Michael looked at the design again.The wedding dress was innovative. The design quality was outstanding. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before.From head to toe, every detail sparkled and shone.It was not just about an abundance of pearls in the design. It was inherently filled with highlights, especially the embellishments on the chest and waist. Michael suddenly felt the urge to ask Ivanka to try on this wedding dress immediately for him to see the effect.“Speak.”Ivanka nodded. “I know her.”Seeing that Michael was about to say something, Ivanka interjected. “She’s not available for more. This is the only piece she can do.”As she spoke, she concealed the irony in her eyes.This wedding dress...She seemed to stare off into the distance again, tinged with a hint of bitterness and unresolved emotions.Michael pursed his lips and did not utter another word. However, his eyes remained fixed on the design. The subtle and elegant style somehow felt familiar to him.
As Michael had a video conference scheduled next, Ivanka returned to her room with the venue design proposal.Through WhatsApp, Evan briefed her on the morning’s developments.Throughout the afternoon, Ivanka immersed herself in studying the proposal. She was figuring out how to communicate specific details effectively with the design team.That evening, Michael and Ivanka had dinner together as usual.Ivanka found Michael’s mood swings strange, but she proceeded to eat her meal as usual.Michael’s phone suddenly rang again.It was Chiara calling.In contrast to Michael’s frown, Ivanka smiled. “Isn’t she your lifesaver and girlfriend? Ignoring her calls doesn’t seem proper, does it?”Michael’s sharp gaze instantly fell on Ivanka’s face. Seeing her mocking expression, he snorted. “Who said I’m not answering it?”Ivanka’s grin seemed to grow wider. “I was afraid you wouldn’t answer it.”That sounded like a provocation.Michael gave her a disdainful look and answered the phone.
“Mic?”Chiara was truly on the verge of losing it this time.She did not get it!Michael clearly did not like Ivanka and found her extremely hypocritical. Why would he keep getting involved with Ivanka like this? They even… They even slept together!Chiara sounded like she was crying. A faint sob came from the other end of the line.Michael frowned slightly and glared coldly at Ivanka. “Ivanka, that’s enough!”He thought. “Has this woman finally revealed her true colors?” Ivanka chuckled. “Enough? How can it be enough? Look at how upset Chiara is now. Aren’t you going to treat her the way you treated me yesterday? You were so gentle to me.”After all, the high and mighty Mr. Barkworth carefully applied ointment to her foot yesterday. She almost felt grateful for it.Michael stared sternly at Ivanka.Ivanka, however, could not help but chuckle. The last thing Michael cared to do was to explain himself, so he would not take the initiative to tell Chiara that they were not in b
“B*tch! That b*tch!”Chiara was infuriated.She never expected Michael to have dinner with Ivanka, nor did she expect the b*tch to have no regard for what Michael thought of her and speak without restraint.Was she not afraid of making Michael hate her even more after saying those things?Or had she resorted to scorched earth tactics to bring down her enemy?After what Ivanka said, Chiara could not admit herself into the hospital again. Doing so might make Michael suspicious!Besides, when Ivanka said those things just now, Chiara did not sense much resistance from Michael. Chiara thought. “How did things turn out like this? Why did it become like this?”Chiara, in a fit of rage, shouted, “Ivanka!”That b*tch!Chiara’s chest heaved as she gripped her phone tightly. Her face became paler.She was panicking.No! She absolutely could not let Ivanka go on like this!...After finishing her meal, Ivanka cleaned up the table and went back to her room to take a shower.As her p
“And?”Evan paused briefly before speaking softly, “I need to dig deeper for the details. We can’t prematurely conclude that this is related to Ms. Ivanka.”Michael’s stern face revealed little emotion. His expression was inscrutable.“I got it.”After saying that, Michael hung up.The room fell into silence once again.Michael held his phone with a cold, thoughtful gaze.... For the next two days, Ivanka finished her work as usual. She pretty much had to spend time with Michael during the day and had meals with him.However, apart from work-related discussions, there was no other communication between them.The seven days of the business trip finally ended.They would spend the night at their current location, and tomorrow they would head back.Ivanka was puzzled about why they did not leave tonight, but without any specific instructions from Michael, she refrained from questioning.The next day, they departed together.Ivanka and Michael were still seated together in t
There was a loud boom.It sounded as if something exploded.Michael immediately grabbed Ivanka’s hand and headed for the exit.Ivanka was trembling slightly, and she let him drag her away.Soon enough, they reached the flight captain. At this point, the captain had lost his composure.With the hubbub outside, he still attempted to calm everyone down.It was a shame that this time, his assurances no longer worked.Bangs sounded. Some passengers saw what was going on outside the plane through the windows.“Someone’s out there! A plane is attacking us! They fired at us!”“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”People could not stop screaming.Everyone was already panicking.Some flight attendants were about to burst into tears. They could not help saying, “What do we do? Why is this happening? Are we going to survive this?”One of them was sobbing. “I’m terrified… Ahhh!”The flight attendant who just spoke suddenly let out a scream. It was broadcast to the passenger cabin.The passengers were e
