Evan clearly saw the coldness at the corner of the man’s mouth and the chilling indifference in his eyes. He felt that if Michael and Ivanka had not gotten divorced, they would have been a strong team. They would be invincible. In fact, they would be the perfect couple and the envy of all. Although they had joined forces in their current state, they were still keeping a distance between themselves. They were seated in the restaurant. Michael handed Ivanka the menu. “You order.” His irrefutable tone made her a little uncomfortable. Just as she was about to say something, she noticed that he was holding his phone horizontally. Michael did not meet her puzzled gaze either and said calmly, “Grandma wants to see. I’m recording a video for her.” Ivanka did not say anything, but she had opinions about that. For the sake of Rosie’s happiness, she could compromise and work together. But how long could she keep this act up with Michael? It was impossible for them to be together,
Evan only came to realize after Ivanka mentioned that Michael felt unwell because he was drinking. Michael was talking about being annoyed because Ivanka had already made things clear about them. However, Michael could never voice these thoughts to Ivanka. He was unsure exactly even why he was annoyed.When she heard Michael’s words, Ivanka’s face sank as she refuted him, “That’s fine. No one can be carefree all the time.”Michael did not answer again.Next to him, Evan agreed with this statement in his heart. That was right. No one could be carefree all the time. After the treatment, Ivanka went to check how the medication dosage preparation was going. After they had finished preparing the dosage, Ivanka took it over to him. “Take the medicine and go to sleep. Evan, keep an eye on him. Call me if anything happens.” “Okay, Ms. Lane,” Evan agreed. After Ivanka left, only Michael and Evan were left inside the living room. Evan did not dare to look at Michael. He knew th
Ivanka obeyed him and walked over to Michael. Michael helped her straighten her skirt. She knew that Michael was helping her. So, she was happy to cooperate and put up a show with him in front of people. Alexander stood still and did not move. Of course, he saw this very clearly. However, his smile did not waver because of this. Instead, it even got wider. “Ms. Lane, since you aren’t interested right now, I’ll come over again later.” With that, Alexander turned around and left. He did not hang around. Ivanka’s eyes narrowed slightly. She would never believe that Alexander would walk away just like that. There was no telling what other tricks he would pull. She did not want to be the center of attention by wearing the same colors as Alexander either. “Evan, could you… Forget it, it’s nothing.” Ivanka was about to ask Evan to contact the other party and send over another set of clothing. But just as the words reached her tongue, she remembered something. Since Alexan
“Ms. Ivanka Lane, it is fate that we met each other. Out of the millions of people in the world, our paths crossed, and tonight, we met again. I would like to invite you to a dance. Will you care to dance with me?” Under everyone’s gaze, Alexander slowly walked toward the center of the stage and stopped there. He had a microphone in his hand and was facing Ivanka’s direction. The obvious smile on the corner of his mouth was sinister. The moment she looked up, her eyes just happened to meet his. She sensed it. There was danger deep in his eyes… But before she could dwell on it, the man took the microphone and continued. “Ms. Lane, if you’re willing to have this dance with me and fulfill my heart’s desire, I’ll fulfill one of your heart’s desires as well. I’ll tell you about the woman behind all this.” Everyone was puzzled. What was up with this man? If he wanted to ask that beautiful woman for a dance, he should not have brought up any other woman. Or was this woman invol
Ivanka looked at the man on the stage indifferently. She saw that he was confident that she would agree and said coldly, “We’re not close. There’s no need for this.” Alexander’s eyes turned dark again. But with his mask on, he gave off a sense of mystery. In addition to the control he had on himself, the others could not see the pressure he was emitting. Just as everyone was wondering if he would do something out of anger, Alexander slowly walked off the stage. Some of them felt like they were in the way and immediately stepped back to make room for him. Soon, he walked up to Ivanka and Michael. Michael was still holding Ivanka’s waist. Ivanka could feel the cold chill coming from Michael’s body. He might have felt a blow to his self-esteem since she was his plus-one, and some other man had publicly coveted her.She unsuccessfully tried to break free. She stared at Alexander uncomfortably. This time, Alexander did not look at Ivanka, but instead, his gaze landed on Mic
The fact that he dared to ask Michael’s date to dance in spite of Michael being there was proof that he did not care.However, Ivanka managed to handle the situation with such poise and confidence!Was it because she felt secure with Michael backing her up?Even those who knew some of Ivanka’s background thought she was a little too arrogant.She had many powerful identities, but that did not make her invincible.Lane’s Group was practically insignificant compared to the powerhouses. It was a fragile entity that could crumble at the slightest pressure.Yet, she was speaking so boldly.Was it all because Michael had her back?Still, they were divorced. Was there really a chance of them getting back together?People began to watch with keen interest. They were all curious to see how this showdown between two strong forces would play out.However, the outcome was already becoming clear.If Ivanka was not interested, what was the point of a showdown?The room seemed to freeze f
