For a moment, Chiara was in a dilemma. “B-But he usually takes Ivanka with him to these events to show that they’re a loving couple, and he does it for his company’s benefit. Why would he bring me along this time?”Lyla smirked scornfully. “Things have changed.”“Huh?”Lyla tugged on Chiara’s arm and sat her down. “Ivanka is no longer who she was. Your father has gotten his hands on all of her family’s belongings. Ivanka has nothing left in her name. You’re the real princess of the Lane family now, do you understand?”“If that’s the case, it’s even unlikely for Mic to bring me along to the banquet. The public will think that the Barkworth family is heartless for casting Ivanka aside at the moment her father lost his position.”“Pfft! Money is the thing that makes the world go round these days. Although your father is not as powerful as the Barkworth family, he is still one of the leading figures in Bostone. The reason Samuel Barkworth allowed the marriage between Ivanka and Michae
Rosie stood up and went over to Michael. She was upset with his refusal to change for the better. She pinched his shoulder with all her might and said, “That’s because you hurt her deeply, you brat! Make her come back to you!”“Grandma, I’ve made up my mind.” Michael’s expression darkened.“Do you want to drive me to an early grave?!”As Rosie was speaking, she thought about feigning unconsciousness, but Samuel growled, “That’s enough. Your grandma is not feeling well. I’ll be leaving with her now. You’re a grown-up. Make your own decisions.”“Noted.”Rosie’s expression turned dark. Samuel completely destroyed her plans to feign unconsciousness! Samuel dragged her out of Michael’s office before she even had time to say anything else.“Let go of me! I’m not finished!”She struggled to break herself free, but she could not overpower Samuel. In her anger, Rosie turned her head around and shouted, “I’m warning you, you’re not allowed to split up with Ivanka!”Soon, Michael was left
Michael’s expression slowly turned into one of cold fury as one thought popped up in his mind. “I knew it! I knew she was up to something!“I can’t delay the divorce anymore. Otherwise, Grandma is going to kick up another fuss. She almost jammed up my phone today with the calls she made.’Chiara’s face stiffened up as she thought. “What are the odds of meeting Ivanka here?“Both of us saw her. At this point, there’s no way I can pretend to have not noticed her.”Chiara sighed slightly and smiled as she said cordially, “Hi, Iv.”Ivanka looked a little surprised when she saw Chiara. She smirked when she noticed how close Chiara was to Michael. “What a coincidence.”When Chiara noticed Michael was looking at Ivanka from the corner of her eyes, she became nervous. But in the next moment, she produced another elegant smile. “Iv, are you here for Mic? We’re both getting something to eat, too. Why don’t you join us? He thought the worst when he saw you and your upperclassman having a dr
Chiara frowned. She looked at Ivanka like a caring sister and said, “Iv, hearing each other out would solve many problems. You can’t stubbornly insist that you have made zero mistakes!”Ivanka thought. “I can’t stubbornly insist that I have made zero mistakes?“There goes Chiara and her wordplay again. Isn’t she implying that I’m the promiscuous, disloyal wife to Michael?”Ivanka then noticed Michael’s eyes had turned colder. She pressed the corresponding floor button. With a smile, she said, “Since you two are not going to get on the elevator, we’ll leave first.”After speaking, she pressed the close-door button.Jonah gave Ivanka a slight smile. Even after the elevator door closed, he did not sense anything wrong with Ivanka. He could not hide his surprise. “So, all these years, you and your husband have been putting on a show?”Ivanka tilted her head slightly. “Mr. Sadler, you’re a smart man. Why bother asking?”Jonah smiled. He clicked his tongue when he noticed there was no
The corners of Ivanka’s mouth twitched as she thought. “What a small world.”She had initially wanted to ask Michael when he would get a divorce with her, but this man seemed to go out of his way to deliberately embarrass her. She did not plan to look for trouble, so she turned around to return to her room.However, the world suddenly spun. Before Ivanka could realize what had happened, Michael forcibly dragged her to another empty room!Bang!He closed the door.Michael clasped her wrists. She could not move.She looked at the paranoid man in front of her, frowned, and sneered at him. “Mr. Barkworth, what are you doing?”He was the one who wanted to get a divorce and date Chiara, so why did he act like this when she was only having a meal with Jonah?If she had been none the wiser, she would almost believe that this man liked her.However, she was well aware of the life she had in the past few years. She would not repeat the same mistake and naively think she could make him f
Michael was taken aback. Ivanka took advantage of this opportunity and suddenly broke free from Michael. Then she raised her leg to attack him.Michael quickly moved away, and his veins popped on his forehead.“Ivanka!”He never knew that a day would come when she would lash out at him with her words and even attack him.Ivanka sneered and said, “Mr. Barkworth, Mr. Sadler is still waiting for me. Goodbye.”After that, she walked out.More veins popped on Michael’s forehead, but he did not stop her. The drastic change in Ivanka’s personality made him feel that she was a stranger. He felt she had been putting on a show for the past three years.He thought. “I was right. After Ivanka learns that she can’t get anything from me, she plans to become hostile to me.“No, she must be playing hard to get!“I won’t change my mind and fall into your trap!”He kept staring at her. Ivanka had originally intended to grab the doorknob, and after bringing her hand up to it, she could place he
