“Young lady, what do you want to eat?” Aalto showed a rare smile as he asked.Ivanka smiled back. “Anything is fine, sir. You decide.”“I’m buying you dinner. It’s not right for me to order. Look at the menu and tell me what you want.”With that, Aalto handed the menu to Ivanka, who, without further protest, chose a few dishes. Aalto added a couple more.The waiter noted their selections.Once the waiter left, Aalto got straight to the point. “So, you took the initiative to get close to me, and now you want me to treat you to a meal. I understand that you miss your father, but I assume there’s another motive?”Ivanka sighed. “There is a motive. I want to collaborate with you.”Aalto snorted and expressed an ‘I knew it’ expression.Ivanka smiled. “You might be more upset to know that you dislike this sort of project the most.”Aalto was speechless.Aalto squinted and looked at the young girl in front of him. He felt a little tongue-tied. “You’re joking with me, aren’t you?”“
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. If you were just an ordinary person, perhaps I’d chat with you casually. But who are you? You’re the elite lawyer, Iris. Every word I say might turn into evidence in your favor. What if you exploit it to your advantage?”Ivanka was speechless.Ivanka sighed resignedly. Aalto was on high alert. She sighed again. “Looks like no matter what I say, you won’t believe it.”Aalto responded briskly. “Just state your purpose. I won’t miss any of the five meals I promised you.”Ivanka sighed again. She was in no hurry and said, “Be a little patient. Let’s chat a bit more.”“Young lady, your approach is irritating me.”Since Aalto was being impatiently blunt, Ivanka shook her head. “I just want to discuss this proposal with you. If you refuse, I won’t bother you anymore. However, since you’ve invited me to five meals, that means you’ve given me a chance, right?”Aalto remained silent.Ivanka smiled. “Everyone has their own home and their own self-started
The next moment, Michael suddenly snapped out of his thoughts. His expression turned even grimmer.What was he thinking just now?Why did he keep thinking about Ivanka?“Mic...”Concerned, Chiara looked at him. “Are you feeling unwell? Should we go back?”Michael would see Ivanka again later. He was going to discuss something with Aalto. She did not want to give them any more opportunities to spend time together. She was getting scared.Michael restrained his emotions and looked at her indifferently. “Eat up. These are your favorite dishes.”Chiara was speechless.Even if the dishes were her favorites, she needed to be in a good mood to enjoy them. Why was he being like this?He was thinking about another woman while they were on a date. Who could stand that?After a pause, she sighed and said, “Mic, something has been off with you recently. Is it because I…”She bit her lip, lowered her head slightly, and acted nervously flustered.She acted like she could not finish her s
Michael merely nodded lightly, rose, and headed for the door.Chiara followed him immediately.Regardless of how resentful she felt, she still wanted to stay by his side for her ease of mind.They barely touched the food they had ordered.Because of Ivanka, Michael lost his appetite, and Chiara lost hers because of Michael.Soon, the two of them arrived at Aalto’s private dining room.However, Michael did not see Ivanka there.Chiara was surprised as well. She asked with confusion, “Mr. Aalto, my cousin… has left?”“Yeah,” Aalto answered casually.There was a slight, imperceivable furrow in Michael’s brows.Ivanka had already left. Chiara was in a terrible mood. She no longer wanted to stay. She immediately said to Michael, “If that’s the case, Mic, I shall head back too.”“Sure.” Michael did not even bother glancing at her.Chiara inhaled slightly and left.The night wind seemed to be stronger than during the day. Her hair fluttered wildly in the wind. Chiara combed it wi
Hanson’s voice was sorrowful.“Iv, are you going to say yes to him?”Ivanka was puzzled.“Hanson, are you drunk?”Hanson sounded quite different from his usual gentle and elegant self.“Iv, answer me. Do you… like Jonah?”Ivanka was startled. She neither liked Jonah nor planned to say yes to him.However…Seeing Hanson like this, Ivanka thought that she might have to lie.After a pause, she said hesitantly, “Yes.”Hanson’s heart throbbed with pain.When Hanson learned that Jonah was openly wooing Ivanka, he was rather upset. But he assumed that she was recently divorced and was still recovering from a broken heart. There was no way she would say yes to Jonah, so Hansan let it slide.But now, he watched Ivanka and Jonah interact and appear together before him again and again. He kept seeing them trending on Twitter, and everyone said that they were a match made in heaven. As Hanson witnessed all these, he started panicking.Presently, Ivanka had even agreed to work with Jon
The man stared at her with a small grin. His starry eyes were dazzling in the dark of the night.Ivanka’s eyes flew open.But she could not be bothered with him at the moment, because a gasp sounded from her phone speaker.“Iv… You always know how to upset me. How could you shatter my heart?”Ivanka looked guilty. She inhaled deeply and said in a rush, “I have something else to attend to, so I’ll have to hang up. Don’t drink too much. Head home early and get some rest.”With that, she hung up.The other man’s grin only grew wider.“Iv, I heard everything.”Ivanka went pale a little. “Please don’t get the wrong idea. I-I just used you as an excuse to turn him down.”Jonah’s starry eyes looked gleeful. He took a step closer to Ivanka. “Oh, is that right?”Terrified, Ivanka quickly backed away and changed the topic. “Why are you here? Are you here for business?”Jonah chuckled and stared at Ivanka gently. “I knew someone liked me, so I rushed here to hear it myself.”Ivanka se
Chiara blinked in disbelief. They had not eaten much during dinnertime. Now he was going to send her home?But it made sense. Had she not waited at the junction and suddenly intercepted him, they would have parted ways already. He would not even drive her home. She should not ask for too much.Chiara could only nod obediently. “Alright, but I have something to tell you. It’s about the company’s business.”Michael turned to her. She had not moved a step. He said flatly, “Are we going to talk here?”Chiara’s expression changed slightly. She snapped out of her reverie and sheepishly said, “Let’s… talk in the car.”Michael wordlessly walked on.Confused, Ivanka looked at Jonah. “Is this the show you are referring to?” But the two of them were already approaching the car. Ivanka and Jonah would not be able to see anything.Jonah smiled faintly. He spoke softly. “They are getting into Chiara’s car.”Ivanka blinked in astonishment. Jonah would not be able to install any bugs in Michae
Michael had not heard it, but it did not mean that he was oblivious.As he read through the entire proposal, he could tell that it was Ivanka’s style. She had written it herself.At that moment, he was shocked and filled with disbelief.After Chiara told him everything, she finally sighed in relief.She looked at Michael carefully and said in a low voice, “I… I have no other way. The company executives think that Iv is inexperienced and unable to handle this project. But Mr. Sadler… Perhaps he likes her too much and intends to pursue her through their partnership. There is no way our company will let Iv ruin her reputation or get embroiled in scandals, so… considering the current situation, I want to ask you…”Chiara could not continue.Why would her father make her approach Michael with this matter?Why would he give her the proposal?When she was heading out, she had planned to leave for good. But her father’s assistant came to her and handed over this proposal along with his
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