While saying this, the woman deliberately paused for a moment. Kathy looked at her in puzzlement. “It could be what?” “Couldn’t you find an excuse to cover up your current situation? Couldn’t you add a tinge of ‘color’ to your life?” “Do you mean to—” “Of course you can make it sound like both you and Theodore are innocent and make Lyla bear all the responsibilities. By then, the two of you can get yourselves out of the trouble perfectly and no one will pay attention to this. Besides, after your relationship with Theodore is made public, it will only bring you endless benefits.” “Endless benefits for me?” Kathy naturally knew what the benefits were. “I came for you knowing that you would have your doubts. Hence, besides telling you the benefits you’ll receive, I have something else to offer.” ... Kathy then stopped recalling her memory. She lay down on the bed motionlessly and calmly. She looked extremely calm. At the same time, she was somewhat panicked. She turn
Michael’s expression grew increasingly dark. He felt irritated the moment they mentioned Ivanka. Michael put down the glass. He instantly lost the appetite for anything including alcohol, not to mention water. `Ivan clearly sensed his irritation and asked in puzzlement, “What’s wrong with you? Are you worried about Rosie? Didn’t you say Ivanka has a way of dealing with it?” Xander cast him a glance and said nothing else. Apparently, he disagreed with Ivan. Both Ivan and Michael were frustrated over similar issues. Michael kept quiet. When Ivan saw this, he gulped his glass of red wine before putting it down in annoyance. “I feel irritated too! That d*mn woman is brain-dead! She just stopped talking to me and blacklisted me. I feel like strangling her to death!” Ivan had previously felt frustrated because of Sandy. He seldom brought her up because he was worried that Xander and Michael would laugh at him, and Ivan did not want to lose his dignity. At that moment, he
Ivan was really frustrated too, but there was nothing he could do about it.Xander patted his shoulder and said calmly, “Since things have come to this, all you can do is think of some way to salvage this. You have your ways to please the ladies, right?” “My ways don’t work on her. What else can I do?” As soon as he said this, Ivan became even more annoyed. “You guys still don’t believe me when I said that she’s a tomboy! I’ve used every trick in the book to attract a girl’s attention on her! I’ve also used them back when I was fighting over things with her, but it was no help at all. What could I do?” Ivan was really utterly helpless and devastated. Meanwhile, Michael said calmly, “It’s not that your ways don’t work on her, it’s because you used to have ulterior motives, so, she has lost faith in you a long time ago.” “D*mn it!” Ivan became even more annoyed when Michael hit the nail on the head. “Why is it just so difficult?!” He never felt how troublesome it was to pursu
“Of course you have to state it clearly!” Ivan could not stand it! He wanted to see what kind of words Michael would say next to convince him that he was better than Ivan! Of course, in Ivan’s opinion, Michael was just bragging. There was no way Michael could be better than him. Michael glanced at the water in front of him. He said calmly, “She can cure both Grandma’s and my illness, but I won’t say that she’s better than Sandy because of this. It’s not comparable.”Ivan fell silent. He frowned slightly. Ivanka was Violet Cress, after all. They had run so many experiments too. Also, Violet Cress never lied. It was one thing to lie to Michael, but she had said the same to Xander. So, it was only right that she could cure Michael’s illness. But what about Rosie’s…? Ivan was a bit skeptical. “Is there something you want at the auction?” “Yes.” Surprise suddenly flashed across both Xander’s and Ivan’s eyes. Ivan asked again, “Are you sure?” “Yes.” “Ah! I see! That m
Ivan fell silent. He did not want to talk anymore. But did he think that he would have a perfect ending just because he started this whole mess? However, Michael looked at him and said calmly, “I haven’t told her that she could come to the auction.” Ivan was confused. He did not seem to understand. However, Xander suddenly laughed. Ivan frowned and looked at Xander. “What are you laughing at?” He was like a highly strung bow at the moment and felt that Michael’s words were meant to make him annoyed, but he still could not figure out what it was. Xander smirked at him. “Figure it out yourself.” He felt that Ivan would get even more hurt if he said it out loud. Ivan instantly said impatiently, “Can’t you just say it outright? Would I need to ask you if I could figure it out myself?” Michael looked calm and did not show too much reaction. Instead, Xander could not help but say, “He means that if he tells Ivanka about the auction, they’ll have a new chance to
Michael frowned, like he was ignoring him. Ivan scoffed coldly. “Here’s my advice to you: it’s best not to be so confident. Now that you’re at this point, do you think we can’t tell how much attention you’re giving her?” Michael frowned again as he looked at Ivan coldly, but he did not say anything. Still, he was clearly hinting to him to shut up. But Ivan scoffed coldly again, “What’s going through your mind? As your best friend, I can see what’s going on clearly. But I have no idea if you’re denying it simply out of your pride or if you really haven’t noticed it yourself yet. You like Ivanka, alright? Don’t be like me.” Michael looked at him coldly. “You’re not me. You can’t judge me.” “I’m not judging you! I’m only saying this because I’m your best friend. Do you think I’d care if it was anyone else?” Ivan’s voice had a tinge of displeasure in it. But since Michael was his friend, he could do whatever he pleased. Xander also looked at Michael. “Ivan is now changing his