Ivanka felt like she was in a dream.She looked at Michael in surprise. After all, Michael always appeared indifferent and kept a distance from people around him. But today, the usually cold Michael suddenly stepped up to maintain order and calm everybody down.At that moment, she had a bizarre thought: Michael seemed to be a kind-hearted guy.Michael turned off the microphone. The flight captain immediately looked at him with gratitude in his eyes. “Thank you so much for doing this, sir!”However, even though the situation was stabilized at the moment, they were not truly safe. The captain added anxiously, “The plane is still flying, but it is unstable. I am afraid that the pilot can’t take it anymore.”It was his fifteenth year working on a plane. Regardless of how experienced he was, he had not been through a crisis like this one.Michael immediately said, “I’ll pilot the plane, and I need a flight conductor.”With immense disbelief in their eyes, the captain and the flight a
If he made a mistake, he would become a killer who failed hundreds of passengers…While he deserved to die for his mistake, he could not let the others die with him…He was surprised when the flight captain came into the cockpit.The captain said, “Well done, Owen. Let Mr. Barkworth and Ms. Lane take care of the rest. Switch places with Mr. Barkworth. Stabilize the plane before getting up.”Owen was flabbergasted. “Is… Is this alright?”Seeing that someone wanted to take over, he was surprised and incredibly relieved.The captain nodded solemnly again. “Yes, quickly.”Owen responded with an affirmative and did as he was told. He looked at Michael. “Here you go, Mr. Barkworth.”As he called out to Michael, he was still in deep shock. Even though he had seen Michael and Ivanka on the television screen, the astonishment he felt was still indescribable.Who would have thought that Mr. Barkworth could fly a plane!Michael took the pilot’s seat and started controlling the plane. He
“I deserve everything that’s happening to me now. But please don’t involve my family in my mistakes…” Ethan clasped his hands together and sincerely begged everyone to spare his family. Ivanka spared him a brief glance before turning off her cell phone. Although she was helping herself to some meat, Michael could see how she felt at the moment. “Why don’t we…” Michael asked for her opinion. But before he finished speaking, Ivanka interrupted him. “Now that he’s released a video like that, if I continue to hold him accountable, I’d be the one in the wrong.” Michael immediately replied, “I can step in—” “You? It’s better if you don’t. Everyone knows your relationship with me now.” Before Michael could finish his sentence, Ivanka immediately interrupted him. Although they were not officially remarried, Michael often went out with her. If anyone else were to see this, what difference did it make? Michael understood, but he really could not bear to see Ivanka getting bulli
After they finished taking pictures, Ivanka greeted everyone politely. “After finishing your meal, go home early. It’s snowing, so drive safely. Bye…” Ivanka subconsciously reminded them. She belatedly realized she had been acting as though she was really an idol. Nonetheless, she treated them with sincerity. She had not done this for Michael’s sake. She did this mostly for the sake of the innocent, inexperienced young ladies who had yet entered the society. These young ladies raised their phones warily and asked, “Could we take a picture together?” They were so worried that their invitation would be turned down, so much so that when they talked, they almost bit the skin off their lips. Ivanka could not bear to reject them. It had not been easy for her to finally reach the private room. Michael teased her, “Our celebrity finally arrived. It looks like you’d best wear shades wherever you go in the future.” Ivanka glared at him and said gruffly, “Stop teasing me.” She paused
After that, Ivanka politely bowed to the people who had been watching the drama in the main hall. She smiled at them. “Sorry for making a fool of ourselves. We encountered two tricksters who wanted to eat the meals for free by calling themselves the friends of the restaurant owners. It happened that I know the restaurant owner, so we easily uncovered their tricks.” By saying that, Ivanka was able to save the hot pot restaurant’s and the Barkworth family’s reputation. Her statement could result in a win-win situation, and the reason was acceptable. Ivanka continued, “Sorry for causing a stir and affecting your dining mood. I’ll foot the bill for everyone who dined on the first floor. How does that sound?” She was not trying to curry favor with the people or to show off her wealth. She simply did not want the people to hate the wealthy. One could not deny that this method worked. Right after Ivanka made her statement, the crowd thanked her. The commotion was no more than ju
