Jonah paused before softly speaking. “Michael will be engaged next month.”He watched Ivanka closely. Ivanka froze for a moment, then smiled, “Finally, I understand why people in the office are looking at me that way today.”Her gaze carried a tinge of mockery, while her voice remained casual. There was no trace of sadness.He smiled. “So, you’re not upset?”“Why should I be upset?” She remained composed and seemingly unaffected.Knowing that this news did not harm her, she hurried. Belle would probably reach out to her soon.Jonah chuckled lightly. “It looks like you’ve truly moved on. Since you have, why not consider me?”“... Mr. Sadler.”“Call me Jonah.”Ivanka said nothing more.They had not become that close yet.Observing her nonchalant demeanor, Jonah decided not to dwell on the topic. He chuckled and said, “How’s the collaboration talks between Sadler’s Group and Lane’s Group going?”“They’re trying to figure out how to make you agree to work with someone else,” sh
Puzzled, Ivanka stared at Jonah.Jonah was no longer smiling. He looked at her seriously. “Iv, I’ve always meant it whenever I bring this up to you. But you never once believed me. It’s true that you’re the only woman who won my heart.”His eyes were loving and focused.Ivanka looked calm. She gradually pulled her arm out of his grasp and looked at him as she said, “Jonah, it’s not that I did not believe every word you said. Even if everything that you said is true, I won’t ever be with you.”A hint of sorrow darted across Jonah’s eyes. He sighed resignedly. Within an instant, he resumed his relaxed demeanor and chuckled. “It seems that my time hasn’t come. Go back now and rest early tonight.”He let go of her hand without hesitation and in a carefree fashion. Ivanka was speechless.She hesitated. Then, she said, “Jonah, stop wasting your energy on me. I’ve been through a failed marriage and don’t want to spend any energy in a relationship anymore. You’re not destined to be my hu
Ivanka was frustrated. Only Michael would behave so violently! “Why is he here again?!” Ivanka walked to the entrance and saw that it was truly Michael. She inhaled sharply and begrudgingly opened the door. “If he continues banging the door like this, my neighbors won’t be able to sleep!” Michael’s expression grew darker when Ivanka glared at him in frigid disgust. He entered her house. Ivanka immediately closed the door and turned to him. “Are you crazy?!” Michael shot her a razor-blade glance and said in a bone-chilling voice, “Ivanka, you think you’re so great, huh?!” Ivanka frowned. The next moment, she recalled the headlines on Twitter. She grinned. “Mr. Barkworth, am I being too narcissistic? Did you read the news about Jonah courting me? Is that why you’re here?” Michael wished he could skin her alive. He grabbed her wrist. “I warned you to stay away from him!” Ivanka flung her hand away from Michael’s grasp. She chuckled in a manic rage. “Who do you think yo
Michael’s expression blanched. He immediately released her while retreating. It had been effective. Ivanka’s gaze was still. “I’ll kick him in the nuts if he holds me like this again!” Ivanka snorted. “In the past, I was blinded and had trusted the trio. My father was too kind to know he had let three hungry wolves into our house. When I see you, it only reminds me of the stupid things that I’ve done. Michael, I never really wanted to hate you. After all, I chose it. However, it doesn’t mean you’ll forever remain blameless in my eyes! “The surveillance cameras and microphones inside my house have recorded everything tonight. If you don’t want to let Chiara know that you’re still bothering me, please leave. Since you’re about to marry her, you should be a responsible husband. Didn’t you say she’s your savior, after all?” Ivanka’s gaze was mocking. If not for her plans involving Chiara, Ivanka thought the two should get together. With that, the duo would stay in love and stop bot
Michael coldly stared at Ivanka. “I never wanted to force you into a corner. It’s you who failed to appreciate my kindness. Don’t blame me for being harsh to you in the future!” Ivanka smiled sarcastically. “Do whatever you want.” After all, Michael would eventually be Chiara’s husband. By then, Chiara would use Michael’s power against Ivanka in the future. It was no different than Michael moving against her.Ivanka ignored him. Her gaze only grew more sardonic. Michael faltered beneath Ivanka’s piercing gaze. He usually scorned her. This time, he was at a loss for words. He looked away and left her house. For a moment, Ivanka was a little hesitant upon staring at the closed door. She felt as if she had a dream, or a hallucination. She leaned against the wall and felt like she was about to collapse. Ivanka inhaled deeply. She just had a refreshing shower. After Michael left, she felt exhausted over again. She slumped onto the bed. She felt muddled throughout that night
Theodore fell speechless. Ivanka was quick to deflect accountability. After all, Theodore and his group had long claimed Serene was more capable than Ivanka by multiple folds. Hence, if Serene failed, it was only normal for Ivanka to fail the task as well. Theodore seethed in fury. In the end, he held back his anger and nodded. “It’s okay as long as you give your best.” Ivanka nodded with a smile. “Okay.” With that, the meeting ended. Next, Ivanka headed to Sadler’s Group with a young, beautiful, and mature lady. At that moment, Serene drove the car while Ivanka sat in the passenger’s seat. Serene turned around and cast a glance at Ivanka. She faked a smile and said, “Ms. Lane, thank you for mediating between us.” Ivanka nodded. “I’m just doing my job. It’s all up to you whether you succeed.” Serene nodded in resignation. “Got it. I’ll do my best.” Serene knew that Ivanka would always have her guard up around her. Thus, Serene gave up on giving her any advice. M
Serene fell speechless. Judging from Jonah’s tone alone, she knew her presence was unnecessary. Jonah only had his eyes on Ivanka. He did not bother to glance at Serene. Serene had self-awareness. Even though she did not feel any sense of oppression surrounding Jonah, her breathing hitched. Before she came, she was rather confident of herself. At that moment, her knees shook in his regal presence. Meanwhile, Ivanka nodded and sat opposite him. Serene was stupefied. The duo got along very naturally. Serene sat beside Ivanka awkwardly. She looked at Jonah and said respectfully, “Hi, Mr. Sadler.” Jonah glanced at her coldly and nodded. After that, he turned to Ivanka. “What do you want for lunch? Do you want to have lunch together?” Ivanka fell speechless. Serene thought. “He’s ignoring me. Didn’t he notice me sitting right beside Ivanka?!” Ivanka’s lips twitched. “Let’s talk business first.” Jonah raised one of his eyebrows as he turned to Serene. “If Ivanka
Regardless, Jonah refused to listen to everything Serene said. He only wanted to date Ivanka. Ivanka tried to persuade him many times. Clearly, Jonah refused to agree to them. Instead, Serene thought that Jonah was a good-for-nothing b*stard who only wanted to collaborate with Ivanka. He did not seem to care about the profits. In the end, Serene gave up. It was noon. Ivanka took her bag and was about to leave. Jonah swiftly grabbed her wrist. “We agreed to have lunch together. Where are you going?” “I need to—” Before Ivanka finished speaking, Serene was no longer in the mood to stay around. She interrupted Ivanka. “I still have work to do. I’m leaving. Take your time.” This time, Jonah seemed content. He said to Serene pleasantly, “Safe journey.” Serene was speechless. This was Jonah’s first time looking at her squarely because she finally had some “sense”. Serene forced a smile as she nodded and turned around. Right after she turned around, her smile disappeared
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