The times he dreamt about Ivanka were not few either. In fact, Ivanka was a regular in his dreamsHer every frown and smile, her joys and sorrows. Surprisingly, he remembered them all. Once upon a time, he wondered why he remembered every side of Ivanka so clearly, but he just realized that he even dreamt of her. Michael’s frown deepened. But he could not believe he had been rendered speechless. It was a really awful feeling. Xander looked at him blandly. “Admit it, you like her. There’s no need to be all awkward about it anymore. Besides, are you sure that it was really Ivanka who planned the thing all those years ago? You were her childhood friend. Do you really think that Ivanka could do such a thing?” Michael’s expression was dark. “She’s hiding so many of her identities from me. If she really treats me like a friend, why would I not know any of it?” He was implying that since she could hide so many things from him, she could totally hide her character as well. I
When he said this, Ivan paused and spoke again with a somewhat odd expression. “Ivanka is so much smarter than Sandy. He’ll have a harder time than me when the time comes.”“Let nature run its course. Ultimately, he has to recognize it himself. No amount of talking from us from the sidelines is going to help.” Ivan did not say anything. He continued to drink while feeling depressed. Both of them had no intention of leaving. …It was getting late. Michael arrived home and took a shower before coming out to sit on his bed. At that moment, he did not even have the patience to look at the mountains of documents. Instead, he looked at the phone in his hand. Once upon a time, the thing he hated the most was having incoming calls on his phone, because those calls would only disturb him from working. The only exception was Evan’s calls. But at present, he found his phone to be disturbingly quiet.It was so quiet that he was not used to it. Even if it had not rung not too many ti
Ivanka understood everything just by looking at Stella’s expression.The drinks and pastries had to be the problem. The weakness and fatigue people were experiencing must have come from consuming them. She tested them with a test strip right away.As expected, they had been poisoned.She had not eaten anything, so she was fine. But she was unsure about Vincenzo, so she checked on him immediately. Thankfully, he was unharmed.Stella let out a deep breath.Before she could say anything, Vincenzo scolded her. “You ran back here and left Njord alone? Hurry up and get back there!”“Yes, Boss!”Stella responded quickly and ran off.Ivanka was about to speak when Michael and Evan rushed in.Michael looked anxious and was breathing heavily.Just like Stella, he was panicking.“Come here. Let me check.” Ivanka nodded at him. She knew how stubborn he was.Michael pursed his lips together and hesitated.But Ivanka had already stepped forward and checked on him. His pulse was weakenin
Vincenzo immediately noticed Michael putting some distance between them.It was not out of fear but respect for Vincenzo’s status. After all, he was Ivanka’s only family.Ivanka walked straight to Vincenzo without sparing Michael a glance.Michael could only stand there and watch her leave.Back at their spot, Vincenzo remained silent. Ivanka, however, felt uneasy.She had only gone to the restroom and had not expected to run into Michael.After some thought, she decided to explain.“Uncle, I didn’t go looking for him.”“You don’t need to explain. Even if you did, that’s your choice. I’ve said what I needed to. The decision is yours.”His tone was calm, but to Ivanka, it sounded like he was upset.She wanted to say more, but Vincenzo spoke first. “Don’t blame yourself. I’m not angry. Once the banquet is over, take a few days to rest. Then we’ll head out.”“Alright.”Since he had already said that, there was nothing more to say.Caeser had hosted the banquet to trigger inte
Ivanka saw the grin on Michael’s face and immediately let go of his arm. Her expression darkened with displeasure.Michael looked like he was enjoying her frustration.“I’m not,” he denied at once, quickly adding, “I’m happy because you pulled me away. It shows you care.”Ivanka was speechless.She looked at his smiling face and shook her head. “I just didn’t want you getting into a fight with Mr. George right now. If something happened to you while I was there, I couldn’t just leave. And if I didn’t, that would make me responsible for you.”Michael frowned. “Do you really think I’m that useless?”He had fought Mr. George before and never even saw him as a threat. There was no way someone like that could take him down.“That’s not the point. Mr. George isn’t alone, but you are. This isn’t your territory, Michael. And don’t forget, the drug in your system hasn’t fully cleared, and your gunshot wound—”He cut her off before she could finish.“That injury was a long time ago. I’m
