Ivanka wondered if this was the real reason Sandy came to her house without hesitation. She felt speechless and resigned. Ivanka shook her head. “You already said that to me many times before, and I’ve stopped associating myself with Michael. I already did everything I could and explained to him. If I still stay beside him, that will only reflect badly on myself.” While saying this, Ivanka sighed. Sandy sneered, “What’s the point of you telling me all these? You should look at yourself in the mirror at how you react to the real situation. Whenever I rebuke you, you still glued yourself to him. If this were the past, I believe you would have had a few children with him.” Ivanka fell speechless. She wondered if gods had given Sandy the guts to mock her this way. She had, indeed, been very perseverant and passionate about Michael in the past. Speaking of which, she wondered why she never showed her passion toward Michael during their three-year marriage. Although she was v
Ivanka shook her head in resignation. After that, she smiled. It looked like this strategy of hers and Jonah worked. Sandy had not only taken it seriously, but as her friend, she was also worried that Ivanka would get caught in it. Ivanka was touched. But she knew it would never happen. Ivanka knew herself best. She felt a whole slew of complicated emotions about Jonah. She was grateful for him, trusted him, but she never liked him. She did not have the same kind of crush that a couple normally had for him. She thought their current relationship status was the best arrangement. “Sandy, thank you for your concern. I understand that you’re doing me a favor and worrying about me. But I’m in a different state of mind these days. Love doesn’t matter so much to me anymore. This is especially after experiencing a failed marriage. I don’t want to destroy a hard-won friendship. Jonah and I are very compatible, but only as friends. Besides, I never thought of other possibilities between
Jonah rolled out on his wheelchair while looking around and asked, “Is your friend leaving?” Sandy poked her head out of the kitchen and teased him, “Jonah, it seems like you’re eager to watch me leave Iv’s house. I’m sorry to disappoint you. I’m going to clean your room with her and even stay back to have dinner. You don’t mind it, right?” Jonah smiled gently. His voice was very charming. Listening to him would make one feel soothing and comfortable. “Of course not.” Sandy smiled and revealed her pearly whites. “I’m glad you said that.” After that, Sandy helped Ivanka to clean the house inside and out. Meanwhile, Jonah did not just sit there and do nothing. He helped to serve the ladies drinks. He took his task seriously. Sandy was relieved to see this. She was worried that Jonah would adopt the habits of a typical young master, who was picky and not helpful at all. This would be especially bad for Ivanka. After cleaning the house, the three of them became closer.
Ivanka thought for a moment before giving a nod. “You’ll wait for us at home, then. I’ll buy you some daily necessities.” Ivanka explained to Jonah. He could not help but laugh. The corners of his lips curved upward, and he looked approachable. The distance between them drew closer because of his smile. Ivanka was annoyed. “What are you laughing about?” Jonah waved his hands. “You look cute when you explain things to me in such detail.” Ivanka was a little stunned. Meanwhile, Sandy was sensible enough to look away. As the saying went, it was best to ignore things that had nothing to do with her. Sandy did not expect Jonah to be so flirty. Ivanka said nothing. The atmosphere was slightly awkward. Jonah noticed this. He realized that his words had been too flirty and over the board for a friend—Sandy. Jonah said, “Alright. I’m hungry. You may go now and come back early.” It was only then that Ivanka and Sandy left together. When they left, they did not say anything
Before Ivanka burst into anger, Michael interrupted her with a smile that did not reach his eyes. “So, the rest of you are here!” When Sandy saw the “smile” on Michael’s face, she was creeped out. But her concern for Ivanka made her ignore his creepy smile. Sandy looked up at Michael. Her anger overwhelmed his creepy gaze. She blurted out, “Why are you coming over here? Don’t forget that you and Iv are already divorced. Stop pestering her!” In spite of her disdainful remarks, Michael ignored her. He only fixed his gaze on Ivanka. Ivanka was undaunted. “Mr. Barkworth, this is my house, and you have not been invited here. Please stop trespassing on my house.” “Are you threatening me?” Michael drew near to her while asking her back. There was a customary sense of oppression to his tone. Ivanka was overshadowed by his towering height. Nonetheless, Ivanka was not afraid of him at all. Seeing this, Sandy gave her a thumbs up. She thought. “Iv is finally enlightened!” Sa
“That’s none of your business. It’s between me and Ivanka. Mr. Sadler, as the only son of the Sadler family, you should also shoulder the responsibility of passing on the family name. So, mind your own business. I heard that Mrs. Sadler is busy matching you up again. There’s no telling if the other party minds your current situation. “Besides, even if there aren’t any feelings between Ivanka and me, we were once husband and wife. What and who do you think you are?” His speech struck Jonah where it hurt. He, who had always been soft-spoken and refined, was a little dumbfounded. His tone was still calm, without fluctuations. However, Ivanka could just sense that he was angry. It might have been because they had both been rivals for so long. They knew each other too well. It was the same way Michael had never considered Jonah as a serious threat. From the very beginning, Michael never treated Jonah as anyone worthy of his attention. It was just as Ivanka thought. He did not
Michael did not expect her to make such a move. He was silent and heartbroken for a bit.But Ivanka took advantage of the moment when he was not paying attention and just flung the door open.A crash rang out. It was thunderingly loud. Ivanka treated him like an enemy. She did not want to see him at all.Michael stared at the closed door with a taut and cold expression on his face. He stood in the doorway alone for a very, very long time. Inside the house, Ivanka was not in a good state after sending Michael away. She silently went back to her room alone.Jonah and Sandy both tacitly chose not to interfere.But Sandy had to leave first because of some business. Before leaving, Sandy looked at Ivanka’s closed room door and said to Jonah. “Mr. Sadler, Iv isn’t in a good state. You should keep an eye on her first. If anything goes wrong, call me immediately. As for Michael, you must be more forceful. Don’t let her see Michael again!”“Alright.”Jonah smiled and answered, but
Ivanka was not affected by her expressions.By the time Margaret was about to say something, Ivanka was already ahead of her. “Mrs. Sadler, since you’re already here, you should come in and have a seat.”Margaret walked into the house haughtily. There was a group of bodyguards behind her.They were all in black suits and shades. They looked like they belonged in the Matrix.The display was not modest. Could they have given up on coercion and planned to go by force? Did she plan to carry Jonah back directly?Ivanka made guesses internally while a little surprised.But the next second, she heard Margaret’s mocking voice. “Ms. Ivanka, this house of yours is not even as big as the single room where my nanny lives. Your ambition is…”Before she could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by Jonah’s stern voice. “What ambition? Mom, can you not be so mean when you talk?”Jonah’s expression was as dark as a storm cloud. It was thunderous and menacing.He was sitting in a wheelchai
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