Rosie immediately said with a stern face, “‘Good day, Rosie?’ You brat, you’re even starting to flirt with an old woman? Everything was fine all along, so why did you make a bet?” Ivan was puzzled. He glanced toward Michael from the corner of his eyes. When he saw that he was sitting silently, Xander gave him a look too. Ivan immediately laughed out loud. “Ahahaha. Is there anything wrong with this bet?” D*mn it. Could they not give him a heads-up after they made a bet? He had to figure out everything by himself! However, he came over because of Rosie’s condition, and if this group kept staying here instead of leaving, they had to find an excuse so that they could stay. Rosie scoffed. “Don’t you know that asking him to stay here for a day is also a form of torture for me, even if you said it’s torture for him too?” Ivan already figured out that it was something like this. Since Rosie had said this, he was even more sure about what was going on. He immediately laughed out
Even if Michael did not help him, he still had other people to help him!Ivan immediately looked at Xander. At the same time, he smiled back at Rosie. “Rosie, why don’t we talk about something else?”“Change the topic? You’re being a bad boy again! I’m giving you good advice. You’re good-looking, and you come from a good family, too. So many young girls want to get close to you. If there’s anyone you like, and if she’s nice too, you two can be together. But you can’t keep changing girlfriends like this!”When she said this, Rosie could not help but sigh.Ivan quickly gave Xander a look. But Xander acted like he did not notice. His phone suddenly rang. Then, he got up to answer it. Ivan’s expression darkened again! Once again, he looked at Michael. When Michael did not even look at him, Ivan clenched his teeth. D*mn it! He got up straight away and walked over to Michael’s side. He gritted his teeth while grabbing his arm. “It’s all because I’m sitting next to Rosie and I’m cl
“Ignore him,” Michael said coldly. This made Rosie and Ivanka even more confused. It was clear that Michael knew why Ivan was acting oddly today. However, Michael did not intend to say anything about this matter.Rosie frowned slightly. In the end, she did not say anything.Before long, Xander returned from his phone call. He went back and sat on the sofa. When he did not see Ivan, he asked in puzzlement, “Where’s Ivan?”“He went to the bathroom and hasn’t come out since. He seemed a bit off. Could you go over and check on him?” Rosie was still a little worried. Was she too harsh on him? Was that why he had not come out till then? He was a boy, after all. She could not very well follow him into the bathroom. Xander raised an eyebrow. He nodded in cooperation. “Alright.”With that, he got up and headed to the bathroom.When he reached the door, he knocked on it. “Why aren’t you out yet?”“Smoking.” The voice coming from inside was soft, but Xander could still hear the mela
He glared at Xander. There was an icy coldness seeping through from the depths of his eyes. Xander was no longer looking at the sea of flowers outside. Instead, he turned to look at Ivan and said calmly, “Yes.” “You know best what state we are in now. Rosie met her true love because things were different in her time. Can you imagine us taking someone’s hand forever? Are you kidding? Is there a woman that’s suitable for you?” Ivan’s tone was snarky. After he said this, he did not even look at Xander. In fact, he felt that he was being weird today. Why would he say something like that out of nowhere? If this got out, others would think that Xander was crazy. Ivan did not feel like smoking anymore. Neither was he interested in talking to Xander. He waited till the cigarette smoke was gone from his body before he left. It was not nice to keep occupying someone else’s bathroom like that. But Xander did not care about what Ivan thought. Instead, he said calmly, “If you weren’t
Xander was also in no mood to tease or hide anything from Ivan. He looked at him and said in a low voice, “I recognized him at a glance. He’s the third heir of the Chaput family.” Ivan instantly narrowed his eyes. He immediately growled, “Enzo Chaput?!” Xander said nothing, but he had already acknowledged it silently. Ivan’s expression grew ugly. How did he not know about this before? The next moment, he looked at Xander again, but he did not see a single hint of humor in his face. He frowned. “You…” Ivan suddenly went silent after saying that single word because he knew that Xander would never lie to him about something like that. Since he said it, then it must have happened! There was no need to ask for confirmation. “Are you feeling nervous now?” Xander looked at him calmly. Ivan’s expression changed, but he regained his composure in the next second. He shrugged and said, “What’s there to be nervous about? If there are men out there who like her, then she did we
“It’s been so long, and he’s still not done smoking?” Rosie’s eyes filled with worry and disbelief.Xander laughed again. “When his nicotine craving hits, one cigarette isn’t enough. He’ll be out soon. Now, I smell like smoke.”Rosie shook her head with resignation. “He may be young, but he shouldn’t smoke like that!”Xander nodded in agreement. “Yes, I should talk to him about quitting.”Ivanka raised an eyebrow in contemplation but said nothing. Michael remained seated on the couch. He did not seem to care about Ivan’s actions.“I need to step outside to make a call. I’ll be back soon.” With that said, Xander headed toward the door.“Go ahead.” Rosie knew that they were busy, but she did not realize that Xander simply wanted to get rid of the strong smell of tobacco. He was worried that getting close to her with the smell would harm her.About another half an hour later, Ivan came out.Xander had already “finished his call” and returned.Seeing the four of them sitting on th
Everyone instinctively looked at Michael. He said indifferently, “I’m in my own home, so it’s hardly a punishment.”In other words, since this was his home, he did not see any problem with staying.Next, everyone’s gaze shifted to Ivanka.The bet did not include her, so it seemed only the three men would stay.But what about Ivanka?Ivanka’s eyes flickered with contemplation as she turned to Rosie. “Grandma, I plan to stay with you tonight as well.”Rosie was surprised. Her voice tinged with delight. “You’re staying too?”Ivanka smiled. “Of course.”As she said that, she glanced at Michael. Her gaze showed a mix of shyness and affection, along with other emotions.Rosie was stunned by the scene.She thought. “What’s going on? Iv actually wants to stay. And the way she’s looking at Michael… Could it be that they… Is Iv interested in Michael again? Or maybe those feelings never went away, and now that Michael has changed, Iv is willing to give it another shot?”She knew it! Wi
It looked as if the leaves were dancing with unrestrained grace, yet they were entirely at the mercy of the wind. They could not even stabilize themselves.Ivanka’s eyes flickered with that thought before she refocused on Michael.“I don’t know.” Ivanka lowered her head and took a deep breath before speaking again. “I don’t know if I can really cure Grandma. I don’t know what the outcome will be. But I can only guarantee that using this method will give her a longer life than her original treatment.”Her voice grew more resolute with the final words.Michael’s gaze softened as he said, “That’s all I needed to hear.”Ivanka looked at him with surprise. She had not expected to hear that from Michael.She had thought he would have higher expectations and hope for a better solution.However, perhaps things were not as surprising as they seemed.She paused and collected her thoughts. Then, she looked at him and said calmly, “But I will cure you.”Michael looked at her with surprise
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