Ivanka had never revealed her identity as Violet Cress. How did Mr. George figure it out just from her treating Caeser?“Mr. Ali, I only gave Mr. Hicks a few herbal prescriptions. It was nothing special.”“Caeser has plenty of skilled doctors, yet none of them could fix his condition. You did so effortlessly. That says a lot. Anyone who can earn his trust must be exceptionally capable. Ms. Ivanka, the Ganoderma Nebula is not something just anyone can use properly, nor does everyone have your level of confidence.”At first, Mr. George had not suspected anything. But after learning about the legendary medical expert, Violet Cress, he started making connections. She was well known by reputation, yet no one had ever seen her face. He had looked into her background and found that she was probably not elderly.There was also the Ganoderma Nebula.So, he made an educated guess.Looking at Ivanka’s calm reaction, he was even more convinced. When he first mentioned it, there had been a fl
A teasing voice broke the moment, interrupting Ivanka and Michael.They turned to look.Standing before them was none other than Mr. George. It had been a while since they last saw him.Michael narrowed his eyes. He had not expected him to show up at Caeser’s banquet.“What? Didn’t learn your lesson last time?” His tone was cold and sharp.As he spoke, he stepped forward. He simultaneously shielded Ivanka behind him.They knew they were in Mirvania, and Vincenzo was nearby. No matter what Mr. George was planning, he would not dare make a move under Vincenzo’s watch.Still, Michael’s reaction was instinctive.“No hard feelings, right? Isn’t this how friendships start?” Mr. George replied indifferently. He stepped to the side and looked at Ivanka.“Friends?” Ivanka let out a sharp laugh. “Be honest, Mr. George. Do you really think we could ever be friends?”She had taken the Ganoderma Nebula. He had tried to steal it by sending his men. She had turned five of them against him a
Ivanka tried to step aside, but Michael blocked her path.The acrid smell of smoke hit her.She instinctively covered her nose and mouth.Michael saw her reaction and put out his cigarette.“If I talk through a third party and they can’t get my point across to my subordinates, wouldn’t it be better to handle it myself?”Ivanka frowned. “Is this really the time to talk about this?”She thought about pushing him away, but she decided against it.“I know it’s not. I also know you did all that to make me give up. But I won’t. It will just hurt.”His voice was hoarse and tinged with sorrow.He looked heartbroken.If this had been before, she might have felt bad for him. But at that moment, she felt nothing. She said calmly, “That’s your problem, not mine. If you want to keep getting knocked out and run around like this, be my guest.”She stepped forward and pulled out her phone.Michael knew exactly what she meant. If he kept blocking her way, she would call Njord, Stella, and t
“Alright, go back to the casino and wait for my order.”The fight between Tanya and Blake had revealed how fragile their relationship was. If Tanya thought the stranger she met at the party was reliable, she would try to leave Blake.She would have thought that she had gotten her freedom. But in fact, it was just another circle of hell awaiting her.By then, Tanya would suffer a worse fate than death.That was what Ivanka wanted to see.After all, Tanya had disguised herself as Ivanka and put a stain on her reputation for a time. Moreover, Tanya was still planning to come after her and Michael.Ivanka would not intervene in the feud between Tanya and Michael, but since she had run into Tanya at the party, she would like to settle the score between her and Tanya.“That’s your plan?”As Ivanka hung up, Vincent could not help frowning.He knew what she was up to when she had asked Njord to assign the job to a man.But the progress was too slow!Ivanka nodded with a smile. “Yeah
Tanya was not a fool.Seeing Tanya’s reaction, the man smiled calmly and said, “Seriously? He’s just your boyfriend. He can’t possibly stop you from making friends, right?”Tanya ignored him and kept walking.She reached a junction and took out her phone to book a ride. But the Hicks family’s mansion was on the hillside. Moreover, Caeser had contacted the Ministry of Transport to impose traffic control in the area. Apart from those who attended the party, no one else’s vehicle was allowed to enter.Seeing that there was not a single car around, Tanya had no choice but to walk down the hill.Blake had told her to get lost, so she would not go back to the mansion to ask for his help.She walked for about five minutes. High heels were not made for long-distance walks, and she was in a long evening gown. She held a little purse that contained her phone, lipstick, a small packet of tissues, and nothing else. Worse still, she could not tear off the long hem of her gown.Tanya had no c
What Blake said struck a chord with Tanya.Her expression was cold, and the look in her eyes was vicious.She did not even love Blake, so everything he did had nothing to do with her. She did not care if he was involved with other women.“Do you have anything else to say? I don’t think I need to be at this party for long.” Tanya averted her gaze so that she did not have to look Blake in the eye.She had made her point clear. If he did not need her around, she would take her leave for the night.Naturally, Blake knew what she meant to say.“Get lost then!”He yelled at Tanya right away. She did not even spare him a look before lifting the hem of her dress, turning around, and walking away.Blake’s voice was filled with disgust, hatred, and rage. But Tanya could not care less about how he felt.She had come to the party with Blake, who arranged their ride. The Hicks, who organized this party, had prepared a parking lot for the guests. There were cars arranged neatly across the p