Michael froze in place.Ivanka had never been this worried about him before.He felt that he had lost—completely and utterly.Ivanka instinctively pulled away when Jonah reached out to her. But knowing Michael was there and realizing Jonah was just playing along, she restrained herself from pushing Jonah away.Even so, she maintained a cold expression and said, “Quit acting like a kid and getting into fights, alright?”Jonah just nodded like a child and agreed. “Okay, I won’t do it again.”Meanwhile, Michael, who was standing behind them, was completely ignored.Seeing their interaction and how affectionately Ivanka scolded Jonah, Michael felt a deep emotional weight. His chest tightened with discomfort.He realized he had become an outsider. Ivanka had nothing to do with him anymore. There would be no more contact between them.Ivanka had her back to Michael. She could not see the turmoil he was experiencing. But Jonah did.Jonah smiled smugly. His teasing expression seemed
Michael murmured, “How could it not be real?”With Ivanka, she was either all in or completely out. She would not mess around. The way they acted together felt so natural. There was no way it was fake.Moreover, Jonah had always been by her side. Despite his repeated expressions of genuine feelings for her, she did not believe him and found him annoying.She finally accepted Jonah. However, she probably accepted him because of his sincerity instead of genuinely loving him. At the same time, she wanted to distance herself entirely from Michael.“Seriously?! You’re driving me crazy! Look, I only want Iv as my granddaughter-in-law! You have to find a way to win her back, even if it means swallowing your pride!” Rosie yelled at Michael after seeing his reaction.She pushed him out of the living room and slammed the door.Michael silently stared at the closed door.Meanwhile, Ivanka and Jonah had walked out of the place. They still acted like a close-knit couple. But once they got in
Ivanka felt her stomach churning. It was as if she had been flipped upside down. Still, she felt a warm embrace around her.It was Jonah. He held her in his arms.After about ten minutes, she only realized they had been in a car accident.The large truck had been speeding when it hit them. Jonah’s car was severely damaged. It flipped completely and rolled as it slid.She felt nauseous. It was as if a heavy object had struck her. She could feel Jonah’s weight on her. With a slight push, she easily moved him aside.She gasped when she saw he was drenched in blood. Worse still, he was unconscious with his leg trapped.She struggled and crawled out of the car.Many vehicles and people gathered outside.Thanks to the airbags and seatbelts, the truck driver was not badly hurt. The windshield did not shatter; it only cracked slightly.It looked like he was hurt about as severely as Ivanka.Ivanka endured the pain in her body and quickly asked a bystander to call 911.She rushed to
This immediately sparked heated discussions among netizens.ZenZephyr: Wait, didn’t Ivanka get back together with Michael? How is she suddenly with Jonah?DreamyNomad: Right?! She’s obviously juggling both. Seriously, what do these two great guys even see in her? She can’t even stay committed, and she’s already been divorced!SassySphinx: Honestly, you know it’s true—guys love troublemakers! They say nice girls finish last!WhimsyProwler: I know, right?! Ivanka is such a pathetic b*tch!... Once the footage of the incident went viral, many netizens started to criticize and verbally attack Ivanka.Some people even edited black-and-white memorial photos of her. Ivanka had no idea about this. But Sandy was fuming when she saw the news.“Ivan, can you please do something useful for once? I really need to get back. Can you get me a private jet?”“Seriously? I told you I’m broke! If I weren’t, I wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble to find you! We wouldn’t even be stuck in He
People were most interested in news about gossip, wealthy families, love triangles, and scandals.Besides, the female lead—Ivanka in this case—was stunningly beautiful.While some were bashing her, others offered different opinions.SweetTooth: I think Ivanka and Jonah make a cute couple. They’re both so good-looking.Rusty11: No kidding, they’re rich! I’ve never seen anyone this beautiful. If anyone’s seen her in person, let us know if she’s as stunning as she looks in photos!KingWills: I have! I saw her at the office. She’s breathtaking!!! And she suits Mr. Barkworth better.Laura lost it when she read those comments. She angrily swept everything off her desk.When she saw the news in the morning, she was initially worried about Jonah. She even planned to ask a friend to find out which hospital he was in and visit him during lunch.But after reading those comments, her concern for Jonah quickly turned to anger.At first, she did not believe those comments. She knew and trus
Ivanka tightened her grasp. Laura was in so much pain that she screamed. Ivanka did not go too far by breaking Laura’s wrist. She let go. Laura cradled her hand and looked at Ivanka in tears. She wanted to fight back, but she dared not. Laura thought fighting back was the only way to intimidate Ivanka. For a moment, she did not know what to say. Ivanka said, “Miss, have you mistaken me for somebody else? I’ve never seen you before. Why would you want to slap me the moment you see me?” Ivanka thought Laura was a weirdo. When Laura heard her words, she grew even more angry. “Mistook you for somebody else? How could I possibly mistake a sl*t for somebody else?!” Laura blurted out. The way she stared at Ivanka was as though she was looking at a pile of disgusting rubbish. Ivanka had always been good-tempered. Upon hearing Laura’s words, she became furious. It was only normal for Ivanka to become angry after almost getting slapped and being accused of being a sl*t without
Laura instantly burst into anger. She pointed at Ivanka and cussed, “Who do you think you are?! Don’t try to act like you’re his wife! Let me tell you, Adriana only recognized me as her daughter-in-law. Jonah and I grew up together from childhood. Don’t try to meddle in our affairs. You should be the one to leave!” Ivanka was annoyed after being pointed at and cussed at. She had made a great deal of effort to prevent herself from kicking Laura out. Ivanka smirked. “Really? Why haven’t I heard Jonah mention you before? ” Although Laura disallowed Ivanka from addressing Jonah by his name, Ivanka did not listen to her. “That’s because I was overseas. My return would mean that all the women associated with him must step aside. Jonah might have shown you some pity before this. But he certainly has no love for you. Don’t be so proud!” Laura blurted out everything while thinking that she knew all. Little did she know that Ivanka was not paying any attention to her. Ivanka did not
Seeing that Michael knew who Laura was, Ivanka believed Laura had not made up the stories. It was true that Jonah hid something from her. For some reason, Ivanka was not angry. Instead, she felt like a stone had been lifted from her heart. It showed that Jonah was not a truly honest man. He had something hidden from her. With that, Ivanka no longer felt so guilty for rejecting him. The atmosphere was heavily silent. It was as if Michael’s presence had lowered the temperature. The hospital director noticed something was awry. He was worried that he would be involved in the battle again. Hence, he said he still had something else to handle before fleeing. Laura was alone to fend for herself. She glared at the duo. She thought. “Ivanka already has Michael as her boyfriend. Yet, she continued to get associated with Jonah in one way or another. She’s such a greedy woman. How disgusting!” “Michael, why do you need to put up with this?” Laura was too jealous to see him stand
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