions when he looked at Ivanka and said coldly, “A word, please.”Ivanka furrowed her brows. Out of instinct, she intended to ask what was there for them to talk about.But there were bystanders around, and her friends were still there. She did not want them to worry.If she refused to talk to Michael, he would be pissed, and Hanson would defend her to stop her from interacting with Michael.By then, the situation would get out of hand. She worried that conflicts would arise between Michael’s and Hanson’s companie
“Alright, let’s go. I’m still hungry! You have to pay for the meal today!”With that, she dragged Hanson away despite his protest.Hanson frowned. He was still worried about Ivanka, but Sandy had given him an ultimatum. Besides, Ivanka had chosen to leave with Michael. There was nothing Hanson could do about it, apart from letting Sandy drag him away.Seeing that, Anna finally gave a sigh of relief.…Meanwhile, Ivanka had already followed Michael into the car.Michael said nothing and started the engine right away.Ivanka silently waited for him to speak first.After all, he had come to the court for her, which was surprising.However, after driving for twenty minutes, Michael still did not say anything. Ivanka frowned. It seemed that she was getting uneasy. She turned to look at the man next to her.From her angle, all she could see was his handsome side profile. Staring ahead, he appeared to be focusing on driving.Ivanka eventually said, “What do you want to say to me? Y
Ivanka was shocked.For a moment, she did not know what to say.True. Ever since she and Michael got a divorce, things might have changed.Rosie defended her, but Samuel had always looked down on her. This prompted the couple to argue more frequently as time passed.Ivanka pursed her lips silently.But she felt the need to explain herself in front of Rosie. She did not want Rosie to spend time worrying about her at an old age.When they almost reached their destination, Michael no longer planned to stay silent as he did before. Before turning at the next junction, he suddenly stopped the car.Ivanka froze and looked at him.Michael placed a hand on the steering wheel and turned to face Ivanka. There was a hint of rage in his cold stare. Ivanka frowned slightly. She said nothing and waited for him to speak.Michael stared at her and said icily, “Are you Papaver?”It was a brief sentence. It sounded like a question, but there seemed to be unquenchable anger in his voice.“Wh
“Ivanka, you’re truly heartless.”That was all Micheal said. With that, he stopped questioning her with his bossy attitude.Confusion flashed in Ivanka’s eyes. She was a little baffled. What was he up to?Michael said nothing and started driving again.He did not spare her a glance for the rest of the drive, even as they arrived at the Barkworth family’s mansion. After pulling over, he did not say anything and simply remained in the driver’s seat. It was as if he was waiting for something to happen.Ivanka was confused again, but she no longer planned to talk to him. She got out of the car and walked toward the mansion. When the house staff opened the door and she went in, Michael drove off right away.Obviously, he did not intend to get into the house. He simply wanted to drive her here.Ivanka turned around in surprise and watched his car vanish before her eyes. There was a wry smile on her lips.She knew Michael never liked her. Naturally, he would not wish to spend more tim
Ivanka frowned deeply. Michael was in a horrible state. He had been poisoned and suffered gunshots. He had a strong tolerance to medicine and pain. But it was his mental condition that caused him to fall into this state. Not being fully recovered also added to the burden. Ivanka gave him a white pill which she had formulated by herself. After that, she had the security guard carry Michael into her car. Then, she sent him to the hospital. They arrived at the emergency department. Xavier had finished attending to his patients. When he walked out of his office, he saw Michael being carried into the hospital. He then saw Ivanka beside Michael. Xavier frowned. His expression became tense, and he asked solemnly, “What’s happened to him?” “He’s weak and had previously been poisoned. Since you’re around, you can look after him.” Ivanka summarized Michael’s condition. After hearing Ivanka’s brief explanation, Xavier gave Michael a checklist and put him on a drip. After that,
Since Jonah had come to this and Ivanka was not an ungrateful person, she nodded and gave her word. “Jonah, I’ll give this my all. Don’t worry. As long as it’s within my ability, I’ll help you.” Jonah had to be bound to the wheelchair at the moment. Since Ivanka had shared a similar experience when she took over Lane’s Group back then, she naturally figured out how wolfish and greedy his adversaries would be. Jonah was injured because of her. She swore to give her all to save him from whatever crisis he was facing. Jonah took advantage of this and asked, “What time are you coming tomorrow? I’ll have my assistant get ready.” Ivanka thought for a moment. “Tomorrow afternoon.” She needed to manage her company affairs during the first half of the day. Jonah was content upon hearing her answer. “Good. I’ll wait for you tomorrow.” “Okay.” Ivanka nodded before hanging up. When she returned to her office, she did not expect to see Michael sitting on the couch. She nearly jum
There was only one possibility. Ivanka was calling somebody else. Michael wondered who could strike up such a long conversation with her. Sandy and Ivan had returned to the country. Ivanka’s besties were around her. Even if Ivanka deliberately approached Chiara, she could not possibly have so much to chat with Chiara. If Ivanka’s phone call was business related, there was no need to chat this long. Michael eliminated the possible reasons one by one. In the end, he thought of Jonah. Michael’s expression instantly turned as dark as thunderclouds. His gaze was dull and cold. Evan noticed it. He also saw the call record on Michael’s phone. Evan quickly persuaded Michael, “Mr. Barkworth, Ms. Lane could be tied up with her work, so she couldn’t answer your call. We could go to her workplace now.” Michael said nothing. He gave a cold glance at Evan. Evan got a shock. The next second, Michael turned around and left his office. Looking at Michael’s fading silhouette, Evan wi
