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 and instinctively glanced at Michael. Seeing his cold eyes fixed on her, she opened her mouth to speak, but Michael’s stern voice cut in. “Don’t answer it.”Ivanka looked at him in surprise. “Don’t answer it?”What gave him the right to speak to her this way?Michael said nothing more. He was still holding her arm and refusing to let go. Ivanka remained calm as she responded. “I still have business dealings with him. Besides, there’s nothing between us.”She realized she had crossed a line by thinking she could question Michael.Whether he was sick or not, his disdain for her was undeniable.Ivanka took a deep breath to control her emotions, yet she was provoked once more by what Michael said next.“Nothing between us? Do you think that’s really the case?”Ivanka looked at him sharply. She felt both irritated and alarmed as her inner calm was disrupted. She replied, “There has never been anything between us. Never.”After saying that, Ivanka tried to wrench her
He abruptly stopped talking.Ivan’s eyes widened!Seeing Michael and Ivanka in an intimate embrace in the room, he was utterly stunned.He thought. “What... What’s going on...?”In that moment of bewilderment, Ivanka suddenly pushed Michael away, but Michael still held onto her hand.He did not look at Ivanka. Instead, he shot a cold, steely gaze on the doorway.Ivan snapped out of his daze. His face turned a little pale.His timing had been terrible. He had walked in on a private moment between the couple, which had disturbed them.Michael must have finally worked up the courage to act on his feelings toward Ivanka, and now...Taking a deep breath, Ivan spoke again, “Uh... I should just go. I saw nothing!”With that, he bolted out of the room, perhaps fearing he would get beaten up. In his haste, he slammed the door behind him with a loud bang, as if someone was storming out in anger.Michael’s expression darkened further.Ivanka’s face was flushed with a mix of embarrassm
Those few words left Ivanka completely stunned.She was numb with shock.She never expected Michael to say something like that, especially in such a gentle tone.“Are you crazy?”Ivanka finally managed to speak after a long pause.Michael looked at her intently. His expression was serious as he said in a firm tone, “I’m not joking.”Ivanka did not know how to respond to that.She turned her head away, not wanting to look at him, but she still responded. “Michael, we aren’t right for each other. Being together before was a mistake. There’s no need to let that mistake continue. The divorce is good for both of us.”After she finished, there was no response from Michael. His hand still held her wrist. She still could not break free. After a moment, Ivanka frowned at him. Her voice was tinged with impatience as she said, “In the past, I was affectionate toward you, but you never turned around to look at me. You treated me with such disdain and said things that left me heartbroken. M
Michael anticipated her move and dodged her foot, leaving Ivanka stepping on air.“Let go!” Ivanka was truly furious now. She glared coldly at him. If one looked closely, one could see the mockery in her gaze.Previously, Ivanka might have held back out of concern about his stomach cancer.However, knowing she could cure him, she did not care anymore.So what if she made him angry? Had he not treated her the same way? Had he not made her life miserable before?That thought alone drove Ivanka to the brink. It had taken her a long time and a great deal of effort to move on.Those were the darkest times in her life.She had a bright future ahead of her now. Why should she waste it being entangled with Michael?Was she out of her mind?Why put herself through more pain with him when she could be happy?“Ivanka, you still have feelings for me. You have to admit that,” Michael said calmly. When he was staring at her, it was as if he had seen through her.Ivanka snorted. “I would h