What on earth was he talking about? She had no idea what he meant by saying that.Ivanka’s brow furrowed deeply as she stared at him in silence. It was as if she was waiting for him to continue.Or maybe he actually came here because he had something important to tell her?Otherwise, why would he show up unannounced like this? Even though it was undeniable that some of his actions had been rather off lately.The yard fell into a sudden silence.Michael seemed to regain his composure. In a low voice, he said, “Are you sure you won’t let me in? Would you like to make a scene for everyone to hear?”Even though this was a private villa, it was still in a neighborhood where the houses were close enough that people could easily overhear a conversation if it happened in the yard.Ivanka’s expression darkened. Her face showed a mix of frustration and irritation unlike anything before.She had felt annoyed before, but never with such calm detachment.This calm frustration and helplessn
Ivanka was speechless.She did not want to open the door.But she was worried that Michael would do something insane. She also realized that while she was well-versed in martial arts, she always turned into a weak, helpless woman in front of him. She could never fight back.He always predicted her next move, and she could never overpower him.Was it because he was too strong? Or was she too weak?Ivanka was so irritated that she did not want to say anything to him. Eventually, she put her finger on the door handle. As the scanner read her fingerprint, the door opened.Once they got in, Michael did not attempt anything by force again. He put her down and shut the door. Ivanka immediately put some distance between them, lest he did something insane again.When they parted, they both felt an indescribable feeling, and they were not used to such feelings.Ivanka inhaled as she walked over to the couch and sat down. Michael took off his shoes and put on slippers. Then, he went over
Ivanka was astonished.A while ago, Rosie told her that she would not force them to get back together, yet she had secretly urged Michael to woo Ivanka!Michael glanced at Ivanka indifferently. Ivanka’s expression became conflicted. He said calmly, “I know.”“You always say that! When will you visit her then?” Rosie sounded impatient and disappointed. “I was already asleep earlier on, but then I had a nightmare. I dreamed that she wanted to stay as far away from you as possible, and she was terribly annoyed with you! She absolutely despised you in the dream. Tell me, why are you so useless? Out there, you’re a great CEO, yet to Ivanka, you’re nothing!”Ivanka was astounded.Meanwhile, Michael pulled a long face.He silently pressed his lips together. He still had Rosie on speaker and appeared to be too lazy to turn it off.Ivanka lowered her gaze and avoided looking at his phone. Instead, she started playing with hers.“Brat! Why aren’t you speaking? I asked you when you’re goi
Rosie could not finish her sentence. She did not expect to see Michael at Ivanka’s place.There was a strange, conflicted look in her eyes.A while ago, she had promised Ivanka to not set them up, but she was doing exactly that!Rosie sensed that something was off. She suspected that Michael was messing with her!With that in mind, Rosie could not help asking to test his reaction again, “Are you really at her place?”Michael looked calm, whereas Ivanka was already too shocked to say anything.She stayed still and wanted to pretend that the video was lagging, but Michael immediately exposed her.“Look up. Grandma is watching you.”Ivanka was speechless.There was nothing else she could do. She inhaled deeply and looked up at Michael’s phone camera. She forced a smile.“Grandma…”She sounded rather forced.Ivanka felt that their situation was genuinely awkward. She did not think that Michael would actually give Rosie a video call.“Iv… Iv?” Spotting the awkward expression on
Rosie wanted to say that she was startled awake by a nightmare, but she realized that she should not have said that and shut her mouth immediately.At that moment, Ivanka also recalled Rosie mentioning her nightmare about Ivanka and Michael. It worried Rosie so much that she had to talk to Michael.Suddenly, Ivanka did not know what to say.Rosie felt a little embarrassed as well.She breathed in and quickly said, “Well… I’m a little sleepy again. It’s getting late. You two should go to bed soon.”Ivanka was baffled.Why did it sound suggestive?Michael was sitting next to her, and his lips curved slightly into a smile. But it quickly vanished without a trace.Before Ivanka said anything, Rosie hung up.That was awkward.Ivanka returned Michael’s phone with a slightly grim expression.What could she ask him at this point?The incident had already happened. There was no point discussing it anymore.She said coldly, “Since Grandma already saw you here, can you please leave n
Ivanka had answered the call wordlessly. Michael only heard the caller say her name.But as she gave him a look, he immediately knew what to do and prepared to hack the caller’s phone.Few pairs worked as seamlessly as they did.Of course, they had to have the skills to pull that off in the first place. Holding the phone, Ivanka waited for the caller to speak. After a pause, the person chuckled. “To be honest, I should have called you long ago. But at that time, I was worried that you were too weak to be my opponent. Calling you would be a waste of my time. Now, though, I must congratulate you. You have earned the honor to receive my call.”The mysterious caller sounded arrogant. After she was done, she laughed again. Her attitude toward Ivanka seemed to be a mix of admiration and disdain, as if Ivanka had become a toy that interested her.Even after hearing what she had said, Ivanka hardly felt anything. She said calmly, “And?”“And?” The mysterious person giggled. Her mood ap
“Do you intend to toy with me a little longer, or are you ashamed to meet me? Is that why you keep looking for trouble through people around me?” With that, Ivanka chuckled. “You’re faceless, but perhaps you’re just too embarrassed to show your face.”“Y-You!” The mysterious voice sounded even more anxious. But soon enough, she sneered. “Actually, I do want to see if you’re still capable of having a face-off with me. If you manage to survive, I’ll give you a chance to meet up with me. I hope you won’t disappoint me.”Ivanka raised her brows. ”I don’t feel like meeting someone who is reluctant to show their face, but I’m curious. Is there a blood feud between us that somehow drives you to make attempts on my life from overseas?”There was also another mystery, which she had been pondering. But due to the load of things she must attend to, and the fact that some investigations were needed, she had not managed to identify the mysterious person. She also could not find a link between th
Michael broke the silence and said calmly, “It’s getting late. Let’s get some rest.”After speaking, he stood up and went to his room.Ivanka’s frown deepened.... Michael remained at Ivanka’s house for several days.This made her feel incredibly resigned.He would ignore her words and follow her around everywhere.Eventually, she had no choice but to compromise.She thought that if she could just endure it a little longer, it would all be over. Michael would then stop hovering around her.During these past few days, they barely spoke to each other.Ivanka had been considerate and included Michael in her meal preparations even though he had not asked for it. Over the past few days, Michael’s condition improved. Although he had not mentioned it, it was evident that his stomach was feeling much better.Xander noticed something different about him.He looked at Michael with some confusion and said incredulously, “Have you really been taking such good care of yourself lately?
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