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
As Ivan wondered how to begin the conversation, Michael’s murderous voice suddenly rang out. “How would you like to die?”Ivan smiled awkwardly. “It’s a misunderstanding… It really is.”As he spoke, he turned around and closed the door. Then, he said awkwardly, “Just now… I was just worried that you couldn’t handle her yourself. I’m an experienced ladies’ man. If you made any mistakes, I could have pointed them out and given you advice. I just didn’t expect you to suddenly catch me looking. Also, why did you let go of her? If you hadn’t done that, you wouldn’t have seen me here, and we wouldn’t be in such an awkward situation right now.”Michael was so furious that he scoffed. “And you have the audacity to say this?”“Of course! Of course I do!” Ivan thought sarcastically.But he did not dare say this aloud. All he could do was fake a sheepish cough. “Anyway, you made your move today. Does it mean you really want to get back together with her?”“I have said this long ago.”“But
“From her perspective, you and Jonah are the same. You both want to use her, so she clearly knows what to do. If you don’t like her that way, then there’s no point sacrificing yourself to protect her.”The look in Michael’s eyes seemed to darken a little. His sharp gaze fell on Ivan. But Ivan appeared oblivious to his reaction. He simply patted his friend on the shoulder and said with a smile, “Buddy, I think you should mind your own business and take good care of yourself. She’ll be fine. Oh, and…”As he spoke, Ivan yawned and said with a shit-eating grin, “I haven’t slept for a while. Now I’m a bit sleepy. I shall head back to get some sleep. You should get some rest as well.”With that, Ivan left.He did not plan to stay at all. Having said what he needed to say in order to provoke Michael, Ivan had no reason to stick around. In fact, he felt quite satisfied when he lectured Michael.What a prick! Michael clearly fancied Ivanka. Earlier on, he even kissed her and held her in hi
“Are you free tonight?” Jonah asked instead of answering her directly.Ivanka frowned. “Not tonight.”“What about tomorrow?”Ivanka recalled Rosie’s treatment and said, “I don’t think tomorrow is possible. Must we meet up to discuss this matter? I have something really important to deal with for the time being, so I might not have time for other things.”After all, Rosie’s treatment was too important to her. She had even handed all the projects over to Thomas.“What are you doing at the moment?” Jonah still did not tell her what he needed her for specifically.Ivanka paused and did not reply for a moment. Then she said, “Do you want to discuss the jewelry project with me?”“Yes and no. I can’t explain it over the phone. I’ll wait till you’re free then. It’s nothing urgent. Reach out to me when you’re free, as long as it is within a week from now.”Ivanka pondered for a while and replied, “Sure.”“Good. If you have been working too much lately, remember to get some rest. Feel f
Ivanka immediately opened her eyes, and her expression changed slightly. “Who is it?”The hairs on her body seemed to be standing on end, but she was rather tense at the moment and did not even notice that.After a while, Ivan’s cheeky voice came from the door. “Haha… It’s me. Are you free at the moment? I have something to ask you about.”He said “ask”.The way he said it was very humble and respectful. It gave Ivanka the impression that he had come to ask her about some legal matters.She pondered for a while and eventually got up to open the door for him.Then, she saw Ivan waving as he greeted her with a smile. “Hello, we meet again.”Ivanka frowned. The look in her eyes clearly signaled that she was displeased at the mention of their previous meeting, when Ivan walked in on her and Michael.But little did she know it was exactly why he came over.Ivanka stepped aside. Ivan strode in and casually sat down on the couch.Closing the door, Ivanka walked over and sat opposite
He quickly said, “It’s really not what you think… He truly likes you. He’s just bad at expressing himself, and he cares too much about his pride.”Ivanka snorted in laughter and did not believe a word he said.Ivan gave an awkward smile. Damn it! What on earth had Michael done to make her loathe him so much? She did not buy anything he said!Ivan sighed with resignation. “I’m telling you. Michael never truly abhorred you to begin with.”Ivanka suddenly blinked. But in the next moment, she came to her senses. As it seemed, Ivan was here to help Michael convince her. He was doing this for his friend’s interest. If she remarried Michael, she would work exclusively with Barkworth’s Group instead of Sadler’s Group. This would bring Michael more profit.After all, her net worth was quite high.She thought that “net worth” sounded rather sarcastic and dehumanizing.Sometimes she genuinely thought that she might as well be an ordinary person. That way, people would not approach her with