After losing this race, Ivan felt embarrassed. After all, many people were watching, and he lost to a woman.At the sight of Sandy’s provocative gaze, he immediately growled, “It’s just money, and I have plenty of it!”Sandy snorted coldly, and it made Ivan glare at her irritably. “But that thing will be mine sooner or later. Get it memorized!”Sandy said, “Bah! In your dreams!”Ivan walked away with a huff.Sandy was in a good mood. She grabbed Ivanka’s arm and said while laughing, “Let’s go, bestie.”Ivanka did not say anything. After the two got into the car, Sandy held the steering wheel and turned to look at her. “Let’s go get dinner. Do you need to cook for your husband tonight?”The calmness in Ivanka’s eyes disappeared for a brief moment. “Let’s eat out.”Sandy was about to start the engine when she heard that. She looked at Ivanka in surprise. “Really?!”When she saw Ivanka nod, she stared at Ivanka with her eyes wide open instead of driving. “Are you serious? You’re
Streetlights illuminated the night sky. Even though it was time to go to bed, the traffic was congested. Sandy eventually got through the traffic jam and found a parking spot. She wiggled her eyebrows with a grin as she looked at Ivanka and said, “Come, Iv. They’ve already arrived.”Ivanka smiled. “Okay.”Sandy smiled mysteriously as she wrapped her arm around Ivanka’s and entered the reserved room together.However, there were no lights on inside the room. It was very quiet inside. Sandy pretended to look puzzled as she looked around. “Huh? Did they lie to me? Why aren’t they here yet?”As she was speaking, she led Ivanka into the room. “Iv, we’ll wait for them here.”Ivanka was about to nod when she heard some sound.Poof!The sound of confetti popping was heard. The next moment, flashing lights were turned on. The lights inside the room flickered. Colorful confetti fell from the air and landed on Ivanka and Sandy. Then, loud cheers erupted.“Woohoo! Iv, congratulations o
Despite not being biological brothers, Michael, Ivan, and Xander Quinn shared a bond that could easily be mistaken as such.Ivan was unconventional and hot-tempered.Meanwhile, Xander had a gentle personality. Many people thought he was a handsome, soft-spoken gentleman with a good temper. He came from a rich and powerful family. However, he had a cold heart.Even so, the trio cared about the family they truly held dear to their hearts and of each other.“I’ve finally found my mother’s necklace!”Michael fixed his gaze on him but said nothing.Xander heaved a sigh. “You finally found it?”However, Ivan said gloomily “But the necklace is in the hands of a nasty woman! Worse still, I lost to her!”“Get to the main point,” said Michael darkly.Both Michael and Xander knew how important the necklace was to Ivan.Ivan gnashed his teeth and told them everything.Xander snickered. “If that’s the case, it seems that the necklace is very important to her, too. Is it something her mot
Slam!Ivanka tried to compose herself after entering the room. Suddenly, they heard the sound of the door being thrown open, and they turned in the direction of the door simultaneouslyThe man was tall and slender. He wore an haute couture formal suit that did nothing to hide his in-born air of regality. He looked really cool.However, he was currently giving off a bone-chilling aura. His gaze was so razor-sharp that no one dared to meet his gaze.Ivanka frowned. What was he doing here?When Michael saw the large bouquet of roses next to Ivanka, he felt that it was an eyesore.He snorted, “I can’t believe you found a lover so soon.”Hanson’s gentle gaze turned cold. Before he said anything, Ivanka yelled at him, “Michael, watch your words!”Michael stared at her gloomily. “Ivanka, we’re not officially divorced, yet you can no longer hide your true colors. Am I dead to you?!”Ivanka scoffed. Sandy glared at him and hissed, “Michael, what are you doing? Iv gave up everything to
Michael was taken aback. Ivanka looked at him with an upset expression and said, “I’ve been waiting for you to call me so that we can go to the City Hall. Are you seriously telling me that you don’t even have the time for that, Mr. Barkworth? If you would just spend a little less time with her, I’m sure we could’ve gotten a divorce already. You wouldn’t have to worry about your company’s reputation and interests every day.”“You b*stard…”Michael gritted his teeth and said, “Ivanka! Do you really think I don’t want to get a divorce? Grandma was the one who was begging me not to!”Ivanka was puzzled as she thought. “I remember Grandma called me and said that she wanted to find a better man for me. Is this some kind of reverse psychological tactic she’s using?”“My company is still working on a project, and it’s competing with Sadler’s Group. After this project is over, I’ll split up with you. I want you to behave just for this month!”Any negative news would be detrimental to Mic
Rosie was still deciding who would be a good fit for Ivanka. She took out her phone and looked through young men from rich families.To her surprise, a piece of news suddenly popped up on her screen. [The person sitting next to Mr. Sadler is Mrs. Barkworth, Sadler’s Group’s competitor!]Rosie was stunned. “Jonah Sadler?!“I barely watch the news, and even I know that he’s a womanizer. He has multiple girlfriends. How is he the one for Iv?!“I’m sure this is just clickbait!”As she told herself this, she clicked into the article. As it turned out, the woman sitting next to Jonah in the car was indeed Ivanka! Their faces were as clear as day.“That’s… That’s impossible!”She immediately dialed Ivanka’s number.But… “Sorry, please hold on. The person you are calling is on another line…”Rosie hung up the phone worriedly. At the moment, Ivanka was talking to Sandy on the phone. Sandy’s excited voice made her frown slightly. “Why are you wailing like a ghost in the midd
“Okay, then.”Rosie did not mean what she said. She was determined to find the best man that suited Ivanka and make him her grandson-in-law.After they chatted for a while, the two finally hung up. Ivanka had already tapped into Twitter and scrolled through it with familiar ease. “Trending, huh?“I may not be a celebrity, but my username online is often seen among the trending posts.“Aside from my username online, my real name is also always trending along with Michael’s name.“We are portrayed as a loving couple to the public for the benefit of the company, and we frequently show up on some occasions to keep up with the facade. I used to willingly cooperate with him because I loved him. I would always look forward to appearing in public because it was the only time I felt like I’m married to a good husband…“But now… “Tsk.“With Jonah and myself trending like wildfire, Barkworth’s Group must be in a frenzy, since everyone knows that Michael and Jonah are deadly foes.”T
However, the neighbor quickly took note of Michael’s hostile demeanor, so he shrank back and quietly closed the door.Ivanka was at a loss for words.The violent knocks on the door were deafening. Ivanka was afraid of offending other people, but neither could she stop Michael, so she had no choice but to open the door.Michael walked in with a gloomy expression.Ivanka closed the door and glared at him. “Mr. Barkworth, your actions make me think you are finding it difficult to forget about me!”‘Even if something has popped up, can’t we resolve it during the day?’She thought Michael had found out about what happened on the Internet when he was somewhere else just now, so he was calling to question her. However, if she had taken the timing of events into consideration, she would have known that he was already near her home when he called her.Michael glared at her and scoffed. “Do you actually believe that I can’t forget you? Ivanka, I only have sound reason to suspect that you
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