Alexander’s actions had just shifted all the attention back to Ivanka.What was he really up to?Many in the crowd began to suspect that Alexander did not really want to dance with Ivanka. Instead, it seemed like he had ulterior motives.Ivanka frowned as she watched him walk away. Her gaze was heavy with contemplation.Michael’s expression had darkened considerably. Noticing that Ivanka was still staring at Alexander’s back, he said in a serious tone, “Don’t want to let him go?”Ivanka was startled and turned to him, baffled. “What nonsense are you talking about?”Michael pursed his lips and fell silent.However, his arm remained firmly around her waist and showed no intention of letting go. They were standing so close that Ivanka began to sense something was off. She said, “You can let go of me now.”Michael’s expression, which was already icy, seemed to grow even colder.Just when Ivanka thought he would finally release her, Michael tightened his grip and started leading he
As Eleanor listened to the dial tone, she could not help but picture Alexander’s beautiful, stern, cold face while seething with anger.She was a princess, after all. She was second only to the ruler of her nation!Yet she had been warned by Alexander in such a way. It felt like an insult. This was Ivanka’s fault!Her hatred for Ivanka only deepened. Her eyes were burning with fury and hatred.One day, she would end Ivanka’s life!...Ivanka and Michael found a quiet side room with no one around.Just a few steps ahead, there was a small private room.Since the event had not started, they could slip inside and briefly rest undisturbed.Ivanka turned to Michael and suggested, “Michael, let’s go to that private room.”“All right,” Michael responded in his usual low, steady tone. They walked into the small room together.As they stepped inside, Ivanka took the opportunity to remove Michael’s hand from her waist.Now that they were alone, there was no need to keep up appearance
Instead, she remained standing in front of Jimothy and studied the group of men with a smile.“He works at our company. Since I’ve run into him, I’m obligated to come over and check on him. Pray tell, what has happened between you and why do you feel the need to resolve it with violence?”Jimothy stared at Candice while she stood with her back facing him. The look in his eyes was conflicted.The men exchanged glances with each other and saw a hint of astonishment in one another’s eyes.The man at the front of the group, who was likely their leader, said, “We just get paid to do this, lady. You should stay out of it.”When Candice heard his advice which also sounded like a threat, she did not intend to back down at all. Instead, she asked him, “Oh? How much did you get for this? I’ll pay you double. I just told you that this guy works for us, so I have to intervene.”The leader started laughing, and so did the men behind him. They did not even bother to hide the mockery in their t
Candice ordered some food she liked, and the dishes arrived soon after.Sandy suggested that they all took a picture together.The others did not object.Sandy gave her phone to the waiter.Then the five of them moved their chairs to sit in a row.Michael and Ivan each took the outermost seats.Naturally, Ivanka was seated next to Michael while Sandy, who paid for the dinner, was right beside her.Next to Sandy was Candice, who sat awkwardly in her chair. Ivan was beside Candice.The second the waiter took the picture, Ivanka and Michael exchanged glances inadvertently. Meanwhile, Ivan stared past Candice, and his eyes fell on Sandy.Sandy and Candice were the only people who looked into the camera.But each and every one of them had a genuine smile on their face.Once they had taken a picture, they started eating together.It was a nice, relaxing dinner. They did not talk about work or how annoying Coco had been.They mostly chatted about the fun anecdotes they had he
The call was soon answered, but the person who picked up was not Rosie. It was Mrs. Ruth.“Ms. Lane, you finally called! Mdm. Barkworth will be over the moon when she wakes up!” Mrs. Ruth sounded quite excited as she spoke.Ivanka smiled and asked, “Is Grandma resting now?”“Yeah, she hasn’t had a good rest after learning that you’d be kidnapped. Once you were safe, she finally allowed herself to rest.”Ivanka nodded and told Mrs. Ruth to take good care of Rosie. She later said that she and Micheal would visit Rosie soon.With that, she hung up the phone.Meanwhile, she also reflected upon herself.Rosie had gotten old, yet Ivanka always made her worry. From that moment on, Ivanka would consider the consequences before making any decision. It was not only for the sake of herself, but the important people in her life, who also cared about her.As she contemplated this, Ivanka inevitably thought of the gathering. It would be quite fun.Before they were about to get off work, San
Coco practically ran out crying.Candice glanced at Ivanka worriedly and asked, “Will something bad happen to her?”Ivanka was not concerned at all. “What could possibly happen? She is an adult. Even if something bad happens, she has to bear the consequences of her own action.”Hearing that, Candice no longer fretted over the matter.She was not really worried about Coco. She was just afraid that something would happen to Coco, and Ivanka would be blamed for it.But Ivanka had made a good point. Candice did not want to trouble herself with Coco’s matters. It would only be an unnecessary emotional burden to her.Everyone in the office began discussing the progress of their project.Perhaps it was because Ivanka had made an example of Coco, the other employees became especially energized and diligent during their discussion.They were even more focused than before, since they were all afraid that Ivanka would treat them harshly as well.Hence, they were particularly efficient.