It was why Ivanka still came for Jonah in spite of her unpleasant experience with Margaret in the hospital last time. Jonah had been injured because of Ivanka. She came for him only. The other people did not matter to her. Jonah’s heart sank upon hearing her words. His expression tensed up. He could imagine the indifferent look on Ivanka’s face right at that moment. She had that expression on her face simply because he was never really important to her. Jonah was upset precisely because of her indifference to him. He wanted to say something to her but did not know how to begin. He was also not in the position to say that. It did not take long before Ivanka’s gentle but rather indifferent voice rang in his ears, “Jonah, don’t worry. I’ll treat your legs until they recover. Don’t run into any conflicts with your mom because of me.” Her words pulled Jonah’s wandering mind back into the present moment. He felt a heavy weight on his heart. “Iv, I trust you. You don’t need to
Margaret became frustrated and grabbed Ivanka. She could not understand why Ivanka was fine while Jonah ended up in such a bad situation after the accident.Then, Jonah defended Ivanka. There was also all the talk about Ivanka’s treatment. Margaret was curious to see what kind of miracle medicine Ivanka could develop.In the end, Ivanka’s treatment did not work. Moreover, her relationship with Jonah, which had finally started to improve, was once again ruined because of Ivanka.Jonah scoffed. “Mom, I’m not an eight-year-old anymore. You’re saying all this because you want me to go along with your plans for an arranged date, right?”Margaret had not expected Jonah to guess her thoughts. She was about to insist on her point when Jonah spoke first. With a mocking smile, he said sarcastically, “Do you think anyone would date someone like me?”He had a point. But Laura might be one such person.However, Margaret did not like her. She would do anything to keep Laura from becoming her d
“That’s because you want him to fall in love with you!” Margaret snapped.Ivanka chuckled softly. Her tone was edged with sarcasm. “Love? Does it really matter that much?”Margaret felt humiliated and furious. She pointed a finger at Ivanka’s face with a hostile expression. “If it doesn’t matter, why are you doing all this? Stop pretending, Ivanka!”Ivanka let out a bitter laugh. “Pretending? What am I pretending for? Is being divorced a crime? Margaret, you’re a woman too. How would you feel if someone accused you like this?”She hoped Margaret would take a moment to reflect. After all, she was Jonah’s mother, and Ivanka did not want their conflict to escalate.But Margaret was unmoved. Her glare turned colder, sharper, and filled with hatred.“You think I’ll just let this go?” Margaret said sharply. “If it weren’t for you, Jonah wouldn’t be in this mess! I meant every word I said, and nothing will change that.”To her, Ivanka was nothing more than someone scheming to use Jonah
“Ivanka,” Margaret took a deep breath while trying to compose herself. When she looked at Ivanka again, her expression was calm. She said, “I don’t know how deep Jonah’s feelings for you run. What I fear most is that once he becomes fixated on you, that’s it. When he falls for someone, his heart won’t make room for anyone else. In that way, he’s just like his father.”Ivanka’s gaze wavered. She bit her lip and was unsure of what to say.“I beg you, don’t hurt Jonah anymore!” Margaret’s voice carried a note of desperation.Ivanka’s expression turned extremely complicated.There was a time when Jonah came to her only to use her. Back then, they were both using each other. It made things simple.But later, Jonah unexpectedly started talking about marriage. Perhaps it was to provoke Michael, or perhaps he simply wanted to keep her close because she was useful to him.At some point, though, it seemed Jonah had become serious about her. She could not pinpoint when it happened. Perhaps
Jonah frowned in clear disagreement, but he stayed silent. Ivanka’s confident smile reassured him and made him trust her.Eventually, he let go of her wrist.Ivanka noticed Margaret putting on her shoes. She quickly followed, stepping outside just as Margaret was about to get into her car“Margaret,” she called out.Margaret frowned slightly and stood still.Since Jonah had not come out with Ivanka, she decided she could spare a moment to speak with her.She turned and looked at Ivanka coldly.Ivanka softened her tone. “Let’s take a walk.”Margaret did not respond, but her silence was enough of an agreement.They walked slowly around the edge of the mansion. The surrounding area was all part of the Sadler family estate.Margaret suppressed her anger and glanced at Ivanka before speaking in a composed tone, “Alright. What do you want to say?”Ivanka met her gaze briefly before looking ahead and said, “Do you know what will happen if Jonah’s coughing continues?”Margaret’s he
Margaret glared at Ivanka and scoffed, “If there’s an issue, I’ll get another doctor to handle it. It’ll be anyone but you, Ivanka. Haven’t I made myself clear enough? I’ve told you this before.”She hated how Ivanka ignored her warnings and kept coming back to visit Jonah time and again. What if Jonah got too close to her and ended up ruining his reputation? If Jonah had not been here, Margaret would have been even harsher.Ivanka frowned as she met Margaret’s sharp gaze. “I’ve never tried to get close to Jonah like that. We’re just friends. I know I’m not good enough for him, so I’ve never even thought about it.”“You might not have, but he has!” Margaret snapped, raising her voice.“Mom!” Jonah’s expression darkened.Jonah was usually calm and polite. This was the first time Ivanka saw him looking so upset and was about to lose his temper.Ivanka’s eyes flickered with hesitation. She was unsure of what to say.Explaining Jonah’s coughing would do no good. Margaret would not