“That’s nice of you.”Tanya felt physically weak and drained of energy. She softly chuckled at Blake’s words. She did not think Blake would push things too far.“Why don’t we...”But she could not make out what Blake said after that. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she blacked out.When she woke up again, it was already daylight.She found herself in an unfamiliar, luxurious room. The sunlight shining into the room made her instantly alert. The curtains fluttered in the breeze, adding to her unease.She sat up and realized she was naked on a large, two-meter-wide bed. Her entire body ached as if she had been run over by a truck, and her head throbbed painfully.She remembered that she was supposed to participate in a second round of the game with Blake but could not recall how she ended up in this room.Did they hook up?!“Oh, you’re awake! Are you hungry? Do you want to eat anything?” A gentle voice spoke softly nearby.Tanya looked up and saw Blake wrapped in a towel around his
“I’ve got stuff to do. Here’s my number. Call me if you need anything.”With that, Blake handed Tanya a gold-embossed business card.Tanya did not take it. Her dark eyes were fixed intensely on Blake.Blake pursed his lips and placed the card on the nightstand without saying anything else.He knew she had never taken him seriously from the start. After being with the man she least regarded, she was understandably struggling with her emotions. He understood that staying would only make her feel worse, so he needed to give her space.“F*ck off!” Tanya shouted in anger. Her eyes red with rage as she pointed toward the door.Blake obeyed and left without saying another word.As soon as he was gone, Tanya angrily ripped up the gold business card into tiny pieces until she could tear no more.Then she rushed into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and scrubbed herself frantically.But no matter how much she scrubbed, she could not rid herself of the feeling of being tainted. Blake’
Ivanka knew she could not let her aura falter.The next morning, Michael arrived early and knocked on her door.He expected her to answer in pajamas with messy hair. But to his surprise, she was dressed in a light pink blazer and skirt suit. Her low ponytail was tied with a matching hairband. She looked both beautiful and sophisticated.“What’s with that look?” Ivanka frowned as she noticed his gaze.“I thought you’d still be asleep.”Ivanka rolled her eyes at him. “And yet, you still knocked on my door?”“I had Evan line up early to grab a spot,” Michael continued. He was unfazed by her remark.“Line up?” Ivanka was surprised.“Yes, Kingzillion Casino decided not to accept reservations for this auction. It’s first come, first served.”According to Evan, the scene was packed.Ivanka scoffed. “Kingzillion Casino is just making a big deal out of this auction for the Ganoderma nebula.”The lineup system allowed everyone to see how eager people were to secure a spot, emphasizing
The foreign woman noticed the ferocity and indifference in Michael’s eyes. Besides, they were in a crowded area. For a moment, she felt like he had embarrassed her. She also realized that Michael was not someone to mess around with. Hence, she looked down glumly and quickly left. “Sorry. Since she’s left, we don’t need to add on.” Ivanka returned the menu to the attendant. “We’re leaving.” Michael’s expression was absolutely dark. Right after he blurted out the words, he sprang up.Ivanka knew he was very angry at the moment, but they had already placed an order for the food. The attendant instantly called out to Michael and stopped him. “Sir, the chef is preparing the food you’ve ordered.” “I can choose not to eat it.” With a frown, Michael replied to the attendant curtly. “Sir, even if you’re not eating the food, you still need to pay for it.” Michael instantly took out dozens of dollars from his wallet and flung them at the attendant. Since Michael was already actin
Meanwhile, Tanya was already well-prepared. Blake came to pick her up. Although he did not bring her the golden key, he repeatedly assured her. “Don’t worry. Whatever you lay your eyes on during the auction tonight, I’ll do my best to help you.” “Shut up until you’re able to bid something off the auction.” Even though Tanya did not have the urge to kill Blake, it was clear to see that she hated him to the marrow of her bones. Blake said nothing. He solicitously became her driver. While they were on the way, Tanya received Chiara’s call. “Hello, Ms. Tanya.” As usual, Chiara greeted her politely. Tanya felt disgusted upon hearing Chiara in a young girl’s voice. She thought it was so fake. Besides, Chiara had been the one who encouraged her to go to Mirvania. If not for Chiara’s encouragement, Tanya would not have taken the step in spite of her own desire. Hence, Chiara needed to bear the responsibilities in the case where Blake had taken Tanya’s virginity. “Just
Tanya pointed in the direction of the exit. Staring at her, Blake had no choice but to hold back his grief. Regardless, she was his love at first sight. No matter how she behaved, he would always dote on her. Meanwhile, Michael and Ivanka were inside the private room. The private rooms were separated from one another. They sat in the main seats with a clear view of the downstairs main hall. At that moment, the main hall had turned into an auction house. The auctioneer was ready. They waited for the time to come. “Didn’t you see Tanya?” Seeing that Michael was already seated and brewing coffee, Ivanka looked slightly puzzled. Michael knew what was in her mind. But he was still angry with her because of the previous event, so he said sulkily, “Does it matter?” Ivanka glanced at him and said calmly, “I’m surprised to see her here.” “She’s not the only one who came to this auction.” Many people came to the casino because of its popularity. Perhaps many people they k
“If Jake’s sudden wealth really has nothing to do with the Lumiere Divine Cup, why didn’t he throw it away? He became rich all of a sudden, but his career plummeted when he was 59 years old. That was because he lost it at that time,” the auctioneer added. The crowd under the stage inside the hall inevitably believed Jake’s story had something to do with the Lumiere Divine Cup. Still, many wondered why the bosses of Kingzillion Casino were not saving it for themselves. With the increasingly loud noises, the auctioneer said with a smile, “Have you heard of this saying, a nobleman helps others to achieve their goals? The Lumiere Divine Cup should be given to those who need it. Besides, with the owner of Kingzillion Casino’s current status, do you think they are short of money?” After the auctioneer finished his sentence, he stared pointedly at the person next to him. Within an instant, the lights were off, and the main hall turned pitch black. The vintage wine glass glowed in
“Fine. We’re not going to talk about money. We’ll do things based on my last sentence.” Ivanka was caught out by Michael’s question. She paused for a moment before continuing. Michael did not say anything else. Ivanka assumed his silence as admission. “200 million dollars.” Mr. George offered 200 million dollars for the Lumiere Divine Cup. Mr. Jacob got agitated and said to his lackeys, “Whatever Mr. George bids for tonight, follow him. Don’t worry about the money. I’ll pay for everything.” “300 million dollars.” “500 million dollars.” Mr. George added 200 million dollars to his bid. He got agitated. They were wealthy men. The moment they decided to bid for an auction lot, and with somebody else bidding the same lot with them, things got rough. They would try to oppress the other party. After all, regardless of the amount of money spent, it was their dignity that mattered the most. After Mr. George increased his bid by 200 million dollars, Mr. Jacob refused to admit def
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