“Why don’t we leave now so that you can deal with this matter, Ms. Ivanka?”The director of the project department, who was perceptive and shrewd, planned to leave right then. Ivanka shook her head and signaled everyone to sit down.They were all uneasy, and they kept giving Coco weird looks.Two people had dared speak to Ivanka like that in the past—Ferris and Mandy.But those two were no longer with the company.At the thought of those people, the project department staff began looking at Coco with pity.However, Coco could not care less. All she wanted was to make a fuss.She wanted to see how shameless Ivanka could be.Unruffled, Ivanka stared at her. She did not get angry and seemed rather affable as she asked, “Tell me what upset you. Have we falsely accused you of something you didn’t do?”Before Coco said anything, Ivanka added cruelly, “Oh, I forgot that you aren’t familiar with the protocol here, so you have no idea what you did wrong, right?”Coco paled. Undoubte
Candice was momentarily stunned by his answer. She was a little offended.“Then why did you come to my office for this conversation?” Jimothy’s grin was mischievous. “To prove your company’s HR is blind, and you just lost a great talent. That’s all.”With that, Jimothy stood up, dusted off his sleeves dramatically, and turned to leave.“Your resume!” Candice called after him.Jimothy waved dismissively without looking back. “Keep it. Enjoy reading it. And don’t let an incompetent HR handle your interviews again.”Candice stood there for a moment and processed the scene before an involuntary chuckle escaped her lips. This one had personality.Regardless, the incident served as a wake-up call for Candice.It became glaringly clear that Coco was not only incompetent but also prone to overestimating her abilities.Before the task was assigned, she had the chance to decline. Candice had given her the opportunity and explicitly asked if she could handle it. Yet, Coco confidentl
The college student finally believed her and walked toward Candice.On the other hand, Coco seemed guilty and was desperate to prevent it. “He has no respect for our company! Are you really going to hire someone like him who won’t follow orders?” Coco’s tone was sharp. Her finger trembled as she pointed at the young man.She scanned the room for backup in hopes that the people who had been flattering her earlier would speak up in her defense.Unfortunately, no one stepped forward.Those who flattered Coco only did so out of respect for Ivanka. Yet Candice had a close relationship with Ivanka and was the company’s vice president.The gap between a vice president versus an intern was as vast as night and day.Anyone with common sense knew where to align themselves.Coco felt a mix of despair and resentment.Candice ignored her entirely. Why Ivanka was so wary of someone as clueless as this was beyond her comprehension.Coco was simply dumb.Without wasting another thought o
However, reality proved she had worried for nothing.Candice had called her over merely to ask if she had the most basic professional knowledge and whether she could handle the afternoon’s interview.Coco let out a deep sigh of relief before patting her chest confidently and assuring Candice she was more than capable.Knowing Coco came from the mountains, Candice was naturally skeptical, so she asked again, “Are you sure?”Coco thought to herself that it was just an interview. All she needed to do was just ask the candidates some questions. They could just choose someone who wrote the resume well.Not wanting to embarrass herself in front of Michael’s cousin, Coco pretended to be confident and accepted the task.Candice was half-doubtful, yet she still gave her instructions and let her go.However, Coco’s firm assurance eventually led to trouble....“Your company must be a joke to hire someone like you for HR. You’re offended? You’re not even a real professional. What? You ca
Word quickly spread within the HR department. After learning about Coco’s connection to Ivanka, some colleagues were vying to curry favor with her.Although some observant individuals noticed that the relationship between Coco and Ivanka was not as harmonious as it seemed, it did not deter the opportunists. Relentless flattery and attention poured in.One moment, a male coworker would offer to grab her food while placing his own lunch order. Next, a female coworker would ask if she wanted to order some coffee too.At first, Coco was caught off guard and politely declined. However, as she realized their intentions were purely self-serving, she began to accept their gestures without hesitation.By midday, Coco had become the department’s little queen. Ironically, as an intern, she should have been the one fetching coffee, running errands and collecting mail. Instead, she had colleagues practically lining up to do those tasks for her.Coco quickly assembled her own little e