The young lady did not know what to do, so she turned to the restaurant manager. The restaurant manager nodded in approval. It was only then that the young lady left the restaurant. Before she left, she glared at Coco. Coco glared back at the young lady and pointed at her viciously. Coco shouted, “Come back! I’m not done with you yet! Who permitted you to leave now?!” The young lady’s body shivered a little. Still, she gnashed her teeth and left. Ivanka watched the young lady’s back as she drifted away. Ivanka stood in Coco’s way because she did not want Coco to chase after the young lady. Ivanka did not want to make a big deal out of the situation. Otherwise, the Barkworth family would be the one who suffered disgrace. After all, Coco stayed in the Barkworth family’s mansion, and everyone knew that Rosie doted on her. If it continued, Ivanka was worried about Rosie’s later years… Ivanka rubbed her temples in resignation. It looked like she needed to resolve the issue as
The restaurant manager thought for a moment before saying, “Ms. Fishbourne, the restaurant has its own rules. Only three types of VIPs could reserve our private rooms while the rest could only enjoy normal seats. I have reasons to believe that our front desk told you the same when you called. We may not have empty seats now, but we’ll have one shortly after.” Coco recalled the situation and remembered that it was exactly like what the restaurant manager had mentioned. So what? Things have changed these days. Coco was no longer an ordinary woman. Her words could even move the earth. With that thought in her mind, Coco chuckled. She kept her tyranny and mockery to herself before locking her little finger with the young lady’s at the front desk. The young lady at the front desk looked down at her finger before glancing at the restaurant manager helplessly. The restaurant manager himself, too, was caught in trouble, so he could not do anything else to defend the young lady. C
Little did Coco know that her behavior was no more like a clown in the crowd’s eyes. Ivanka felt disgusted. Although she could not put herself in Coco’s shoes, she could understand the thoughts of a sensitive person. Ivanka could sympathize with a sensitive and cowardly person. But she could not find herself sympathizing with Coco. Coco’s low self-esteem should not be the reason for her to behave like a crook. Michael, on the other hand, already finished discussing with the restaurant manager and entering the private room. Ivanka lagged behind him. She had no intention of entertaining Coco, much less inviting her to eat together. No doubt that the private room was able to accommodate four people. But based on their relationship, Ivanka thought she had been kind enough to not find fault in Coco, much less eating together. Meanwhile, Coco continued to argue with the restaurant manager. She argued until her face reddened. Although the restaurant manager already made hims
The temperature was above freezing point, so the snowflakes melted before they even reached the ground. The trees were covered in snow. At a glance, they looked like a blanket of pristine snow. The big trees looked as if they had been covered in snow-white new clothes. Ivanka was a little surprised at such a scenery. Even though she often went for business trips in the north and had experienced snow, skied, and various other experiences, it was a rare sight to experience snow in their city. Instead of snow, they looked more like an ice sheet. The snow there was different from the cities in the north. They easily fell on their hair. In just a while, their hair turned snowy white. Ivanka took out her phone and took a photo. Then she shared it with her friends in her WhatsApp group. Meanwhile, Michael took photos of Ivanka. Michael hardly posted anything on Twitter. After a moment, he uploaded a photo of Ivanka taking photos of the scenery.The caption was: Experiencing
Michael glanced at Ivanka.Ivanka kept her eyes lowered and focused on nothing in particular. Both of them tacitly agreed not to bring it up.“Let’s go out to eat,” Michael said. Ivanka agreed without hesitation.If they got ready and left at this time, they would be just in time for lunch.She went upstairs to freshen up. Michael did not rush her. He just smiled, as if he was telling her to take her time.Ivanka felt a little embarrassed and touched the tip of her nose. Truthfully, she was the one in a hurry because she was the one starving.Five minutes later, she came back down.She had changed into a long black down coat that reached her ankles. It was practical and warm.But the weather was still unbearably cold. This winter was harsher than usual.“Let’s go.” She rubbed her hands together and looked at Michael.Michael was on his phone. He was smiling and looked relaxed. With just a glance, Ivanka could tell he was probably making a reservation.Their long-standing
Ivanka slept in the next day. By the time she woke up, the sun was already streaming through the window, casting light across her bed and face.In a way, the sunlight had forced her awake.She frowned slightly before slowly opening her eyes. The brightness left spots in her vision, so she instinctively raised a hand to shield herself before getting out of bed.It was already past 10 a.m.She had no idea how she managed to sleep so much, especially after napping all afternoon the day before.Then again, maybe she was just that exhausted. So much had been going on lately.Fortunately, it was Saturday, so she did not have to go to the office.That was probably why her internal clock had not woken her at seven as usual.Come to think of it, her body’s internal clock was quite accommodating.On workdays, no matter how tired she was, she always woke up at seven sharp. But on weekends, that never happened. She could sleep in as much as she wanted, which was pretty great.She lay in