Belle quickly said, “I did. I informed you about it, but I really didn’t expect Mr. Barkworth and Young Master Ivan to help Ivanka at that time, and I didn’t anticipate them running into each other.”Chiara stared coldly at Belle. “Belle, if you make another mistake like this again, your family might not remain safe!”She uttered the last sentence through gritted teeth.Belle, however, breathed a sigh of relief. She knew she had managed to get away with it this time.She had actually mentioned to Chiara before that Michael and Ivan were present.However, Chiara did not think it could lead to any conflict back then. Chiara was the one who had ignored the key information!Back then, Chiara had even hoped that Michael would witness the situation between Ivanka and William.At the end of the day, she manipulated Chiara’s thoughts. Chiara had missed it.Belle just hoped that Ivanka could bring Chiara down as soon as she could....On the plane, Ivanka and Michael remained tight-lip
“Have an early night. I’ll take my leave.”Michael remained silent. Ivanka immediately frowned. “Wait.”Puzzled, the person turned to Ivanka.His eyes flickered with incomprehension, but he still said, “Miss, what can I do for you?”After a moment of hesitation, she spoke softly, “Never mind. You can go.”The man gave her a perplexed look but, when Michael remained silent, he said nothing more. He nodded and left the room.The two of them were alone in the room.Ivanka said with a calm expression. “I’ll go book another room.”She was going to ask that man about her room, but she assumed that he did not know about her relationship with Michael. So, she did not request him for help and decided to handle it herself.Michael frowned and disdainfully said, “You can stay here. I don’t have time to deal with this in the middle of the night. We have to leave early in the morning tomorrow.”With that, Michael walked into the master bedroom.Ivanka frowned. However, seeing that Michae
Michael glanced at her coldly. “Shouldn’t you know where we are heading?”Ivanka was speechless.She gave him a look of defeat and could not help but snap at him, “How did Evan put up with you all these years?”The look in Michael’s eyes became fierce and icy, but Ivanka was done talking. She started the car.She had been to this place before and was rather familiar with it.Ivanka thought about some places and decided on one. She did not discuss it with Michael and simply drove there.As usual, no words were exchanged. The car was filled with dead silence. They did not even play music on the radio.The two of them were comfortable with the silence. It was how they interacted with each other.Ivanka, for one, certainly did not want to waste her breath talking to this man.They arrived at their destination after over an hour of driving.Ivanka stopped the car in the parking lot and looked over at Michael.“This bridal house is quite well-known. They also have a wide selection
Michael halted in his tracks and so did Ivanka. She turned toward the store manager and said with a perplexed look on her face. “Who told you we’d be here?”Michael immediately shot a cold glare at the store manager. He was silent, but she was already a little frightened. After all, he was no ordinary man.If his chilly glare could kill, she would have been maimed and dead by now. She willed herself not to pass out under his gaze.The store manager took a deep breath and delivered the speech that she had prepared earlier on.“So, our company has been looking for a business partner. We happened to find out that Barkworth’s Group and Lane’s Group are working together. I heard that you have planned to conduct a survey, and I predicted that you’ll visit in recent days. Besides, it’s hard to overlook someone with your demeanor. I have seen you on TV before, so I recognized you immediately. I work here every day. It’s my honor to meet you.”Hearing what the store manager said, Holly, th
The store manager went slightly pale. She immediately got in their way before they headed for the door. Her voice carried a note of panic. “Mr. Barkworth, Ms. Lane, you haven’t seen all the designs. Our current designers are quite talented as well. The situation is not as bad as you imagine, or else a big brand like us would’ve been done for.”Ivanka did not get up. She only stared at the store manager. “Then show me what you think is good. We don’t have time to go through the designs one by one.”The store manager quickly walked over. She picked some wedding gown designs and displayed them on the screen.Ivanka browsed through them. The disappointment in her eyes only grew.The store manager was so anxious that she almost broke out in a cold sweat. She quickly said, “We have also received some new designs today. Mr. Barkworth, Ms. Lane, please have another look at them!”Both Barkworth’s Group and Lane’s Group were big clients. If she missed the chance to work with them, her supe
Ivanka did not expect Michael to be such a jerk!After all, Michael could easily ostracize her and force her out of Lane’s Group if he wanted to.But she could not let this guy find and take advantage of her weakness!Michael looked mockingly. “You got me in trouble multiple times, but I let it slide for grandma’s sake. If you keep testing my patience, I’ll give you a taste of your own medicine!”Ivanka was at a loss for words.She gritted her teeth. “Fine, I’ll do it! But you’ll be the one reaching out to them, right?”Michael said nothing.But Ivanka knew that he had agreed, so she wordlessly drove to the hotel.Now, the most important thing was to track down those designers.If she could win them over, she would not have to work with another bridal house.However, Michael seemed to be messing with her. The moment she arrived at the hotel and parked the car, he had already forwarded her the phone numbers of those designers.“Talk to them yourself.”With that, Michael got
Ivanka vowed to get back at Michael for this one day!But she had not figured out Michael’s weakness.She could not bring herself to hurt his family, because she, too, cared about some of them.Otherwise, much to her immense frustration, he seemed invulnerable!Ivanka inhaled and thought about her relationship with Michael. They had been hanging out together way too often.After a pause, Ivanka said, “Give me a moment. I’m going to call him again.”Evan felt a migraine setting in. Why would Mr. Barkworth let him handle things like this? Must he act as a messenger between this couple—no, divorced couple?“Ms. Lane, please don’t bother. Mr. Barkworth was very insistent, and he is busy right now. He told me that he won’t answer any calls.”Ivanka was speechless.Michael had basically meant that he would not answer Ivanka’s call.Unable to suppress her frustration, Ivanka took a deep breath. But Evan continued, “Ms. Lane, you must attend this banquet. Besides, there is a potentia
Before she took her first step, Michael gripped her arm. By the time she realized what happened, her arm was already firmly hooked around his.Worse still, everything seemed to happen so smoothly, and there was nothing out of the ordinary.Everyone thought that they were still a close, perfect match. They would have assumed that Ivanka had put her arm around Michael’s.Ivanka wanted to retract her arm, but Michael tightened his clutch. She did not even have a chance to struggle and wrench herself free.She turned to look at him with a smile on her lips. However, Michael heard her low, angry voice through her clenched teeth, “Michael Barkworth, what are you up to?”Michael’s lips curved slightly into a seemingly mocking smile.But he also appeared to be in a good mood.He turned his gaze on Ivanka and answered patiently, which was uncharacteristic of him, “I’m attending the banquet.”Ivanka was speechless.What a jerk!She inhaled deeply and tried her best to remain calm.It