Jonah smiled. “I know that, of course. Without you, I wouldn’t even file the lawsuit.”However, he was not talking about this lawsuit.Ivanka knew what he meant. She put down her glass and did not even look at the man. “Besides this lawsuit and the banquet, I don’t think I’ll have any other opportunities to work with you. You can rest assured, Mr. Sadler.”Jonah raised his eyebrows in surprise. No one would be able to say what she did if they had not been sincere about ending their working relationship together after the lawsuit and banquet. After all, if she had ulterior motives, wouldn’t she have thought about how her plan with Michael would fail if Jonah did not seek her out for future collaborations?“Mr. Sadler, you don’t have to continue with your tests. Our working relationship will be over when the lawsuit is over.”After speaking, Ivanka picked up her fork and knife and continued eating. She obviously planned to ignore Jonah.Jonah just kept staring at her. When he saw n
Opaque emotions flashed in Chiara’s eyes. She ignored them and hugged Michael’s neck. Then, she chuckled and said, “Mic, I’m fine. It’s just a minor fall. You don’t have to worry. If you don’t believe me, you can put me down. I’ll show you I can walk just fine.”Michael said calmly, “Let’s talk after you get examined.”Nervously, he carried Chiara and left without glancing at Ivanka and Jonah, who were standing nearby.As Michael walked away, Ivanka noticed a hint of mockery in Chiara’s eyes. She thought to herself. “I was right. He likes Chiara.”She felt a wave of relief wash over her as she thought. “Thank goodness I’ve given up.”Chiara had been in a coma in the past. No matter what, they could not have exchanged any words. However, things had changed now. Chiara had woken up and was enjoying her life. The two often showed off their love to each other. If Ivanka stayed stubbornly in love with Michael as she had in the past, Chiara would only make her angry, and Michael would o
“One more thing, these are my team members. They’ve seen firsthand how you’ve tried to suppress me all the time. A little payback from them isn’t exactly unjustified, don’t you think?”Before Mandy could say anything, Candice turned to the employee and instructed firmly, “Call security. Have them escort her out of the building. Make sure she doesn’t take anything that doesn’t belong to her. Thoroughly check her devices for any company files.”Mandy completely lost her composure and started yelling.“Who do you think you are to treat me like this? You’re just riding on Ivanka’s coattails! Everyone knows how someone so young became CEO. And you? Are you sticking by her? You’re no better than… Argh!”Before Mandy could finish her tirade, Candice delivered a resounding slap across her face.Not far away, Ivanka, who had come out after hearing the commotion to see if she needed to step in, slowed her steps. While leaning casually against a nearby column, she watched Candice handle the
“I understand what you mean now.” Candice’s cheeks flushed with excitement. The gloom that had previously clouded her was swept away.Her joy was genuine. She said, “In three months’ time, I’ll secure this position and prove to you and the board that your decision was the right one.”With that, Candice stood, gave Ivanka a respectful bow, and left the office.Ivanka watched her leave with a smile.All was good.While the two of them were in good spirits, someone else’s mood was far from pleasant.Mandy returned to her office, humiliated, to pack her belongings.If she could turn back time, she might have chosen not to come at all. The shame she endured was beyond anything she could have imagined.Somehow, word of what happened in the conference room had leaked. Perhaps Ivanka had orchestrated it.When she arrived at her office, she was not surprised to see all her belongings stuffed into a tattered, broken box.The box had been placed right outside her office door. It was a
“Mr. Clarke, if you don’t like my decision and want to change it, you’ll have to take my position first to do so. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”With those words, Ivanka coolly left the meeting room.Candice, though initially taken aback by the sudden turn of events, quickly adjusted to her new role. Turning to Mandy, she said, “Ms. Cruella, please ensure your office is cleared in three days, as I will be moving in.”With that, she too left the room.After they left, the meeting room erupted into chaos, with arguments flying back and forth. However, the outcome was already sealed. Ferris was powerless to change it.Though he still had cards to play, he was not about to waste them on Mandy.Sure enough, by the afternoon, employees spotted Mandy packing her belongings and leaving in disgrace.Candice, though initially satisfied, could not help but feel uneasy. After thinking it over, she decided to speak with Ivanka. And so, at that moment, she was standing in front of the door to t
Ferris was panicking at the moment. He shot Mandy a disappointing and furious glare.It was one thing for her to embezzle funds, it was another for her to get caught.How foolish!Feeling the weight of Ferris’s gaze, Mandy instinctively lowered her head.That only made Ferris more enraged.She had caused all this trouble, and he had to clean up the mess.Ivanka ignored them and turned to the other shareholders. She sharply said, “Tell me, how can someone like her hold the position of project director in our company, yet Candice can’t even be promoted to team leader?”Mandy had been personally hired by Ferris, so Ivanka criticizing her in front of everyone was effectively a direct slap to his face.That naturally made Ferris extremely uncomfortable.His expression turned even darker.“In my opinion, it’s true Mandy shouldn’t have done that, but she’s been in this position for so long. While she doesn’t have achievements, she’s at least put in the effort. How about this, let’s
However, her smile did not reach her eyes.Mandy stood frozen. She was too scared to drink the water or take a seat. Just like that, she was ignored. The atmosphere was awkward. She could only cast a pleading glance toward Ferris for support.Ferris, who was standing near her, cleared his throat and said, “That’s right. Ms. Ivanka, Ms. Cruella is right. This isn’t in line with proper procedures.”Ivanka maintained her enigmatic smile. Her index finger tapped lightly on the table. It was impossible to guess what was going through her mind.She glanced around the room. “What do the rest of you think?”She sounded like she was seeking opinions, but the weight of her presence was intimidating. No one dared to answer.Just as Ferris was about to say something, Ivanka picked up Mandy’s report and tossed it onto the floor.It happened too fast. Everyone was stunned by her action. Even Ferris was caught off guard.Mandy’s face turned pale.“Rules are made by people. Besides, Cand
“Please start.” Ivanka nodded. Mandy glanced at Ferris and then at Ivanka. She did not dare to speak.It was obvious that she did not want to offend either side.But she had received a lot of favors being under Ferris over the years, so naturally she did not dare to disobey him.Ferris felt like he was getting the upper hand again, and he was a lot more cheerful. His expression seemed to say, “Look, this is my staff. Look at how they listen to me and not you. You’re nothing much as the chairman. Who are you here, Ivanka?”The anger from before had completely disappeared. He said calmly, “You really don’t get the hint. If Ms. Lane lets you speak, you should just speak.”Although he sounded like he was scolding her, anyone could hear from Ferris’s tone that he was not complaining. He was gloating.Some shareholders did not want to be caught up in the mess and lowered their heads.Others wanted to see where things went.In a way, he was asserting dominance over Ivanka. Everyone wa
Ivanka suggested to Candice to go home and rest.But Candice still refused.She said, “The contract will be done soon. I’ll be able to rest properly and have peace of mind sooner when it’s finalized.”Ivanka relented. She only said that if she felt discomfort in any way, she must tell her immediately.Candice nodded her head and took note.Ivanka gripped the steering wheel tightly. She felt guilty.Candice was already in such a state, but she still insisted on working. Her reason there was not only to repay Ivanka but also to realize her own self-worth.But Ferris kept getting in the way of that report.It was really upsetting.Ivanka also secretly made it a point to get the report passed on that day.The car reached the company. Ivanka went upstairs with Candice together. Ivanka also personally helped Candice to her workstation.Despite Candice’s repeated refusals, Ivanka was very insistent.She wanted to demonstrate to everyone that she had Candice’s back. If anyone wante
Ivanka noticed that the distance between the both of them were a little too close. She moved a little to the side as a form of silent resistance to Micheal’s behavior.Michael only felt lonely for a moment. But he then quickly returned to normal as if nothing had happened.“Candice hasn’t finished giving her statement yet. I know you have to keep her company today, but I don’t agree that you should just sleep here. I’ve booked a hotel in the neighborhood. In a moment, I’ll explain to the people from the police station and send the two of you there.” Ivanka seemed to be a little hesitant.Michael said, “It’s just nearby. It’s about a kilometre away. I’ve reserved two rooms. So, if we need to rush over at night, we can just come over together again. Besides, if you sleep in the lounge for the night, both of you will catch a cold.”Ivanka hesitated and finally nodded.She thanked him and turned to go into the lounge to wake Candice up.Michael’s voice called out from behind her.
The two looked at each other and spoke a name. “Ferris Clark.”“Ferris Clark.” Michael laughed first. Ivanka followed suit. “Speaking of which, it actually has something to do with me. When Candice came, everyone knew I brought her in. When she first came in because she did not have any experience, she was only offered a position as an intern team leader. She thought that she would be transferred to a permanent position after she did a good job. But her report never passed after that. It was stuck in Ferris’s hands. “I will go to the board of directors tomorrow and continue to submit the report. This time it will have to be passed no matter what. I will also take the opportunity to find an excuse to test Ferris. If it’s really him…” Ivanka did not finish speaking, but the ferocity in her eyes made Michael silently pray for Ferris in his heart.Ivanka changed her tone. “But if it’s not someone from Bostone, then we have to consider someone else.”The tacit understanding betwe